Lublin is the ninth largest city in
Poland, and the second largest city of
Lesser Poland. It is the capital of
Lublin Voivodeship (province) with a population of 349,103 (
March 2011). Lublin is the largest
Polish city east of the
Vistula River. It was recently a candidate for the title of "2016
European Capital of Culture". Lublin is approximately 170 km (105 miles) southeast of the capital,
Warsaw. The first permanent settlements on the future site of Lublin were established in the early
Middle Ages, though archeological finds indicate a long, earlier presence of cultures in the general area. The earliest, most significant settlement began in the
6th century on a hill in the suburb of Czwartek (in
Polish Thursday, most likely in reference to the market day of the settlement). It is likely that the surrounding hills, site of the present day
Old Town, were settled at this time
. In the 10th and
11th centuries, the Czwartek settlement became an important trade centre. The location of Lublin at the eastern borders of the Polish lands gave it military significance. The first fortification on the site may have been built as early as the
8th century, possibly on the
Castle Hill. Certainly at the end of the
10th century a significant fortification existed there. As the castle grew, the Old Town hill adjacent to it became the main focus of settlement, and the Czwartek settlement declined in relative importance.
The castle became the seat of a Castellan, first mentioned in historical sources from 1224, but quite possibly present from the start of the 12th or even 10th century. The oldest historical document mentioning Lublin dates from 1198, so the name must have come into general use some time earlier. The city was a target of attacks by
Tatars, Ruthenes,
Yotvingians, and
Lithuanians and was destroyed several times. It received a city charter in 1317.
Casimir the Great, appreciating the site's strategic importance, built a masonry castle in 1341 and encircled the city with defensive walls. In 1392, the city received an important trade privilege from king
Władysław Jagiełło, and with the coming of the
peace between
Poland and Lithuania developed into a trade centre, handling a large portion of commerce between the two countries. In 1474 the area around Lublin was carved out of
Sandomierz Voivodeship and combined to form the Lublin Voivodeship, the third voivodeship of Lesser Poland. During the
15th century and
16th century the town grew rapidly. The largest trade fairs of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were held in Lublin. During the 16th century the noble parliaments (sejm) were held in Lublin several times. On June 26, 1569, one of the most important proclaimed the
Union of Lublin, which united Poland and Lithuania. The
Lithuanian name for the city is Liublinas.
Some of the artists and writers of the 16th century
Polish renaissance lived and worked in Lublin, including
Sebastian Klonowic and
Jan Kochanowski, who died in the city in 1584. In 1578 the
Crown Tribunal, the highest court of the Lesser Poland region, was established in Lublin. Since the second half of the 16th century,
Protestant Reformation movements devolved in Lublin, and a large congregation of
Polish Brethren was present in the city. One of Poland's most important
Jewish communities was also established in Lublin around this time.
Jews established a widely respected yeshiva,
Jewish hospital, synagogue, cemetery, and education center (kahal) and built the Grodzka
Gate (known as the Jewish Gate) in the historic district. Jews were a vital part of the city's life until they were destroyed in the
Nazi Holocaust. Between 1580 and 1764 the
Jewish Council of
Four Lands Arba Aracot (
Sejm of four countries) was held in Lublin in which approximately seventy delegates from local kahals met to discuss taxation and other issues important to Jewish communities. Students came to Lublin from all over
Europe to study at the yeshiva there.
The yeshiva became a centre of learning of both Talmud and Kabbalah, leading the city to be called "the Jewish
Oxford"; in 1567, the rosh yeshiva (headmaster) received the title of rector from the king along with rights and privileges equal to those of the heads of
Polish universities. In the
17th century, the town declined due to a Russo-Ukrainian invasion in 1655 and a
Swedish invasion during the
Northern Wars. After the third of the
Partitions of Poland in 1795 Lublin was located in the
Austrian empire, then since 1809 in the
Duchy of Warsaw, and then since 1815 in the
Congress Poland under
Russian rule.
At the beginning of the
19th century new squares, streets, and public buildings were built. In 1877 a railway connection to Warsaw and
Kovel and
Lublin Station were constructed, spurring industrial development.
- published: 17 Aug 2013
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