Rzeszow has been a city welcoming to visitors for almost 700 years. Its oldest written records date back to 1354, when the medieval city Resovia was granted civic rights. Since then, it has been a meeting point of many European nations from the Byzantine East and Mediterranean West and people from the South and North of Europe. Rzeszow is an excellent example of how a modern, young and dynamically growing agglomeration of 163,000 inhabitants is positioned within its historical heritage. The town is the base for the local government and administrative authorities and has a University and a University of Technology.
Rzeszow is also an important industrial centre with brand name retailers, commercial facilities, shopping and service centres. Rzeszow is the capital of the Podkarpackie Region. It is situated in the South-East of Poland, at the frontier of Poland with the Ukraine and Slovakia and can be considered as the eastern outpost of the European Union. The eastern border of the region is the Polish-Ukrainian borderland and the southern frontier is marked by the Polish-Slovak border. These lands were the crossroads of the main trade routes from East to West and from North to South. Today, important transportation links pass through the city, the international E-40 highway from Dresden, via Krakow and on to Kiev in the Ukraine and the highway E-371 from Gdansk through Warsaw to Slovakia, Hungary and further on to the more southern parts of Europe. In Jasionka, just a few kilometres from the centre of the city, is its airport which services domestic and international flights from New York, London and Dublin. Rzeszow has a very friendly and inviting atmosphere. The inhabitants of the city, the whole region in fact are suburb chefs of local and international cuisine and masters of organising gastronomic festivities. They know how to welcome and look after their guests with the consequence that visitors to the region frequently want to return.
Famous Resovians and Rzeszow’s Families
In the 14th century Rzeszow belonged to the knight and diplomat Jan Pakoslawic, who took the name Rzeszowski. The town was subsequently ruled by Mikolaj Spytek Ligeza, the founder and builder of the castle, churches and the trades and crafts guilds. The famous markets through the ages, where goods manufactured by craftsmen and goldsmiths could be bought, have drawn merchants from almost the whole of Europe and Western Asia. The subsequent owners of the town, the Lubomirski magnate family, were patrons of culture, the arts and science. Under their reign Rzeszow developed rapidly and its role and position in the region significantly increased. After the Partitions of Poland the town went into decline. It soon, however, found its new role as a centre of the patriotic and liberation movements. It was in these territories that the first, and still in existence, Polish People's Party was formed in 1895. Rzeszow is the hometown of many famous Polish artists, scientists, politicians and businessmen. The former Piarist School founded in the 17th century, currently the Stanislaw Konarski High School, is still one of the best high schools in Poland. Among its graduates are Ignacy Lukasiewicz (1822-1882) the inventor of the oil lamp and builder of the first oil well and oil refinery, and General Wladyslaw Sikorski (1881-1943), a politician and statesman. Rzeszow is also well known through the work and performances of many of its contemporary artists like Adam Harasiewicz, pianist and interpreter of Chopin, Jozef Szajna, director, stage designer and painter, and also considered one of the most interesting artists in Polish theatre of the 20th century, Jerzy Grotowski (1933- 1999), the founder of the Laboratorium Theatre Company, instigator of a new philosophy of theatre and creator of an unique method of training actors and Tadeusz Nalepa (1933-2007), the famous Polish rock and blues legend.
From Gothic to Secession – The Underground Labyrinths
Rzeszow was built along the route which Attila the Hun took on his way to conquer Asia in the 5th century and, according to legend, was buried near Przemysl after his death. More modern history of the town has been inscribed on its medieval walls. In the course of its long history the city saw the movement of merchants from every part of the world, Russian boyars, different Polish kings, Austrian emperors, wild invading hordes and armies of occupation. Rzeszow was destroyed by fire several times but after each disaster the city was rebuilt and its economic position grew and was strengthened. Rzeszow's monuments are a testimonial to its history. The historical part of the town occupies the area around the Medieval Market Square. The most eye-catching structures are the Town Hall (rebuild in the 19th century) and an old well. The most important historic buildings include the Gothic Parish church with a tower from the 16th century, the Bernadine church and monastery, the ancient Piarist Convent, the castle, the Renaissance summer palace of the Lubomirski family (Rzeszow belonged to this family till the middle of the 19th century) and two synagogues. The secession influence can be seen in the tenement houses and villas of the city's residents. On one is written the slogan "You can see the hour, but you cannot tell the hour". Under the pavements of the Rzeszow Market Square and the tenement houses there is a labyrinth of underground tunnels, cellars and passages. During the times when trade flourished they were used to store goods from all over the world and in the times of war and invasion they served as a shelter for the local inhabitants, the Resovians. The "subterranean stores" were cellars just below ground level, where the shopkeepers (mainly Jewish) sold groceries, were still operating in the 20th century. Today, this mysterious labyrinth is partly open to visitors and can be toured with a guide. The underground tourist trail is about 340 meters long and it made up of 50 cellars. Its lowest point is10 meters below ground level.
The Capital of Polonians
Once every three years, since 1969, Rzeszow becomes the vivid, colourful and joyfully singing capital of Polish emigrants who continue the tradition of folk dance and song. Dancers and singers from many European countries, North and South America, Australia and Asia perform during the International Festival of Polonia Folk Ensembles. To date, the festival has presented over four hundred different groups. Rzeszow University set up "Polonus", the Centre of Polish Language and Culture for Poles Living Abroad and Foreigners. Polish emigrants and their descendants, who would like to learn about the language and culture of their ancestors, come to the summer camps in Rzeszow every year.
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