Brańsk
Script error: No such module "Settlement short description".Script error: No such module "Infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".Expression error: Unexpected < operator Brańsk Template:IPAc-pl (Podlachian language: Бранськ, Branśk, Template:Langx, Template:Langx) is a town in eastern Poland.Template:TERYT It is situated within Podlaskie Voivodeship (province).
Etymology
The name of the town comes from the river Bronka, a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River.
Geography
Location
Brańsk is located in the geographical region of Europe known as the Wysoczyzny Podlasko–Białoruskie (English: Podlaskie and Belarus Plateau) and the mesoregion known as the Bielsk Plain (Polish: Równina Bielska). The Nurzec River, a tributary of the Bug River, passes through Brańsk. The town covers an area of Script error: No such module "convert"..
It is located approximately:
- Script error: No such module "convert". northeast of Warsaw, the capital of Poland
- Script error: No such module "convert". southwest of Białystok, the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship
- Script error: No such module "convert". west of Bielsk Podlaski, the seat of Bielsk County
Climate
The region has a continental climate characterized by high temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. The average annual rainfall exceeds Script error: No such module "convert"..
History
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
On 23–25 June 1264 the Battle of Brańsk was fought in the town's vicinity. Polish forced led by Duke Boleslaw V the Chaste defeated the forces of Yotvingia led by Komata (Kumata).
On 18 January 1493, Brańsk received a town charter based on Magdeburg rights from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Alexander Jagiellon. It was the first town in Podlachia to receive such a charter.
Brańsk was a royal town of Poland, administratively located in the Bielsk County in the Podlaskie Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province.[1] The 3rd Polish National Cavalry Brigade was stationed in Brańsk before the Third Partition of Poland.[2] In 1795, as a result of the Third Partition of Poland, Brańsk was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia and administered as a part of the newly formed Białystok Department. In 1807, as a result of the Treaties of Tilsit, Brańsk was annexed to the Russian Empire and administered at first as a part of Belostok Oblast and from 1842 on as a part of Grodno Governorate. The town was reintegrated with Poland, after the country regained independence following World War I in 1918.
World War II
On 1 September 1939 Germany attacked Poland and started World War II. Within days of the war's beginning, Brańsk suffered German bombardment. On 17 September 1939 the Soviet Union attacked Poland from the east, and in partnership with Nazi Germany, partitioned Poland under the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of August 23. Brańsk along with all areas of Poland east of the Bug River was then occupied by the Soviet Union. All Polish and Jewish businesses of substance were confiscated by the Communist State. Several Poles from Brańsk were murdered by the Russians in the large Katyn massacre in 1940.[3] The Soviets remained in control of Brańsk until June 1941 when the Germans invaded their erstwhile Soviet allies.
The German Army occupied the town and ordered the Jewish community to build a ghetto surrounded by barbed wire, to which the Jewish population (some 65% of the town) was confined. On 8 November 1942 the Jews of Brańsk were ordered to report to the town center, forced to march to the nearby town of Bielsk, and then transported by train to Treblinka. Within weeks, the vast majority were murdered by gassing at the Treblinka extermination camp.[4][5] Several local Jews were hidden and rescued by Poles (including the local parish priest) in Brańsk and nearby villages.[6] Some hiding places in nearby villages were discovered by the Germans, who then murdered captured Jews.[7] Their Polish rescuers were either also murdered or managed to hide from the Germans until the end of the German occupation.[7]
On 1 August 1944 the town was captured by Soviet forces. On 4 August 1944 the Russians arrested 12 officers of the Polish underground Home Army in Brańsk, after they were deceitfully gathered for a supposed formal meeting with the command of the Soviet 65th Army.[8] The town was soon restored to Poland.
In 1996, a PBS Frontline documentary titled Shtetl was released that documented the history of Brańsk's Jewish population before, during, and after Holocaust.[9]
Demographics
<templatestyles src="Module:Historical populations/styles.css"/>Script error: No such module "Historical populations".
Population
According to the 1921 census, the town was inhabited by 3,739 people, among whom 1,474 were Roman Catholic, 100 Orthodox, and 2,165 Jewish. At the same time, 1,530 inhabitants declared Polish nationality, 2,165 Jewish, 32 Belarusian and 12 Russian. There were 493 residential buildings in the village.[10]
Detailed data as of 30 June 2021:[11]
| Total | Women | Men | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Population | 3,667 | 100 | 1,808 | 49.3 | 1,859 | 50.7 |
| Population Density (persons/km2) |
113.1 | 55.8 | 57.3 | |||
Municipal government
It is the seat of Gmina Brańsk, but is not part of Gmina Brańsk.
Executive branch
The chief executive of the government is the Mayor (Polish: Burmistrz).
Legislative branch
The legislative portion of the government is the Council (Polish: Rada) composed of the President (Polish: Przewodniczšcy), the Vice President (Polish: Wiceprzewodniczšcy) and thirteen councilors.
Neighbouring political subdivisions
Brańsk is bordered by Gminy Rudka and Brańsk.
Transport
Roads and highways
Brańsk is at the intersection of a National Road and a Voivodeship Road:
- National Road Script error: No such module "Jct". - Zambrów - Brańsk - Bielsk Podlaski - Kleszczele - Czeremcha - Połowce Border Crossing (Belarus)
- Voivodeship Road Script error: No such module "Jct". - Roszki-Wodźki - Łapy - Brańsk - Ciechanowiec
Streets
The major streets (Polish: Ulica) in Brańsk are:
- Rynek
- Armii Krajowej (National Road Script error: No such module "Jct".)
- Bielska
- Binduga
- Boćkowska
- Błonie
- Jagiellońska
- Jana Pawła II (Voivodeship Road Script error: No such module "Jct".)
- Kapicy Milewskiego
- Kasztanowa
- Klonowa
- Konopnickiej
- Kościelna
- Kościuszki (Voivodeship Road Script error: No such module "Jct".)
- Mickiewicza
- Piłsudskiego
- Poniatowskiego
- Senatorska
- Sienkiewicza
- Skłodowskiej-Curie
- Szkolna
- Słowackiego
- Witosa
- Wyszyńskiego
- Ściegiennego
Public transport
Bus service
Regular bus service is provided by Państwowa Komunikacja Samochodowa (State Car Communication, PKS) via PKS Bielsk Podlaskie, PKS Białystok and PKS Siemiatycze
Rail service
The closest passenger train service is provided by Polskie Koleje Państwowe (Polish State Railways, PKP) SA from the following stations:
- Szepietowo - express and local service to Warsaw and Białystok - Script error: No such module "convert". northwest
- Bielsk Podlaski - express and local service to Siedlce and Białystok - Script error: No such module "convert". east
Economy
The land-use is as follows:[12]
- Agricultural use: 66%
- Forest land: 27%
- City: 2.34%
Major business
- Financial:Banking - Bank Spóldzielczy w Brańsku, ul. Kosciuszki 2A, 17-120 Brańsk, Poland
- Manufacturing:Plastics - Wald-Gold, ul. M. Konopnickiej 20, 17-120 Brańsk, Poland
Local attractions
Places of worship
Script error: No such module "Multiple image".
- Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Roman Catholic. The parish is serving Brańsk, Bronka, Brzeźnica, Glinnik, Jarmarkowszczyzna, Kalnica, Kiersnówek, Majerowizna, Oleksin, Otapy, Patoki, Popławy, Świrydy, Załuskie Koronne, Załuskie Kościelne.[13] It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Drohiczyn.
- St. Simeon Stylites - Polish Orthodox. It is a mission church of the Church of the Apostles St. Peter and Paul in Malesze,[14] part of the Polish Orthodox Diocese of Warsaw-Bielsk.
Nearby attractions
- Our Lady of Hodyszewo Sanctuary (Sanktuarium Matki Bożej Pojedniania) in Hodyzewo - Script error: No such module "convert". northwest
- Ossoliński Palace in Rudka - Script error: No such module "convert". west
Notable people
- Jan Klemens Branicki – Polish nobleman
- Cezary Kosiński – Polish actor
- Ignatius Kapitsa-Milewski – archivist and author
- Shimon Shkop – Jewish scholar and rabbi (1860–1939)
- Moshe Rosen (Nezer HaKodesh) - Jewish scholar and rabbi (1870–1957)
- Zofia Drzewiecka – Recipient of the Righteous among the Nations Medal
- Waclawa and Pawel Sobolewski – posthumous recipients of the Righteous among the Nations Medal
- Antoni Sobolewski – posthumous recipient of the Righteous among the Nations Medal
- Aleksander Sobolewski – posthumous recipient of the Righteous among the Nations Medal
Miscellanea
- The Righteous among the Nations Medal has been granted to 14 current and former residents of Brańsk by Yad Vashem.[15]
External links
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Eva Hoffman. Shtetl: The Life and Death of a Small Town and the World of Polish Jews. Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
- ↑ Zbigniew Romaniuk. The Story of Two Shtetls: Brańsk and Ejszyszki, Part One. The Polish Educational Foundation in North America, 1998.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej: opracowany na podstawie wyników pierwszego powszechnego spisu ludności z dn. 30 września 1921 r. i innych źródeł urzędowych., t. T. 5, województwo białostockie, 1924, s. 14.
- ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Script error: No such module "Navbox". Script error: No such module "Navbox". Script error: No such module "Authority control".