First documented mention of Skaryszew comes from the year 1198, when the village belonged to the
Abbey of
Order of the Holy Sepulchre, located at
Miechów. The monks opened here a branch of their abbey, and probably in the late 12th century, a wooden church of St. Jacob was built, together with a house for the monks. Due to the efforts of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, merchants and skilled artisans were attracted to the quickly growing village. Skaryszew was destroyed in the
Mongol invasion of Poland, and soon afterwards, Duke of Kraków and Sandomierz
Bolesław V the Chaste granted the village the so-called
Środa Śląska town charter, based on the charter of
Nowy Korczyn (see also
Magdeburg rights). The charter was confirmed by King
Casimir III the Great in 1354. Skaryszew prospered in the late
Middle Ages and the
Polish Golden Age, but in the late 16th century, it began to decline, at the expense of the quickly developing urban center at
Radom. The town had a bath house (late 15th century), Thursday
fairs, a brewery, a town hall (before 1618), and a hospital (1629). Like in almost all Lesser Poland’s towns, the period of prosperity definitely ended during the
Swedish invasion of Poland, when Skaryszew was ransacked and burned, with most of its inhabitants murdered (1655). By 1670, the population shrank to 363, and Skaryszew did not begin to recover until the 1760s, when the population grew to app. 700. The town became famous for its horse markets, which still exist and which are very popular. In 1701, a new church was built, with two towers. The shape of Skaryszew's streets, established in the early 18th century, remains almost unchanged. At that time, most houses were made of timber, which resulted in frequent fires. Skaryszew had a town hall, located in the market square. In the
Third Partition of Poland in 1795, it was annexed by
Austria. Following the
Austro-Polish War of 1809 it was regained by Poles and included within the short-lived
Duchy of Warsaw, and after its dissolution it belonged to
Russian-controlled Congress Poland (since 1815). In the late 19th century, the population grew to app. 1,300. In 1869, following the
January Uprising, Skaryszew lost its town charter for 76 years. In an 1889 fire, almost whole village was burned, but it was quickly rebuilt. In 1918 Poland regained independence and control of the town. On July 1, 1922, the government of the
Second Polish Republic restored the town rights of Skaryszew. == Horse markets ==