History of Radom

The earliest evidence of a person staying in the place of modern Radom dates back to the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods (Middle and New Stone Age ), dated from 8000 to 4400 BC. Traces of human presence found in this area suggest that there were sites of tribes leading a nomadic lifestyle. Many archaeological finds, mainly burials, confirm the presence of man in this area also in the Bronze Age . Here are the burial places of the cultures of Tshinetskaya , Luzhitskaya and Przhevorskaya ( Iron Age ).

The most common is the hypothesis about the origin of the name of the city from the word rad - “advice”; thus, approximately it can be translated as “established by the council” ^[1] .

The first settlements in the valley of the Milky River, on the site of the present Radom, arise in the VIII century . It was a village whose inhabitants were engaged in cattle breeding, as well as the processing of millet and wheat. Traces of iron smelting were also found. At the end of the 9th century, due to rising water levels in the river and flooding of households, the settlement was moved to the nearest hill, where a fortress appeared in the 10th century , which in the next century was surrounded by a wooden-earth rampart and surrounded by a moat. Conveniently located on the edge of the Radom Forest, on the border of Mazovia and Lesser Poland, Radom has become an important administrative center of the first Piast dynasty . There were temporary residences of Heinrich Sandomierz , Casimir the Just and his son Leszek Bely . The name of the town Petrovka comes from the church of St. Peter built here in the XII century. The church itself has not survived to our days, only its written descriptions exist. It is also known that in 1222 he was transferred under guardianship to the Order of the Benedictines who arrived from Setsehuv .

One of the oldest preserved Radom architectural monuments is the church of St. Wenceslas . It was built in the 13th century by order of Leszek Bely . Now rebuilt and restored after numerous fires, it does not look like its original image.

The first mention of Radom villam Slavno iuxta Radom, que vocatur Zlauno ^[2] (lat. Village of Nice, near Radom) appeared in 1155 in the Bull Pope Adrian IV (Bull Wroclaw). In it, he talks about the village of Slavno, which at that time was the administrative center with a castellan at the head and was located in the vicinity of Radom. The direct mention of the city, or rather of the Radom castelian Mark dates back to 1233 .

Around 1300, Radom received the status of a city from the hands of Boleslav the Shameful , but the heyday of the city dates back to 1350 , when Casimir III the Great built the New Radom with a market, town hall and castle, surrounded by fortress walls. The shape of the market was rectangular, and the system of streets modeled on German Gothic cities had the appearance of a chessboard. The area of ​​New Radom was about 9 hectares, and the length of the walls with 30 towers was about 1 kilometer.

Three gates led into the city: the Krakow also called the Ilzhetsky, Petrkovsky and Lubelsky. Inside the walls was built a church of St. John the Baptist (church of the Farn), which together with the castle constituted a special defensive complex surrounded by a rampart. The castle looked like a large two-story building, an economic wing and three defensive towers. From that complex, only part of the two-story building has survived, in which the house of the parish priest of the church is now located.

Since 1364 , the city began to be governed by Magdeburg law . The main factor influencing the development of the city was its advantageous position on trade routes with Russia , Silesia , Greater Poland and Pomerania . The main “oxen route” from Russia to Silesia most likely contributed to the appearance in Radom of a shop for dressing hides, and later other craft workshops. In 1376, Radom became the venue for the elders; noble congresses, seymas were held here, agreements were signed, ambassadors were received. It is likely that at one of these Diet Jadwiga Anjou , daughter of Louis of Hungary , was elected king of Poland (king, because Polish law did not provide for the inheritance of the throne by the queen).

Wladyslaw Jagiello gave the city a number of privileges, freeing its inhabitants from customs duties throughout the Kingdom of Poland . During his travels between Vilnius and Krakow, he repeatedly stopped at the Radom Castle, which served as an additional incentive for the development of the city's economy. On March 18, 1401, the Union of Vilnius and Radom was signed, according to which Vitovt (Grand Duke of Lithuania, cousin of Jagiello) and his subjects were forced to bring a written promise of allegiance to Poland; he was recognized as the Grand Duke of Lithuania, but only for life: the lands transferred to him after the death had to go to Jagiel and the Kingdom of Poland. At the same time, intensive preparations were being made for war with the Teutonic Order .

The son of Vladislav Jagiello, Casimir IV , often visited the Radom castle with his wife Elizabeth Habsburg . In it, they received foreign guests, starting with the ambassadors of the Tatar Khan , ending with the envoys of the Czech king Jiri , who in 1469 wanted to give the Czech crown to the son of Casimir IV, Vladislav . On November 18, 1489, in Radom, Johann von Tiefen , the great master of the Teutonic Order, bowed before King Casimir IV Jagiellon.

From 1420 to 1440 , Mikola from Radom , one of the first Polish composers, worked in the city. Since the reign of Casimir IV Jagiellon, one of the most valuable Radom monuments has been preserved - the monastery and the Bernardine church, which was established by the king and Radom elder Dominic Casanovsky in 1468 . At first, the entire monastery complex and the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria included in it were wooden, but by 1507 a stone was built. Since 1481, Radom became the permanent residence of Prince Casimir , son of Casimir IV Jagiellon, whom his father, who was then in Lithuania, authorized to be governor of the Kingdom of Poland. And as a result, Radom was the informal capital of the country for two years. Soon Prince Casimir died of tuberculosis and was canonized in 1602 , and now he is the patron saint of the Radom diocese and the city of Radom. During the reign of Alexander Jagiellon in 1505, the Nihil novi constitution was adopted at the Sejm in Radom. The full name of the law is Nihil novi nisi commune consensu (lit. nothing new without universal consent ). This was one of the most important documents of the life of a political state, according to which the king could not decide anything on his own without the approval of the embassy hut and the senate . At the Diet, the "Lasky Charter" was approved, which is a set of noble and church privileges, city laws in force in the Kingdom. He played a very important role in the legal life of Poland and was the main land law down to the sections.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Radom was still an important administrative and economic center of Sandomierz Voivodeship . In the years 1613-1764, the city hosted the Treasury Crown Tribunal - an institution of judicial executive power, which was responsible for the control of expenses and incomes of the public treasury, audited government accounts, controlled podskarbiev and treasury employees. During this period, kings visited Radom: Stefan Batory with his wife Anna Jagiellonka , who came here many times after the death of her husband, Sigismund III Vase and August III . The 17th century turned out to be unfavorable for the city. In 1623, the city ​​was plagued by an epidemic of plague , and in 1628 a strong fire destroyed more than half of the houses. Great damage to the city was caused during the war with the Swedes (the so-called "Flood" ). In 1660, the retreating Swedish army burned down the Benedictine castle and monastery. As a result of hostilities in the city left 37 houses and 375 residents. One of the buildings that have survived since then is Gonsky's house, where the Swedish king Carl X Gustav stayed during his stay in the city. In the following years, epidemics and fires had a negative impact on the status of the city. Only once a year, when the gentry gathered from all over the country for a meeting of the Treasury Tribunal, the ruined city began to live its former life for a short time. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, a Jewish community was developing in the city. The philistinism of Radom perceived the Jews as rivals, and in 1746, on the initiative of the philistines themselves, King Augustus III gave them the Privilegium de non tolerandis Judaeis privilege , according to which the Jews were to leave the city. That is what happened, but forty years later, the head of the town of Radom, Alexander Potkansky, allowed them to return, so that they could help revive trade in the city.

In 1682, an order of publicists arrives in Radom, who open a school in the city, and in 1737-1756, on the initiative of Anthony Konarsky, the brother of Stanislav Konarsky , the building of the college of public relations on the project of Antonio Solari was built . In 1763, the Treasury Crown Tribunal was moved to Warsaw. Four years later, on June 23, 1767, Karol Radzville headed the Radom Confederation for the Protection of “Faith and Freedom,” which recognized Catherine II as the guarantor of the Commonwealth. The PR heads of the colleges contributed to the development of culture and education. Among them were such famous teachers as: Frantisek Syarchinsky , Joseph Heinrich Osinsky , Onufriy Kopchinsky and Frantisek Xavier Dmokhovsky .

The last achievement of the Radom authorities before the first partition of Poland was convened in 1787 during the reign and under the auspices of King Stanislaw August Poniatowski “Commission of Good Order” ( lat. Commisio Boni Ordinis ), which was to determine the necessary investments and outline the development of the city, but political the situation in the country made it impossible to implement these plans.

After the first and second division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , Radom remained in its composition, but after the suppression of the Kosciuszko uprising and the third section, the city ​​became part of the Austrian annexation, becoming part of Western Galicia and becoming its district. In 1809, Radom became part of the Duchy of Warsaw , where it received the rank of department capital. After the defeat of Napoleon I near Moscow and its abdication , the duchy (including Rad) was occupied by the Russian army. The Russians caused significant damage to the city, but after the Congress of Vienna and the formation of the Kingdom of Poland , Radom retained the function of the capital of the county of Sandomierz Voivodeship. Two years after this, the first secular elementary school appeared in the city, and in 1872 the Radom Scientific Society.

The first mayor, Jozef Krulikovsky in 1815, ordered to tear down the ruins of the city walls and fill up all the ditches. The paving of streets and the repair of residential buildings have begun.

During the November uprising, Radom was a gathering and supply point for the rebel army, and after its suppression, the governor of the Kingdom of Poland, Field Marshal Ivan Paskevich, took control of the city. In 1837, the eight voivodships into which the Kingdom of Poland was divided were renamed in the province . The Sandomierz Voivodeship, existing at that time, with its capital in Radom, became known as the Sandomierz Province, and since 1844, the Radom Province . Radom played a much larger role in the January uprising . Two years before the uprising, patriotic demonstrations, street riots and acts of threats to the tsar’s employees took place. A few days before the uprising in Radom, General Marian Langevich arrived in the province as the capital of the province, who led the rebel detachment and defeated Yedlnya and defeat near Szydlowiec on the first day of the uprising. The uprising was in the nature of a guerrilla war and, in view of the superiority of the tsarist army, ended in the fall of 1864 . At the end of the uprising in the vicinity of Radom, Colonel Dionisy Chakhovsky died, who was buried in the village of Bukovo. Only in 1937 the ashes of the hero were transferred to the majestic mausoleum at the Bernardine church. The crypt destroyed by the Germans during the Second World War was restored in another place, at the intersection of Malchevsky and Werner streets.

In 1867 , at the beginning of Polish positivism , a sewage system was carried out in Radom. In 1883, the first issue of the “Radomskaya Gazeta” was published, and two years later a railway connection was opened connecting Dombrova-Gournich with Ivangrad (now Demblin ), which became the impetus for the development of industry, mainly the brewing and construction industries. In 1894, the construction of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was begun. It was one of the longest architectural constructions of Radom, which ended in 1911 . In 1917, the first leather dressing factory appeared, which contributes to the development of the leather and shoe industry. At the beginning of the 20th century, one of the first power plants on the territory of the "congress" (Congress Poland) was built in Radom and street lighting was started with electricity.

In July 1915, Radom was occupied by the Austrian army, which was the reason for attracting volunteers from Radom and its environs to the side of the Galician Polish Legions . In the same month, the first detachment appeared, and the rest in the following months. Three years after the Austrian forces occupied the city, on November 2, 1918, the garrison of the occupying forces was disarmed by the inhabitants of Radom and this day became the first day of independence of the city.

During the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , Radom lost the status of the capital of the province and in 1932 became the city governor of the Kielce voivodship. But the development of the city did not stop. Radom's entry into the Central Industrial District contributed to the creation of an arms factory, a telephone factory, a shoe factory, a tobacco factory, and a gas equipment factory. In 1933, the railway line was opened, connecting Radom with Warsaw. In 1938, the number of inhabitants of the city exceeded 90 thousand, of which 30% were Jews, the second largest national group of Radom.

At that time, the “ Theater of Diversity ” arose in Radom ( Polish: Teatr Rozmaitości ). The city had many cinemas, libraries and newspaper publishers. For twenty years, the 72nd Infantry Regiment was stationed in the city, which was subsequently named after Dionisy Chakhovsky.

The first bombs fell on the city on September 1, 1939 . The 72nd Infantry Regiment stationed in Radom, which is part of the 28th Lodz Army Infantry Division , suffered heavy losses during the defense of the city in 1939. When the German army occupied the city, the Governor General was established and Radom became one of the four districts.

On January 24, 1941, 268 people were arrested by the German security police , including 25 women and the former mayor of the city. The arrested were accused of anti-government activities and imprisoned in the basement of the school. Pilsudski ^[3] .

In the spring of 1941, a Jewish ghetto was created in the city, in which 35 thousand people were concentrated. Destruction actions have begun. By November 1943, several thousand prisoners remained alive. The survivors were imprisoned in a new concentration camp , which became a division of the Auschwitz extermination camp . In total, several hundred people survived from the Jewish community of Radom ^[4] .

On January 16, 1945, Radom was liberated by the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front (the 25th and 61st corps of the 69th army , as well as the 11th tank corps under the command of Ivan Yushchuk ^[5] .

• January 16, 1945 - the entry into the Parliament of the Red Army
• September 9, 1945 - detachments of the Home Army under the command of Stefan Bembinsky occupied the city and released the arrested AK fighters.
• 1949 - An evening engineering school opens in Radom, which gives rise to the Radom Technological and Humanitarian University and the Svyatokrzysk Polytechnic Institute.
• In 1951, an aviation school was founded. Five years later, the legendary pilots of Polish aviation, General Stanislav Skalsky and Colonel Vaclav Krul, came to her.
• 1963 - The Radom Scientific Society was re-created.
• 1975 - after administrative reform, Radom regained the status of the capital of the province.
• June 25, 1976 - Radom workers staged a strike against the policies of the government and the Polish United Workers' Party , which was brutally suppressed by the Communists, and the city became known as the center of the anti-communist opposition.
• 1984 - the Interdepartmental Interdepartmental Scientific Center for the Exploitation of Real Estate was founded - today's Institute of Operation Technology is one of the leading research centers in the country.

• December 20, 1990 - by decree number 76/90, the city’s coat of arms was established by the Radom city council.
• June 4, 1991 - visit to Radom by Pope John Paul II .
• March 25, 1992 - the formation of the diocese of Radom (bull of John Paul II Totus tuus Poloniae populus )
• 1996 - Radom Higher Engineering School received the status of Polytechnic Institute
• May 25, 2002 - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI ) visited Radom on the occasion of the ordination of Zygmunt Zimovsky as bishop .
• 2004 - the long-awaited restoration of the city of Kazimirovsky began.
• 2005 - signing in Radom of an inter-regional agreement on the construction of the express train East-West S12
• 2006 - the grand opening in Radom of a copy of the icon of the Czestochowa Mother of God , which was headed by Cardinal Stanislav Dzivish , 44 bishops and thousands of believers.