Wikipedia
Tarnogród is a town in Biłgoraj County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. It has a population of 3,399 (2006).
The history of the town dates back to the Middle Ages settlement, then known as Cierniogród. The town had city rights from 16th to 19th century, and regained them in 1987. There are various tourist attractions in the town, including a synagogue built in 1686 and a late baroque church built in 1750-1771. Outside the church there is a belfry from 1777.
Even though Tarnogrod now belongs to Lublin Voivodeship, the town does not have any historic connections with Lesser Poland, as for most of its history, it was part of Red Ruthenian Land of Przemyśl. Currently, Tarnogrod is southernmost town of the voivodeship; the distance to Lublin is 110 kilometers, while the distance to Rzeszów is only .
In the early 19th century, Tarnogrod was 7th biggest town of Russian-controlled Congress Poland, and in 1810-1842, it was the seat of a county.
Tarnogrod was founded in the mid-16th century in a location where a defensive gord called Cierniogrod once had existed. It received Magdeburg rights in Piotrków Trybunalski, on May 14, 1567, from King Zygmunt August. The House of Zamoyski, which owned Tarnogrod, built houses around a market square, together with a wooden town hall and prison tower. Later on, a hospital was added, together with two churches (1569, 1591) and a bath house. The town had three gates, its population in 1589 is estimated at app. 1,500.
In 1588, Tarnogrod became part of Zamoyski Family Fee Tail. The town had a vogt, a mayor and a council. In the early 17th century, Tarnogrod had two Roman Catholic churches, a synagogue and an Orthodox church. In the mid-17th century, numerous wars and plagues decimated Tarnogrod’s population. On 26 November 1715, the Tarnogrod Confederation was formed here.
Following the first partition of Poland (1772), the town was captured by Austrians, who brought here German settlers. Austrian rule ended in 1809 (see Polish–Austrian War), and for the next 6 years, Tarnogrod belonged to the Duchy of Warsaw, in which it became seat of a county (until 1842). In 1815, the Duchy was renamed into Russian-controlled Congress Poland, in which Tarnogrod initially was 7th largest city (after Warsaw, Kalisz, Lublin, Płock, Zamość and Piotrków Trybunalski), with population of 3,391.
On May 19, 1870, Tarnogrod lost its town charter, even though its population reached 5,000.
On June 17, 1915, Tarnogrod was captured by Austrian forces, which remained here until November 1918. In the Second Polish Republic, Tarnogrod belonged to Biłgoraj County, Lublin Voivodeship. On September 15, 1939, the Wehrmacht entered the village, burning several houses. On September 27, the Germans withdrew, and were replaced by the Red Army, which remained here for two weeks. On October 26, 1939, Tarnogrod became part of General Government’s Lublin District. Germans carried out several massacres in the area of the village, which resulted in Polish rebellion, the Zamosc Uprising. Red Army re-entered Tarnogrod in July 1944.
On the outbreak of World War II there were about 2,500 Jews in Tarnogrod. The Jewish community was liquidated on Nov. 2, 1942, when 3,000 Jews from Tarnogrod and its vicinity were deported to the Belzec death camp.
On January 1, 1987, Tarnogrod regained its town status.
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