Krzeszowice

Krzeszowice, Poland
St. Martin's Church
Coat of arms
Krzeszowice, Poland
Coordinates: 50°8′N 19°38′E / 50.133°N 19.633°E / 50.133; 19.633
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lesser Poland
County	Kraków
Gmina	Krzeszowice
Government
• Mayor	Wacław Gregorczyk
Area
• Total	16.84 km2 (6.50 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	9,942
• Density	590/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	32-065
Car plates	KRA
Website	http://www.krzeszowice.pl

Krzeszowice [kʂɛʂɔˈvʲit͡sɛ] is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. As of 2004, its population was 9,993. Krzeszowice belongs to Kraków Metropolitan Area, and lies 25 kilometers west of the center of the city of Kraków. The town has a rail station, on a major route from Kraków to Katowice, and lies along National Road Nr. 79, which goes from Warsaw to Bytom. In 1928–1966 the town had the status of a spa. Krzeszowice has a sports club called Świt, founded in 1923.

Krzeszowice is located in southern part of the , with numerous caves and valleys in the area. In 1981, when the Complex of Jura Landscape Parks was created, three parks from the gmina of Krzeszowice were added to it (Rudnia Landscape Park, Tenczynek Landscape Park and Kraków Valleys Landscape Park). In 2008, it was selected with 19 villages of Europe - Germany, Poland, Italy and Spain - for the Spanish documentary film "Villages of Europe" Pueblos de Europa, produced by Juan Frutos (Colours Communication Group) and Orange Productions S.L.

First mention of Krzeszowice comes from 1286, when Bishop of Kraków, Paweł z Przemankowa, allowed a man named Fryczek Freton to locate the village of Cressouicy. By 1337, Krzeszowice already had a wooden church of St. Martin. In the mid-15th century, it had a school and a public house. In 1555, Krzeszowice belonged to Stanisław Tęczynski, then it was owned by several noble families - the Sieniawski family, Opaliński family, Czartoryski family, Lubomirski family and, since 1816, the .

In the early 17th century, the advantages of local mineral water were discovered by Krzeszowice parish priest, reverend Bernard Bocheński, who mentioned it in the 1625 parish records. In 1778, Prince August Czartoryski opened here first baths, and soon afterwards, patients began visiting Krzeszowice. In 1783–1786, the Vauxhall Palace was built, and in 1819, the Green Bath was opened. Krzeszowice began to prosper, in 1809–1815 and 1855–1867, the town was the seat of a county. In 1815–1846, Krzeszowice belonged to the Free City of Kraków, and to Austria in 1846-1918 within the Grand Duchy of Cracow, Chrzanow Bezirkshauptmannschaft.