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Lancut
Łańcut is a town in the Podkarpacie voivodship, situated 17 km east of Rzeszów on the E40 and the Kraków-Przemyśl rail line.
Worth seeing:
- The palace complex, former residence of the Lubomirski and Potocki families, is a castle built during the years 1629-1641, designed by M. Trapoli. It has stuccoed decorations by J. B. Falconi, and the towers’ cupolas were designed by Tylman of Gamenren; there is also an orangerie (1798-1802); the romantic Little Castle (1805); carriage house (with a unique collection of carriages); and a large park (founded in the seventeenth century)
- synagogue
- museum of distilling
- former Dominican monastery complex
- In the area: the unusual village farm in Markowa, the small hunting palace in Julin, and the folk pottery center in Medyń Łańcucka.
History
The origin of the name “Łańcut” is not entirely clear. According to documents from the fourteenth century, was written based on the German name “Landssuth”, which could have been related to settlers from Lower Silesia. The town’s crest shows Archangel Michael with outstretched wings in a long white gown, impaling a black dragon at his feet. The lack of written sources makes it impossible to know more about Łańcut’s earliest history. The town was first mentioned in documents dating back to the fourteenth century. When the Polish king Kazimierz the Great occupied Galician and Vladimiran Rus’, he also initiated the settlement of those areas. It was he who granted the town a charter based on Magdeburg Law. Vatican documents show that there was a Dominican monastery and a school in Łańcut at that time. The first owner of Łańcut was Otton of Pilcza (Pilecki). The descendants of his daughter owned the town until the year 1586, when the last of the line died and the Łańcut estate became the property of Stanisław Stadnicki. He was known as the “Devil of Łańcut” because he maintained a detachment of armed men and made the castle into his personal fortress, using it as a base for his raiding expeditions. For five years, he even waged a war with Ligęza, lord of Rzeszów, over the markets. He eventually joined the Zebrzydowski rebellion, refusing obedience to the king. In the end, he was defeated by Opaliński, the starost of Leżajsk. Ultimately, the descendants of the “Devil of Łańcut” were forced to relinquish their property.
The Castle in Lancut, photo: A.Olej&K. Kobus:
The Lubomirski family bought these holdings, which had a positive effect on the town’s development. Łańcut later became the property of the Potocki family, whose management, along with the development of the railroad, contributed to the town’s growth in the nineteenth century. A distillery was founded there that became famous for its liqueurs, vodkas and colognes, as well as a sugar factory. The last lord of Łańcut left his residence with the arrival of the Soviet army. His property was taken over by the state and divided up.
Jews first arrived in Łańcut in approximately the fourteenth century and quickly became an important part of the town’s life, aided by the favor shown them by the lords of the Łańcut holdings. The original ban on trade (1613) was abolished, and Jews also worked as glaziers and wood-carvers. In the nineteenth century, it was the Chasidim who set the tone of Jewish life in Łańcut; in the interwar period, this would become the Zionist groups. The prospering town became an attractive place for Jews to settle. In 1939, they comprised approximately 40% of Łańcut’s population. There were three Jewish schools there: a Zionist one, a Hebrew one (Tarut) and a conservative school for girls called Beys Yakov. During the Second World War, the German occupying authorities organized a POW camp in Łańcut for Polish soldiers who had been taken prisoner.
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The Jewish population was ordered to leave the town and go to the Soviet zone of occupation. Nevertheless, one thousand Jews still remained in Łańcut, and in January 1942, a ghetto was created. In August 1942 and May 1943, people were sent from there to the camp in Pełkinie, and from there to the death camp in Bełżec.
Traces
Traces of the former Jewish presence remain, such as the synagogue on ul. Sobieskiego. It survived thanks to Alfred Potocki, the owner of the castle, who urged the Germans not to destroy it. Though the Germans had already set it on fire, they then extinguished it.
The bima, photo: A.Olej&K. Kobus:
The first Łańcut synagogue existed as early as the seventeenth century. The one that still stands today was built in the second half of the eighteenth century with the permission of S. Lubomirski. It was reconstructed in the nineteenth century, when a distinctive exterior stairwell was added. The building has a rectangular floor plan, and on its eastern side has a square room of full height with a floor below street level. It has cross and arched vaults. On its western side are a vestibule and a small room known as the “Lublin room”, and on the first floor the women’s gallery, which has a stairwell leading to it from the outside. The synagogue does not stand out particularly from the rest of the town’s buildings – this is because Lubomirski ordered it to be no bigger than the church or town hall, nor taller than the rest of the town’s buildings. The wonderfully furnished interiors are striking, however, and including regency-rococo polychrome stuccoed decorations from the second half of the eighteenth century, and colored wall paintings from the nineteenth century, with numerous inscriptions in the arcades of Bible texts and prayers. The wall paintings and arcades with prayer texts are noteworthy, as are the decorations, which were thoroughly restored during the years 1983-1990. The latter provide a good opportunity to take a closer look at Jewish ornamentation. The main room has a centrally placed bimah, above which are Bible scenes: the temptation of Adam, the sacrifices of Cain and Abel, Noah’s ark and the sacrifice of Abraham. The ceiling of the small copula above the bimah is decorated with a snake swallowing his tail – the symbol of eternity. Atop the aron ha-kodesh on the eastern wall is colorfully painted stucco work in the shape of hands in a gesture of blessing – the symbol of priesthood. The rococo stucco work decorated with the symbols of the zodiac encircle the prayer space, above which are paintings depicting Jewish holidays. Many liturgical objects have survived, which may be viewed inside the synagogue.
Rabbi Horowitz prayed in this synagogue in 1831. He was a famous Lublin tsaddik, known as the “Prophet of Lublin”, who once stopped in Łańcut during a journey from Ropczyce to Lublin. A small prayer room, used also for sessions of the kahal and rabbinical court, was named the Lublin Room in his honor. The great Elimelech of Leżajsk also prayed in this room.
The old Jewish cemetery, founded in the seventeenth century, is on ul.Moniuszki. Heavily damaged during the occupation, it has now been tidied up, though only fragments of the matsevah have survived. Noteworthy is the ohel built in 1978 over the grave of Tsaddik Horowitz. A second ohel stands over the grave of rabbi Szapiro of Łańcut. Mr. and Mrs. Kuźniar are the kirkut’s caretakers.
The new Jewish cemetery at ul.Traugutta, founded in 1880, was completely destroyed during the occupation. It is currently a fenced off area, overgrown with trees. During the occupation, the Germans shot several hundred Jews at this cemetery. They destroyed the matsevah, using them to reinforce the streets. At the edge of the former cemetery is a memorial plaque.
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