In the area of Rzeszów, the first
early European modern humans appeared in the
late Paleolithic Age; archaeologists have excavated a tool made in that period at site Rzeszów 25. In the mid-6th century BC, the first farmers came to the area of the city, most likely through the
Moravian Gate. Later on, Rzeszów was a settlement of the
Lusatian culture, which was followed by the
Przeworsk culture. In the 7th century, the first
Slavs appeared in the area, which is confirmed by numerous archaeological findings. Most probably, Rzeszów was then inhabited by the
Vistulans. In the 10th century, it became part of the emerging
Duchy of Poland. Sometime between 11th and 13th century the town was conquered and subsequently annexed by the
East Slavic Ruthenians from the
weakened and fragmented Polish state (see
Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth). Polish rulers of the
Piast dynasty recaptured Rzeszów in 1264. In
Tarnów, there was a meeting of Prince
Bolesław V the Chaste, and Prince
Daniel of
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, during which both sides agreed that the border would go between Rzeszów and
Czudec (Rzeszów belonged to
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, while Czudec and
Strzyżów to
Lesser Poland). After the reunification of Poland following the fragmentation period, Rzeszów remained in Ruthenian hands until 1340, when King
Casimir III the Great eventually recaptured the area, inviting his knights to govern the re-acquired land. According to some sources, at that time Rzeszów was inhabited by the
Walddeutsche, and was called Rishof (during
World War II, the Germans renamed it
Reichshof). The town was granted
Magdeburg rights, it had a parish church, a market place and a cemetery, and its total area was some . Magdeburg rights entitled Rzeszów's local authorities to punish criminals, build fortifications and tax merchants. greatly contributed to the city's importance In 1458 Rzeszów was burned by the
Vlachs and the
Tatars. In 1502 the Tatars destroyed it again. Earlier, in 1427, Rzeszów had burned to the ground in a big fire, but the town recovered after these events, thanks to its favorable location on the main West – East (
Kraków –
Lwów) and North – South (
Lublin –
Slovakia) trade routes. In the 15th century the first
Jews settled in Rzeszów. The 16th century was the time of prosperity for the town, especially when Rzeszów belonged to
Mikołaj Spytek Ligęza (since the 1580s), who invested in infrastructure, building a castle, a Bernardine church and a monastery. Rzeszów then had some 2,500 inhabitants, with a rapidly growing Jewish community. The town was granted several royal rights, including the privilege to organise several markets a year. At that time, Rzeszów finally grew beyond its medieval borders, marked by fortifications. with surroundings, by K.H. Wiedemann, 1762 In 1638 Rzeszów passed into the hands of the powerful and wealthy
Lubomirski family, becoming the center of its vast properties. At first, the town prospered and in 1658, the first college was opened there, which now operates as
Konarski Secondary School. The period of prosperity ended, and furthermore, there were several fires and wars, which destroyed the town. Rzeszów was first captured by the Swedes during
The Deluge, then by the troops of
George II Rákóczi leading to the
Treaty of Radnot. During the
Great Northern War, the Swedes again captured Rzeszów, in 1702, then several different armies occupied the town, ransacking it and destroying houses. In the mid-eighteenth century, the town's population was composed of Poles (Roman Catholics) and Yiddish Jews in almost equal numbers (50.1% and 49.8%, respectively).
Rzeszów under Austrian rule In 1772, following the
First Partition of Poland, Rzeszów became part of the
Austrian Empire, to which it belonged for 146 years. In the late 18th century, Rzeszów had 3,000 inhabitants. By the mid-19th century, the population grew to around 7,500, with 40% of them Jewish. In 1858, the
Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis reached Rzeszów, which resulted in further development of the town. In 1888 the first telephone lines were opened, in 1900 – gas street lamps, and in 1911 – a power plant and water system. The population grew to 23,000, with half of the inhabitants being Jews. A number of modern buildings were constructed, most of them in
Secession style. During
World War I, several battles took place near the town. Rzeszów was home to a large garrison of the
Austro-Hungarian Army, and in the city of
Przemyśl, located nearby, there was a major fortress. During the
Battle of Galicia in the late summer of 1914, Russian troops moved towards Rzeszów, and on 21 September, they captured it. The first Russian occupation lasted only 16 days, ending after an attack by the Austrians, on 4 October. Under Russian pressure, the Austrians were unable to keep the town, and on 7 November, the Russians again appeared in Rzeszów. In the late fall of 1914, the front line was established between Tarnów and
Gorlice, and Rzeszów became an important center of the
Imperial Russian Army, with large magazines of food and ammunition located there. The Russian occupation lasted until May 1915. After the Russians were pushed out of Galicia, Rzeszów remained outside the area of military activity. The Austrian administration returned, but wartime reality and damage to the town had a negative effect on the population, and the quality of life deteriorated.
Interwar period On 12 October 1918, Rzeszów's mayor, together with the town council, sent a message to
Warsaw, announcing loyalty to the independent
Second Polish Republic. On November 1, after clashes with German and Austrian troops, Rzeszów was liberated, and the next day, mayor Roman Krogulski took a pledge of allegiance to the reborn Polish state. During World War I some 200 residents of Rzeszów died, rail infrastructure was destroyed, as well as approximately 60 houses. In 1920, Rzeszów became capital of a county in the
Lwów Voivodeship. The town grew, and the creation of the
Central Industrial Region had an enormous impact on Rzeszów. It became a major center of the defense industry, with
PZL Rzeszów opening there in 1937. It was also home to a large garrison of the Polish Army, with the
10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade stationed there. In 1939, Rzeszów had 40,000 inhabitants, but its dynamic growth was stopped by the
Invasion of Poland and outbreak of
World War II.
Second World War On 6–8 September 1939, Rzeszów was bombed by the
Luftwaffe. The town was defended by the
10th Cavalry Brigade and
24th Uhlan Regiment from
Kraśnik. The German attack began on 8 September in the afternoon, and the
Wehrmacht entered Rzeszów the next morning. The
Einsatzgruppe I entered the city to commit
crimes against the population, and its members co-formed the local German police. Under German occupation, Rzeszów, renamed into
Reichshof, became part of the
General Government. The occupiers established a Nazi prison, in which they imprisoned over 1,100 Poles, especially the
intelligentsia, arrested in the region between October 1939 and June 1940, during the
Intelligenzaktion. Some people were eventually released, some were deported to prisons in
Kraków and
Tarnów, while many were executed at the prison yard. Persecution of Polish intelligentsia was continued with the
AB-Aktion, and on 27 June 1940, 104 Poles from the local prison were exterminated in the forest of
Lubzina. In 1941, the Germans established a
ghetto, whose Jewish inhabitants were later murdered in
Bełżec extermination camp (for more information see
The Holocaust below). Monument During the war, Rzeszów was a main center of the
Polish Underground State, with the Rzeszów Inspectorate of the
Home Army covering several counties. On 25 May, during Action Kosba, Home Army soldiers killed the
Gestapo henchmen Friederich Pottenbaum and Hans Flaschke on a Rzeszów street. In the summer of 1944, during
Operation Tempest, units of the Home Army attacked German positions in the town, and on 2 August, Rzeszów was in the hands of the Home Army. Polish authorities loyal to the
Polish government-in-exile tried to negotiate with the Soviets, but without success. The
NKVD immediately opened a prison in the cellars of the Rzeszów Castle, sending there a number of Home Army soldiers. On the night of 7/9 October 1944, a Home Army unit under
Łukasz Ciepliński attacked the castle, trying to release 400 inmates kept there. The attack failed, and
Ciepliński was captured and subsequently executed in 1951.
The Holocaust Before the outbreak of World War II, the Jews of Rzeszów numbered 14,000, more than one-third of the total population. The town was occupied by the German Army on 10 September 1939 and was renamed "Reichshof". Many Jews managed to flee to
Soviet-occupied eastern Poland. By June 1940, the number of Jews in Rzeszów had decreased to 11,800, of whom 7,800 were pre-war residents of the city; the rest were from the surrounding villages. As in all
Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Poland, life in the ghetto was impossible and hundreds died of malnutrition and disease. During the war, some 20,000 Jews were murdered in the ghetto in Rzeszów. This number includes thousands who were sent to Rzeszów only to be deported or murdered soon after arrival. In the summer of 1942, hundreds were murdered in forests near Rzeszów. Hundreds more were sent to
Belzec to be immediately gassed. Later in 1942, another round up sent nearly 1,500 children to their deaths and their parents to labor camps. In final "
Aktions" in the fall of 1943, most Jewish slave labour was transported in
Holocaust trains to the newly reopened
Szebnie concentration camp. A month later, on 5 November 1943, some 2,800 Jews were deported to
Auschwitz and murdered. Of Rzeszów's 14,000 Jews, only 100 survived the war, whether in Rzeszów itself, hiding all over Poland, or in various camps. The secret
Polish Council to Aid Jews, "Żegota", established by the
Polish resistance movement, operated in the region. Cases are also known of local Poles who were captured and either executed or sent to concentration camps for
rescuing and aiding Jews. Poles who saved Jews in other places in the region were also temporarily imprisoned in the local castle or sentenced to death by the local German court. After the war, an additional 600 Rzeszów Jews returned from the
Soviet Union. Almost all of them subsequently left Rzeszów and Poland.
Postwar and present times After rumors of the murder of a Christian girl in the city surfaced, on 1 June 1945, the
Polish Communist Citizens' Militia arrested all of Rzeszów's remaining Jews, was arrested on June 14 and held until September. On 7 July 1945, Rzeszów became capital of the newly created
Rzeszów Voivodeship, which consisted of western counties of prewar Lwów Voivodeship, and several counties of prewar
Kraków Voivodeship. This decision had a major impact on the city, as it quickly grew. New offices of the regional government were built, and in 1951, several neighbouring villages were included within the city limits of Rzeszów, and the area of the city grew to . In 1971 and 1977, further villages were included within the city limits. In early 1981, Rzeszów was a main center of
farmer protests, who occupied local offices for fifty days, which resulted in the signing of the
Rzeszów – Ustrzyki Agreement, and the creation of
Rural Solidarity. In 1991
Pope John Paul II visited Rzeszów. During the celebrations in which nearly 1,000,000 people participated, the pope beatified Bishop
Józef Sebastian Pelczar, former bishop of
Przemyśl. On 25 March 1992 Pope John Paul II established the new Diocese of Rzeszów. The city of Rzeszów became the administrative center of the new Diocese and the Church of the Sacred Heart became the new city cathedral.
Miłocin and
Pogwizdów Nowy. The area of Rzeszów increased to over 120 square kilometres and more than 188,000 inhabitants. In 2022, following the February
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rzeszów became a "main artery" and hub for resupply of military material being transshipped to
Ukraine from a number of countries of the Western alliance, including Sweden, Turkey, Germany, the U.S., and the Czech Republic. Also, the
Jasionka Airport, which services Rzeszów, hosted American
MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries. == Demographics ==