Łańcut is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 17,772 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2024. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the capital of Łańcut County.

History

Archeological investigations carried out in the region of Łańcut confirm the existence of human settlements from about 4000 years B.C.

The first owner of the town was , who was given the Łańcut estate by the Polish king, Casimir III the Great, in 1349, as a reward for his service. At the same time, the king also granted Łańcut its city rights according to Magdeburg law.

The castle is situated in the centre of the town and constructed in the style of a grand aristocratic palace-residence. It was last owned until 1944 by the Potocki family, and made infamous in late 16th century during the times of Stanisław Stadnicki, who was known as 'the Devil of Łańcut' (Polish: diabeł łańcucki) for his violent behaviour. After 1775 the palace was owned by Izabella Lubomirska, who extended it and had the interiors remodelled. The palace is currently a museum particularly well known for its large collection of historic carriages. Since 1961, a well-known classical music festival is held there annually. At that time he joined the Polish secret resistance movement, and the Austrian police conducted the first investigation against him. He modernised the management of these properties. The distillery has changed ownership several times and now exists under the name of Polmos Łańcut. It is well known for producing flavoured and sweetened vodkas.

Jews began to settle in Łańcut in the 16th century: the earliest mention of a settler is 1554. The landowner Stanisław Lubomirski employed a Jewish factor for his Łańcut estate in 1629. in 1707 the Council of Four Lands (the Polish Jewish parliament). met in Łańcut. A wooden synagogue burnt down in 1716 and new brick synagogue was commenced in 1726. The project was supported by the Lubomirski family and the synagogue, which still stands, was completed in 1761 (see below). In the mid-18th century, the town's population consisted of 62% Roman Catholics (Poles) and 37% Jews. Local Jewish cemeteries are the resting place of the famous Rabbi Zvi Naftali Horowitz, the Grand Rabbi of Ropczyce and Rabbi Ahron Moshe Leifer, the Grand Rabbi of Żołynia. Every year, followers of the Hasidic Judaism come to pray at their graves.

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Lancut. 1925 (70290155) (cropped).jpg|Łańcus, 1915

Lancut - rynek. 1915 (70290422) (cropped).jpg| Market square, 1915

Lancut - zamek. 1915 (70279830) (cropped).jpg| Castle, 1915

Lancut - ul. 3 go Maja. 1907 (70289816) (cropped).jpg|3-go Maja Street, 1907

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Within interwar Poland, Łańcut was a county seat administratively located in the Lwów Voivodeship. Prior to World War II, Łańcut had a thriving Jewish community constituting about one-third of the city population. In 1939 there were 2,750 Jews in Łańcut. The 10th Mounted Rifle Regiment of the Polish Army was stationed in Łańcut in the interbellum.

During the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II, on September 9, 1939, Łańcut was a place of fierce defense by Poles under the command of Colonel Stanisław Maczek, who would become one of the Polish heroes of World War II. In November 1939, the Germans deceitfully requested the presence of Polish intelligentsia from the town and county at a supposed conference on the county's economic matters, at which they then arrested over 200 people, including local officials, teachers and priests (see Intelligenzaktion). Some of them were imprisoned in Rzeszów along with Poles from other towns of the region.

From 1942 onwards the German occupiers began transportation and murder of the Jewish community; very few of the community survived. The Germans executed several Poles in the town for rescuing Jews, while at least one Polish man managed to escape and survive. There is also a well-known case where a Jewish family from Łańcut was hidden from the Germans by the Polish Ulma family in the nearby village of Markowa. In 1944 the Germans discovered the hideout and murdered the Polish family and two hidden Jewish families, 16 people in total, including children. Shortly before the arrival of the Red Army in 1944, he loaded 11 railway carriages of a specially chartered train to Vienna, with his most valuable possessions (about 700 boxes of movable property) and fled to Liechtenstein. Most of these valuables were gradually sold off to finance a lavish lifestyle. The castle complex is a Historic Monument of Poland.

  • The Łańcut Synagogue, completed in 1761. German invaders in 1939 attempted to burn the synagogue down, but were prevented by Count Alfred Antoni Potocki. Although plain on the exterior, the interior walls and ceiling are decorated with restorations of paintings and stuccowork from the 18th century and polychromies from the 19th – 20th centuries.

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