page_title: Kraśnik
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Kraśnik / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Church of the Assumption in Krasnik
context_page_description: Kraśnik is a town in eastern Poland with 35,602 inhabitants, situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, historic Lesser Poland. It is the seat of Kraśnik County. The town of Kraśnik as it is known today was created in 1975, after the merger of its two districts - Kraśnik Lubelski, and Kraśnik Fabryczny.
context_section_description: The area of Kraśnik was first settled in the 13th century, and the town received its city charter in 1377, by King Louis I of Hungary. At that time it belonged to Sandomierz Voivodeship, one of two voivodeships of Lesser Poland (Lublin Voivodeship was created in 1474, out of parts of Sandomierz Voivodeship). Located on a busy merchant road from Silesia to Kiev, Kraśnik in the 14th century belonged to the Gorajski family. In 1403, it had a parish church of Saint Paul, and in 1410, as a dowry of Anna of Goraj, it passed into the hands of the Tęczyński family. Later on, it belonged to other families, such as the Radziwiłłs, and in 1604, the town was purchased by hetman Jan Zamoyski. Until 1866, Kraśnik belonged to the Zamoyski family. The town frequently suffered from fires, it was also destroyed by the Swedes in 1657, during the Deluge.
  Since the 14th century, Kraśnik was surrounded by a rampart, and ca. 1465, stone-brick walls were built on initiative of Jan Tęczyński, with two gates - Lublin Gate and Sandomierz Gate. The walls were demolished in the second half of the 19th century. Kraśnik also had a defensive church, surrounded with a high wall, and a castle, built in the 14th century on a hill surrounded by swamps. By 1646, the castle was already neglected. In 1657, it was completely destroyed by the Swedes.
  Until the Third Partition of Poland (1795), Kraśnik belonged to Lublin Voivodeship, then passed into Austrian hands. In 1807 it was included in the short-lived Polish Duchy of Warsaw, and from 1815 until 1915 the town was in the Russian Empire (Congress Poland). In August 1914, the town and surrounding area were a focal point of Battle of Kraśnik, an opening battle of the World War I struggle between Russia and Central Powers over control of Galicia. During the war, the town gained its first railway connection, as a line was built through it by the Russians in 1914 in order to deliver supplies to the front. Later on, the line was expanded, and now it joins Lublin with Stalowa Wola.
  In 1938 Kraśnik was selected as the location for an ammunition factory (see Central Industrial Region). The factory was not finished by the time World War II broke out in 1939, and during the German occupation it was used to manufacture parts for Heinkel planes and other purposes. After the war, in 1948, the factory was started up again, this time to produce ball bearings (the first factory to do that in Poland).
caption: Gothic-Renaissance Church of the Assumption
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