History of the Municipality

History of the Municipality

First mentions of Poddębice

   As archaeologists have shown, first traces of settlements in Poddębice date back to 10th century. In June 1958, a 12th-century cemetery was uncovered. Judging by the discovered objects, the inhabitants were rich, so called squires, free lessees, that were first to be called to arms in case of war. Their everyday occupations included farming and hunting.

   First written mention of Poddębice appeared in Court Books of Łęczyca in 1388, where brothers Urban Podamsky and Wite de Podambe were registered.

   In 1443, Gniezno Archbishop Wincenty Kot founded a parish in Poddębice. The church included a parish school. At the beginning of 18th century, Poddębice was owned by the Grudziński family, who built a church and a palace, which are considered excellent examples of late Renaissance in Poland. 

   Certain revival and development of Poddębice could be noticed in late 18th century, when it was acquired by the Sanguszek family. In 1787, Poddębice, with neighbouring villages, were bought by Ksawery Zakrzewski, whose descendants managed the estate until Second World War. Around 1790, Ksawery founded the fishponds and modernised the manor. Poddębice itself still balanced between a village and a town, and the łęczyckie voivodeship inspectors referred to it as a village in 1789.


Poddębice in the eyes of the poets

  
Probably the first poet to notice Poddębice was Ludwik Szczaniecki (1789-1854), a Polish army colonel in the 1831 war. While travelling from western Greater Poland to the gathering of Sejm in Warsaw in 1809, he described the town in his journal:
Having passed the fertile Ner river’s surrounding
We encountered the famous Poddębice,
The town is notable in a peculiar way
For not having cobbles, nor streets.
 

Town charter

   Poddębice was granted the town charter in 1822 owing to the efforts of Klemens Zakrzewski, who brought the colonists-drapers, founded a factory and gave pastures to townsmen. The town started its rapid development. It was granted the right to organise eight fairs a year and markets every Monday. The development of the town and its industry was cut short by the November Uprising and rapid development of Łódź.

January Uprising and the loss of town charter

   During the January Uprising in 1863, the vicinity of Poddębice became a place of battles and skirmishes, and the town itself, as well as nearby Byczyna, hosted field hospitals. One form of post-uprising repressions was revoking the charter. It was done in 1870. In 1879, Poddębice was consumed by a massive fire. Following this event, houses in Poddębice started to be built of limestone extracted nearby. Houses were built from this material for almost a hundred years, giving the town a characteristic look. Unfortunately, the town only had a four-grade school at the time.

Founding of Voluntary Fire Brigade

   Founding of Voluntary Fire Brigade by Napoleon Zakrzewski in 1901 was an important event for Poddębice. An amateur theatre was also created, which became an important centre for promoting Polish culture. The same year, a fire brigade orchestra was initiated by Karol Spodenkiewicz. In 1906, a branch of Polish Educational Society was created, opening a small public library.


Interwar period

   Just after regaining independence, on November 13th, 1918, Poddębice post office issued its own stamps. A seven-grade public school was soon created. Locals worked in crafts, trade and farming. Almost half of the inhabitants were Jewish.

   In 1934, the settlement regained its charter. The amateur theatre was still active, although the lack of Polish intelligentsia and a secondary school were hindering the town’s cultural development.

Second World War

   After bloody battles in Balin, Szarów and Niewiesz, ending in massive executions of locals, German troops entered Poddębice on September 7th, 1939.

Post-war history

   The first notable event in post-war history was the founding of a secondary school in 1945. It was first located in a palace, then in a building on Narutowicza street and, since autumn 1956, in a new building on Mickiewicza street. A vocational school, as well as a Municipal Public Library, were also created.Since January 1st, 1956, Poddębice became the capital of the county. Residential housing boomed, new work places were created, migration from nearby villages increased. A stadium and two bathing beaches were built (in Poddębice and Byczyn), proper healthcare accommodation base was created, as well as Educational and Vocation Counselling Centre (now a Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling Centre).

   Following the next administrative division of Poland in 1975, Poddębice became the capital of the municipality in sieradzkie voivodeship. Further development followed: Poddębice Cultural Centre, nursery were created, as well as the new building for the Town Council, the Museum Chamber, a National Fire Brigade Unit, a modern primary school, and works began on expanding the hospital in Mickiewicza street. In January 1999, after a twenty-four year break, Poddębice once again became a county capital.


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