à »arnowiec is a village in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina à »arnowiec. Even though the village now belongs to Silesian Voivodeship, it has never been part of Silesia. Until 1975, it was administratively tied with Lesser Poland's cities of Kraków and Kielce.
à »arnowiec lies in northeastern corner of Silesian Voivodeship, on the Pilica River, among the hills of the Kraków-CzÃÂstochowa Upland. The village belongs to Lesser Poland.
The village was first mentioned in the Chronicle of Gallus Anonymus, who wrote that near à »arnowiec, Duke Wà Âadysà Âaw I Herman met with his sons Zbigniew of Poland and Bolesà Âaw III Wrymouth. Most probably this meeting took place in 1098. Originally, à »arnowiec was located in the area of today's village of à Âany Wielkie. Some time between 1326 and 1340, the town was moved 3 kilometers north along the Pilica River, where it has remained. The previous location of à »arnowiec was in 1388 renamed as Old à »arnowiec. In 1388 the name was changed to à Âany, and in 1529 to à Âany Wielkie.
à »arnowiec was granted town rights by King Casimir III the Great some time between the 1320s and 1340s. There are theories that it had been incorporated earlier, in the 1250s, by Duke Bolesà Âaw V the Chaste. The first local church of Saint Wojciech was built here between 999 and 1243. The parish church at à Âany Wielkie now occupies this site. King Casimir III the Great contributed a lot to the development and prosperity of the town. It was due to his initiative that a castle was built here, as well as a church. In 1355âÂÂ56, Casimir III the Great imprisoned his wife Adelaide of Hesse at à »arnowiec Castle. The king frequently visited the town.
In the 14th century à »arnowiec emerged as a center of local administration. King Wà Âadysà Âaw Jagieà Âà Âo also visited the town, confirming its privileges in 1396. At that time à »arnowiec was the seat of a county, located in Lesser Poland's Kraków Voivodeship. In the 16th century à »arnowiec was one of the most important urban centers of Lesser Poland, and the seat of a starosta. In 1570 it had 50 beer producers, and around 200 houses.
But, like most towns of Lesser Poland, à »arnowiec was destroyed by the Swedes in the Deluge (1655 - 1660) related to its invasion of the area. The town population was decimated by the war. The great fire of 1697 destroyed what was left after the wars. In 1756 there were 129 houses at à »arnowiec, of which 78 were empty. In 1775, à »arnowiec castle burned.
In the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, the town was annexed by the Austrian Empire. The population did not start to grow until this period, due mostly to an increase in Jewish settlers from other parts of the empire. They made up more than 50% of town's population by the 1850s. After the Polish victory in the Austro-Polish War of 1809, it became part of the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw.
The American writer and diplomat Joel Barlow died here in 1812. As the United States Minister to France, he had traveled to Vilnius to meet with the French foreign minister, who was there in relation to Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Upon his arrival, Barlow learned that the Grande Armée was already in full retreat from Moscow. On his way back to Paris by way of Vienna, Barlow became ill and died of pneumonia in à »arnowiec.
After 1815, à »arnowiec became part of the Russian-controlled Congress Kingdom. The town burned again in 1816. Twenty years later, the construction of a main road from Kraków to Warsaw bypassed à »arnowiec, which contributed to the town's long-term decline. During the January Uprising, à »arnowiec was one of the centers of rebellion; a battle with the Russians took place here on February 20, 1863. As a punishment, Russian government demoted à »arnowiec to the status of a village (June 1, 1869). Poland eventually regained independence and control of the settlement after World War I in 1918.
In 1925, the Jewish Community, including some residents from small nearby villages, consisted of a total of 1,780 people; some 118 families were chosen to pay the community fees. Other families were exempted because of poverty. Some Jews were emigrating to the United States, joining family who had gone before. About 1930 the Jewish community owned a brick synagogue in Warszawska Street, which had a rabbi's prayer room and women's gallery next to the main hall. What was known as the "old synagogue", made of wood, was also located in Warszawska Street. The mikvah adjacent to the new synagogue was leased. The cemetery was located by the road leading to the village of Chlina.
In 1930, the population of à »arnowiec alone was 2,127 people, including 920 Jews. Some emigrated to other countries or migrated to cities for work. By 1938 the Jewish population had declined to 574. Most of villagers died after the 1939 invasion of Poland by Germany and the subseuent Holocaust, which included persecution, and deportation to concentration and death camps.