Kurzelów

Kurzelów
Village
Assumption church
Kurzelów
Coordinates: 50°53′N 19°53′E / 50.883°N 19.883°E / 50.883; 19.883Coordinates: 50°53′N 19°53′E / 50.883°N 19.883°E / 50.883; 19.883
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Świętokrzyskie
County	Włoszczowa
Gmina	Włoszczowa
Population	1,200

Kurzelów [kuˈʐɛluf] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Włoszczowa, within Włoszczowa County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies in historic Lesser Poland, approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) north-west of Włoszczowa and 52 km (32 mi) west of the regional capital Kielce. The village has a population of 1,200.

The name of the village probably comes from a person named Kurzel, who was its first owner in the 11th century. After the death of Duke Wladyslaw Herman, a defensive gord was established here. The gord was destroyed in the winter of 1108, during a civil war in the Kingdom of Poland, between Duke Boleslaw Krzywousty, and his brother Duke Zbigniew. In 1136, a Roman Catholic parish was established at Kurzelów, and at that time, the village probably belonged to the Gniezno Archbishops. In 1259 or 1260, the village was burned in a Tatar raid (see Mongol invasion of Poland), and in 1285, Archbishop Jakub Swinka granted Kurzelów the Sroda Slaska town charter.

In the 14th century Kurzelów quickly developed, due to two reasons: convenient location along a merchant route from Krakow to Przedborz, and the support of the Archbishops, who turned the local church into a collegiate of St. Adalbert of Prague. In 1306, Kurzelów became the seat of an archdeaconry, which ruled 72 local parishes. In 1342 - 1360, Archbishop Jaroslaw of Bogoria and Skotnik founded here a new, brick collegiate church of St. Mary. The ancient wooden church was preserved until the 18th century. In 1369, a collegiate church school was established here.