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The conquest of the Alps by British tourists was achieved along with their domestication and with the passionate participation of local, regional and national élites, be they political, economic or cultural. Leslie Stephen, in a best-selling book first published in 1871, defined the Alps as “the Playground of Europe.” The book highlights the incredible success of the mountains but it also reflects the tensions that emerged among their visitors. There was a clash between the “real enthusiasts,” sensitive to beauty, and the “flock of ordinary tourists” sticking to their customs and comforts.
The Alps are at the crossroads of the French, Italian, German and South Slavic linguistic sprachraums. They also act as a linguistic refugium, preserving archaic dialects such as Romansh, Walser German or Romance Lombardic. Extinct languages known to have been spoken in the Alpine region include Rhaetic, Lepontic, Ligurian and Langobardic.
As a result of the complicated history of the Alpine region, the native language and the national feelings of the inhabitants do not always correspond to the current international borders. The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, which was annexed by Italy after World War I, has a German-speaking majority in the northern province of South Tyrol. There are Walser German speakers to found in northern Italy near the Swiss border. There are some French and Franco-Provencal-speaking districts in the Italian Aosta Valley, while there are clusters of Slovene-speakers in the Italian portion of the Julian Alps, in the Resia Valley (where the archaic Resian dialect of Slovene is still spoken) and in the mountain district known as Venetian Slovenia.
White Croats (; ; ; ), or simply known as Croats, were a group of Early Slavic tribes who lived among other West and East Slavic tribes in the area of modern-day Lesser Poland, Galicia (north of Carpathian Mountains), Western Ukraine, and Northeastern Bohemia. They were documented primarily by foreign medieval authors and managed to preserve their ethnic name until the early 20th century, primarily in Lesser Poland. It is considered that they were assimilated into Czech, Polish and Ukrainian ethnos, and are one of the predecessors of the Rusyn people. In the 7th century, some White Croats migrated from their homeland, White Croatia, to the territory of modern-day Croatia in Southeast Europe along the Adriatic Sea, forming the ancestors of the South Slavic ethnic group of Croats.
It is generally believed that the Croatian ethnonym - "Hrvat", "Horvat" and "Harvat" - etymologically is not of Slavic origin, but a borrowing from Iranian languages. According to the most plausible theory by Max Vasmer, it derives from "(fšu-)haurvatā-" (cattle guardian), more correctly Proto-Ossetian / Alanian "xurvæt-" or *"xurvāt-", in the meaning of "one who guards" ("guardian, protector").
It is considered that the ethnonym is first attested in anthroponyms Horoúathos, Horoáthos, and Horóathos on the two Tanais Tablets, found in the Greek colony of Tanais at the shores of Sea of Azov in the late 2nd and early 3rd century AD, at the time when the colony was surrounded by Iranian-speaking Sarmatians. However, acceptance of any non-Slavic etymology is problematic because it implies an ethnogenesis relationship with the specific ethnic group. There is no mention of an Iranian tribe named as "Horoat" in the historical sources, but it was not uncommon for Slavic tribes to get their tribal names from anthroponyms of their forefathers and chiefs of the tribe, like in the case of Czechs, Dulebes, Radimichs, and Vyatichi.
Any mention of the Croats before the 9th century is uncertain, and there were several loose attempts at tracing; "Struhates", "Auhates", and Krobyzoi by Herodotus, "Horites" by Orosius in 418 AD, and the "Harus" (original form "Hrws", some read "Hrwts"; "Hros", "Hrus") at the Sea of Azov, near the mythical Amazons, mentioned by Zacharias Rhetor in 550 AD. The "Hros" some relate to the ethnonym of the Rus' people. The distribution of the Croatian ethnonym in the form of toponyms in later centuries is considered to be hardly accidental because it is related with Slavic migrations to Central and South Europe.
The epithet "white" for the Croats and their homeland is related to the use of colors for cardinal directions among Eurasian people. That is, it meant "Western Croats", or "Northern Croats", in comparison to lands where they lived before. The epithet "great" signified an "old, ancient" or "former" homeland, for the Croats when they were new arrivals in the Roman province of Dalmatia.
Although the early medieval Croatian tribes in the scholarship are often called as White Croats, there's a scholarly dispute whether it is a correct term as some scholars differentiate the tribes according to separate regions and that the term implies only the medieval Croats who lived in Central Europe.
The first Iranian tribes who lived on the shores of the Sea of Azov were Scythians, who arrived there c. 7th century BCE. Around the 6th century BCE the Sarmatians began their migration westwards, gradually subordinating the Scythians by the 2nd-century BCE. During this period there was substantial cultural and linguistic contact between the Early Slavs and Iranians, and in this environment were formed the Antes. Antes were Slavic people who lived in that area and to the West between Dniester and Dnieper from the 4th until the 7th century. It is thought that the Croats were part of the Antes tribal polity who migrated to Galicia in the 3rd-4th century, under pressure by invading Huns and Goths.
Nestor the Chronicler in his "Primary Chronicle" (12th century) mentions the White Croats, calling them "Horvate Belii" or "Hrovate Belii", the name depending upon which manuscript of his is referred to:
Most what is known about the early history of White Croats comes from the work by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII, "De Administrando Imperio" (10th century). In the 30th chapter, "The Story of the Province of Dalmatia" Constantine wrote:
Croats seemingly were not recorded by the Bavarian Geographer (9th century), however, some scholars assumed that the unknown "Sittici" ("a region with many peoples and heavily fortified cities") and "Stadici" ("an infinite population with 516 gords") were part of the Carpathian Croats tribal polity, or that the Croats were part of these unknown tribal designations in Prykarpattia. Others saw "Lendizi" (98), "Vuislane", "Sleenzane" (50), "Fraganeo" (40; Prague), "Lupiglaa" (30 gords), "Opolini" (20), and "Golensizi" (5) as possible tribes of Croats. Lehr-Spławiński, Łowmiański and others concluded that Vistulans and Lendians because of their mention and described location in different sources were tribes behind which were hidden Croats.
In the Hebrew book "Josippon" (10th century) are listed four Slavic ethnic names from Venice to Saxony; "Mwr.wh" (Moravians), "Krw.tj" (Croats), "Swrbjn" (Sorbs), "Lwcnj" (Lučané or Lusatians). Since the Croats are placed between Moravians and Serbs it identified the Croatian realm with the Duchy of Bohemia.
To the upper accounts by the historians were related the Vladimir the Great's conquest of the Cherven Cities in 981, and "Annales Hildesheimenses" note that Vladimir threatened to attack the Duke of Poland, Bolesław I the Brave (992 to 1025), in 992. Polish chronicler Wincenty Kadłubek in his "Chronica Polonorum" (12-13th century) recounted that Bolesław I the Brave conquered some "Hunnos seu Hungaros, Cravatios et Mardos, gentem validam, suo mancipavit imperio"". The occurrence of the Croatian name among the people, and the fact during the period of Bolesław I the Brave the Polish realm expanded to the territory later-known as Lesser Poland, indicates that the mentioned Croats most probably lived on the territory of Lesser Poland.
Thietmar of Merseburg recorded in 981 toponym "Chrvuati vicus" (also later recorded in 11th-14th century), which is present-day Großkorbetha, between Halle and Merseburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The "Chruuati" (901) and "Chruuati" (981) near Halle. In charter by Henry II is recorded "Chruazzis" (1012), by Henry III as "Churbate" (1055), by Henry IV as "Grawat" (also "Curewate", 1086). This settlement today is Korbetha on river Saale, near Weißenfels.
In the 10th-12th centuries Croatian name can be often found in the territory of March and Duchy of Carinthia, as well March and Duchy of Styria. In 954, Otto I in his charter mentions župa "Croat" - ""hobas duas proorietatis nostrae in loco Zuric as in pago Crouuati et in ministerio Hartuuigi", and again in 961 "pago Crauuati". The "pago Chruuat" is also mentioned by Otto II (979), and "pago Croudi" by Otto III.
One of the legendary figures Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv who founded Kiev, brother Khoryv or Horiv, and its oronym Khorevytsia, is often related to the Croatian ethnonym. This legend, recorded by Nestor, has similar Armenian transcript from the 7th-8th century, in which Horiv is mentioned as "Horean". Paščenko related his name, beside to the Croatian ethnonym, to solar deity Hors. Near Kiev there's a stream where previously existed large homonymous village Horvatka or Hrovatka (destroyed in the time of Joseph Stalin), which flows into Stuhna River. In the vicinity are parts of the Serpent's Wall.
Scholars consider that Croats could have been mentioned in the Old English and Nordic epic poems. The verse in Old English poem "Widsith" (10th century):
The Hræda is genitive plural of *"Hraede", and is usually related with the Goths ("Hred-Gotum", "Hreth-Gotan", "Hreidhgotar"). However, this verse is similar to the one in Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks (13th century), where prior the battle between Goths and Huns, Heidrek died in "Harvaða fjöllum" (Carpathian Mountains) which is sometimes translated as "beneath the mountains of Harvathi", considered somewhere beneath Carpathian Mountains near river Dnieper. Lewicki argued that Anglo-Saxons, as in the case of Alfred the Great where called Croats "Horithi", often distorted foreign Slavic names.
The legendary Czech hermit from the 9th century, , is mentioned as the son of certain king Gestimul or Gostimysl, who according to the Czech chronicles descended from the Croats or Obotrites.
Polish writer Kazimierz Władysław Wóycicki released work "Pieśni ludu Białochrobatów, Mazurów i Rusi z nad Bugu" in 1836. In 1861, in the statistical data about population in Volhynia governorship released by Mikhail Lebedkin, were counted Horvati with 17,228 people. According to United States Congress Joint Immigration Commission which ended in 1911, Polish immigrants to the United States born in around Kraków reportedly declared themselves as Bielochrovat (i.e. White Croat), which with Krakus and Crakowiak/Cracovinian was "names applying to subdivisions of the Poles".
The Northern Croats contributed and assimilated into Czech, Polish and Ukrainian ethnos. They are considered as the predecessors of the Rusyns, specifically Dolinyans, Boykos, Hutsuls, and Lemkos.
By the 7th century the Croats had established and fortified Horods (Gord), which became a commerce and trade centers. Galicia was an important geographical location because it connected via an overland route Kiev in the East with Kraków, Buda, Prague and other cities in the West, as well as northwest to the Baltic Sea and southeast to the Black Sea. Along these routes were founded the settlements of Przemyśl, Zvenyhorod, Terebovlia, Halych, and Uzhhorod, of which the last was ruled by a mythical ruler Laborec.
The Republic was headed by Jaroslav Kacmarcyk as President of the Central National Council. It was ended by the Polish government in March 1920. Its fate was sealed by the September 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain, which gave Galicia west of the San to Poland and by the Peace of Riga in March 1921 whereby the fait accompli was recognized by Moscow.
This state should not be confused with the Komancza Republic of eastern Lemkivshchyna, another short-lived republic. This was a smaller pro-Ukrainian state that existed between November 1918 and 23 January 1919.
On 5 December 1918, the Republic's delegates issued the statement: "We, the Rusyn nation, living in a compact settlement in the southern parts of the Galician administrative units of Nowy Targ and in Sanok. Do not wish to be incorporated into the Polish state, and wish to share the fate of our Rusyn brothers [living] in Spiš, Šariš, and Zemplín counties as one indivisible geographic and ethnographic unit."
Saint Parthenius (died 3rd century) was an early Christian saint and martyr from Rome of Armenian origin. He is venerated in both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. His brother was Saint Calocerus. He is the patron of Galicia and included in their list of Orthodox saints.
While serving as a eunuch in his wife's palace, Parthenius was accused by Roman emperor Decius with embezzlement of Anatolia's money, and with the capital crime of Christianity. Ignoring the financial accusations, Parthenius and his brother defended the Christian faith. The court took their defense as an admission of their Christianity and sentenced them to death. Parthenius was thrown into a bonfire but did not burn. In order to carry out his sentence, guards took flaming brands from the fire and beat him to death. He was buried in the catacombs under Saint Callixtus.
In the 18th century, relics of St. Parthenius were moved to Vienna. In 1784, with the permission of Pope Pius VI, the relics were moved to Zhovkva in Eastern Galicia (then Austrian Empire, nowadays western Ukraine). They are now preserved in the Basilian Ukrainian Greek-Catholic monastery of Holy Jesus Heart in Zhovkva.
The Battle of Zawichost (1205) was a battle fought between Roman the Great of Galicia-Volhynia and Leszek I the White of Lesser Poland, along with his brother, Konrad I of Masovia. After declaring war and invading Lesser Poland, Roman and his forces (druzhina) were ambushed by the Poles in the vicinity of Zawichost by the Vistula (Visla) River. In the tumult that followed, Roman was killed and the Polish victory would lead to Poland's growing power and the weakening of Rus'.
Długosz further explains that before crossing the Polish frontier, Roman sent emissaries to the Bishop of Vladimir and asked for his blessing, as he intended to campaign in Poland for three years. The Bishop declined Roman's gifts and denied him any blessing, explaining that "he cannot bless Roman or his enterprise, since he has previously started unjust and wicked wars and is again embarking on one that is quite unjustified, considering that the Poles have so often exposed their bodies to danger and death to defend the Ruthenians against the barbarians." Roman responded by telling the bishop that he will cut his head off when he returns from his victory.
Many of the Rus' drowned and many more died at the hands of the local population, as Polish troops chased them all the way to Vladimir. Few survived the massacre and at the order of Leszek and Konrad, Roman's body was buried in Sandomierz. The two factions came to an agreement and the Russians released all their prisoners and paid 1,000 silver marks to recover the body of Roman, which was then buried in Vladimir.
After his triumph, Leszek's reputation took a positive turn, earning him credibility and the trust of Kraków, which would give him temporary power over the city. Konrad, coming of age, asked for his share of power and at the meditation of their mother and a selected group of aristocrats, the two brothers divide the country under their authority. Rus' turned unstable from its internal conflicts and the country is invaded by Lithuanians, this being the first time the Poles hear of that name. The Ruthenians suffered great casualties, but managed to defeat the invaders. In 1208, the country fell into civil war.
Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska (), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate culture featuring diverse architecture, folk costumes, dances, cuisine, traditions and a rare Lesser Polish dialect. The region is rich in historical landmarks, monuments, castles, natural scenery and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The region should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only the southwestern part of Lesser Poland. Historical Lesser Poland was much larger than the current voivodeship that bears its name. It reached from Bielsko-Biała in the southwest as far as to Siedlce in the northeast. It consisted of the three voivodeships of Kraków, Sandomierz and Lublin.
It comprised almost 60,000 km2 in area; today's population in this area is about 9,000,000 inhabitants. Its landscape is mainly hilly, with the Carpathian Mountains and Tatra Mountain Range in the south; it is located in the basin of the upper Vistula river. It has been noted for its mighty aristocracy ("magnateria") and wealthy nobility ("szlachta").
Between the 14th and 18th century, the Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown also encompassed the historical region of Red Ruthenia. In the era of partitions, the southern part of Lesser Poland became known as Galicia, which was under Austrian control until Poland regained its independence in 1918. As a result of this long-lasting division, many inhabitants of the northern part of Lesser Poland (including those in such cities as Lublin, Radom, Kielce and Częstochowa) do not recognize their Lesser Polish identity.
However, while Lublin "(Lubelskie)" was declared an independent Voivodeship as early as 1474, it still has speakers of the Lesser Polish dialect.
Across history, many ethnic and religious minorities existed in Lesser Poland as they fled persecution from other areas or countries. Poland's once tolerant policy towards these minorities allowed them to flourish and create separate self-governing communities. Some minorities still remain, but are on the verge of extinction, most notably Wymysorys-speaking Vilamovians, Halcnovians, Gorals, Lemkos, Uplanders, and once Polish Jews and Walddeutsche Germans.
Almost the whole area is located in the Vistula Basin, with the exception of the western and southern parts, belonging to the Odra and Dunaj Basins. The main rivers of the province are the Vistula, upper Warta, Soła, Skawa, Raba, Dunajec, Wisłok, Wisłoka, San, Wieprz, Przemsza, Nida, Kamienna, Radomka, and Pilica. The major lakes of the province are Lake Rożnów, Lake Czchów, Lake Dobczyce, Lake Czorsztyn, Lake Czaniec, Lake Międzybrodzie, Lake Klimkówka and Żywiec Lake. Most of them are man-made reservoirs.
Lesser Poland stretches from the Carpathians in the south to Pilica and Liwiec rivers to the north. It borders Mazovia to the north, Podlaskie to the northeast, Red Ruthenia to the east, Slovakia to the south, Silesia to the west, and Greater Poland to the northwest. Currently, the region is divided between Polish voivodeships – Lesser Poland Voivodeship (whole), Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (whole), Silesian Voivodeship (eastern half), Podkarpackie Voivodeship (western part), Masovian Voivodeship (southern part), Łódź Voivodeship (southeastern corner), and Lublin Voivodeship (western part).
Around the year 1000, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kraków was created, and its borders covered whole area of Lesser Poland. During the reign of Casimir I the Restorer, Kraków for the first time became the capital of Poland (around 1040), since Greater Poland and Silesia, with main Polish urban centers, such as Gniezno and Poznań were ravaged by Duke Bretislaus I of Bohemia. In 1138, following the Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty, the country was divided between his sons (see also Fragmentation of Poland). Bolesław III Wrymouth created the Seniorate Province, which, among others, consisted of Kraków. At the same time, Lesser Poland was divided into two parts, when its eastern part formed the Duchy of Sandomierz, carved by the ruler for his son Henry of Sandomierz.
In the late Middle Ages, Lesser Poland gradually became the center of Polish statehood, with Kraków being the capital of the country from the mid-11th century until 1596. Its nobility ruled Poland when Queen Jadwiga was too young to control the state, and the Union of Krewo with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the brainchild of Lesser Poland's szlachta.
In the 16th century, Lesser Poland retained its position as the most important province of the country. As no major conflicts took place on its territory, it was the center of Renaissance in Poland. The province was home to numerous scholars, writers and statesmen, and it was here where Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was created in 1569 (see Union of Lublin). In the Commonwealth, Lesser Poland proper was the base of the Province of Lesser Poland, which covered southern lands of the vast country. The province was made of Lesser Poland itself, also Red Ruthenia, Volhynia, Podolia, and Ukrainian voivodeships – Kijów Voivodeship (Kyiv), Czernihów Voivodeship (Chernihiv), and Bracław Voivodeship (Bratslav), which, until 1569, had been part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
After the conflict, Lesser Poland began a recovery, which was hampered by several other factors. Province's cities frequently burned (Lublin 1719, Nowy Targ 1784, Nowy Sącz, Dukla 1758, Wieliczka 1718, Miechów 1745, Drzewica), there also were numerous outbreaks of plagues and typhus (in 1707–1708, some 20,000 died in Kraków and its area)
Lesser Poland was one of main centers of the Bar Confederation. On 21 June 1786 in Kraków, local confederation was announced, and on the same day Voievode of Kraków, Michal Czarnocki, urged his citizens to join the movement. Soon afterwards, Kraków was captured by the Russian troops, and the center of Lesser Poland's insurgency moved to the mountainous south – areas around Dukla and Nowy Sącz. During the Confederation, several battles and skirmishes took place there. In 1770, after the Battle of Iwonicz, the Russians ransacked Biecz. The movement ended in 1772, and its decline was connected with the Partitions of Poland. Another local center of the movement was Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, which was defended by Kazimierz Pulaski for almost two years (1770–1772).
The Partitions of Poland began earlier in Lesser Poland than in other provinces of the country. In 1769, Austrian Empire annexed a small territory of Spisz, and next year, the towns of Czorsztyn, Nowy Sącz and Nowy Targ. In 1771, the Russians and the Prussians agreed on the first partition of the country, and in early 1772, Austrian Emperor Maria Theresa decided to join the two powers. In the first partition of the Commonwealth, the Austrians seized the territory which would later be called Galicia, and which included southwestern corner of Lesser Poland (south of the Vistula river), with Żywiec, Tarnów, and Biecz, but without major urban centers of the province, such as Kraków, Sandomierz, Radom, Lublin, Częstochowa, and Kielce.
As a result of their support of the failed insurrection, several Lesser Poland's towns lost their charters and were turned into villages. Among them were Kraśnik, Bodzentyn, Opatów, Iłża, Małogoszcz, Wąchock, Busko-Zdrój, Jędrzejów, Cmielow, Zwoleń, Drzewica, Wierzbica, Czeladź, Kazimierz Dolny, Wolborz, Stopnica, Daleszyce, Wiślica, Pajęczno, Lipsko, Pacanów, Ożarów, Wolbrom, Proszowice, Nowe Miasto Korczyn, Włoszczowa, Przysucha, Opole Lubelskie.
The division of Lesser Poland along the Vistula river, which lasted from 1772 until 1918, is visible even today. For more than 100 years, southern Lesser Poland (Kraków, Tarnów, Biala Krakowska, and Nowy Sącz) was administered by Austria, while northern, larger part of the province (Częstochowa, Sosnowiec, Kielce, Radom, Lublin, Sandomierz) was forcibly part of the Russian Empire. Inhabitants of Austrian part of Poland enjoyed limited autonomy, with Polish language institutions, such as Jagiellonian University. At the same time, Russian-controlled Poland was subject to Russification. As a result of decades of this division, most inhabitants of the areas stolen by Russia are not aware of their Lesser Poland's heritage. Furthermore, current administrative boundaries of the country still reflect the defunct border between the former Russian and Austria–Hungarian Empires.
In late 1918, Lesser Poland emerged as one of main centers of fledgling Polish administration and independence movement. According to historian Kazimierz Banburski of Tarnów's District Museum, Tarnów was the first Polish city which became independent, after 123 years of oppression. On 31 October 1918, at 8 am, Tarnów's inhabitants began disarming demoralized Austrian soldiers, and after three hours, the city was completely in Polish hands. On 28 October 1918, Polish Liquidation Committee was created in Kraków. A few days later, socialist peasants founded the Republic of Tarnobrzeg. In the night of 6/7 November 1918, "Polish People's Republic" was proclaimed in Lublin, by Ignacy Daszynski and other activists. In 1919, the legislative election took place in Lesser Poland without major problems.
Even though Lesser Poland's countryside was almost exclusively Polish, its towns and cities were inhabited by numerous Jews, whose communities were very vibrant. In Kraków, Jews made 25% of the population, in Lublin – 31%, in Kielce – 30%, and in Radom – 32%. Apart from the Jews, and Gypsies scattered in the south, there were no other significant national minorities in interbellum Lesser Poland.
Lesser Poland remained a center of Polish culture, with Kraków's Jagiellonian University, AGH University of Science and Technology, and Catholic University of Lublin, which was opened in 1918. Several important figures of interbellum political, military, and cultural life of Poland were born in Lesser Poland. Among them were Wincenty Witos, Władysław Sikorski, Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki, Józef Haller, Władysław Belina-Prażmowski, Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Feliks Koneczny, Stefan Żeromski, Tadeusz Peiper, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, Witold Gombrowicz, Jan Kiepura, Stefan Jaracz. In 1920, in Lesser Poland's town of Wadowice, Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was born.
On 1 September 1939, armed forces of Nazi Germany attacked Poland (see: Invasion of Poland). Lesser Poland, due to its proximity to the then-border with Germany, became a battleground on the first day of the invasion. The Germans attacked the province both in its northwest (area west of Częstochowa), and in the south (Podhale), along the border with Slovakia, Third Reich's ally.
Lesser Poland was defended by the following Polish armies:
On 12 October 1939, upon a decree of Adolf Hitler, General Government, a separate region of the Greater German Reich was created, with Hans Frank as its Governor-General. Its capital was established in Kraków, and it covered most of the area of historical Lesser Poland, except for its western counties, which were directly incorporated into Nazi Germany's Upper Silesia Province (Będzin, Sosnowiec, Zawiercie, Biała, Żywiec, Chrzanów, Olkusz).
Anti-Nazi resistance was particularly strong in Lesser Poland, and it was in the extreme northwestern corner of the province (around Opoczno), that armed struggle against the occupiers began in late 1939 and early 1940 (see Henryk Dobrzański). Structures of the Home Army were well-developed in the region. Lesser Poland's independent areas of the Home Army were located in Kraków, Kielce-Radom, and Lublin. During Operation Tempest in mid-1944, several Lesser Poland's towns were liberated, also uprising in Kraków was prepared, but never realized. Apart from the Home Army, other resistance groups were strong in the province, such as pro-Communist Armia Ludowa, peasant's Bataliony Chłopskie, and right-wing National Armed Forces, with its Holy Cross Mountains Brigade.
In all major Lesser Poland's cities, Jewish ghettos were opened, with the biggest ones in Kraków, and Lublin. At first the Nazis were planning to create a so-called "reservation" for European Jews, located around Lesser Poland's town of Nisko (see Nisko Plan), but they changed the plan, and decided to murder all Jews. Condemned to death, Jews in Lesser Poland took to fighting (see Częstochowa Ghetto Uprising), but their efforts failed. As a result of The Holocaust in Poland, once thriving and numerous Jewish population of Lesser Poland was decimated.
The government of Communist Poland invested in heavy industry, following the pre-1939 idea of Central Industrial Area. In Kraków, a new district of Nowa Huta was constructed in the 1950s. In Częstochowa and Zawiercie, the steelworks were significantly expanded, and in early 1970, the government initiated construction of Katowice Steelworks, which, despite its name, is located in Lesser Poland's Dąbrowa Górnicza. To connect Katowice Steelworks with Soviet plants, in late 1970s Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line was opened, which crossed Lesser Poland from west to east. Among other major factories, opened in Lesser Poland during Communist rule, there are:
Other Lesser Poland's major plants were significantly expanded after 1945, including Żywiec Brewery, Okocim Brewery, Fablok, Łucznik Arms Factory, FŁT-Kraśnik, Jaworzno Power Station, Siersza Power Plant, Huta Stalowa Wola, Janina Coal Mine, Sobieski Coal Mine, Zakłady Azotowe Tarnów-Mościce. Furthermore, in early 1950s significant sulfur resources were discovered in Tarnobrzeg, as a result of which Siarkopol company was founded, and the city of Tarnobrzeg quickly grew. In 1975, coal was discovered northeast of Lublin, and soon afterwards, Bogdanka Coal Mine and Piaski Coal Mine were opened.
Between 1971 and 1977, Central Trunk Line was opened, which goes along western boundary of the province, and which connects Kraków and Katowice, with Warsaw. In the early 1980s, construction of a highway between Kraków and Katowice began. The 61-kilometer road is now run by Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska, and is part of A4 highway.
Residents of Lesser Poland frequently protested against Communist government. Major centers of anti-Communist resistance were in Kraków, Nowa Huta, Radom, and Lublin. Among major protests that took place in the province were 1968 Polish political crisis (with Kraków as one of major centers of protests), June 1976 protests (in Radom), Lublin 1980 strikes, 31 August 1982 demonstrations in Poland (in several locations), 1988 Polish strikes (with Stalowa Wola as one of major centers). Several anti-Nazi, and anti-Communist leaders hailed from Lesser Poland: Jan Piwnik, Emil August Fieldorf, Leopold Okulicki, Ryszard Siwiec, Stanisław Pyjas, Hieronim Dekutowski, Andrzej Gwiazda, Andrzej Czuma.
A number of key personalities of Communist government were born in Lesser Poland, including Józef Cyrankiewicz, Bolesław Bierut, Edward Gierek, Wojciech Jaruzelski, Czesław Kiszczak, Stanisław Kania, Hilary Minc, Edward Ochab, Michał Rola-Żymierski, Józef Oleksy.
Among prominent personalities of Polish cultural life of the 20th century, who were born in Lesser Poland, there are: Xawery Dunikowski, Witold Gombrowicz, Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Sławomir Mrożek, Tadeusz Kantor, Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz, Marek Kondrat, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, Krzysztof Penderecki, Zbigniew Preisner, Leon Schiller, Jerzy Stuhr, Jan Sztaudynger, Grzegorz Turnau, Jerzy Turowicz.
In 1998, the government of Poland carried out administrative reform of the country. For the first time in history, Lesser Poland Voivodeship was created, with capital in Kraków, and area of 15,108 square kilometers. The new province covers only a small, southwestern part of historical Lesser Poland.
Today, Lesser Poland is divided between several voivodeships: whole Lesser Poland Voivodeship, whole Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, western half of Lublin Voivodeship, western part of Subcarpathian Voivodeship, eastern half of Silesian Voivodeship, southern part of Mazovian Voivodeship and southeastern corner of Łódź Voivodeship (around Opoczno).
There were suggestions that Lesser Poland voivodeship should stretch from Bielsko-Biała, to Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski and Sandomierz. Furthermore, creation of Old Poland Voivodeship was proposed, on the historical lands of northern Lesser Poland. Also, since about half of territory of current Silesian Voivodeship belongs to historical Lesser Poland, there are suggestions to rename it into "Silesian – Lesser Poland Voivodeship".
The list is based on the Polish Central Statistical Office list of 100 biggest cities of Poland, as for 30 June 2008.
In the Kingdom of Poland and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, several other locations used to be important urban centers of Lesser Poland, but in the course of the time, their significance declined. The main example is Sandomierz, which for hundreds of years was one of the most important cities of Poland, but now is a town of 25,000. Other examples of historically important places, which are now little towns or villages are:
In the 20th century, natural resources were also discovered in central and eastern counties Lesser Poland.
In 1964, the world's largest open-pit sulfur mine was opened in Machów near Tarnobrzeg. Other sulfur deposits in the area of Tarnobrzeg are Jeziorko, Grzybów-Gacki, and Grębów-Wydza. The mine at Machów is now closed. In the late 1960s, eastern Lesser Poland became one of three coal basins of the country, when Lublin Basin was created. Major coal mine in the area is KWK Bogdanka near Łęczna, which is the only coal mine in Poland which has continuously generated a profit. Other Polish coal mines located in Lesser Poland are those found in western part of the province, along the boundary with Upper Silesia – KWK Janina in Jaworzno, KWK Sobieski, and also in Jaworzno. Copper and silver are extracted in Myszków (see Myszków mine).
In the late 1930s, the government of the Second Polish Republic created Central Industrial Region, which was almost exclusively located in Lesser Poland. Currently, within borders of the province, there are following industrial regions:
Several European roads (see International E-road network) cross Lesser Poland. The most important one is the European route E40, which goes from west to east, across whole Europe. In Lesser Poland, the E40 goes from Jaworzno, via Kraków and Tarnów, towards eastern border of the country. Another main European road in Lesser Poland is the E77, which goes from north to south, via Radom, Kielce and Kraków, to southern border of Poland at Chyżne. Third major European road in Lesser Poland is the E30, which crosses the territory of the province in its extreme northeast corner, in Siedlce. Apart from these roads, Lesser Poland is crossed by the following European routes:
Within borders of historical Lesser Poland, there are two airports – John Paul II International Airport Kraków – Balice, and Katowice International Airport, which is located in the village of Pyrzowice, on the border between Lesser Poland and Upper Silesia. Pyrzowice is part of Gmina Ożarowice, which after Partitions of Poland, and Congress of Vienna belonged to Będzin County of the Russian Empire. In the interbellum, the area of future airport belonged to Lesser Poland's Kielce Voivodeship, and in 1945, was transferred to Katowice Voivodeship (initially "Silesian-Dąbrowa Voivodeship"). In 1998, Ożarowice, together with the airport, was attached to Tarnowskie Góry County, despite the fact that it is not located in Upper Silesia
Further airports in Lesser Poland will be opened in the future – Lublin – Świdnik, Kielce – Obice, and Radom – Sadków. Also, Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport is located on eastern border of the province.
Among rail hubs of Lesser Poland, there are Bielsko-Biała, Chabówka, Częstochowa, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Dębica, Dęblin, Jaworzno-Szczakowa, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona, Kielce, Koniecpol, Kozłów, Kraków, Lublin, Łuków, Muszyna, Nowy Sącz, Oświęcim, Siedlce, Spytkowice, Skarżysko-Kamienna, Stalowa Wola, Stróże, Sucha Beskidzka, Radom, Tarnów, Trzebinia, Tunel, Zawiercie, and Żywiec.
In the late 1970s, the Communist government built the broad-gauge Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line, which crosses Lesser Poland from west to east along the Vistula.
Lesser Poland is famous for its underground waters and spas, such as Busko-Zdrój, Solec-Zdrój, Nałęczów, Muszyna, Szczawnica, Piwniczna, Wysowa-Zdrój, Rabka, Swoszowice, Żegiestów, Krzeszowice, Wieliczka, and Krynica-Zdrój. Mountains and resorts of the province make it a major center of Polish tourism – Tatra National Park is visited by around 3 million tourists every year.
The following National Parks are located in Lesser Poland:
Lesser Poland is home to Poland's oldest university – Kraków's Jagiellonian University, which was established in 1364. For centuries, it was the only college of the province, and of the whole country. In December 1918, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin was opened, becoming second university of Lesser Poland. In 1944, also in Lublin, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University was established.
There are several technical universities in Lesser Poland – Kraków's AGH University of Science and Technology, and University of Technology, as well as University of Bielsko-Biała, Częstochowa University of Technology, Lublin University of Technology, Kazimierz Pułaski Technical University of Radom, and Kielce University of Technology.
Future teachers may study at Pedagogical University of Cracow, or Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa, and future physicians at Jagiellonian University Medical College, and Medical University of Lublin. Other state colleges are Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków, Agricultural University of Cracow, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, and Cracow University of Economics. Unique in the country is the Polish Air Force Academy, located in Dęblin. Among private colleges of Lesser Poland, there is Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu – National-Louis University in Nowy Sącz.
Among several Lesser Poland's regional organizations, one of the most important is "Stowarzyszenie Gmin i Powiatów Małopolski" ("The Association of Villages and Counties of Lesser Poland"). It publishes a magazine called "Wspólnota Małopolska" ("Lesser Polish Community"), and every year it chooses a "Lesser Polish Person of the Year" (among winners are John Paul II, Anna Dymna, and Stanisław Dziwisz). "The Association of Villages and Counties of Lesser Poland" has over 120 members from four Polish voivodeships. Among members are cities of Kraków, Częstochowa, Bielsko-Biała, Tarnów, and Przemyśl.
Arguably, the most famous product of Lesser Polish cuisine is the bagel, which was invented in Kraków. Other famous food specialties of the province are oscypek (EU Protected Geographical Status), slivovitz from the village of Łącko, bublik, papal cream cake from Wadowice, Lisiecka Sausage (EU Protected Geographical Status), and Bryndza Podhalańska. Among other popular products that are made in Lesser Poland, there are beers (Browary Lubelskie, Żywiec Beer, and Okocim Beer), pastas and snacks from Lublin's Lubella, Kielce Mayonnaise, coffee substitute beverage INKA from Skawina, chocolates from Kraków's Wawel Factory, juices from Tymbark, vodka Żołądkowa Gorzka produced in Lublin, and Chopin produced in Siedlce.
Several renowned sportspeople and entertainers come from Lesser Poland. Among them are some of the most famous personalities of contemporary Polish sports – boxer Tomasz Adamek, Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica, swimmer Paweł Korzeniowski, skier Justyna Kowalczyk, tennis player Agnieszka Radwańska, football and volleyball stars Jakub Błaszczykowski, Artur Boruc, and Piotr Gruszka. Among late and retired sports stars who were born in the region, there also are Polish Sportspersonalities of the Year: tennis player and Wimbledon finalist Jadwiga Jędrzejowska, skier Józef Łuszczek, ski jumper Stanisław Marusarz, and driver Sobiesław Zasada.
Kraków's major association football teams – KS Cracovia, and Wisła Kraków, are multiple champions of the country, also Stal Mielec won Polish championship twice (1973, 1976), and Garbarnia Kraków once (1931). Other popular football teams from Lesser Poland are Zagłębie Sosnowiec (four time Polish Cup winner), Górnik Łęczna, Korona Kielce, Motor Lublin, Radomiak Radom, Raków Częstochowa, Stal Stalowa Wola, and Sandecja Nowy Sącz.
Besides association football, Lesser Poland's teams were multiple national champions in other sports:
Major sports venues of the province are Stadion Miejski in Kraków, Kielce City Stadium, Marshal Józef Piłsudski Stadium in Kraków, Miejski Stadion Sportowy "KSZO" w Ostrowcu Sw., Stadion Ludowy in Sosnowiec, Dębowiec Sports Arena in Bielsko-Biała, "Hala Legionów" in Kielce, "Hala Globus" in Lublin, "Arena Częstochowa", "Kielce Racetrack", "Hala Sportowa MOSiR" in Radom, Wielka Krokiew in Zakopane.
Among popular rock music bands from Lesser Poland, there are Budka Suflera, Golec uOrkiestra, Maanam, and Zakopower. From Lesser Poland hail composers Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz, and Krzysztof Penderecki, as well as singers Basia, Ewa Demarczyk, Justyna Steczkowska, Grzegorz Turnau, Maciej Zembaty. Major music festivals in the province are: "Coke Live Music Festival" in Kraków, "Celtic Music Festival ZAMEK" in Będzin, "Film Music Festival" in Kraków, "Gaude Mater" in Częstochowa, "Boyscout's Festival of School Music" in Kielce, "Summer with Chopin" in Busko-Zdrój, "Festiwal of Shanties" in Kraków, and "Festival of Student Song" in Kraków.
Lesser Polish dialect of the Polish language.
Lesser Polish dialect is spoken in southeastern corner of Poland, both in lands which belong to historical Lesser Poland, and in areas which are not part of the province (around Sieradz and Łęczyca). On the other hand, as seen on the map, Lesser Polish dialect is not spoken in extreme northeast of Lesser Poland, in Siedlce and vicinity, where people rather speak Masovian dialect. Descending from the language of the Vistulans, it is the most numerous dialectal group in modern Poland. According to Wincenty Pol, it is divided into three subdivisions: Sandomierz dialect, Lublin dialect, and Sanok dialect.
In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Lesser Polish dialect, together with Greater Polish dialect, contributed to creation of standard Polish, it also greatly influenced Silesian language (see Dialects of the Polish language), as well as dialects of Polish used in southern part of Kresy Wschodnie. Later on, however, its importance diminished and was replaced by Masovian dialect, which became the leading dialect of Polish. After Partitions of Poland, when Lesser Poland was divided between Austria and Russia, northern areas of the province took over many features of the Masovian dialect, while Lesser Polish dialect in Austrian province of Galicia was heavily influenced by German.
According to Multimedia Guide to Polish Dialects, a webpage maintained by University of Warsaw, Lesser Polish dialect is divided into the following subdialects:
Krosno Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975–1998, superseded by Subcarpathian Voivodeship (except Biecz Commune which is now a part of Lesser Poland Voivodeship). Its capital city was Krosno.
The Komancza Republic, also known as the Eastern Lemko Republic (), was a short-lived microstate, an association of thirty three Lemko villages, seated in Komańcza in eastern Lemkivshchyna, that existed between 4 November 1918 and 24 January 1919. It was headed by Head of the Council (голова Повітової Української Національної Ради, Head of the "Powiat" Ukrainian National "Rada") Rev. Panteleymon Shpylka.
Unlike the contemporaneous Lemko Republic to its west, the Komancza Republic planned to unite with the West Ukrainian People's Republic in an independent Ukrainian state (the Lemko Republic sought unification with the Russian Soviet Republic). Unification of the Komancza Republic and West Ukraine was suppressed by the Polish government as part of the Polish–Ukrainian War.
The Treaty of Saint-Germain made Galicia west of the San Polish.
The Republic of Tarnobrzeg (, ) was a short-lived entity, proclaimed 6 November 1918 in the Polish town of Tarnobrzeg. Its main founders were two socialist activists Tomasz Dąbal and the Roman Catholic priest Eugeniusz Okoń.
The idea of the Republic had its roots in mass demonstrations of peasants, which were taking place almost on a daily basis in the fall of 1918. Tarnobrzeg had been part of the Austrian Empire (Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria) and dissolution of this entity created a political unrest. On 6 November, after a demonstration with some 30,000 people, local peasants decided to take advantage of it and seize power.
As news of the Russian Revolution came to Tarnobrzeg, socialist activists decided to follow Communist ideas. They demanded the liquidation of capitalist government and the introduction of a land reform, which would result in taking away land from rich owners and giving it to the poor peasantry. Also, directed by Okoń and Dąbal, the peasants started to organize local administration as well as a peasants' militia.

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