History
of the area
The lands of the LGD N.A.R.E.W have
been settled by people of different cultures since the earliest
times. The archaeological researches confirmed the activity of
people as early as in Palaeolithic times when the region of the
current Narew municipalities was settled by the first droves of
people. In the vicinity of Suraż traces of reindeer hunters from the
1st century BC were found as well as traces of Celtic settlements
dating back to the 2nd-3rd century AD. A private archaeological
museum that operates in Suraż is the owner of the numerous exhibits,
which confirm the rich history of those lands.
The first written accounts confirming
settlements on the territory of LGD N.A.R.E.W. date back to the
early Middle Ages. At that time, a fortified manor located near
Tykocin was already functioning at this territory.
Another building, called by people “Zamczysko”, was
situated near a present-day village of Sierki and between 11th and
14th century it performed the function of Mazowiecki’s Castellan
Manor. Whereas, the manor in Suraż was the property of the Russian
dukes. In the 13th century the town was regularly raided by the
Tatars who destroyed the castle many times. Each time, however it
was rebuilt. In the year 1382 Władysław Jagiełło, who appreciated
the importance of Suraż and the Podlaskie lands, signed a peace
treaty with Von Kniprode, which guaranteed that Suraż, Bielsk and
Drohiczyn would be free of Teutonic Knights’ invasions. In the year
1445 Suraż received city rights what is
still the reason for pride among contemporary residents of the city.
In 12th and 13th century the
territories included in the N.A.R.E.W. Partnership were situated on
the Polish, Baltic (Yotvingian) and Russian border and were covered
by primeval forest occupied by woodcutters, wild-bee keepers, pitch
producers, beaver keepers and people who lived from colleting and
hunting in the forests. The inhabitants were the witnesses of many
battles caused by the differences between Polish, Yotvingian and
Russian interests. The Narew River was the centre which drew people
as well as the factor supporting the economic and social
development.
In the 15th century Tykocin, which
was a part of the Duchy of Mazowsze developed from a manor to a city
located on the border of Mazowsze and Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At
the same time due to the conferment of Duke Janusz Mazowiecki the
settlement of Kobylino was established which consisted of a few
villages occupied mainly by the gentry. The first accounts
concerning Kurowo come from the same period of time.
In 1443 Kazimierz Jagiellończyk
bought the lands surrounding the Narew River from the Duke of
Mazowsze and incorporated them into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In
the year 1464 in Daniłowo near Suraż there lived a few families of
the name Łappa, which probably gave the beginning for the later name
of the city. In the 15th century the village of Kobylin-Borzymy
became the hearth of the Kobylińscy family while Choroszcz, situated
on the opposite side of the Narew River became the property of Iwan
Chodkiewicz, a boyar from Kijowszczyzna. The Choroszcz estate, which
was later owned by Aleksander, the son of Iwan’s, flourished in the
15th century, mainly due to the skilful management and wealth of the
forests surrounding Choroszcz. With time within the Choroszcz estate
the villages of Ruszczany, Zastawie, Sienkiewicze, Barszczewo,
Jeroniki, Żółtki originated as well as watermills in Dzikich (Dzikie).
In 1471 after the establishing of a parish in Sokoły, a first church
was erected.
During the 16th century on the Narew
territories new settlements and estates started to develop. In 1515
by the Turośń River, a new manor was established by Jerzy Raczko
Purzycki, a land magistrate of Bielsk. Soon after that Maciej from
Krajny whose coat-of-arms was a hatchet, received lands from king
Zygmunt Stary and established Buzuny, which was the next manor
erected over the Turośń River.
Due to the alliances of Poland and
Lithuania, regaining of the access to the see, political advantage
over the Teutonic Knights and the development of the grain
production and export, the 16th century was the period of quick
economic progress for the country and despite numerous quarrels of
the gentry and noblemen, it was the time of the national awareness
rooting, especially among the gentry. At the time of trade and
crafts development Polish cities located within the border of
Podlasie had to face the problem of the lack of bourgeois
traditions. In 1522 Olbracht Gasztold, the owner of Tykocin,
invited the Jews to settle in his city. At that time such practices
usually proved stimulating for the development of town’s units,
mainly due to the trade culture possessed by the Jews, which with
time was taken over by original inhabitants. Soon after that, a
successful growth of the Jewish commune took place, which continued
its activity on this territory until the tragic events in the middle
of the 20th century.
The ethnic and cultural diversity of
the residents was visible also in Choroszcz. The monks erected an
Orthodox Church in this city (which received the city right in 1507)
and surrounded the believers of the Greek denomination with care.
When Choroszcz went back into the hands of the Chodkiewicz family,
the Jews appeared in the city, whose activities secured the economic
development of the Choroszcz estate.
The properties of Kobylin-Borzymy,
Kurowo and Waniewo were protected in a different way. About the year
1521 in order to guard the passage throughko the Narew River there
was an earthwork built, which was called by the inhabitants “Koziołkiem”
The ruins of this fortification exist till the present day and they
can be seen while crossing the river by boat.
In 1569 after the signing of the Lubelska Union, the
territories surrounding the Narew River together with the whole
Podlasie, were incorporated into the Kingdom.
Tykocin took the greatest advantage of that fact
while it became a royal manor, often visited by subsequent rulers:
Zygmunt August, Zygmunt III and Władysław
IV.
During that times, the capital of the
Land District of Suraż was given to Queen Bona in the year 1533.
The city was developing dynamically what contributed to the
establishing of new villages around it (Zawyki -1558). After the
incorporation into the lands of the Kingdom, Suraż gained importance
– the land courts were established there. At the end of the century
the estate of Łapy Barwiki originated (nowadays, its area
constitutes the central part of the city), which was owned by
Bogusław – a son of Serafin Łappy.
The 17th century was the time of
Polish wars with Sweden and Russia and in consequence the economic
decline of the country. The main cities of the Narew territories
suffered significantly during the Polish and Swedish fights. The
castle in Tykocin was taken over by the enemy during the Swedish
Deluge and in the year 1657 during the attempts to win the castle
over it was partially blown up in the air. In the year 1661 Stefan
Czarnecki, the hero of the Swedish wars, was present in Tykocin
where he received the estate from king Jan Kazimierz. Tragic events
did not avoid Choroszcz – the whole city burnt during a fire in
1683, including 600 houses, a church, a monastery and an Orthodox
church. Constant changes affected also the Waniewo estate along with
Kurowo, as those lands often changed its owner and finally they
became the property of Orsettich. The fortified earthwork
“Koziołkiem” near Kurowo, mentioned above, was a witness of many
fights between Polish and Swedish armies as it performed its
function till the very end.
The 18th century was a continuation
of a political crisis of the country. However, it is worth noticing
that on the territories of the Narew River the 18th century left its
positive effects more than once. In 1709 the destroyed by the
fire estate of Choroszcz became the property of the Crown Hetman Jan
Klemens Branicki. The new owner built his summer residence
there. He founded a brick baroque Dominican church, a hospital – a
shelter house and a Uniate church. Also Tykocin belonged to hetman
Branicki who made huge building investments there in accordance with
the baroque planning and architecture. Among others he erected a
complex of buildings for the purpose of grain trade and additionally
he extended the city infrastructure. The estates of Branicki were
developing dynamically, especially due to the huge investments. They
were also a territory settled by people of various denominations:
Catholic, Greek-Catholic, Jewish. The towns of Choroszcz and Tykocin
were economic, cultural and religious centres. Jan Klemens Branicki
granted privileges to craftsmen, artists and priests coming from
different parts of the country.
The end of the 18th century was extremely tragic time
for the Polish history. In 1795 all the
territories currently included in the N.A.R.E.W. initiative became a
part of the Prussian Annexed Territory.
In the 19th century the lands
situated over the Narew River (Tykocin, Kobyliny Borzymy, Sokoły and
Łapy) were incorporated into the borders of the Warsaw Duchy on the
basis of the Treaty in Tylża in 1807 while the lands on the right
bank of the river (Choroszcz, Turośń Kościelna and Suraż) became a
part of Russia.
In 1815 by virtue of the decisions of the Congress of
Vienna the Warsaw Duchy was transformed into the Polish Kingdom.
In 1812 the Napoleon Army marched through
the territories over the Narew River. The Napoleonic route can be
visited till the present day. In 1827 Sokoły, thanks to the efforts
of its owner, Marianna from Kruszewskich Markowska, were granted
city rights.
For the support offered to the
January Uprising the town of Suraż was punished with severe
repressions, which involved paying a fee of 1000 roubles within one
hour from the moment of depriving the town of the city rights. In
1867 those rights were taken away also from Sokoły.
In 1832 the Kurowo estate, which
today is located in the municipality of Kobylin Borzymy, was
transferred into the hands of Stefan Roztworowski, who developed it
dynamically (in 1865 the estate covered the area of 990 ha). The
Choroszcz estates situated on the other side of the river, after the
death of the Duchess Branicka, were sold to the family of Mostowscy.
In the year 1840 the biggest in the region fabrics and hat factory
was established in Choroszcz. Along with the development of the
factory the cultural and religious structure of the Choroszcz
society was changed. In 1886 from the total number of 1512, 765
residents were of the Jewish denomination, over 300 were Catholics,
about 200 Evangelists and about 200 Orthodox. Tykocin, situated in
the northern part of the N.A.R.E.W. territory belonged to the
families of Potoccy and Rostworowscy in the 19th century.
In the years 1861-1862 a railway section from Łapy to
Białystok was built, which became a part of the Warsaw – Petersburg
line.
Simultaneously, in Łapy an impressive railway station
was erected and a bit later thanks to the cooperation of the French
and the Belgians an instant service of locomotives Depo was created.
Along with the creation of Depo a new history of the Łapy’s gentry
localities started. When the railway line
Brześć-Ostrołęka-Grajewo-Łapy was completed, the town became a
strategic railway junction. At the same time a male Steel and Road
School was founded, where the education lasted two years.
In the 20th century the territories
surrounding the Narew River were influenced by numerous twists of
fate. In the years of the I World War Suraż, situated in the south,
was totally destroyed in the year 1915. The fabrics and hat factory
in Choroszcz alongside with the beginning of the war ceased to exist
due to the economic stagnation and destructions. The number of
inhabitants of the Choroszcz municipality fell at that time by half.
In the inter-war period the best
developing city by the Narew River was Łapy, mainly because of the
expansion of the railway service plant. In 1921-1926 a high number
of railway specialists, building engineers, machine engineers, as
well as a huge amount of people from the neighbouring villages moved
to the city due to the development of the railway plant. In
consequence, Łapy became a big industrial city inhabited by the
labour workers as well as the qualified specialists. The 1930s were
the years of dramatic changes also for Choroszcz. In 1930, thanks to
the efforts of doctor Zygmunt Brodowic a psychiatric hospital was
opened in the buildings left behind after the closed down fabrics
and hat factory at the beginning of the I World War. This
institution influenced a rapid development of the town in the 1920s
of the inter-war period and became its integral part till the
present day.
Simultaneously with the growth of
Łapy and Choroszcz, Suraż, the former capital of the Bielski
district and one of the oldest towns in Podlasie, tried to regain
strength after the tragic events of the I World War. Unfortunately,
the town has never managed to return to its previous splendour and
in the year 1935 Suraż was deprived of the city rights.
A different fate met Kurowo, which
was bought in 1936 by Bolesław and Maria Zakrzewscy. Due to
substantial investments performed by them the estate of Kurowo
functioned smoothly and developed until the outbreak of the II World
War. When the war started, the estate was taken over by the Red Army
and the Soviet authorities organised an orphanage in the deserted
Zakrzewscy’s manor. The surrounding lands were transformed into a
kolkhoz. Since 1941 the manor was managed by the German
administration and perhaps that was the reason why the Kurowo estate
did not suffer so greatly during the war and survived till the
present day.
Much more tragic events took place in
Choroszcz. In the years 1939-1941 the Soviets resettled most of the
patients of the psychological hospital into the heart of Russia. The
rest of the patients were executed after 1941 by the Nazis. The mass
graves, hiding over 4000 casualties (disabled, partisans and
clergymen) are located in the nearby forest in Nowosiółki. Tragic
events became also a party of Tykocin’s history, a city that was
once inhabited to a large extend by a Jewish residents. The Nazi
invader killed about 1700 people of Hebrew origin in Tykocin as
their graves were located in a forest, near Łopuchowo. In 1993 in
Israel Abraam Kapica, who was miraculously saved published a book
describing the events that took place in the neighbourhood of
Tykocin and Łopuchowo on 25th and 26th August 1941.
After the terrible years of the II
World War the municipalities surrounding the Narew River developed
within the structures of PRL. In 1950 Sokoły and Tykocin were
deprived of the city rights. After a precise verification it
appeared that only the Kurowo estate managed to survive almost
intact – the farming buildings, the park and a motor mill. On the
basis of the whole estate a State Farming Institution of Kurowo was
created, which played an important economic role connected with
breeding and seeds in the region. Since 1996 the manor of Kurowo
houses the head office of the Narwiański National Park. In 1993
Tykocin regained the city rights and this municipality has become a
model for the development of tourism in other regions of the Narew
River.
