Local history
Information about the town – Polska / małopolskie
“The 14th century marked the beginning of the town of Andrychów. It is probable that refugees from Morawy (English: Moravia) established here a small village called Indrzychów. The village was probably listed in the Peter’s pence tax register from 1344 but its name was twisted to Henrychów (ecclesia de Henrichow)[1.1]. In 1345, the village area comprised 27 square kilometers (according to other sources, 10 square kilometers) and had 105 inhabitants. In his work “Liber Beneficjorum”, Jan Długosz, a chronicler from the 15th century, called the abovementioned village Gendrzychów. Robberies that plagued Andrychów led to the depopulation of the area. During the reign of King Zygmunt I, Zator came under control of the Polish kings and so did Andrychów, which started to develop. In 1564, during a session of the General Sejm, a decision was made to incorporate the Duchy of Zator and the Duchy of Oświęcim into the Crown of the Polish Kingdom. Consequently, the Czech law was replaced by the Polish law and the Czech official language was replaced by Polish. After these changes, the Polish gentry started arriving in this region.
“Andrychów changed hands in the subsequent years. Under King Zygmunt Stary, in the 16th century, the owners of Andrychów was the Szylling family. They were supporters of the reformation, so in the middle of the century a vast majority of the Andrychów inhabitants converted to Calvinism”[1.2] The Catholic parish ceased to exist. At the start of the 17th century, Andrychów became the possession of Marian Przełęcki from the Szreniawa clan who was a judge, and then the Oświęcim castellan. Moreover, he was an adviser of King Zygmunt I and Władysław IV. The next heir of the village was Marian Przełęcki’s brother, Hieronim whose son Achacy inherited the territory from his father. In 1655, the Swedish troops that headed to Oświęcim and Żywiecczyzna (English: Żywiec Region) almost completely destroyed the village, while the fights between King August II and the Swedish King Karol XII from 1707 led to another devastation of Andrychów.
The next owner of Andrychów was Czerny family. At the beginning of the 18th century, Franciszek Czerny, the Oświęcim castellan, brought to Andrychów craftsmen including weavers from Belgium, Saxony and Silesia. “From then on, the Andrychów weaving industry started to develop rapidly, though its very beginning can be probably traced back to the 16th century”.[1.3] In spite of all his efforts, the new owner did not succeed in granting the town privileges to Andrychów. However, in 1750, the village received a privilege to organize fairs, a privilege that had been granted only to towns. When Franciszek’s daughter Salomea was getting married to Stanisław Ankwicz, the Biecz castellan from Posławice, her father prepared a dowry for her in the form of the Andrychów land. “The legal basis for establishing the town of Andrychów were two privileges: a royal document issued by King Stanisław August on 24 October 1767 and the privilege of 8 May 1768 granted by Stanisław Ankwicz, the contemporary owner of Andrychów, which put the royal decision into effect. The town of Andrychów started to exist on 8 May 1768” [1.4]. From the moment the town privileges were granted, the village and town of Andrychów existed alongside each other and they were united only as late as 1886.
The prosperity and advancement of the town depended on weaving industry, which was well developed for that time. In 1792, there were as many as 200 weaver’s workshops, and the local and the neighboring guilds had 700 such places. The village had a greater area and more inhabitants. For example, in 1816, there were 217 houses and 1,860 inhabitants in the village of Andrychów, whereas the town of Andrychów had only 125 houses and 1,050 residents in 1824” [1.5].
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[1.1] Siemionow, A. Ziemia Wadowicka. Monografia turystyczno-krajoznawcza, Komisja Turystyki Górskiej, Oddział PTTK „Ziemia Wadowicka” (English: Mountain Tourism Commission of PTTK “Ziemia Wadowicka”), Wadowice 1984, p. 144
[1.2] Zembroń, J. Raptularz Andrychowski. Przemysł miejscowy w XX wieku, Andrychów 2002, p. 17
[1.3] Siemionow, A. Ziemia Wadowicka. Monografia turystyczno-krajoznawcza, Komisja Turystyki Górskiej, Oddział PTTK „Ziemia Wadowicka” (English: Mountain Tourism Commission of PTTK “Ziemia Wadowicka”), Wadowice 1984, p. 144
[1.4] Zwoliński, A. Miasto Ankwiczów. Z dziejów Andrychowa, Kraków 1993, p. 15
[1.5] Siemionow, A. Ziemia Wadowicka. Monografia turystyczno-krajoznawcza, Komisja Turystyki Górskiej, Oddział PTTK „Ziemia Wadowicka” (English: Mountain Tourism Commission of PTTK “Ziemia Wadowicka”), Wadowice 1984, p. 145
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