Supraśl (; ; ) is a spa town and former episcopal see in Białystok County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Supraśl.

It is situated on the Supraśl River, about northeast of Białystok. Its population is 4,526 (2004).

History

thumb|left|upright|[[Supraśl Orthodox Monastery in the 1930s]]

The settlement was founded in the 16th century. There was a rich library at the monastery, After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, it was annexed by Prussia. Under Prussian rule, the printing house was closed down. Until the mid-19th century, it was the largest center of the textile industry in the region, before it was surpassed by nearby Białystok.

From 1944 to 1998, it was administratively located in the Białystok Voivodeship.

In 2001 Supraśl was recognized as a spa town. thus canonically executed its erection, which was devised by the Prussian kingdom (Fredrick William II) in January 1797 for the parts of the Eparchy of Brėst and Archeparchy of Kiev that became Prussian in the Third partition of Poland. The Pope made it exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province, and installed a cathedral chapter comprising a provost and four canons.

  • It was suppressed on 1809.02.14, without Catholic successor, by imperial edict of the Czar Alexander I of Russia, annexing it to the Eparchy of Brest, after the Convention of Bartenstein (April 1807) and Peace of Tilsit (July 1807) transferred its territory from Prussia to the Russian empire.

It has had only three incumbents :

;Exempt Eparch (Bishops) of Supraśl of the Ruthenians

  • Theodosius Wislocki, Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat (O.S.B.M.) (1797 – death 1801.05.18)
  • Nicholas Duchnowski (1803.05.16 – death 1805.06.25)
  • Bishop-elect Father Leo Jaworowski (1807 – 1809 not possessed lacking confirmation by Rome), next Auxiliary bishop of Eparch Jozafat Bułhak in Brest and titular bishop of Volodymyr.

Supraśl is also a titular bishopric of the Polish Orthodox Church.

Demographics

Culture and heritage

It is the home of the Supraśl Lavra, founded by Aleksander Chodkiewicz, one of six Eastern Orthodox monasteries for men in Poland. The Codex of Supraśl, the oldest Slavic literary work in Poland and one of the oldest of its kind in the world, is named after the Supraśl Lavra. Since September 2007 it has been on UNESCO's Memory of the World list. The Museum of Icons is located in the Chodkiewicz Palace within the monastery complex.

Other historic landmarks include the Buchholtz Palace, which now houses the Art High School, the Catholic churches of Our Lady Queen of Poland and of the Holy Trinity, the town hall, cinema, a 19th-century park and historic wooden architecture.

<gallery widths=140>

File:Pałac Buchholtza w Supraślu.jpg|Buchholtz Palace

File:Suprasl kosciol NMP Krolowej Polski 1.jpg|Our Lady Queen of Poland church

File:Supraśl Dom ludowy 01 Al.JPG|Cinema

File:Supraśl pałac opatów.jpg|Chodkiewicz Palace

File:Pomnik Suprasl park 01.jpg|Monument to the Polish victory in the Polish–Soviet War in 1920 in the municipal park

File:Supraśl Pałac Buchholtza - wozownia 01 Al.JPG|Coach house of the Buchholtz Palace

</gallery>

International relations

thumb|Town hall

thumb|The [[Boletus Mushroom Harvest in Supraśl, the photograph of September 2018]]

Twin towns — Sister cities

Supraśl is twinned with:

  • Zgierz, Poland

Nature

Supraśl is surrounded by the Knyszyn Forest Landscape Park.

Transport

Supraśl is connected to the regional road network, primarily via Voivodeship road 676, which links the town to Białystok. Public transport is primarily provided by bus line 500 (including variant 500A), operated by PKS Nova, offering regular hourly connections to Białystok. Although Supraśl does not have a railway station, the nearest major rail hub is located in Białystok, approximately 16 km to the southwest. The town is also accessible by bicycle routes and is known for its pedestrian-friendly layout.

See also

  • List of Catholic dioceses in Poland

References

  • Official town webpage
  • GCatholic

; Bibliography - ecclesiastical history

  • Augustin Theiner, Die neuesten Zustände der Katholischen Kirche beider Ritus in Polen und Rußland seit Katharina II. bis auf unsere Tage, Augsburg 1841
  • Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, vol. 6, p.&nbsp;389
  • Alfred Ignatowicz, Greckokatolicka diecezja supraska (1796–1807), in "Wiadomości Kościele Archidiecezji w białymstoku" 1976, r. 2, nr 4, pp.&nbsp;105–116.
  • Radosław Dobrowolski, Opat Supraski Biskup Leon Ludwik Jaworowski, Supraśl 2003, p.&nbsp;333.
  • Nikolaj Dalmatov, Supraslskij Blagowescanskij Monastyr, St. Peterburg 1892, p.&nbsp;611.
  • Gaetano Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, vol. 71, Venice 1855, pp.&nbsp;76–78
  • Leonard Drożdżewicz, Overheard in Suprasl Academy, „Znad Wilii”, Viešoji įstaiga „Znad Wilii” kultūros plėtros draugija, ISSN 1392-9712 indeks 327956, nr 1 (81) z 2020 r., pp.&nbsp;91–97, (in Polish)http://www.znadwiliiwilno.lt/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Znad-Wilii-1-81m-1-1.pdf