Rymanow

Rymanow is situated in the south of Poland, close to Krosno. The town is not in any way tourist oriented, despite its several interesting sights and its location in a hilly area ideal for outdoor pursuits. Most visitors come from Rymanow-Zdroj; a well-known spa located just 4 km away. Those who visit include searching for traces of the Jewish presence in Rymanow prior to the Second World War genocide.

Rymanow TOURISM

The most noteworthy historical site in Rymanow is the Baroque church from 1780, identified by its high tower. In the chapel is a monument in red marble and alabaster of Castellan Jan Siemianski (who died in 1580) and his wife. Other attractions in the town include the old market square and the Potocki family mansion.

In pre-Second World War Rymanow, Jews constituted 40 percent of the total population. Today what remains of their presence in the town is just the old synagogue and the cemetery. Erected in the 17th century, the synagogue was until recently in ruins, but now it has been restored and an increasing number of Jews are coming to pray. As for the cemetery, it is one of the most interesting Jewish necropolia in the region of Subcarpathia, thanks to its picturesque and well-kept location above a cliff.

If you love an active holidays then you will enjoy the numerous walking and cycling routes in the close neighbourhood of Rymanow. The mountains are traversed by a number of tourist trails from which visitors can admire splendid views of the Low Beskid range. In winter, ski lifts, cross-country and downhill ski runs await people of all skill levels.

GEOGRAPHY

Located in the Subcarpathian Voivodship, Rymanow is a small town with approximately 3,700 inhabitants and a total area of 12,39 km 2. It lies 14 km from Krosno and 69 km west of Przemysl. Air connections to Rymanow are available from airports in Rzeszow (75 km away) and Krakow (180 km away).

The town lies in the valley of the Tabor River, on the border of two Carpathian regions – the Low Beskid and the Bukowskie Upland. This chain of mountains is not very high, but is certainly picturesque with its forests and forest clearings.

HISTORY

Rymanow was founded on trade routes leading through the Carpathians to Hungary by Wladyslaw of Opole, Duke of Silesia and local representative of King Louis I of Hungary. The settlement was originally called “Ladisslavia” after him, and its inhabitants were mainly settlers who arrived from central Germany due to overpopulation plaguing their home region. In 1376, Ladisslavia received a Magdeburg-Law city charter that granted it the privilege of self-government. At the time of the reign of Ladislaus I of Poland, the town took its present name of Rymanow, after the first mayor Nicolao Reymann. From the 16th century, there was a large Jewish population in Rymanow.

In the 15th and 16th century the town was given a number of rights by subsequent Polish rulers, among them the right to hold weekly fairs, which proved the most beneficial for the local economy. This flourishing period came to an end in the 17th century, the time of wars against Muscovy, Sweden, and Turkey as well as the Chmielnicki Uprising, when the invading armies subjected this region of the country to merciless pillage and plundering.

Through the 17th and part of the 18th century Rymanow was a private property of the Stadnicki family. In 1731 the town passed to the Ossolinsky family and remained in their possession until 1794 when it was bought by the Potockis, who held it up to the 20th century.

In the 19th century, following the partitions of Poland, Rymanow was annexed by Austria and became part of the Austrian-ruled Galicia. At first a section of the Land of Sanok of the Ruthenian Voivodship, it was made part of the Circle of Lesko in 1772, and then in 1864 it was returned to the starostship of Sanok. About that time Rymanow began to serve as a centre of the foodstuffs trade for the region and this transition helped trigger the recovery of the town’s economy. Before long, Rymanow evolved into a popular resort, visited mostly by the citizens of Lviv.

Unfortunately, in September 1914, following the outbreak of the First World War, Rymanow was seized and heavily looted by the Russian Empire. For a couple of weeks the town remained under Russian rule and then in 1915 it was regained by the Austria-Hungary.

In 1918, the town was incorporated into newly independent Poland, only to be damaged again just 20 years later as part of the German terror bombings during the Polish Defensive War.