WÃÂ chock is a town in Starachowice County, Ã ÂwiÃÂtokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland, near Starachowice, within the historical region of Lesser Poland. In 2006, it had 2,777 inhabitants.
Wachock received its town charter in 1454, lost it in 1869, and regained in 1994.
Wàchock is first mentioned in historical records from 1179. In the 13th century, a Cistercian abbey was founded here, and today its buildings form the most notable sight in the town. The abbey emerged as one of the richest institutions of this kind. Monks from Wàchock contributed to the development of early industry along the Kamienna river, opening metal plants in several locations. In 1454, Wàchock received its Magdeburg rights from King Casimir IV Jagiellon, and the town, together with the abbey, was frequently raided and destroyed - by the Mongols in 1259âÂÂ1260 (see Mongol invasion of Poland), the Swedes in 1655, and the Transilvanians in 1657 (see The Deluge). In 1819, the abbey was taken over by the government of Russian-controlled Congress Poland, and the monks did not return there until 1951.
Despite the existence of a rich and powerful monastery, Wàchock itself never became an important center of the Sandomierz Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province. This was because both Bishops of Kraków (who owned nearby town of Bodzentyn), and Benedictine monks from the à Âysa Góra monastery blocked any attempts at Wàchock's development. In 1624, Benedictines from à ÂwiÃÂty Krzyà ¼ founded the town of Wierzbnik (later: Starachowice), which emerged as a competition to Wàchock. Nevertheless, Wàchock was one of early centers of Polish industry - in 1500, out of 289 forges in the Kingdom of Poland, as many as 22 operated here.
In 1795, following the Third Partition of Poland, the town was annexed by Austria. After the Polish victory in the Austro-Polish War of 1809, it became part of the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw, and after the duchy's dissolution in 1815, the town became part of Russian-controlled Congress Poland. In January 1863, soon after the January Uprising broke out, General Marian Langiewicz assembled a group of 1,400 Polish rebels, whose purpose was to attack Russian-held Warsaw. A battle with the Russians took place here on February 3, 1863. In 1869, Russian authorities, in revenge of the town's aid to the insurgents, deprived Wàchock of its city rights. The village was flooded by the Kamienna river in 1903, and in 1918, it became part of Second Polish RepublicâÂÂs Kielce Voivodeship. Following World War I, in 1918, Poland regained independence and control of Maà Âogoszcz. According to the 1921 census, Maà Âogoszcz with the adjacent railway settlement had a population of 2,389, of which 88.6% declared Polish nationality and 11.4% declared Jewish nationality.
During World War II, Home Army units under Jan Piwnik were particularly active in the area of WÃÂ chock. There now is a monument of Jan Piwnik in the town.
The town lies on National Road Nr. 42, and has a rail station on a route from Skarà ¼ysko-Kamienna to Sandomierz.
Among major points of interest are:
Wàchock is famous across Poland for jokes about its inhabitants, and especially their soà Âtys (referring to the times when Wàchock was a village). For example, the cat of the soà Âtys was so smart that when given some coffee with milk, he drank all the milk while leaving all the coffee. It is unclear when and why Wàchock had become a butt of the jokes, although there are several theories.
Typically, the Wàchock jokes are the question-answer ones: "Why nobody in Wàchock watches TV now? - Because soà Âtys put blinds on his windows."
The town organizes the annual meeting of soà Âtyses.
In 1988 there was a documentary by , with a grain of humour, about the elections of the soà Âtys of Wàchock, "Soà Âtys Wàchocka, czyli jak ponownie wygraàwybory" ["Soà Âtys of Wàchock, or How to Win the Elections Again"] .