Wola (settlement)

Wola in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, (in Latin libera villa, libertas) a name given to agricultural villages, appearing as early as the first half of the thirteenth century and historically constituting a separate category of settlements in Poland, by comparison to others, in terms of the populace used to settle them and the freedoms they were granted.[1][2] These settlers were given plots of land and exemption for a certain number of years (up to 20) from all rents, fees, and taxes, and in most cases separate institutions and charters based on either the Magdeburg law, or its local variants.

The name Wola, usually followed by an adjective, forms part of the names of hundreds of villages in Poland.

The practice of establishing wolas is known as Wolnizna in Polish. Previously was known as lgota or 'ligota", which in Old Polish means "relief", referring to tax reliefs for settlers.[3] Accordingly, quite a few Polish settlements have names Ligota, Ligotka, Lhota, Lgota, etc.