Ożarów

Ożarów
Bird's-eye view of Ożarów
Flag Coat of arms
Ożarów
Coordinates: 50°53′27″N 21°40′4″E / 50.89083°N 21.66778°E / 50.89083; 21.66778Coordinates: 50°53′27″N 21°40′4″E / 50.89083°N 21.66778°E / 50.89083; 21.66778
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Świętokrzyskie
County	Opatów
Gmina	Ożarów
Area
• Total	7.79 km2 (3.01 sq mi)
Population (2012)
• Total	4,679
• Density	600/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Postal code	27-530
Area code(s)	+48 15
Car plates	TOP
Website	http://www.ozarow.pl/

Ożarów (Polish pronunciation: [ɔˈʐaruf]) is a town in Poland, in the province of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in Opatów county (Powiat of Opatów), historic Lesser Poland, with 4,906 inhabitants as of December 31, 2004. Ożarów received its town charter in 1569, during the Polish Golden Age, lost it in 1869, and regained in 1988. The town lies in eastern part of the province, some fifteen kilometers west of the Vistula river. Ożarów's coat of arms is the Rawa, which was used by the Ozarowski family.

Ożarów is a road hub, where National Road Nr. 79 (Warsaw - Bytom) meets Local Road Nr. 755. The town has a sports club Alit, established in 1947. Its largest employer is a leading cement factory nearby. The cement factory was privatized in 1995 and, a controlling stake in the company was purchased from HCP (Holding Cement Polski) by Irish company CRH plc. Recently, one of the agents involved in brokering the transaction between HCP and CRH claimed to have paid a USD 1m bribe to make the acquisition. The results of that inquiry were still pending as of June 2005. CRH plc owns more than a dozen operations in Poland.

Ożarów was founded in 1569 by Józef Ożarowski on the grounds of Wyszmontów village. It received city rights from King Zygmunt August, and until the Partitions of Poland was part of Sandomierz Voivodeship. In 1815 - 1915, the town belonged to Russian-controlled Congress Poland. In 1767 a big fire destroyed the centre of the city which was rebuilt in a slightly different place. The first original city centre was located along present day Kolejowa Street. By 1787 the steadily growing Jewish population reached 1,000. In 1869, following the failed January Uprising, Ożarów – like many similar Polish cities – was stripped of its city rights as punishment for supporting the independence movement.