Liw, Poland

Liw
Village
Castle in Liw
Coat of arms
Liw
Coordinates:52°23′N21°57′E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Masovian
County	Węgrów
Gmina	Liw
Population	920
Time zone	UTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2(CEST)
Postal code	07-100
ISO 3166 code	POL
Vehicle registration	WWE
Website	http://www.liw.pl/

Liw[lif]is avillagein the administrative district ofGmina Liw,withinWęgrów County,Masovian Voivodeship,in east-central Poland.It lies on the riverLiwiec(also sometimes called the Liw), approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) west ofWęgrówand 68 km (42 mi) east ofWarsaw.

History

Liw probably started as agordguarding the ford across Liwiec river and the eastern borders ofDuchy of Masovia,and the stronghold was moved from the original site to the area of the present castle, built in 1429, in the 13th century. First written document about Liw comes from 1304, during Masovian dukeBolesław II of Masoviarule. Liw receivedtown rightsin 1421 or earlier, and between 1493 and 1789 there were two separate towns,Liw Stary( "Old Liw" ) andLiw Nowy( "New Liw" ), and this tradition survived in twoSołtys(Schultheiß) offices in the present village. Under the Masovian dukes the town was developing rapidly lying on the border withGrand Duchy of Lithuania,it became the capital ofziemia liwska('Land of Liw'), a judicial center for the eastern Masovia region, it held a weeklyStreet market,and three times a year there was afairthere. It was finally incorporated intoCrown of the Kingdom of Polandin 1537, upon the settlement between the last princes of MasoviaAnna of Masoviaand Polish kingSigismund I the Old.Town continued its development and growth into the 17th century, when the wars,Deluge (history)andGreat Northern War,brought a physical destruction and a serious decline to the municipality. It lost some of its importance toWęgrówbut its final demise was brought by thePartitions of Polandas it was incorporated into theAustrian Partition,the Liw lost its judicial, administrative and economic importance, Austrians dissolved the administrative and territorial unit ofziemia liwskaand moved the seat of administrative and judicial powers toSiedlce.In 1807 town became part of theDuchy of Warsaw,and already resembled more a large village than a town.

In 1815 it became part of theRussian Empire.During theNovember Uprisingthere took place a battle,Battle of Liw,between Polish insurrectionists forces and Russian army in April 1831, which led to the Russian forces withdrawing across the Liwiec river. Based on theTsar's order Liw lost its status as a town and became a village in 1866 as the punishment for the town's participation in theJanuary Uprising.

The village has a ruin ofGothiccastle (originally built by the Masovian princes before 1429) and a neo-Gothic church (built 1905–1907).

External links

• Jewish Community in Liwon Virtual Shtetl