Mielec

Oborski Palace

Flag

Coat of arms

Mielec

Coordinates: 50°17′N 21°26′E / 50.283°N 21.433°E

Country

Mielec (urban gmina)

Established

1229

Town rights

1470

Government

• Mayor

Daniel Kozdęba

Area

• Total

47.36 km² (18.29 sq mi)

Population (2007)

• Total

62,173

• Density

1,300/km² (3,400/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

39-300 to 39-303, 39-323

Area code(s)

+48 17

Car plates

RMI

Website

http://www.mielec.pl

Mielec [ˈmʲɛlɛt͡s] (Yiddish: מעליץ-Melitz‎) is a city in south-eastern Poland (Lesser Poland), with a population of 60,979 inhabitants, as of June 2009. It is located in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo Podkarpackie) (since 1999); previously it was in Rzeszów Voivodeship (1975–1998). Mielec is the capital city of Mielec County.

The first mention of a place called Mielec occurs in the thirteenth century in the 1229 bull of Pope Gregory IX. In the second half of the fourteenth century, "Mielecka" was mentioned in a list of parishes. The city of Mielec, part of Sandomierz Voivodeship, was founded on 17 March 1457, when King Casimir IV granted a charter to John Mielecki for the establishment of a city under the name of Nowy Targ. For unknown reasons John Mielecki did not go on to found the city; it was eventually established by his two sons, John and Bernard, by an Act of 18 December 1470. The Mielecki family owned the town of Mielec until the last of the Mieleckis died in 1771. Under their rule, there was intensive development of craft industries. In 1522, the first guild was founded. This was the blacksmiths' guild. It was followed by guilds of tailors, cobblers, potters, spinners, and weavers.

The next owners of Mielec were the Ossolinski and Morsztyn families. In 1775, Anna Ossilinska married John Pieniazek, bringing as a dowry her share of part of the city. The next owner was Ignatius Suchorzewski, who married Pieniazek’s daughter Paulina. Suchorzewski sold Mielec's property to Louis Starzenski in 1847, who then disposed of it ten years later to a Jewish family named Gross. The last owner of Mielec was the Oborski family in 1891.

In 1853, the county town of Mielec governed an area in which there were 106 settlements and 91 castral municipalities. In 1892, on Kosciuszko Street a new City Council building and police barracks were built. The development of the county town was interrupted by a huge fire, which destroyed three quarters of the city. This catastrophe caused the city to apply for a state loan of 12 crowns, the receipt of which led to the rapid development of the city. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the market place in Mielec was surrounded by brick houses, and in 1902, a courthouse was built. In 1912, a gymnasium (or academic high school) and the office of County Council were established and buildings constructed to house them.

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Wikipedia