Private town

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Private towns [a] in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were privately owned towns within the lands owned by magnates, bishops, knights and princes, among others.

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Zamosc in the 17th century Braun and Hogenberg Zamosc.jpg
Zamość in the 17th century

Amongst the most well-known former private magnate towns are Białystok, Zamość, Rzeszów, Puławy, Tarnów, Siedlce, Biała Podlaska, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Uman. Magnate palaces and castles can be often found in former private magnate towns. Examples include the Branicki Palace in Białystok; the Czartoryski Palace in Puławy; the Zamoyski Palace in Zamość; the Lubomirski Castle in Rzeszów; the Radziwiłł Palace in Biała Podlaska; the Ogiński Palace in Siedlce; the Potocki Palaces in Międzyrzec Podlaski, Tulchyn and Vysokaye; the Wiśniowiecki Palace in Vyshnivets; and the Zbaraski Castle in Zbarazh.

Also various other landmarks were often founded by the owners, including town halls, churches, monasteries, schools and theatres, some rather unique, like the Mannerist Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Park and Baroque fortified Berdychiv Carmelite Monastery.

Some of the most known former private bishop towns include Łódź, Kielce, Łowicz, Pabianice and Skierniewice.

List of private towns

CityPopulation
(2015) [1] [2]
Former ownersCountryAdministrative division
1. Białystok 295,282 House of Branicki (Gryf) Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Podlaskie Voivodeship
2. Poltava (Połtawa)294,962 House of Wiśniowiecki,
House of Koniecpolski
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Poltava Oblast
3. Rivne (Równe)249,639 House of Ostrogski,
House of Lubomirski
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Rivne Oblast
4. Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanisławów)228,575 House of Potocki Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
5. Ternopil (Tarnopol)217,773 House of Tarnowski,
House of Ostrogski,
House of Zamoyski
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Ternopil Oblast
6. Rzeszów 183,108House of LubomirskiFlag of Poland.svg  Poland Podkarpackie Voivodeship
7. Tarnów 112,120House of TarnowskiFlag of Poland.svg  Poland Lesser Poland Voivodeship
8. Maladzyechna (Mołodeczno)94,686 House of Sapieha,
House of Gosiewski,
House of Ogiński
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus Minsk Region
9. Uman (Humań)86,451House of PotockiFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Cherkasy Oblast
10. Berdychiv (Berdyczów)77,788 House of Tyszkiewicz,
House of Zawisza,
House of Radziwiłł
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Zhytomyr Oblast
11. Siedlce 76,347House of OgińskiFlag of Poland.svg  Poland Masovian Voivodeship
12. Zhlobin (Żłobin)75,700 House of Chodkiewicz

Bona Sforza

Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus Gomel Region
13. Ostrów Wielkopolski 72,890House of PrzebendowskiFlag of Poland.svg  Poland Greater Poland Voivodeship
14. Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski 72,277House of TarnowskiFlag of Poland.svg  Poland Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship
15. Smila (Smiła)68,618House of LubomirskiFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Cherkasy Oblast
16. Chervonohrad (Krystynopol)67,863House of PotockiFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Lviv Oblast
17. Kalush (Kałusz)67,631 House of Sieniawski Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
18. Zamość 65,255House of ZamoyskiFlag of Poland.svg  Poland Lublin Voivodeship
19. Leszno 64,589 House of Leszczyński, [3]
House of Sułkowski
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Greater Poland Voivodeship
20. Zhodzina (Żodzino)63,722 House of Radziwiłł Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus Minsk Region

Private clergy towns

Former private clergy towns by population as of 2015:

CityPopulation
(2015)
Former ownersCountry
(2023)
Administrative division (2023)
1. Łódź 711,332 Diocese of Kujawy [4] Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Łódź Voivodeship
2. Kielce 199,870 Diocese of Kraków Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship
3. Olsztyn 174,675 Diocese of Warmia Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
4. Włocławek 114,885Diocese of KujawyFlag of Poland.svg  Poland Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
5. Suwałki 69,317 Camaldolese Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Podlaskie Voivodeship
6. Pabianice 67,688Diocese of Kraków [5] Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Łódź Voivodeship
7. Skierniewice 48,634 Archdiocese of Gniezno Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Łódź Voivodeship
8. Fastiv (Fastów)47,869 Diocese of Kyiv Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Kyiv Oblast
9. Marijampolė (Mariampol)38,345 Marians Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania Marijampolė County
10. Czeladź 32,940Diocese of KrakówFlag of Poland.svg  Poland Silesian Voivodeship

See also

Notes

  1. Belarusian: прыватныя гарады, Lithuanian: privatūs miestai, Polish: prywatne miasta, Ukrainian: приватні міста.

References

  1. "Lista miast w Polsce (spis miast, mapa miast, liczba ludności, powierzchnia, wyszukiwarka)". Polska w liczbach.
  2. "zb_chnnu2016pdf ZIP file".
  3. Atlas historyczny Polski. Wielkopolska w drugiej połowie XVI wieku. Część II. Komentarz, indeksy (in Polish). Warszawa: Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 2017. p. 254.
  4. Atlas historyczny Polski. Województwo sieradzkie i województwo łęczyckie w drugiej połowie XVI wieku. Część II. Komentarz, indeksy (in Polish). Warszawa: Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 1998. p. 67.
  5. Atlas historyczny Polski. Województwo sieradzkie i województwo łęczyckie w drugiej połowie XVI wieku. Część II. Komentarz, indeksy (in Polish). Warszawa: Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 1998. p. 68.