Korczyna

Korczyna is a small village in the south of Poland, nearby the town of Krosno. It is a place with a rich past, famous for valuable monuments. The local castle and a history of two conflicted families – the owners of the building – inspired poet Aleksander Fredro to write one of the most prominent Polish comedies, The Revenge (Polish: Zemsta).

Korczyna TOURISM

Even though Korczyna is a small village, it may boast of numerous monuments. Especially worth visiting places here are: St. Mary Our Lady Queen of Poland Neo-Gothic Church, Jewish cemetery, outdoor Stations of the Cross and ruins of the Kamieniec castle.
The castle inspired Aleksander Fredro to write The Revenge (Polish title: Zemsta) for its history is strictly connected with two conflicted families, the Skotnickis and the Firlejs, the co-owners of the castle. There were constant battles between them; they argued about the border fence, the well, the chapel and fields. Eventually, the fights ended with the marriage of Mikolaj Firlej and Zofia Skotnicka. Fredro used the story of two conflicted families and made the Skotnickis and the Firlejs the protagonists of his prominent comedy. And the border fence still remains a local attraction.
At present, there is a museum in the reconstructed part of the castle. It was created in 1995 in two rooms. Originally, there were exhibitions of regional souvenirs and ethnography only. Nowadays, you can see also military things and objects connected with the castle’s owners, like the portrait of Aleksander Fredro, the 14th-century-old coat of arms from the castle’s door and a sward from the turn of the 20th century.

GEOGRAPHY

Korczyna is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in Krosno County and populated by approximately 6.100 people. This small village lies in the north-east of and about 5 km from the capital of the county, Krosno.
The largest river in this region is the Wislok, with the Slaczka, its right-bank tributary. The Slaczka brings together numerous streams from Korczyna Commune, the most significant of which is Smierdziaczka.

HISTORY

The village of Korczyna was for the first time mentioned in the late 14th century, in location documents of King Wladyslaw II Jagiello. The place was named Kotkenhau and granted Magdeburg Law. It is assumed that the name meant “beautiful mud,” from the German word “Kothschoen” or “grub,” the German word for “Kotkenhau,” as the terrains that surround Korczyna are in the majority woods.
At first, it was the propriety of Klemens from Moskorzew, who took the name Kamieniecki (from the nearby Kamieniec castle). In the late 16th century it was owned by Seweryn Boner, and later by the Firlejs, the Scypions and the Jablonowskis. Zofia Jablonowska Skarbkowa, the daughter of Jan Jablonowski, after having her first marriage annulled, married the outstanding Polish writer, Aleksander Fredro. The wedding took place on June 8, 1826. The last owner of Korczyna was Stanislaw Szeptycki.
In the 19th century Korczyna was a famous weaving centre. In 1882 Weavers’ Association was appointed here and five years later a school for weavers was erected. Canvases that were produced here were famous all over Galicia and even outside its borders.
During the Second World War in Korczyna Germans killed many people, including women and children. Shooting fire rockers from planes and tanks they burned dozens of households.