In 1511, the rural settlement of () became the property of Anna Sienieńska and was a key part of the commune of
Olesko, located in the historical state of
Ruthenia,
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia. In 1605, Olesko and
Olesko Castle became the property of wealthy landowner and nobleman
Jan Daniłowicz herbu Sas,
Voivode of the
Ruthenian Voivodeship and grandfather of later King
Jan III Sobieski. With the sanction of King
Sigismund III Vasa, Sasów town was founded in place of the settlement of Komarów in 1615 by Jan Daniłowicz and granted
town charter status in the
Ruthenian Voivodeship, the town was named Sasów (Sassów) after Jan Daniłowicz' Sas clan coat-of-arms. With its town charter status modeled on the
Magdeburg rights, Sasów was permitted a degree of internal autonomy, hold
fairs three times a year which took place at ceremonies of Saint
Stanislaus, Saint
Michael and
Saint Nicholas, as well as trade fairs and
auctions every Wednesday and Saturday, its residents (
burghers) were also exempt from public taxation for a period of 4 years, and perpetually from
tolls and customs duties applicable on Ruthenian lands, with exception of the frontier duty. King Sigismund III Vasa also ordered construction of a highway, which was to pass through the town, on the highway leading from
Lviv,
Kamianets-Podilskyi,
Bar,
Terebovl and
Ternopil to
Kremenets,
Lutsk,
Horodło and
Sokal. The town had a defensive character and was located on an important trade route from
Podolia in
Volhynia, where merchants passing through would stop in Sasów, thus developing its economy. At the top of nearby Mount
Grodzisko was the castle. The town easily achieved economic and commercial prosperity. In 1628 there was already the first wooden church, and in 1631 a
Catholic parish. 1638 the town became a
paper mill, exporting to Germany, France, Russia and Turkey, where the tradition continued into the 19th century with the new Paper Products Works building in 1860, which at that time was considered to be the largest in Europe. In
Vienna, middlemen would cut, package and place Viennese or French brands to Sasów produced paper. The Sasów paper mill operations remained until 1915, where during
World War I it was destroyed by the
Imperial Russian Army. To date, the buildings remain unoccupied. In 1648, Sasów was besieged by attack troops of
Tatars, where King
John II Casimir Vasa defeated them and freed the town from siege. In August 1649 citizen of Sasów defend the town from further attacks by the Tatars. In 1675, Turkish forces attacked Sasów. The town and castle were burned, and many of its inhabitants were killed. After the attack, King Jan III Sobieski became the town patron, who would often together with his wife
Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien hunt in the woods of Sasów. In 1682, Sasów lost its town rights, and during the first half of the 18th century
James Louis Sobieski' daughter—
Maria Karolina Sobieska Duchess of Bouillon—conveyed Sasów to the Polish
magnate Radziwiłł family, from there the town would later succeed into the hands of Count Starzeński. Between 1772–1918 the town was part of the Austro-Hungarian
Cisleithanian crown lands in the
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, from 1867 Sasów belonged to the administration district of
Zolochiv. Throughout this period, Sasów was inhabited by
Poles and
Ukrainians (with a town population total of 2,697 according to the census of 1857). A Roman Catholic parish with Catholic works. In the 19th century, Sasów developed into and was known as a
hydrotherapy health spa resort for the wealthy, which saw during the summer season some 300–400 people staying. On the islands of the nearby Western
Bug River were built hospitals, houses for patients who walked the green seating areas, admiring the scenery, and on the large reservoir was a palace. This water park was built by Count Starzeński. Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria during his journey to Galicia stayed in Sasów and while staying there became the godfather to Count Starzeński's son. Nobility came from the cities for parties and concerts that took place in the palace hall. The town resort declined as a result of World War I, and the park was destroyed by tanks. From 1921, shortly after the end of World War I, the town was once again part of Poland within the
Tarnopol Voivodeship. During the
occupation of Poland by
Nazi Germany and the
Soviet Union, the town was deprived of civic rights and incorporated into the new rural community of Sasów in the
District of Galicia. After
World War II the municipality was incorporated into the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Jewish community In 1726 James Louis Sobieski, son of King Jan III Sobieski, gifted the town's Jewish inhabitants various legal rights, resulting in all communal facilities of the Jewish community being exempted from taxes. The town's Jewish inhabitants would be permitted to produce and deal in
alcoholic beverages, and their level of
excise duties would be no higher than those of other town inhabitants. In 1764 there were 223 Jews living in Sasów, by 1880 1,906. In 1912 there were 1,761 Jews, representing 52.1% of the town's total population. 1921 there were 1,096 (35.4%) Jews living in the town. The town's Jewish population produced candles and ornamental strips (
atarot) for prayer-shawls, for which Sasów was a world leading center. Before 1939 there were about 1,500 Jewish people in the town of Sasów. The most famous Jew of the town was the author and founder of the
Sasov Hasidic Judaism dynasty,
Rabbi Moshe Leib Erblich (Hebrew משה לייב מסאסוב) of Sasów. On 17 September 1939, the
Red Army entered the town, which was under Soviet administration until the German-Soviet war. Nazi Germans occupied the town on 2 July 1941; during the first couple of weeks they killed 22 Jewish community leaders on the claim these were
communists. Three
Aktionen took place, the largest on 15 July 1942, when the Jews were deported to
Belzec extermination camp. The remaining 400 Jews were deported on 25 November 1942 to the forced-labor camp
Zolochiv, which had been set up in March 1942. When this camp was liquidated in July 1943, all its inmates were shot not far from the camp in the forest. After the end of the war, the Jewish community of Sasów could not be reconstituted. == Notable people ==