Łańcut | ||
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Coordinates: 50°4′N 22°14′E / 50.067°N 22.233°E | ||
Country | Poland | |
Voivodeship | Subcarpathian | |
County | Łańcut County | |
Gmina | Łańcut (urban gmina) | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Stanisław Gwizdak | |
Area | ||
• Total | 19.43 km2 (7.50 sq mi) | |
Population (2006) | ||
• Total | 18,067 | |
• Density | 930/km2 (2,400/sq mi) | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
Postal code | 37–100 | |
Car plates | RLA | |
Website | http://www.um-lancut.pl/ |
Łańcut (Polish pronunciation: [ˈwaɲt͡sut];German: Landshut, Yiddish: לאַנצוט-Lantzut), is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the capital of Łańcut County.
Archeological investigations carried out in the region of Łańcut confirm the existence of human settlements from about 4000 years B.C.
The first owner of the town was Otton (z Pilczy) Pilecki, who was given the Łańcut estate by the Polish king, Casimir III the Great, in 1349, as a reward for his service. At the same time, the king also granted Łańcut its city rights according to Magdeburg law. In 1381 Łańcut was officially named a ‘town’ for the first time, by Otton Pilecki, in the foundation charter of the town. Łańcut remained under the ownership of the Pilecki family up to 1586.
The city was then owned consecutively by aristocratic Polish families of Stadnicki, Lubomirski, and . Łańcut was purchased by Stanisław Lubomirski in 1629, at which time he secured the services of architect Matteo (Polish: ‘Maciej’) Trapola and the stuccoist Giovanni Battista Falconi, in order to build a fortified residence in the town, Łańcut Castle, completed in 1641 and reconstructed many times since. Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, fearing attack from the Swedes, further strengthened the fortifications. To perform these works he employed Tylman van Gameren, a Dutchman and one of the most prominent foreign architects to ever work in Poland.