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Nowy Sacz
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Nowy Sacz [] (known also by other names) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sacz County, but is not included within the powiat.
Nowy Sacz”, Nowym Saczu: “in Nowy Sacz”; adjective forms: nowosadeck-i/a/iego/iej/ie/ich and for the region sadeck-i/a/iego/iej/ie/ich.
Sacz is at the confluence of the Kamienica River into the Dunajec, about 20 km north of the Slovak border, in the Sadecka Valley (Kotlina Sadecka) at an altitude of 381m.
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Encyclopedia
Nowy Sacz [] (known also by other names) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sacz County, but is not included within the powiat.
Names
The town has been known in German as Neu Sandez and in Hungarian as Újszandec. The Rusyn (Galician) name was Novyj Sanc. Its Yiddish names include ???? (Tsanz) and ??-???? (Nay-Sants).
Other Polish noun forms:Nowego Sacza:
“of Nowy Sacz”, Nowym Saczu: “in Nowy Sacz”; adjective forms: nowosadeck-i/a/iego/iej/ie/ich and for the region sadeck-i/a/iego/iej/ie/ich.
Geography
Nowy Sacz is at the confluence of the Kamienica River into the Dunajec, about 20 km north of the Slovak border, in the Sadecka Valley (Kotlina Sadecka) at an altitude of 381m. It is surrounded by ranges of the eastern Outer Western Carpathian Mountains: Beskid Sadecki to the south, Beskid Wyspowy to the west, Beskid Niski to the southeast, and the foothills of Pogórze Roznowskie to the north. The geological basis is Carpathian flysh – an undifferentiated grey-banded sandstone – with alluvial sediment from the Dunajec, Poprad, and Kamienica rivers in the valley basin. The climate is temperate, with an average annual rainfall of about 700 millimetres.
Nowy Sacz is the governmental seat of powiat nowosadecki (county or governmental district) part of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, since 1999. Between 1975 and 1998 it was the provincial seat of Nowy Sacz Voivodeship. Before that and during the Second Polish Republic Nowy Sacz was a county seat in the Kraków Voivodeship. In 1951 it became a town with the rights of a county. It is the historic and tourist center of Sadecczyzna, the Sadecki district.
History
Nowy Sacz was founded on November 8, 1292 by the Bohemian king Wenceslaus II, on the site of a village named Kamienica. An ancient trade route called the Amber Road passed through the town, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Baltic. The town benefited during that time from its proximity on the trade route to Hungary due to privileges granted by King Wladyslaw I the Elbow-high, and later his son, Kazimierz the Great, for supporting him during a rebellion in 1311. In the 15th century it produced steel and woolen products, and nearly rivaled Kraków in visual arts. In 1611 a great fire destroyed much of the town, and the 17th century the town declined in importance after the "The Deluge".
Nowy Sacz was in the central part of West Galicia from the First Partition of Poland, 1772, to Polish independence,1918. Nowy Sacz rose to a new prominence in the 19th century when the Austrian authorities built a railway connecting it with Vienna, the capital. The town is important in Hasidic Jewish history for the founding of the Sanz Hasidic dynasty during the 19th century, the precursor to the Bobov dynasty founded in nearby Bobowa (with a synagogue with occasional services by Kraków congregation) and the Klausenberg dynasty.
During World War I Nowy Sacz was occupied by the Russian Empire. Briefly after the end of the war, it was associated with the independence movement of the Lemko (a Ukrainian related group, native to the Beskid Niski), the Lemko-Rusyn Republic. The inter-war Poland saw industrial expansion and the railroad factory expanded.
During the invasion of Poland starting World War II, Nowy Sacz was occupied by Nazi Germany on September 6, 1939. Because of its proximity to Slovakia, it lay on a major route for resistance fighters of the Polish Home Army. The Gestapo was active in capturing those trying to cross the border, including the murder of several Polish pilots. In June 1940, the resistance rescued Jan Karski from a hospital there, and a year later 32 people were shot in reprisal for the escape; several others were sent to concentration camps.
The regional Jewish community numbered about 25,000 before the World War II, and nearly a third of the town's population had been Jewish; ninety percent of them died or did not return. A ghetto of around 20,000 people was established near the castle, and was liquidated to Belzec extermination camp on three days in August 1942. Across the river in the Jewish Cemetery, 300-500 people were executed for their part in sheltering Jews. The Red Army fought its way into the city on January 20, 1945, and at war’s end, about 60% of the city had been destroyed. Nowy Sacz was honored for its heroism with the Cross of Grunwald, third class in 1946. In 1947 much of the Lemko population, living in villages southeast of the town, was deported in Action Vistula (mostly to land recently annexed from Germany) in reaction to the anti-communist activity in the region.
Economy
During the Polish communist regime, Nowy Sacz was the capital of Nowy Sacz Voivodeship (1975–98). In the 1950s the Polish authorities applied a special economic programme for the town, called the Nowy Sacz Experiment. The plan was to provide improvement and acceleration of the region's economic development, but it was only partially completed. The town was an important centre of the railway industry, and now contains one of the biggest railway engineering works in Poland. Since the social and political changes in Poland that started in 1989, the industry has faced economic problems.
Nowy Sacz is also important in the food industry, specializing in processing fruits, especially apples. Most of the factories were in the Biegonice district. Now the local government is trying change the structure of the industry, restructuring old factories and encouraging new companies to start up. This initiative also includes a move to hi-tech industry. Nowy Sacz had one of the first computer companies in Poland, with the largest assembly plant in Europe, but this has closed due to ownership friction with the government. The building trade is also represented in the town, which has a major European window-manufacturer. Like all the bigger towns in Lesser Poland, it has seen a significant influx of the largest European grocery chains.
A main economic problem now is the high level of unemployment which, officially about 20%, is one of the highest in the European Union. Recently the local government has tried to address the persistent economic and social problems of the local Roma community, including access to utilities and education.
Tourism
  
- One of the largest marketplaces in Europe, after Kraków, the largest rynek in Poland. The late 19th century Ratusz (city hall) is centered in the square.
- Saint Margaret's basilica, Bazylika kolegiacka Sw. Malgorzaty (15th century). The coat of arms shows St. Margaret and a dragon; her name day is July 20
- A 15th-century house Dom Gotycki containing a regional museum
- A gothic Franciscan church.
- The Great Synagogue, dating from 1746, now the Galeria Dawna Synagoga, a gallery with some historical displays. There is a memorial tablet on the front in Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish. Across the Kamienica River is the Jewish cemetery.
- , a church of wooden construction from the 15th century, in the Dabrówka district. The old cemetery chapel is another example.
- The partially restored ruins of a medićval Royal Castle from the 14th century during the reign of Kazimierz the Great. It was destroyed in 1945 at the end of World War II when it was used as a German ammunition store and was the site of mass executions. There are also the remains of the city walls nearby.
- The fine Skansen Museum (Sadecki Park Etnograficzny), containing a village of relocated authentic structures recreating indigenous architecture, customs, and folk culture from the region. Of particular note are the wooden churches, including an Orthodox church and the Roma (Gypsy) village.
- Stary Sacz (Old Sacz) 10 km to the south, founded in 1163 but smaller than Nowy (New) Sacz, has a charming cobbled , with a convent of Poor Clares to the east.
- There are also several routes emphasizing in the region of note.
The mountainous country around Nowy Sacz is also popular with tourists, hikers and skiers, especially the Beskid Sadecki mountains (part of the Carpathians), of which the highest peak is Radziejowa (1,262 m above sea level). Nearby popular mountain resorts include Krynica-Zdrój and Piwniczna-Zdrój ("Zdrój" means "health spa").
15 km north of Nowy Sacz is Jezioro Roznowskie, a reservoir (22 km long, covering an area of 16 km˛, and a capacity of 193,000,000 mł), with many dachas and camping sites. Also to the north is Ciezkowicko-Roznowski National Park.
An annual festival of dance featuring children from highland regions from around the world in July .
Sports
- Sandecja Nowy Sacz - a football team, currently in the Polish Second Division, group East,
- Dunajec Nowy Sacz - a football team, playing in local league.
Education
- — a business college with a strong emphasis on English. It has American accreditation.
- in Polish
-
People
See also
- Galicia
- John Paul II Monument
- From pl.wikipedia.org in Polish but untranslated
- Herb Nowego Sacza
- Zamek Królewski w Nowym Saczu
- Bazylika kolegiacka sw. Malgorzaty w Nowym Saczu
- Sadecki Park Etnograficzny
- Jezioro Roznowskie
- Ciezkowicko-Roznowski Park Krajobrazowy
- Beskidy Zachodnie
- Kamienica Nawojowska
Twin Towns - Sister Cities
Nowy Sacz is twinned with:
External links
- and Sadecki district, with emphasis on Lemko culture and history.
- with references to Nowy Sacz
- , with emphasis on Jewish history
- century with a section on Jewish history
- (Gypsy or Cyganski) in Nowy Sacz.
- - New photos of Nowy Sacz every day.
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