Rawa Mazowiecka
| Rawa Mazowiecka | ||
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Town centre (top)
and St Paul Church (bottom) |
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 Rawa Mazowiecka
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| Coordinates: 51°46′N 20°15′E / 51.767°N 20.250°E | ||
| Country |
 Poland
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| Voivodeship | Łódź | |
| County | Rawa | |
| Gmina | Rawa Mazowiecka (urban gmina) | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Eugeniusz Góraj | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 13.67 km2 (5.28 sq mi) | |
| Population (2006) | ||
| • Total | 17,643 | |
| • Density | 1,300/km2 (3,300/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal code | 96-200 - 96-201 | |
| Car plates | ERW | |
Rawa Mazowiecka [ˈrava mazɔˈvʲɛt͡ska] is a town in central Poland, with 17,765 inhabitants (2004). It lies in the Łódź Voivodeship and is the capital of the Rawa County.
From 1562 the city hosted the Rawa Treasury for the Polish army. During an excavation in 1948, a hoard wealth deposit dating from 600 BC was found containing 4 underground rooms with barrels of gold and silver. A smaller treasure was found containing mainly bronze artefacts from the Trzciniec culture, dating from around 1700 BC.
Rawa has a long and rich history. First mentioned in 1288, it received city rights in 1321. It used to be one of the most important cities of both the Kingdom of Poland and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and a capital of Rawa Voivodeship, a unit of administrative division which existed from 1462 until 1793. The starosta of Rawa was among most important personalities of early Poland, as he controlled the so-called “Rawa Treasury” - a large sum of tax money, kept at Rawa Castle for financing regular army units.
Rawa Mazowiecka was first mentioned as a medieval gord, probably located on one of local hills. In 1321, it received town charter, and in 1355-1370, a brick castle of Mazovian Dukes was built here. During the reign of Siemowit III, Duke of Masovia, Rawa was the capital of the whole Duchy of Mazovia.
In 1462, Rawa was incorporated into Poland, and named capital of a voivodeship. The town prospered: wars of the 14th and 15th centuries did not affect Rawa. It was one of the largest cities of Mazovia. In 1613, a Jesuit church was built here, and by 1622, Jesuit collegium was completed. Among its students was Jan Chryzostom Pasek, nobleman and writer best remembered for his memoirs.
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Wikipedia