{{Short description|Town in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Leżajsk | official_name = Free Royal City of Leżajsk | image_skyline = Ratusz - Lezajsk.jpg | imagesize = 285px | image_caption = Town Hall and market square | image_shield = POL Leżajsk COA.svg | pushpin_map = Poland | pushpin_label_position = bottom | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{POL}} | subdivision_type1 = [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeship]] | subdivision_name1 = [[File:POL województwo podkarpackie flag.svg|22px]] [[Subcarpathian Voivodeship|Subcarpathian]] | subdivision_type2 = [[Powiat|County]] | subdivision_name2 = [[File:POL powiat leżajski flag.svg|22px]] [[Leżajsk County|Leżajsk]] | subdivision_type3 = [[Gmina]] | subdivision_name3 = Leżajsk <small>(urban gmina)</small> | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Krzysztof Trębacz | area_total_km2 = 20.29 | population_as_of = June 2017 | population_total = 13871<ref>[http://lezajsk.um.bipgmina.pl/ BIP Leżajska]</ref> | population_density_km2 = auto | timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]] | utc_offset = +1 | timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] | utc_offset_DST = +2 | coordinates = {{coord|50|16|N|22|26|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}} | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 37–300 | blank_name = [[Vehicle registration plates of Poland|Car plates]] | blank_info = RLE | website = {{URL|http://www.miastolezajsk.pl}} | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 11 | mapframe-wikidata = yes }} '''Leżajsk''' ({{IPA|pl|ˈlɛʐajsk|lang}}; {{langx|yi|ליזשענסק-Lizhensk}}; {{langx|uk|Лежа́йськ|Lezháysʹk}}), officially the '''Free Royal City of Leżajsk''' ({{langx|pl|Wolne Królewskie Miasto Leżajsk}}), is a town in southeastern [[Poland]]{{TERYT}} with 13,871 inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GUS |title=Population |url=https://stat.gov.pl:443/en/topics/population/population/ |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=stat.gov.pl |language=en}}</ref> Since 1999, it has been situated in the [[Subcarpathian Voivodeship]] and is the capital of [[Leżajsk County]].
Leżajsk is famed for its [[Bernardine Monastery Complex, Leżajsk|Bernadine basilica and monastery]], built by the architect Antonio Pellacini. The basilica contains a highly regarded [[pipe organ]] from the second half of the 17th century and organ recitals take place there. It stands as one of Poland's official national [[List of Historical Monuments (Poland)|Historic Monuments]] (''[[Pomnik historii]]''), as designated April 20, 2005, and tracked by the [[Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa|National Heritage Board of Poland]]. Leżajsk is also home of the [[Lezajsk (beer)|Leżajsk brewery]]. The town is crossed by a forest creek ''‘Jagoda’''.
==History== [[File:Lezajskbazylika1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bernardine Monastery Complex, Leżajsk|Baroque Basilica of St. Mary and Bernardine Monastery]]]] Leżajsk is an old [[royal city in Poland|Polish royal town]]. The development of Leżajsk was slow, due to numerous and devastating [[Tatars|Tatar]] and [[Wallachia]]n raids, which took place in 1498, 1500, 1509, 1519 and 1524. Following these raids, Polish kings granted several [[Privilege (law)|privileges]] to the looted town, and finally, on September 23, 1524 in [[Lviv|Lwów]], King [[Sigismund I the Old]] decided to move Leżajsk to a new location, which was easier to defend. The town was moved some 5 kilometers south-west, and its new name was ''Leżajsk Zygmuntowski''. The old location is since known as the village [[Stare Miasto, Podkarpackie Voivodeship|Stare Miasto]] ("Old Town"). During the reign of [[Sigismund II Augustus]], Leżajsk prospered due to protection of its [[starosta]] (local governor), [[Krzysztof Szydłowiecki]] ([[Odrowaz coat of arms]]), who was [[Chancellor (Poland)|Crown Chancellor]]. In 1608, Bernadine monks from nearby [[Przeworsk]] were brought to Lezajsk by Bishop of [[Przemyśl]], and two years later, the first brick church was built. In 1624 Lezajsk was looted and burned by [[Crimean Tatars]] and the subsequent [[Deluge (history)|Swedish invasion of Poland]] (1655–1660) brought more destruction.
In the mid-18th century, 57% of the town's population was [[Roman Catholic]] (Polish), 26% was Jewish, and 17% was [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Greek Catholic]] ([[Ruthenians|Ruthenian]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Motylewicz |first1=Jerzy |editor1-last=Hann |editor1-first=Christopher |editor2-last=Magocsi |editor2-first=Paul Robert |title=Galicia A Multicultured Land |date=2005 |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |isbn=9780802037817 |page=37 |chapter=Ethnic Communities in the Towns of the Polish-Ukrainian Borderland in the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Centuries}}</ref>
Following the [[First Partition of Poland]] (1772), Leżajsk was annexed by the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Empire]], and remained in Austrian [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia]] until November 1918. In 1809, the town was captured by the [[Duchy of Warsaw]], but soon afterwards, it was retaken by the Austrians. In 1896–1900, a rail line connecting Lezajsk with Przeworsk and [[Rozwadow]] was completed. The town suffered during [[World War I]], as Austro-Hungarian and Russian armies fought there in 1914 and 1915. Lezajsk was occupied by Russians between November 1914 and May 1915.
In 1918 Poland regained independence and control of the town. In the [[Second Polish Republic]], Leżajsk belonged to Łańcut County of the [[Lwów Voivodeship]]. In July 1929, the town was visited by President [[Ignacy Mościcki]].
During the German [[invasion of Poland]], which started [[World War II]], on September 13, 1939, Leżajsk was captured by the [[Wehrmacht]]. Afterwards, the German ''[[Einsatzgruppen|Einsatzgruppe I]]'' entered the town to commit various [[Nazi crimes against the Polish nation|atrocities against the population]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2009|title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|pages=58–59}}</ref> On November 3, 1939, the German security police carried out mass arrests of local [[Polish people|Poles]] as part of the ''[[Intelligenzaktion]]''.<ref name=mw>Wardzyńska, p. 258</ref> The Poles were then either imprisoned in the local prison or massacred at the local cemetery.<ref name=mw/> Among the massacred Poles were teachers, school principals, priests and military officers.<ref name=mw/> Poles from Leżajsk were also among the victims of the large [[Katyn massacre]], committed by the Russians in April–May 1940.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lezajsk4u.pl/geneza-i-wzniesienie-obelisku/|title=Geneza i wzniesienie obelisku|website=Lezajsk4u.pl|accessdate=2 April 2021|language=pl}}</ref> During the [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|German occupation]], the [[Home Army]] was very active in the area. Since May 1940, underground Polish newspaper ''Odwet'' was distributed in Leżajsk by the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance movement]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gruszczyński|first=Włodzimierz|year=2011|title=Odwet i Jędrusie|language=pl|location=[[Zagnańsk]]|page=21}}</ref> On May 28, 1943, Germans shot 43 residents of the town. Leżajsk was captured by the [[Home Army]] on July 27, 1944.
==Jewish community== The Jewish [[cemetery]] in Leżajsk is a place of [[pilgrimage]] for [[Jew]]s from all over the world, who come to visit the [[tomb]] of [[Elimelech of Lizhensk|Elimelech]], the great 18th century [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] Rebbe.<ref>''{{cite web |url=http://www.kirkuty.xip.pl/ulanow.htm|title=Jewish Cemeteries in Poland|publisher= [[copyright|©]] 2004–2008, translated by Joanna Kołdras, Andrzej Fister-Stoga|access-date=2008-11-01}}''</ref> From the early 1500s until the advent of World War II and the Holocaust, there was a major Jewish presence in Leżajsk. After the [[Expulsion of Jews from Spain|Jewish expulsions]] from Spain in 1492, many Jews ended up in Leżajsk. According to the census of 1764, the community numbered 909 people,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Lezajsk|title=YIVO {{!}} Leżajsk|website=www.yivoencyclopedia.org|language=en|access-date=2017-03-22}}</ref> and by the turn of the 20th century, there were 1,700 Jews in the community. Between the two world wars, 4,500 Jews were living in Lezajsk.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2020-09-18/ty-article/.premium/150-jewish-tombstones-taken-by-nazis-in-polish-town-to-be-restored/0000017f-dbd1-df62-a9ff-dfd748e10000 150 Jewish tombstones taken by Nazis in Polish town to be restored], [[Haaretz]]</ref>
When Nazi Germany invaded Leżajsk in September 1939, almost all Jews in the town were brought to the Soviet-Occupied zone, where they were later massacred by the [[Einsatzgruppen]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Maurycy Horn, Żydzi na Rusi Czerwonej w XVI i pierwszej połowie XVII w. (Warsaw, 1975);}}</ref>
==Mayors and heads of the city after World War II== * Leopold Zawilski * Felix Mallard * Aleksander Schmidt * Franciszek Urbański * Kazimierz Gdula * Jan Płaza * Eugeniusz Mendyk * Kazimierz Kuźniar * Roman Baj * Józef Samojezdny * Zbigniew Ząbczyk * Andrzej Janas * Tadeusz Trębacz * Janusz Wylaź * Tadeusz Trębacz * Piotr Urban * Ireneusz Stefański * Krzysztof Trębacz (now)
==Location== According to data from January 1, 2011, the city's area was 20.58 km².
According to data from 2006, Leżajsk has an area of 20.6 km², including:
farmland: 51% Forested area: 23% The city is 3.48% of the county's area
==Landmarks== [[File:Leżajsk organy.jpg|thumb|Famous baroque organs in the [[Bernardine Monastery Complex, Leżajsk|Basilica of St. Mary]]]] [[File:Muzeum Ziemi Leżajskiej 04.09.2010 p.jpg|thumb|Old starost manor, which houses the regional museum]] * [[Bernardine Monastery Complex, Leżajsk|Baroque Bernardine Order Monastery and Church Complex]], with the famous pipe organs by Stanisław Studziński and Jan Głowiński, accomplished in 1693, and the Museum of the Franciscan Friars Province * Old manor of local [[starost]]s, housing the regional museum * Holy Trinity and All Saints' Parish Church * Town Hall at the ''Rynek'' (Market Square) * Mier Palace, 4 Furgalskiego Street * Former Greek Catholic Parish Church under the invocation of Holy Virgin's Rest, currently known as the Succursal Roman Catholic Church * Jewish Cemetery at Górna Street, established in the 18th century. In the cemetery is the tomb of Rabbi [[Elimelech of Lizhensk|Elimelech Weissblum]]. * Arsenal, Furgalskiego Street, the 19th century * Municipal Public Library. The library was erected before 1914 as a social and cultural club of the "Proświta" Ukrainian Association and has functioned as the library since 1956.
==Sports== [[File:Pogoń Leżajsk Municipal Stadium.jpg|thumb|Municipal stadium used by the local football team Pogoń Leżajsk]] The local [[Association football|football]] club is {{ill|Pogoń Leżajsk|pl}}. It competes in the lower leagues.
==Notable residents == * [[Elimelech of Lizhensk|Rabbi Elimelech Weisblum]] (1717–1787), one of the Hasidic movement's founding Rebbes. * Count [[Jan Potocki]] (1761–1815), captain, engineer of the Crown Army, ethnologist, Egyptologist, linguist, and author. * [[Tadeusz Hollender]] (1910–1943), Polish poet, translator, humorist and member of the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II]], murdered by the [[Gestapo]] * [[Boguslaw Szwacz]] (1912–2009), artist and teacher
==Gallery== <gallery widths="160px" heights="160px" perrow="5"> File:Bazylikalezajsk.jpg|The façade of the [[Bernardine Monastery Complex, Leżajsk|Basilica of St. Mary]] File:Lezajsk, bazylika 1.jpg|Entrance to the basilica File:Lezajsk, dawna cerkiew.jpg|Church of the Dormition File:Leżajsk - stacja PKP (1).jpg|Railway station File:Jan Nepomucen2.JPG|Baroque statue of Saint [[John of Nepomuk]] </gallery>
==References== * {{cite web|url= http://www.lezajsk.um.gov.pl/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/19981203130544/http://www.lezajsk.um.gov.pl/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 3, 1998 |title=Leżajsk Official Website |language=pl |publisher=Urząd Miejski w Leżajsku |access-date=2008-10-22}} ;Notes {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
== External links == *[http://www.lizensk.com Rabbi Elimelech of Lezajsk] *[http://www.polska.pl/miasta/lezajsk/index.htm Lezajsk at Polska.pl] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130113112205/http://www.polska.pl/miasta/lezajsk/index.htm |date=2013-01-13 }} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110604040324/http://republika.pl/aord/lezajsk.htm More about Lezajsk] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110110053859/http://www.lezajskinet.net/ Lezajskie Opowiesci – Historical events of the last century] *[http://radoslawsobik.pl/panoramy/lezajsk/index.html Virtual Tour] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430021433/http://radoslawsobik.pl/panoramy/lezajsk/index.html |date=2013-04-30 }} 360 panoramas taken by [http://radoslawsobik.pl Radoslaw Sobik] *[http://podrozniccy.com/en/poland/monastery-basilica-lezajsk View of monastery in Leżajsk from the drone]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} {{Commons}}
{{Leżajsk County}} {{Gmina Leżajsk}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Cities and towns in Podkarpackie Voivodeship]] [[Category:Leżajsk County]] [[Category:Historic Jewish communities in Poland]] [[Category:Jewish pilgrimage sites]] [[Category:Holocaust locations in Poland]] [[Category:Intelligenzaktion massacre locations]] [[Category:Sites of massacres of Poles in World War II]]