Top left: Augustów Basilica of Jesus in Skorupki; top right: former Water Management Authority's office (Budynek Zarządu Wodnego); middle left: ancient house in Augustów Market Square; middle right: Netta Nature Park and Augustów Canal; bottom: icy season in Studzieniczne Lake
In 1970, Augustów became officially recognized as a health and relaxationresort. In 1973, surrounding settlements were named a part of it, forming a popular resort town.
History
16th-century seal of Augustów
A settlement in the area was first mentioned in 1496.[citation needed] Augustów was established around 1540 by Bona Sforza and granted Magdeburg rights in 1557 by Sigismund II Augustus,[10] after whom it was also named.[11] It was laid out in a very regular manner, with a spacious market-place.[9]
In 1795 Prussia annexed Augustów in the Third Partition of Poland.[citation needed] In 1807, it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw, followed by incorporation into the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland in 1815. It was made a county seat in 1842. The local populace took part in the large Polish January Uprising of 1863–1864 against Russia. Following Russia's full annexation of the Polish kingdom in the 1860s, it was administered from Suwałki.[8] With a population around 9400 (c. 1875), it carried a large trade in cattle and horses, and manufactured linen and huckaback.[8] Its canal connects the Vistula and Nemanrivers and the railway reached the town in 1899, when its population was around 12,800.[9]
President of Poland Ignacy Mościcki during his visit in Augustów in 1932
Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, Augustów was occupied by the Soviet Union until 1941. Many inhabitants were sent to exile in Kazakhstan, from where some were able to return after 6 years. On June 22, 1941, just before the Germans captured the town, the Soviets murdered around 30–34 Polish prisoners in Augustów as part of the NKVD prisoner massacres.[15] The Nazi German forces occupied Augustów until 1944, and operated a forced labour camp in the town.[16] World War II brought the destruction of about 70% of the town and death or departure of most of its residents, amongst them a community of several thousand Jews who were imprisoned in the ghetto situated between the canal and the river. The Germans executed practically all of them before they left. In 1945 the Soviets conducted the nearby Augustów roundup – a special operation against former Armia Krajowaanticommunist fighters.[17][18] They are presumed to have been executed and buried in an unknown location in present-day Russia or Belarus.[18][19] Polish Institute of National Remembrance has declared the 1945 Augustów roundup "the largest crime committed by the Soviets on Polish lands after World War II".[17]
After the war, the recreational base of the city was further expanded. In 1946, the city had 7.2 thousand inhabitants. In 1954, several rural settlements were excluded from the city area, but in 1973, the city expanded to include several villages, forests and six lakes.[20] In the years 1975–1998, the city was located in the Suwałki Voivodeship. In 1999, the city became part of newly created Podlaskie Voivodeship, and the seat of the Augustów district and the Augustów urban gmina.
The construction of the Augustów bypass called Via Baltica, through the wetlands of the Rospuda Valley, attracted great controversy in 2007. The work was halted after the European Commission applied for an immediate injunction.[24]
The town, although small, has many attractions for the visitors. Oficerski Yacht Club Hotel, built in the 1930s, is an army yacht club that has been restored and converted into a resort.[25] It is located on the edge of one of many lakes in the region. Pope John Paul II has a memorial chair from the first and last time he visited the town right outside the club. Boat tours are also popular and the old town square still has its original cobblestone streets.
Every year hundreds of bikers come to Augustowskie Motonoce bikers festival.[26][27] Bands that over years participated in celebration include Bright Ophidia [pl], AGE, ZZ Top Czech Revival Band, AC/DC Show Ukraina, Kraków Street Band, etc.
Cuisine
Among the popular traditional dishes of north-eastern Poland, including Augustów, are kartacze and potato babka. Popular regional cakes are sękacz and mrowisko (lit. transl. "anthill"). Officially protected traditional foods from Augustów and its surroundings include the Augustów honey (miód augustowski) which comes in several variants,[28] and augustowska jagodzianka, a local yeast roll stuffed with blueberries and topped with streusel, a popular dessert.[29]
^"Burmistrz Miasta Augustowa". bip.um.augustow.pl (in Polish). Urząd Miejski w Augustowie. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
^ ab"Local Data Bank". bdl.stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. Retrieved 6 March 2023. Category K1, group G441, subgroup P1410. Data for territorial unit 2001011.
^ ab"Local Data Bank". bdl.stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. Retrieved 6 March 2023. Category K3, group G7, subgroup P1336. Data for territorial unit 2001011.
^"Local Data Bank". bdl.stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. Retrieved 6 March 2023. Category K3, group G7, subgroup P2425. Data for territorial unit 2001011.
^ abcThis article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Baynes, T. S., ed. (1878). "Augustovo" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 79.
^Gembarzewski, Bronisław (1925). Rodowody pułków polskich i oddziałów równorzędnych od r. 1717 do r. 1831 (in Polish). Warszawa: Towarzystwo Wiedzy Wojskowej. p. 8.
^Popiński, Krzysztof; Кокурин, Александр; Гурьянов, Александр (1995). Drogi śmierci: ewakuacja więzień sowieckich z Kresów Wschodnich II Rzeczypospolitej w czerwcu i lipcu 1941 (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Karta. ISBN9788390067698. OCLC34528750.
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