Mstów, Silesian Voivodeship
| Mstów | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
Monastery
|
|
 Mstów
|
|
| Coordinates: 50°49′40″N 19°17′14″E / 50.82778°N 19.28722°E | |
| Country |
 Poland
|
| Voivodeship | Silesian |
| County | |
| Gmina | Mstów |
| Population | 1,704 |
Mstów [mstuf] is a village (town in 1279 - 1870) in , Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Mstów. It lies approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) east of and 68 km (42 mi) north of the regional capital Katowice. Mstów lies on the Warta river, in western part of historic province of Lesser Poland. The village has a population of 1,704, and in early days of Polish history, it was the regional center of an opole (the word opole comes from Slavic language, and means basic territorial unit of a tribe). The village has a population of 1,704.
Mstów was first mentioned as Mstowo in 1193, when it belonged to the congregation of Canons Regular of the Lateran from Wrocław. Some time in the early 13th century, a large monastery was built here. It burned in a great fire of 1566, then the complex was rebuilt and destroyed several times. Most destruction came during World War I, when several German - Russian skirmishes took place here in early stages of the conflict. During those fights, the towers and defensive walls of the ancient church were destroyed, as well as the roof of the nave. The complex was gradually rebuilt in the 1920s and 1930s.
In the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, fields around the monastery were used by Lesser Poland’s szlachta for its sejmiks. Among notable guests of Mstów, there was Queen Bona Sforza. Mstów, whose name probably comes from an ancient Slavic given name Msta received its town charter in 1279, from Prince of Kraków Bolesław V the Chaste. Several years before that event, in 1212, a council of Polish bishops took place here, and among its participants was Wincenty Kadłubek. The very fact that a meeting like this was organized in Mstów means that it had already been an important location, and it had already had the monastery complex ready to host the bishops. In the Middle Ages Mstów was located along a very important merchant route from Kraków to Greater Poland. The town had a toll bridge on the Warta river, and several merchants rested here on the way to their destinations. As a result, a fair was established in Mstów some time in the first half of the 12th century. In the course of the time, to guard the route, wooden strongholds were erected along the road. In 1220, the Bishop of Kraków, Iwo Odrowąż, funded here a defensive church. Mstów emerged as a main urban center of northwestern Lesser Poland, and in the 13th century, the town was several times destroyed by the Mongols (see Mongol invasion of Poland). In 1260, the Mongols burned the monastery, their last raid took place in 1266.
...
Wikipedia