Janów Lubelski

Janów Lubelski
Former chancellery (1818-1823)
Coat of arms
Janów Lubelski
Coordinates: 50°43′N 22°25′E / 50.717°N 22.417°E / 50.717; 22.417
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lublin
County	Janów Lubelski County
Gmina	Gmina Janów Lubelski
Government
• Mayor	Krzysztof Adam Kołtyś
Area
• Total	14.84 km2 (5.73 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	12,092
• Density	810/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	23-300
Car plates	LJA
Website	http://www.janowlubelski.pl/

Janów Lubelski [ˈjanuf luˈbɛlskʲi] is a town in eastern Poland. It has 11,938 inhabitants (2006). Situated in the Lublin Voivodship (since 1999), Janów Lubelski belongs to Lesser Poland, and is located in southeastern corner of this historic Polish province. It is the capital of Janów Lubelski County. Previously (1975–1998), Janów belonged to Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship. It has a large hospital (Samodzielny Publiczny Zespół Zakładów Opieki Zdrowotnej). It also has several tourist attractions, including buildings and churches from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The town lies on the edge of , on the Białka river, and its area is 14.80 square kilometers. South of Janów there is a mighty complex of Solska Wilderness. The town is located at the intersection of two national roads: the 19th (Rzeszów – Lublin – Białystok – Grodno), and the 74th (Hrubieszów – Zamość – Kraśnik – Kielce – Piotrków Trybunalski). The distance to Lublin is 70 kilometers, and to Rzeszów, 90 kilometers.

The history of Janów Lubelski dates back to the 12th century, when first human settlements appeared in Sandomierz Wilderness. Over time, the number of villages grew, and a busy merchant road was constructed from Zamość to Sandomierz. In the first half of the 17th century, local noblewoman Katarzyna Zamoyska (see: Zamoyski family) decided to found a town along the road. On July 21, 1640, King Władysław IV Vasa issued a royal privilege, agreeing to found the town of Biała with Magdeburg Rights. The coat of arms of the new town presented Saint Mary, and to build houses, the area located southwest of the Biała river was chosen. The name Janów appeared a few years later. It comes from the first name Jan (John), and commemorates Jan Zamoyski, the son of Katarzyna Zamoyska. In a similar fashion, the towns of Klemensów (now a district of Szczebrzeszyn) and Tomaszów Lubelski were named.