Międzyrzec Podlaski (; ) is a town in Biała County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 17,102 inhabitants . The total area of the town is . Międzyrzec is located in the historic region of Podlachia, near the Krzna river, At that time, the newly established town was located along a busy merchant route from Łuków to Brześć. Międzyrzec quickly developed: in 1486, a Roman Catholic church was built here, and town's owner, Jan Nassutowicz, received permission for fairs. In 1598, a salt warehouse was opened, the town also was center of beer industry. Międzyrzec was a private town of the Nassutowicz, Wyszyński, Zabrzeziński, Zbaraski and Czartoryski noble families.

thumb|left|Old coaching inn, now a post office

In 1795, following the Third Partition of Poland, the town was annexed by the Habsburg Empire. In 1800, educator Grzegorz Piramowicz became the parish priest in Międzyrzec. Międzyrzec developed rapidly as a major trade hub in Podlachia, especially between 1830 and 1863.

World War II

thumb|left|Mass grave of [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish partisans murdered by the German occupiers in 1943]]

In 1939, during the Nazi–Soviet Invasion of Poland, the town was overrun by Wehrmacht on 13 September 1939, and ceded to the Russians on 25 September, in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Two weeks later, it was transferred back to Germany after the new Boundary Treaty. In 1940 six separate slave labor camps were set up by the Nazis for some 2,000 local Jews; along with Judenrat, and the Jewish police. On 23 July 1944, 60 remaining Italians from the subcamp were massacred by the Germans before their withdrawal from the town.

Economy

Of the approximately 4,900 employed citizens of the town, ca. 36% work in industrial fields, 19% in trade markets, and 11% in education. The unemployment rate in the town was 22% in October 2005.

The town lies at the intersection of two important national roads: DK2 (Poland's main east–west connector) and DK19. In the future Expressway S19 will run just west of the town. A section of it already constructed as the town's bypass road and opened in 2008 allows north–south traffic on DK19 road to avoid the town centre.

International relations

Międzyrzec Podlaski is referred to by various names in different languages including Mezri'tsh, , , , , , and .

Twin towns and Sister cities

Międzyrzec Podlaski is twinned with:

  • Thouars, France
  • Kobryn, Belarus
  • Malaryta, Belarus
  • Pagiriai, Lithuania
  • Ludza, Latvia
  • Kamin-Kashyrskyi, Ukraine
  • Petah Tikva, Israel

Notable people

thumb|Monument to victims of 1918 German massacre in Międzyrzec during liberation of Poland in World War I

  • Jan Brożek
  • Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski
  • August Aleksander Czartoryski
  • Konstanty Adam Czartoryski
  • Yehoshua Leib Diskin
  • Morris Michael Edelstein
  • Judah David Eisenstein
  • Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski
  • Jacob ben Wolf Kranz
  • Kazimierz Kierzkowski
  • Ryszard Kornacki
  • Dominik Marczuk
  • Sława Przybylska
  • Moshe Rynecki
  • Franciszek Stefaniuk
  • Stanisław Żmijan
  • Yitzhak Yaakov Wachtfogel (in Hebrew)
  • Samson Zelig Rubinstein (Holocaust survivor buried in Wilmington, North Carolina)
  • Rabbi Ephraim Eliezer Zvi Hersh Charlap (in Hebrew)

References

  • Międzyrzec Podlaski Home Page (in Polish)
  • Portal of young people of Międzyrzec Podlaski
  • Międzyrzec Podlaski Amateur Photography Board (in Polish)
  • Jewish Encyclopedia article (1906) (in English)
  • Jewish Virtual Library article (in English)