History of Lublin, Part 1

History of Lublin, Part 1

Lublin. City of inspiration.
The largest and most developing city on the eastern side of Poland. Located in a picturesque valley of the Bystrzyca River.

The rich history of the town begins as early as the 6th century, on the hills now known as the Czwartek estate. The fairs held there were gaining in importance, as Lublin was located on the east-west route. Cultural influences intertwined and created a very colorful cultural crucible.

In 1317, Lublin was granted town rights under Magdeburg law by a decree of Władysław I Łokietek.
The landmark Polish-Lithuanian Union in Krewo had a crucial role to play in the development of the city. Lublin was situated on the route from Cracow to Vilnius. This has allowed the city to develop even further.
The city walls were built in the 14th century (about 1341).

In 1569 a very important event for the city took place. During the session of the Sejm, the union of the Kingdom of Poland with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was concluded, which is still known as the Lublin Union. It was then that the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was established, which had its own coat of arms, currency, monarch, defence and foreign policy as well.

As Lublin was lying on a trade route leading from east to west, a cultural and religious melting pot was being formed. It was inhabited by Russians, Jews, Germans, Turks, Armenians, as well as French, Scots, Greeks, Dutch and English. Italians played a big role in Lublin's cultural image.

Apart from Poles, there were also Jews living in Lublin. The first mention of a fairly large Jewish community dates back to the 15th century, and before World War II alone, the Jewish population made up one third of all the inhabitants of the town. The then existing Lublin School of Wise Men, or Chachmei Yeshiva Lublin, founded by Majer Shapiro, was the largest Talmudic school in the world.

During the partitions Lublin was incorporated into the Duchy of Warsaw and in 1815 it became a part of the Congress Kingdom in the Russian partition. After the November Uprising, the city was affected by repression, declining industry and trade, and censorship effectively hindered the development of cultural life.

In 1873 the population of the town amounted to 28.9 thousand, and in 1897 it increased to 50.2 thousand. In 1877 the first railway connections were built.

The end of Russian rule in the city came in 1915. In November 1918, Ignacy Daszyński, the Provisional Government of the People's Republic of Poland, announced its manifesto in Lublin.