Ropczyce

Ropczyce
Market Town
Ropczyce Town Centre
Coat of arms
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Subcarpathian
County	Ropczyce-Sędziszów
Gmina	Ropczyce
Government
• Mayor	Bolesław Bujak
Area
• Total	47.03 km2 (18.16 sq mi)
Population  (2007)
• Total	26,059
• Density	550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	39-100
Car plates	RRS
Website	http://www.ropczyce.umig.gov.pl

Ropczyce [Polish pronunciation: [r] ] (Yiddish: ראָפּשיץ) is a town in Subcarpathian Voivodeship in south-eastern Poland, on the Wielopolka River (a tributary of the Wisłoka River) and is inhabited by 26,059 people. It is the [[county seat|seat] of Ropczyce-Sędziszów County.

Geography

Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999). It is the capital of Ropczyce-Sędziszów County.

Ropczyce is located east of Kraków and west of Rzeszów. The coordinates for Ropczyce: Latitude 50°0500' and Longitude 21°6167. In DMS or Degree, Minutes, & Seconds; Latitude 50°2'60N and Longitude is 21°37'0E. Elevation is 790 feet or 240 meters above sea level. The time zone for Poland is UTC+1.

Population

It has a population of 26,059 according to the Polish Official Census 2007 of which 15,109 live in Ropczyce urban area and 10,950 live in the surrounding rural areas (7km radius). It is the [[county seat|seat] of Ropczyce-Sędziszów County, which has a total population of 71,303 people (2007).

History

The first reference to Ropczyce comes from a document of 1252, which confirmed the donation of the land by brothers Klemens and Marek Gryf to a Cistercian Abbey in Szczyrzyc near Limanowa. In 1266 the settlement was destroyed by the Lithuanian and Russian armies. Ropczyce became a town on the 3rd March 1362, when the Polish king, Casimir III the Great, gave it city rights (Magdeburg rights). At the same time, he made two brothers, Jan and Mikolaj Gielnic the first ‘wójts’ or advocates of the new town. He also made Ropczyce a parish, seperate from the parish of Sędziszow. Within six years a parish church was built in the new ‘royal’ town of Ropczyce. As Ropczyce was situated close to the Sandomierz Wilderness (Polish: Puszcza Sandomierska), one of the biggest forests in southern Poland, which covers large parts of the Sandomierz Basin, it became a popular place for the Polish Kings to stay when they went hunting and fishing. King Casimir III the Great, king Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk and king Władysław II Jagiełło were regular visitors to Ropczyce. Under the patronage of the Polish Royals and subsequent trade agreements with Ruthenia, the town's future started to look very good. It could then grow and develop, also due to its favourable location on an important trade route from Silesia and Lesser Poland (Małopolska) to Ruthenia. Ropczyce was severely damaged during a Tatar raid in 1504. To help the town and citizens recover from this tragedy, king Aleksander Jagiellończyk gave all the citizens a 10 year tax exemption from 1504-1514.

Since it's formation Ropczyce has been known by several different names, although these appear to be phonetic variations of the same name. By the middle of the 16^th century, it was first recorded as 'Ropczyce' replacing the previous variation of 'Robczyce' - this name is thought to have originated from the family name of ‘Robek’ (from the polish verb, ‘robić’ - ‘to work’) who are thought to have established the original settlement.

In the 16^th century Ropczyce's churches were influenced by The Reformation, with the Parish Church going over to Protestantism several times. Around the 1550's the Parish Church was under the control of the Polish Brethren (Bracia Polscy also called Arians or Socinians) for over a decade.

Jewish History

“The earliest information about Jews settling in Ropczyce dates back to 1564. It was noted then that four Jewish families, i.e. about 30 people, lived on the farm of the Gryf family. In 1604, King Sigismund III Vasa granted Ropczyce with a law, following which only two Jewish families (of a district’s leaseholder and of a tax collector) were allowed to live in the town, however, they were strictly forbidden to do businesses and produce alcohol.”

“The 17^th century was the time of the town’s stagnation and downfall. Ropczyce was plundered by Swedish troops in 1655 and conclusively devastated in 1657 by the army of George II Rákóczi, the Prince of Transylvania. Many houses in the town were deserted and ruined after the wars. As nobody paid for them, the local authorities tried to occupy the houses with new inhabitants. However, Polish townsmen were not interested in it, and so Jews were the buyers, despite the fact that the ban on their settling in the town was still in effect. The law was broken for the first time in 1675, when the Town Council allowed Józef Szmul, a Jew, to acquire a house at the Market Square under condition of renovating the building. In exchange for that, he was exempted from paying taxes for two years.”

“At the end of the 18^th century, Ropczyce became a significant center of Chassidism after the famous Zvi Naftali Horowitz (1760-1827) settled in the town. He was the son of Menachem Mendel, the rabbi of Lesko and a follower of two great tzadikkim: Elimelech of Leżajsk (Lizhensk) and Menachem Mendel of Rymanów. Tzadik Zvi Naftali Horowitz was the author of, among others,‘Zera Kodesh′ (a collection of comments to the Torah, published in 1868), and ‘Ohel Naftali′ (a collection of sayings, published in 1911). At the end of his life, he left Ropczyce and settled in Łańcut where he died and where he was buried. Asher of Ropczyce was the next tzadik of the town. The sons of Zvi Naftali Horowitz also became tzadikkim: Eliezer Horowitz – in Dzików near Tarnobrzeg, and Jakub Horowitz (named The Small ‘Baal Shem Tov’, usually translated into English as "Master of the Good Name", due to numerous miracles that he performed) – in Kolbuszowa and later in Mielec.”

        Up until World War II Ropczyce was a ‘shtetl’ (Yiddish: ראָפּשיץ , Ropshits, Ropshitz, Ropschitz) with a significant Jewish population. There is a Ropshitz Hasidic dynasty.

The Church of the Transfiguration

Ropczyce's ‘Golden Age’ was but a distant memory in the 17^th and 18^th centuries – these were times of wars and invasions. The town went into decline and life got a lot harder for the townspeople. In 1605 over half the town was destroyed in a great fire. Fifty years later, Ropczyce was hit by The Plague. Ropczyce was plundered by Swedish troops in 1655 and conclusively devastated in 1657 by the army of George II Rákóczi, the Prince of Transylvania. In 1169 the Parish Church was destroyed by fire.

On 14^th July 1772, following the First Partition of Poland, Ropczyce found itself in the Austrian province of Galicia, part of the Habsburg Monarchy in the Austro-Hungarian Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. Ropczyce was first located in the administrative area (or cyrkuł) of Pilznen and in the Sandomierski district. In 1775 the administrative areas in Galicia were reorganised and Ropczyce was reallocated to the Tarnów cyrkuł. In the beginning of the 19^th century, the population grew to over 1,000. At this time there was a small Austrian garrison stationed in the town. In 1806 there was a Cholera outbreak in which 133 people from Ropczyce died.

In the following administrative changes in the region of Galicia in 1885, 178 counties (powiats) were created in the existing 19 administative areas (cyrkułs) and Ropczyce was made the administrative centre of its own county. The last reorganization occurred in 1867 saw the reduction of administative areas and the number of counties set to 74. Ropczyce remained as the seat of it's county. Ropczyce remained part of Galicia until 1918, when it became part of independent Poland (Second Polish Republic).

House of Culture in Ropczyce

Mayor's Office in Ropczyce

600 years Anniversary Monument in Ropczyce

Transport

Ropczyce is located on the main West-East European E40 Highway, which goes from Calais in France via Belgium, across Germany, Poland, Ukraine and onto Russia and Kazakhstan. (Within Poland the E40 follows the A4 Highway and the DK 4 National Road). However, the is not regarded as a ‘highway’ in the Ropczyce area — it is by Western standards, just a regular, one-lane main road. (Although, it is currently being upgraded). Other Polish cities located by the E40 highway are Wrocław, Opole, Katowice, Kraków, Tarnów, Rzeszów and Przemyśl.

The nearest airport is Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport (Port Lotniczy Rzeszów-Jasionka) located in the village of Jasionka, north of Rzeszów. It is about 35km east of Ropczyce on the E40 and takes about 40 minutes by car. Scheduled passenger services include flights to: Warsaw (WAW), Dublin, London (Stansted), Bristol, UK, Birmingham, UK, New York (JFK Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport).

Ropczyce has a railway station which is on Line 91: Kraków Main station (Kraków Główny) — Medyka. The line then continues on to Ukraine

Twin Towns

Ropczyce is twinned with

Stropkov in Slovakia Ochsenfurt in Germany

Busk in Ukraine Lokeren in Belgium

Notable People

• Stanisław "Rewera" Potocki (1579–1667)
• Feliks Kazimierz Potocki (1630–1702)
• Franciszek Salezy Potocki (1700–1772)
• Rabbi Naftali fun Ropszyc (1760-1827)
• Karol Olszewski (1846-1915)
• Józef Mehoffer (1869-1946)
• Józef Rojek (1950-current)

Education

• Wyższa Szkoła Inżynieryjno-Ekonomiczna
• Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Tadeusza Kościuszki
• Zespół Szkół im. ks. dr Jana Zwierza
• Zespół Szkół Agrotechnicznych im. Wincentego Witosa
• Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języków Obcych
• Centrum Kształcenia Praktycznego
• Bibioteka Powiatowa oraz 2 filie miejskie

Nearby municipalities

• Dębica
• Sędziszów Małopolski

Recreational Walking Trails

Two tourist trails: Green and Yellow run through the most interesting parts of the terrain.

• Green Walk: Przełęcz Bardo - Brzeziny - Ropczyce
• Yellow Walk: Ropczyce - Ocieka - Niwiska

External links

• "The Parish of Ropczyce".
• Ropczyce.net Photos from Ropczyce
• Ropczyce24.pl regional web portal, source of informations about Ropczyce
• Center Culture of Ropczyce
• Centrum Kultury w Ropczycach
• www.ropczyce.info.pl
• Camera on center in Ropczyce (24 Hours a day)
• Cistercian Abbey in Szczyrzyc

References

• "Central Statistical Office(GUS) - TERYT(National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 01.09.2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• "Ropczyce: The Chassidic Route" Weronika Litwin, Marianna Mańko, Sławomir Mańko, translated by Maciej Gugała © Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland Warsaw 2008. ISBN 978-83-61306-64-1 www.polin.org.pl

• "Polish official population figures 2007" (in Polish). 31.07.2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• "Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego" (in Polish). 1880–1914.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
• Parts translated from the "Polish version of this page". 23.09.2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
• Encyclopædia Britannica 11^th Edition

Destinations around Ropczyce

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)