# Góra Kalwaria

Góra Kalwaria (Polish pronunciation:; "Calvary Mountain", Yiddish: גער, Ger) is a town on the Vistula River in the Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is situated approximately 35 kilometres (22 miles) southeast of Warsaw. It has a population of around 11,328 (as of 2019) and a total area of 13.7 km$^2$.
The town was first mentioned in 1252, and was re-founded as Nowa Jerozolima in 1670. It obtained its Magdeburg rights thanks to John III Sobieski. It was modeled after the city of Jerusalem, and was intended as a centre for strengthening Catholicism. It became the seat of famous tzadiks such as Avraham Mordechai Alter or Yitzchak Meir Alter.
Hasidic Judaism appeared in Góra Kalwaria in 1859. The town was an important centre of the Hasidic movement. Before World War II, there were 3,000 Jews in the town. However, after the transports to the Warsaw Ghetto, the town ultimately ended up with only 2 Jews as of 2007, who are likely dead by now.
In World War I, the town was devastated by both sides of the war. Many were deprived of their possessions, houses were plundered and many other buildings such as shops were destroyed. However, the town regained its city rights in 1916 which it had previously lost to the Russians.
In World War II, a battle occurred here. It ended with a Polish defeat as they were outnumbered and could not count on support due to no radio communication with the command. The town supplied the Nazi-occupied capital with lots of flour, bread, and meat.
The town is now governed by Arkadiusz Strzyżewski. The main road of the town is Pijarska, and the town is laid out in the shape of a Latin cross. Notable landmarks include the Bernadine church and monastery, the church known as "Pilate's Chapel", the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Chapel of St. Anthony. Part of the Chojnów Landscape Park can also be found in this town.

## History
### Before founding

This town was mentioned as early as 1252 in the documents of the Poznań bishop Boguchwał as "Góra". In this year it was already collecting tithes from neighbouring villages. A functioning parish school here appeared in 1617, proving that the village was a wealthy one. However, the Swedish Deluge caused the destruction and depopulation of the village.

### Founding

Stefan Wierzbowski, Bishop of Poznań purchased the ruined village. The town (initially called New Jerusalem) was founded in 1670 by Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki when he issued a founding document for "Nowa Jerozolima". It belonged to Poznań bishops until 1795. It was founded at the site of two former villages, Góra and Wólka Górska, which were situated on the high Vistula scarp within the former Masovian Voivodeship. It was a city on a cross-shaped plan, with numerous chapels, monasteries and churches, mainly being based on images of ancient Jerusalem. It was intended as a centre for strengthening Catholicism and became the seat of famous tzadiks.

### Town rights

The town received the privilege of Magdeburg rights, afterwards confirmed by John III Sobieski, allowing the organisation of two markets per week and four annual fairs (the dates of these events correlated with Catholic holidays). In order to attract settlers, in 1672, Wierzbicki issued a privilege which waived burgers' rents, tributes and taxes for a period of five years and established the town's layout. Citizens were allowed to produce and sell alcoholic beverages, such as beer and vodka, deal with commerce and crafts and cater to visitors' needs.

### 18th–20th century

At the end of the 18th century, a paper factory was established in Jeziorna, expanded in the following century and is in operation to this day. From the beginning of Congress Poland until the end of 2001, Góra Kalwaria was a garrison town. After the January Uprising, the tsarist authorities stripped Piaseczno and Góra Kalwaria of their city rights. By the Judicial reform of Alexander II in 1864, serfdom was abolished, and landed properties were severely reduced. The construction of a narrow-gauge railway from Warsaw to Góra Kalwaria occurred at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It facilitated the transport of bricks from the Baniocha area to the expanding Warsaw, where clay was being exploited on a large scale at that time.

### Hasidic Judaism in Góra Kalwaria

Hasidic Judaism appeared in Góra Kalwaria in 1859. From the start of the 20th century and perhaps even earlier, Góra Kalwaria was an important center of the Hasidic movement, first under the leadership of the Gerrer Rebbe Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, who died in 1905 and then under the leadership of his son, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter. Hasidic pilgrims came to the town from around the world, due to which a railroad was constructed from Warsaw to help bring them. When Feliks (a Jew who survived World War II, born on November 29, 1926) was a boy, he said that the town had two synagogues. One was open everyday and the other was open just for Sabbath services and for holidays.

### World War I

At the end of September 1914, the front reached Piaseczno, and in the first days of October, the areas close to Góra Kalwaria. The German army was heading towards the capital this way. The terrified rural population fled in panic, leaving their houses empty. In October, there were fights between the Russians, the Germans and the Austrians. The tsarist army launched a counteroffensive. However, in order to keep Warsaw, it was forced to cross to the left bank of the Vistula. Because of this, the Russians gathered all their strength and built a bridge in the vicinity of Góra Kalwaria in one day. After bloody battles took place in the city and its surroundings, cemeteries and mass graves remained in many towns, such as Wola, Dobieska, Solec, Moczydłów and Wólka Zaleska; Austrian, German and Russian soldiers were lying next to each other. Many of these graves have not survived to this day.
The inhabitants of Góra Kalwaria and the surrounding area were not well off, and most of them were downright poor. The war hit them extremely hard, often depriving them of all their possessions when passing troops burned villages. The houses, even if they survived, were completely plundered. In addition, soldiers trampled farmlands, destroyed orchards, and cut down entire swathes of forests. In Góra Kalwaria alone, in the fall of 1914, 15 houses were burned down and some gardens were devastated. The rectory was ruined, shops were robbed, and existing tea houses were destroyed. A temporary hospital was organized in Góra Kalwaria during the war. Volunteers tried to prevent starvation. A water collection point appeared in the city, with tea and boiling water also being distributed. Citizens' committees tried to help people, especially women whose husbands had been conscripted into the army.
The Germans entered Góra Kalwaria in the second week of August 1915, remaining here until November 11, 1918. However, the devastation of the city and the surrounding area continued. As they retreated, the Russians destroyed everything. Railway infrastructure, bridges and many buildings suffered damage. However, the German occupation had more than just bad consequences. The Germans paved many roads and built, among others: the road from Warka to Góra Kalwaria. They also supported education in these areas. Thanks to them, Góra Kalwaria regained its city rights in 1916, previously taken away by the tsarist regime.

### Battle of Warsaw (1920)

On August 13–25, 1920, on the outskirts of Warsaw, the Battle of Warsaw, also known as the Miracle on the Vistula, took place. On August 13 and 14, near Góra Kalwaria, the crews of the Toruń squadron stopped the Red Army from crossing the Vistula. The section of the Vistula River bordering the city also became a fighting area. The crew passing by Góra Kalwaria noticed the enemy troops and immediately opened fire. Violent shelling forced the Russians to retreat.

### World War II

Just before the war, from mid–May to July 1939, Polish sappers from Warsaw, Puławy and Modlin put a wooden and steel bridge over the Vistula River near Góra Kalwaria. The kilometer-long construction connected Brzumin with Piwonin. A battle took place there during the Nazi Invasion of Poland. The fight took place over the bridge. German troops then moving east wanted to use it to cross the river. Then Col. Tadeusz Komorowski sent a unit of lancers to defend it. Several hundred soldiers under the command of Maj. Jerzy Jasiewicz [pl] had only a few heavy machine guns, an anti-tank gun and two cannons. They had no chance in the fight against the 1st division of the 16th Panzer Corps of the Wehrmacht commanded by General Hans Schmidt, especially since they could not count on support because they lost radio contact with the command. After a few days, they fell to the enemy and 200 of them were taken prisoner by the Germans.
During the war, Piaseczno and Góra Kalwaria supplied the occupied capital in large quantities with flour, bread and some meat.
At the beginning of World War II, 3,000 out of about 7,000 residents were Jews. However, once the Germans took control of the town, they established a ghetto. It lasted until 1941, when most of Góra Kalwaria's Jews were transported to the Warsaw Ghetto.

## Urban design
### The original plan

The layout of a new town was subordinated to the celebrations of the Way of the Cross. It consisted of two main streets forming a Latin cross with a church (Pilate's court) at the intersection. The plan followed medieval plans meant to resemble ancient Jerusalem. The Baroque composition extended far beyond the former village. The axes led to three monastery complexes: Bernardines, Piarists and Dominicans and the Saint Cross Church; their symmetrical distribution additionally emphasised the cross-shaped layout. The monastery of Oratorians, afterwards Friars of Holy Communion, supplemented the Saint Cross Church and enacted the ceremonies conducted in the sanctuary. Besides this, south-west from the town, two more monastery complexes were erected: Marians and Dominican Sisters, accessible from a side road which was connected to the main one next to the Dominicans Monastery. An attempt to emulate the ideal layout of Jerusalem had to be adjusted to local conditions. Not all the elements of the plan could be easily recreated, due to the local topography. For instance, Golgota Hill, which should have its location in the bottom left portion of the plan, could not be placed next to the embankment due to the lack of sufficient space for the required chapels there. The arrangement extended far into the open landscape, with numerous chapels situated in the surrounding forest. The longer axis, which used the existing ravine as a part of the terrain configuration, was defined with Kalwaryjska Street and the market square, its prolongation continued as the local road to Piaseczno.
The perpendicular axis used a section of the former road from Warsaw to Lublin. The tracing of pilgrims' paths was done in a way which consciously opened vast vistas and framed views to enrich the content of the biblical stories. The landscaping efforts additionally upgraded the images pilgrims were intended to absorb while treading along the processional paths. For instance, to improve the quality of the visual experience, the Saint Cross Church, which closed the perspective and, at the same time, was the final destination for the pilgrims, was exposed against the slope of a hill on which stood a large-scale cross. The main market, in the form of a trapezoid, covered a large area: 270m long and 90 to 100 meters wide. The eastern facade hosted a church and a monastery of the Bernardines; in the west facade, there was Pilate's court. The two longer facades consisted of the townhouses of citizens. In the middle of the square, there were the stalls of merchants as allowed by the town charter. There was a wooden town hall from the beginning of the town; it was mentioned in the parish register and court archives. Initially, Kalwaryjska Street was much larger than it is now and opened perspectives on the whole of the arrangement located on the hill.
The town hall was built in later times, at the turn of the eighteenth and the nineteenth century, at first in very modest form.

### 1970–1988 household statistics

In 1970, the highest share of single-person households (23-33%) was recorded, apart from the districts of Śródmieście and Praga-Północ, mainly in the suburbs of Warsaw in Góra Kalwaria, Kobyłka, Józefów, Konstancin-Jeziorna and Ząbki, and in the western part of the city (Podkowa Leśna, Piastów, Żyrardów, Milanówek). In 1970, 1978 and 1988, this share did not change much and amounted to 24-34%. However, Góra Kalwaria along with Ząbki, Konstancin-Jeziorna, Kobyłka dropped out of this group, and their place was taken by the remaining districts of Warsaw and the cities of Brwinów, Pruszków, Zakroczym and Kałuszyn.
The highest estimated level of residential construction intensity among cities (annual average of 10-20 apartments per 1,000 inhabitants) was recorded in: Legionowo, Mszczonów, Nowy Dwór, Góra Kalwaria, Błonie, Wołomin, and the districts of Praga Północ, Mokotów, Żoliborz and Wola. In the years 1978–1988, with a significantly lower level of residential construction intensity, the group of the "least populated" included: Karczew, Tłuszcz, Piastów and Żyrardów, while the group that dropped out was Błonie, Góra Kalwaria and all districts of Warsaw, except Mokotów.
The lowest residential construction intensity (annual average of 2-4 dwellings per 1000 inhabitants) in the first period was observed in cities of a specific character (agricultural, summer resorts or from the western part of the city), i.e. Serock, Karczew, Marki, Podkowa Leśna, Józefów, Konstancin-Jeziorna, Brwinów, Piastów, Zakroczym, Milanówek and the Śródmieście district. In the period 1978–1988, Karczew, Piastów, Zakroczym dropped out of this group of non-expanding centres, and Błonie, Góra Kalwaria, Otwock and the Ochota district were included in it.

### Modern–day

In the Otwock County there are three main communication routes, one of them being the "National road no. 50 Mińsk Mazowiecki – Kołbiel – Góra Kalwaria" through which east–west transit bypasses Warsaw. The largest concentration of monuments in this county from the Baroque period can be found in Góra Kalwaria. These are: a unique layout of the town in the shape of a Latin cross, the Bernadine church and monastery, the church known as "Pilate's Chapel" and the chapel of St. Anthony.

## Education

Places for education include:
* Secondary School named after Priest Zygmunt Sajna (Complex of General Education Schools in Góra Kalwaria)
* Integration Kindergarten in Góra Kalwaria
* Local Government Kindergarten No. 1 in Góra Kalwaria
* Primary School No. 1 (Complex of General Education Schools in Góra Kalwaria)
* Primary School No. 2 named after Prince Janusz in Góra Kalwaria
* Municipal Nursery in Góra Kalwaria
* School and Kindergarten Complex in Cendrowice Municipal Nursery in Góra Kalwaria
* Vocational School Complex named after Marshal Franciszek Bieliński in Góra Kalwaria

## Culture, media and sport
### Cultural Center in Góra Kalwaria

The Cultural Center in Góra Kalwaria is often used for many activities, such as art, music, pottery and theatre.

### Sport

One of the sports club of the town is Korona Góra Kalwaria with football, boxing and chess sections. Another one is the Activity Zone with tennis, gym and fitness, and football.

## Government

In 2024, Arkadiusz Strzyżewski became mayor of Góra Kalwaria again, approved in the second round of local elections by 54.34%. votes, defeating Aleksandra Fedynicz-Komosa who received 45.66% of the votes.

## Infrastructure
### Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The most famous building in Góra Kalwaria is likely the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located in the heart of the town. It was founded in 1756 on the site of a destroyed earlier temple. It was built in Baroque style and was initially managed by the Bernardine monastery. However, the monastery operating next to the church was dissolved by the tsarist authorities for participating in the January Uprising. Since then, the building has served as a parish church. On the pillars of the gate in front of the church there are baroque sculptures depicting saints: Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, John of Capistrano and Bernard of Siena, and on the front of the building there is a commemorative plaque "Vota mea..." (which translates to "My vow").
The corners of the altars and cornices are decorated with characteristic angels. There is also the 18th-century baptismal font and the Stations of the Cross. The church has many monuments of painting, including the painting of Our Lady of Consolation from the early 17th century. On the side altars there are paintings by Szymon Czechowicz (the scene of the Presentation of Christ in the Jerusalem Temple, the Holy Family, Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Anthony of Padua). Another thing is the sarcophagus with the relics of Saint Valerian, made of black marble.

### Bishop's Palace

Opposite the church there is the Bishop's Palace, which today houses the municipal library and the Cultural and Tourist Information Center. The building was built in the 17th century, but in the 18th century it was rebuilt in the classicist style by the Italian architect Jakub Fontana.

### Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Nearby is the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (colloquially "Church on the Hill"), also historically known as Pilate's Town Hall. It was consecrated in 1679, but it gained its final shape in the 18th century, when it was rebuilt in Baroque style. In the basement there is the sarcophagus of Bishop Wierzbowski. The temple also houses a 16th-century Gothic Pietà, a Baroque cross and a Baroque figure of the Scourged Christ. There are also two paintings by the 17th-century artist Federico Barocci: "The Nailing to the Cross" and "The Descent from the Cross". Currently, the church is a branch church. It can be visited and services are held there.

### Piarist College

The complex of the Piarist Order was built in 1675. Young noblemen studied there. The college existed until 1819, when it was transformed into tsarist barracks. The residential pavilions adjoining the neo-Gothic chapel from the 19th century have survived to this day. Today, the college buildings house a Social Welfare Home. It is surrounded by a red wall (built in 1935).

### Jewish–related

The building at Pijarska 5 is a former private prayer house (Bejt Midrash), built in 1903 by the Alter family of tzaddiks. During the occupation, the Germans carried out mass executions of Jews there. After the war, it was rebuilt into apartments and shops. Inside, two rows of cast-iron pillars supporting a flat ceiling have been preserved, and in the attic there is a unique matzah oven. The facility remains under the care of the Jewish community in Warsaw. In the yard on the opposite side of the street there is a red-brick synagogue built in 1905 after the fire of the earlier wooden synagogue. After the war, a carbonated water plant and a shop were located there. In 2000, the building was returned to the Jewish community. Inside, only the cast iron pillars of the gallery have survived. Right next to it is the building of the former court of Tzaddik Yitzchak Meir Rothenberg Alster and the residence of his successors.
In this town there is a Hortex plant and a modern swimming pool.

### Demographics

Population in Góra Kalwaria :
| Year | Population | Population change |
| 1921 | 5,496 | — |
| 1931 | 7,097 | + 29.1% |
| 2010 | 11,428 | + 3.9% |
| 2015 | 11,597 | + 1.5% |
| 2016 | 11,586 | - 0.1% |
| 2017 | 11,601 | + 0.1% |
| 2018 | 11,659 | + 0.5% |
| 2019 | 11,724 | + 0.6% |
| 2020 | 11,516 | - 1.8% |
| 2021 | 11,328 | - 1.6% |
At the beginning of World War II, 3,000 out of about 7,000 residents were Jews. However, once the Germans took control of the town, they established a ghetto. It lasted until 1941, when most of Góra Kalwaria's Jews were transported to the Warsaw Ghetto. In August 2007, there were only two Jews left in town, one called Feliks and the other a man in his nineties. However, there are probably no Jews in the city anymore. However, in the wider world — for example in Israel or the United States — you can still find descendants and societies associated with the Court of Alters.

## Geography

The area covered by Góra Kalwaria is defined by coordinates from 21°00' to 21°15' eastern longitude and from 51°50' to 52°00' north latitude.
The town is situated on the high left bank of the Vistula. At the foot of the town flows a small stream known as the Cedron.
The Chojnów Landscape Park spans 6,796 hectars and its border zone 4,727 hectares, making the total 11,523 hectares. Part of it can be found in this town.

## Notable people

Notable people include:
* Stefan Wierzbowski, the founder of Góra Kalwaria (Nowa Jerozolima)
* Stanislaus Papczyński, founder of the Congregation of Marian Fathers, the first male order established in Poland
* Franciszek Bieliński, the founder of the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Góra Kalwaria
* Avraham Mordechai Alter, for over 40 years, the tzadik, of the Jewish Hasidic dynasty (Alter dynasty), founded in Góra Kalwaria.
* Zygmunt Sajna [pl], parish priest of the Roman Catholic parish in Góra Kalwaria in 1938–1940.
* Wolf Messing, famous clairvoyant, telepath and hypnotist.
* Adolf Dymsza, film and theatre actor, cabaret artist.
* Henryk Prajs [pl], lieutenant of the Polish Army, participant in the Invasion of Poland in 1939.
* Witold Pyrkosz, an actor, buried in the parish cemetery in Góra Kalwaria.
* Yitzchak Meir Alter, the first rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty
* Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, a Hasidic rabbi
* Yisrael Alter, fifth rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty
* Simcha Bunim Alter, sixth rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty
* Józef Chaciński, Polish lawyer and politician