Lubartów

Fountain in the palatial gardens

The history of Lubartów begins on May 29, 1543, when King Sigismund the Old allowed local nobleman Piotr Firlej to found a town called Lewartów (the original name comes from Lewart, the coat of arms of the Firlej family). The town became famous when it belonged to Mikołaj Firlej, the son of Piotr Firlej. In the late 16th century, it was one of centers of Calvinism in Lesser Poland, and Mikołaj Firlej invited here a number of skilled artisans from France, Germany and Holland, as well as cattle breeders. Lewartów frequently changed owners. In the early 18th century it belonged to the Sanguszko family, who rebuilt the palace, built two Baroque churches and tenement houses. Upon request of Paweł Karol Sanguszko, on November 22, 1744, King Augustus III of Poland changed the name of the town to Lubartów (in honor of Lubart - Liubartas, the son of Lithuanian Prince Gediminas; Sanguszko believed that Liubartas was the founder of his family). King Augustus granted a new coat of arms to the town. The 19th century was not lucky for Lubartów, as the town, which from 1815 to 1915 belonged to Russian-controlled Congress Poland, burned several times (1831, 1838, 1846). In 1866 it became the seat of a county, and slowly began modernization. By 1912 it had seven manufacturing enterprises, including mills and a brewery, in 1922, glassworks were opened.

From its foundation until World War II, the town also had a large Jewish community, numbering nearly half of the population in the 1930s. However nearly the entire community was destroyed during the Holocaust. Lubartów was a bilingual town for most of its history, Polish and Yiddish being both widely used. Polish was used among non-Jews as well as for most communication between Jewish and non-Jewish townspeople, while Yiddish was the everyday language of the town's Jewish inhabitants.

Sanguszko Palace in Lubartów, originally designed by Tylman van Gameren

Among most interesting points of interest is the Sanguszko Palace (18th century). The original palace was built in the mid-16th century as a fortified residence by Piotr Firlej II. In 1693 architect Tylman van Gameren created a plan for rebuilding of the palace for Józef Karol Lubomirski, and in 1705, the complex was partially burned during the Great Northern War. The palace was rebuilt from the funds of Paweł Karol Sanguszko, and burned again in 1933. Rebuilt in 1950-1970, it now is home to starosta of Lubartów County. Another interesting object are: Baroque St. Anne Basilica (1733-1738), and the monastery of Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (1737-1741).

• Bolesław Prus
• Jan Kochanowski
• Rafał Patyra

• Lubartów Ghetto
• Sanguszko family
• Coat of arms of Lewart
• Lewart Lubartów - football club
• Wieprz

• Lubartów portal
• images
• images
• Lubartów, Poland at JewishGen