Zwoleń

Zwoleń
15th-century church in Zwoleń
Coat of arms
Zwoleń
Coordinates: 51°21′25″N 21°35′2″E / 51.35694°N 21.58389°E / 51.35694; 21.58389Coordinates: 51°21′25″N 21°35′2″E / 51.35694°N 21.58389°E / 51.35694; 21.58389
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Masovian
County	Zwoleń County
Gmina	Gmina Zwoleń
Established	1425
Town rights	1425
Government
• Mayor	Bogusława Jaworska
Area
• Total	15.78 km2 (6.09 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	8,176
• Density	520/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	26-700
Area code(s)	+48 48
Car plates	WZW
Website	http://www.zwolen.pl

Zwoleń [ˈzvɔlɛɲ] (Yiddish: זוואלין‎ Zvolin) is a town in Poland, in Masovian Voivodeship, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) east of Radom. It is the capital of Zwoleń County. Population is 8,048 (2009). Zwoleń belongs to Sandomierz Land of the historic province of Lesser Poland, and is located on the Zwoleńka river. The town has a sports club Zwolenianka, founded in 1923.

The history of the town dates back to the early 15th century, when Zwoleń was founded on a privillege issued by King Władysław Jagiełło. In the 16th century, it already was a center of local trade, located along the road from Lublin to Radom and Greater Poland. In 1566–1575, Jan Kochanowski worked at a local Roman Catholic parish. At that time, the town belonged to Sandomierz Voivodeship.

During the Swedish invasion of Poland (see Deluge, 1655 - 1660), Zwoleń was destroyed to such a degree, that it never recovered. In late 18th century, during Partitions of Poland, Zwoleń was annexed by the Austrian Empire. Since 1807, it was part of Duchy of Warsaw, which in 1815 became Congress Poland, a protectorate of the Russian Empire. After January Uprising, Russian authorities deprived Zwoleń of its town rights, as a punishment for residents' support of the rebels. The village of Zwoleń stagnated for years, and did not regain its town rights until 1925. In 1921 Zwoleń had 8,544 residents, of which 3,787 were Jews.