Sławatycze
Village in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sławatycze [swavaˈtɨt͡ʂɛ] is a village in Biała County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus.[1] It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Sławatycze. It lies on the Bug River, directly opposite the settlement of Damachava.[2]
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Sławatycze | |
|---|---|
Village | |
Our Lady of the Rosary church in Sławatycze | |
  Sławatycze Location within Poland | |
| Coordinates: 51°45′N 23°33′E | |
| Country |  Poland |
| Voivodeship | Lublin |
| County | Biała |
| Gmina | Sławatycze |
| Population | |
• Total | 2,738 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Vehicle registration | LBI |
History
Sławatycze was granted town rights in 1577.[3] It was a private town of the powerful magnate families of Leszczyński and Radziwiłł.[4] The churches of Saint Michael Archangel and of the Intercession were established by Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł and Karol Radziwiłł, respectively.[4]
In the late 19th century, it had several tanneries, a brewery, a distillery, a mill, a windmill, and a brickyard.[4] Two annual fairs were held in Sławatycze.[4]
Following the German-Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, the settlement was occupied by Germany until 1944. Before the Holocaust, the local Jewish population numbered around 1,300 individuals. In June 1942, the Germans gathered all Jewish citizens in the market square and during the next three days murdered them all. Their bodies were laid in a 100 meter long mass grave in Jewish cemetery in Sławatycze.[5]
