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37-450: Kańczuga was first mentioned in documents from 1340, when it was part of Red Ruthenia . At that time, the village belonged to the noble Pilecki family. In the second half of the 14th century, Elżbieta Pilecka , the daughter of Kańczuga's founder Otton of Pilcza, married a nobleman from Greater Poland , Wincenty Granowski, and after his death, she married King Wladyslaw Jagiello . In 1440, Kańczuga received town charter. It still remained in

74-798: A Polish chronicle of 1321, Red Ruthenia was the portion of Ruthenia incorporated into Poland by Casimir the Great during the 14th century. The disintegration of Rus', Red Ruthenia was contested by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the Gediminids ), the Kingdom of Poland (the Piasts ), the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia . After the Galicia–Volhynia Wars , for about 400 years most of Red Ruthenia became part of Poland as

111-510: A commonly-known ditty that translates as follows: inherited wooden towns and left them fortified with stone and brick (Kazimierz Wielki zastał Polskę drewnianą, a zostawił murowaną). He organized a meeting of kings in Kraków in 1364 at which he exhibited the wealth of the Polish kingdom. Casimir is the only king in Polish history to both receive and retain the title of "Great", as Bolesław I

148-462: A favourable Hungarian attitude, needed in disputes with the hostile Teutonic Order and the Kingdom of Bohemia . At the time Casimir was 45 years old, and so producing a son did not seem unreasonable. Casimir left no legal son, however, begetting five daughters instead. He tried to adopt his grandson, Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania , in his last will. The child had been born to his eldest daughter, Elisabeth, Duchess of Pomerania , in 1351. This part of

185-602: A land tax paid by the lower social class. On 9 October 1334, Casimir confirmed the privileges granted to Jews in 1264 by Bolesław V the Chaste . Under penalty of death , he prohibited the kidnapping of Jewish children for the purpose of enforced Christian baptism , and he inflicted heavy punishment for the desecration of Jewish cemeteries. While Jews had lived in Poland since before his reign, Casimir allowed them to settle in Poland in great numbers and protected them as people of

222-763: A post office was opened in 1870, the town was in the Przeworsk Bezirkshauptmannschaft . Before the Holocaust the Kańczuga population was 3000 with at least 40% being Jews. On August 8th 1942, the Jews living in the town were murdered by the Nazis and their bodies were dumped in a mass grave. Jewish civilians were first rounded up into the synagogue where they were forced to spend several days without food, water, or bathrooms. They were then taken out of

259-439: A widower for two years. On 29 September 1341, Casimir married his second wife, Adelaide of Hesse . She was a daughter of Henry II, Landgrave of Hesse , and Elizabeth of Meissen. They had no children. Casimir started living separately from Adelaide soon after the marriage. Their loveless marriage lasted until 1356, when he declared himself divorced. After Casimir "divorced" Adelaide he married his mistress Christina Rokiczana ,

296-891: Is a term used since the Middle Ages for the south-western principalities of the Kievan Rus' , namely the Principality of Peremyshl and the Principality of Belz . Nowadays the region comprises parts of western Ukraine and adjoining parts of south-eastern Poland . It has also sometimes included parts of Lesser Poland , Podolia , Right-bank Ukraine and Volhynia . Centred on Przemyśl and Belz , it has included major cities such as: Chełm , Zamość , Rzeszów , Krosno and Sanok (now all in Poland), as well as Lviv and Ternopil (now in Ukraine). First mentioned by that name in

333-818: Is more commonly known as "the Brave". Casimir ensured stability and great prospects for the future of the country. He established the Corona Regni Poloniae – the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, which certified the existence of the Polish lands independently from the monarch. Prior to that, the lands were only the property of the Piast dynasty . At the Sejm in Wiślica , on 11 March 1347, Casimir introduced reforms to

370-672: The First Partition of Poland , remaining part of the empire until 1918. Between World Wars I and II, it belonged to the Second Polish Republic . The region is currently split, with its western portion in southeastern Poland (around Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Zamość and Chełm) and its eastern portion (around Lviv) in western Ukraine . Casimir the Great Casimir III the Great ( Polish : Kazimierz III Wielki ; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as

407-464: The German model (virtually unknown before 1340, when Red Ruthenia was the independent Kingdom of Halych). During the early Middle Ages , the region was part of Kievan Rus' and, from 1199, the independent Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia . It came under Polish control in 1340, when Casimir the Great conquered it. During his reign from 1333 to 1370, Casimir the Great founded several cities, urbanizing

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444-593: The King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars . He was the last Polish king from the Piast dynasty . Casimir inherited a kingdom weakened by war and under his rule it became relatively prosperous and wealthy. He reformed the Polish army and doubled the size of the kingdom. He reformed the judicial system and introduced several undying codified statutes, gaining

481-537: The Ruthenian Voivodeship . A minority of ethnic Poles have lived since the beginning of the second Millennium in northern parts of Red Ruthenia. The exonym " Ruthenians " usually refers to members of the Rusyn and/or Ukrainian ethnicity. The first known inhabitants of northern Red Ruthenia were Lendians and White Croats , while subgroups of Rusyns , such as Boykos and Lemkos , lived in

518-567: The 1340s, the influence of the Rurik dynasty ended; most of the area passed to Casimir the Great, with Kiev and the state of Volhynia falling under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . The Polish region was divided into a number of voivodeships, and an era of German eastward migration and Polish settlement among the Ruthenians began. Armenians and Jews also migrated to the region. A number of castles were built at this time, and

555-689: The 14th century, the Vlachs arrived from the southeastern Carpathians and quickly settled across southern Red Ruthenia. Although during the 15th century the Ruthenians gained a foothold, it was not until the 16th century that the Wallachian population in the Bieszczady Mountains and the Lower Beskids was Ruthenized. From the 14th to the 16th centuries Red Ruthenia underwent rapid urbanization, resulting in over 200 new towns built on

592-535: The 16th and early 17th centuries, the area of Kańczuga was frequently raided by the Crimean Tatars . In a 1624 raid, all local villages were burned, and thousands of residents kidnapped. As a result of the first of Partitions of Poland (Treaty of St-Petersburg dated 5 July 1772), Kańczuga was attributed to the Habsburg Monarchy as part of Austrian Galicia , in which it remained until 1918. When

629-643: The 17th century, most during the 15th and 16th centuries (96 and 153, respectively). Ruthenia was subject to repeated Tatar and Ottoman Empire incursions during the 16th and 17th centuries and was impacted by the Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648–1654), the 1654–1667 Russo-Polish War and Swedish invasions during the Deluge (1655–1660); the Swedes returned during the Great Northern War of

666-472: The Great settled German citizens on the borders of Lesser Poland and Red Ruthenia to join the acquired territory with the rest of his kingdom. In determining the population of late medieval Poland, colonisation and Polish migration to Red Ruthenia, Spiš and Podlachia (whom the Ukrainians called Mazury —poor peasant migrants, chiefly from Mazowsze ) should be considered. During the second half of

703-818: The Polish judicial system and sanctioned civil and criminal codes for Great and Lesser Poland, earning the title "the Polish Justinian". In 1364, having received permission from Pope Urban V, Casimir established the University of Kraków , now the oldest university in Poland. It was regarded as a rare distinction, since it was only the second university founded in Central Europe, after the Charles University in Prague. Casimir demonstrated competence in foreign diplomacy and managed to double

740-447: The article Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria . Red Ruthenia Red Ruthenia , or Red Rus or Red Russia ( Ukrainian : Червона Русь , romanized :  Chervona Rus' ; Polish : Ruś Czerwona ; Latin : Ruthenia Rubra ; Russia Rubra ; Russian : Червoнная Русь , romanized :  Chervonnaya Rus' or Russian : Красная Русь , romanized :  Krasnaya Rus' ; Romanian : Rutenia Roșie ),

777-512: The cities of Stanisławów (Stanyslaviv in Ukrainian , now Ivano-Frankivsk ) and Krystynopol (now Chervonohrad ) were founded. In October 1372, Władysław Opolczyk was deposed as count palatine . Although he retained most of his castles and goods in Hungary, his political influence waned. As compensation, Opolczyk was made governor of Hungarian Galicia. In this new position, he contributed to

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814-532: The early 18th century. Red Ruthenia consisted of three voivodeships: Ruthenia, whose capital was Lviv and provinces were Lviv, Halych, Sanok, Przemyśl and Chełm ; Bełz , separating the provinces of Lviv and Przemyśl from the rest of the Ruthenian voivodeship; and Podolia , with its capital at Kamieniec Podolski . Red Ruthenia (except for Podolia ) was conquered by the Austrian Empire in 1772 during

851-577: The economic development of the territories entrusted to him. Although Opolczyk primarily resided in Lwów , at the end of his rule he spent more time in Halicz. The only serious conflict during his time as governor involved his approach to the Eastern Orthodox Church , which angered the local Catholic boyars . Under Polish rule 325 towns were founded from the 14th century to the second half of

888-579: The economy was ruined. In 1335, in the Treaty of Trentschin , Casimir was forced to relinquish his claims to Silesia "in perpetuity". Casimir began to rebuild the country and strengthen its defenses. During his reign, nearly 30 towns were supplied with fortification walls and some 50 castles were constructed, including castles along the Trail of the Eagle's Nests . These achievements are still celebrated today, in

925-467: The hands of the Pilecki family, but in the subsequent centuries, Kańczuga was property of such families, as Odrowaz, Kostka, Ostrogski , Lubomirski and Sanguszko . The town, with its deep tunnels used as merchant goods storages, prospered until the late 15th century, when its population reached 3000. In 1498, Kańczuga was burned to the ground in a Wallachian raid, which ended the period of prosperity. In

962-465: The king . About 70 percent of the world's European Jews, or Ashkenazi , can trace their ancestry to Poland due to Casimir's reforms. Casimir's legendary Jewish mistress Esterka remains unconfirmed by direct historical evidence. Casimir III was married four times: On 30 April or 16 October 1325, Casimir married Aldona of Lithuania , daughter of Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania and Jewna . They had: Aldona died on 26 May 1339. Casimir remained

999-600: The rural province. The Polish name Ruś Czerwona (translated as "Red Rus") came into use for the territory extending to the Dniester , centring on Przemyśl . Since the reign of Władysław Jagiełło (d. 1434) the Przemyśl Voivodeship was called the Ruthenian Voivodeship ( województwo ruskie ), centring on Lwów . The voivodeship consisted of five regions: Lwów, Sanok , Halicz ( Halych ), Przemyśl , and Chełm . The town of Halych gave its name to Galicia . During

1036-686: The size of his kingdom. He neutralized relations with potential enemies to the west and north, and began to expand his territory eastward. He conquered the Ruthenian kingdom of Halych and Volodymyr (a territory in the modern-day Ukraine ), known in Polish history as Red Ruthenia and Volhynia. By extending the borders far south-east, the Polish kingdom gained access to the lucrative Black Sea trade. In 1355, in Buda , Casimir designated his nephew Louis I of Hungary as his successor should he produce no male heir, just as his father had with Charles I of Hungary to gain help against Bohemia. In exchange Casimir gained

1073-479: The south. Later Walddeutsche ("Forest Germans"), Jews , Armenians and Poles also made up part of the population. According to Marcin Bielski , although Bolesław I Chrobry settled Germans in the region to defend the borders against Hungary and Kievan Rus' the settlers became farmers. Maciej Stryjkowski described German peasants near Rzeszów , Przemyśl , Sanok , and Jarosław as good farmers. Casimir

1110-562: The synagogue where the men were made to dig large holes which were used as their communal graves. After the holes were dug, the men, women, and children were shot, with their bodies being tossed into these mass, communal graves. In April 1945, a pogrom took place in Kánczuga that targeted the few returning Holocaust survivors who gathered for a Passover Seder. During the Seder, 12 were killed by ethnic Polish perpetrators. For more details, see

1147-492: The testament was invalidated by Louis I of Hungary, however, who had traveled to Kraków quickly after Casimir died (in 1370) and bribed the nobles with future privileges. Casimir III also had a son-in-law, Louis VI of Bavaria, Margrave and Prince-elector of Brandenburg , who was considered a possible successor, but he was deemed ineligible as his wife, Casimir's daughter Cunigunde, had died in 1357 without issue. Thus King Louis I of Hungary became successor in Poland. Louis

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1184-770: The title "the Polish Justinian ". Casimir built extensively and founded the Jagiellonian University (back then simply called the University of Krakow), the oldest Polish university and one of the oldest in the world . He also confirmed privileges and protections previously granted to Jews and encouraged them to settle in Poland in great numbers. Casimir left no legitimate sons. When he died in 1370 from an injury received while hunting, his nephew, King Louis I of Hungary , succeeded him as king of Poland in personal union with Hungary . Casimir

1221-845: The widow of Miklusz Rokiczani, a wealthy merchant. Her own origins are unknown. Following the death of her first husband she had entered the court of Bohemia in Prague as a lady-in-waiting . Casimir brought her with him from Prague and convinced the abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Tyniec to marry them. The marriage was held in a secret ceremony but soon became known. Queen Adelaide renounced it as bigamous and returned to Hesse. Casimir continued living with Christine despite complaints by Pope Innocent VI on behalf of Queen Adelaide. This marriage lasted until 1363–64 when Casimir again declared himself divorced. They had no children. In about 1365, Casimir married his fourth wife Hedwig of Żagań . She

1258-404: Was a daughter of Henry V of Iron , Duke of Żagań and Anna of Mazovia. They had three children: As Adelheid was still alive (and possibly Christina as well), the marriage to Hedwig was also considered bigamous. Because of this, the legitimacy of his three young daughters was disputed. Casimir managed to have Anna and Kunigunde legitimated by Pope Urban V on 5 December 1369. Jadwiga the younger

1295-524: Was born on 30 April 1310 in Kowal , Kuyavia , the third son of Ladislaus the Short and Jadwiga of Kalisz . He had two brothers who died in infancy and three sisters: Kunegunda, Elżbieta, and Jadwiga. When Casimir attained the throne in 1333, his position was in danger, as his neighbours did not recognise his title and instead called him "king of Kraków ". The kingdom was depopulated and exhausted by war, and

1332-412: Was known for siding with the weak when the law did not protect them from nobles and clergymen. He reportedly even supported a peasant whose house had been demolished by his own mistress, after she had ordered it to be pulled down because it disturbed her enjoyment of the beautiful landscape. His popularity with the peasants helped to rebuild the country, as part of the reconstruction program was funded by

1369-571: Was proclaimed king upon Casimir's death in 1370, though Casimir's sister Elisabeth (Louis's mother) held much of the real power until her death in 1380. Casimir was facetiously named "the Peasants' King". He introduced the codes of law of Greater and Lesser Poland as an attempt to end the overwhelming superiority of the nobility. During his reign all three major classes — the nobility, priesthood, and bourgeoisie — were more or less counterbalanced, allowing Casimir to strengthen his monarchic position. He

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