Biecz () is a town and municipality in southeastern Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Gorlice County. It is in the Carpathian Mountains, in the Doły Jasielsko-Sanockie, by the Ropa River. Due to its rich history, it is often referred to as "little Kraków" or the "pearl of the Carpathians". The many preserved medieval city walls and buildings have also given rise to the nickname "Polish Carcassonne" for both Biecz and the town of Szydłów.
By the mid-16th century, the city was one of the largest in Poland. Being a royal city, Biecz enjoyed an economic and social Renaissance during the 14th and 15th centuries which tapered off into a gradual decline starting during the 17th century. Today, it is a small town with a number of historical monuments.
Etymology The earliest mentions in historical sources give the name of the town as Beyech, Begech, Begecz, Begesz, Beyecz, Beecz, Beycz, Byecz and Beiech.T. Ślawski, Biecz i okolice, p. 7, Biecz, 2005 This allows to establish that the original form of the name was Biejecz, apparently a regular possessive adjective derived from the diminutive personal name Biejek (not attested, but easily reconstructable from Biejecz and perhaps Biejków). The age of the town makes further derivation from Bieniedzikt improbable, leading linguists to hypothesize that the ultimate source is Biezdziad or other Old Slavic name beginning in Bie-.Kazimierz Rymut, Nazwy miast Polski. Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, p. 32, 1987, . In the 13th century, the nominative stem was levelled to the oblique stem Biejcz- (e.g. Loc. w Biejczu "in Biejecz"), giving Biejcz without stem alternations (attested as late as the 17th century) and then the current form, Biecz.
Apart from that, there are a plethora of other theories, including obvious folk etymologies, linking the name e.g. to a Carpathian tribe called Biessi, mentioned by Ptolemy; a legendary bandit called Becz; the Beskids; and a west and south-west Slavic dialectal word meaning "borough", attested e.g. as Beč/Беч in Serbo-Croatian, borrowed into Romani (Bech) and Hungarian (Bécs).
Heraldry The Biecz coat of arms depicts Saints Peter and Paul on a field of red. St. Paul, on the right, holds a sword, while St. Peter holds the Keys of Heaven. Between them is the capital letter B, a reference to the city name.
The coat of arms dates back to the 16th century, when official seals depicting the images of Saints Peter and Paul and the letter B first appeared. The seals were used with more regularity during the 17th and 18th centuries. On 12 July 1990, the Municipal Council officially adopted the use of the coat of arms.
History The area of Biecz has been settled periodically since the Neolithic period, though the first mentions of a named settlement date back to the 11th century. This early medieval town was approximately from the modern one. By the 12th century, the town had become a castellany, and by the mid-14th century, it had been granted rights based on Magdeburg Law.
Biecz enjoyed a cultural and economic renaissance during the 14th and 15th centuries. Beginning in the 17th century, the town was beset by a number of natural disasters, including flooding, fires, and a plague which killed all but 30 inhabitants. The town suffered heavy population losses during World War II, including a public massacre of 200 local Jews in the market square in 1942.
Prehistory Biecz is situated in an area which was inhabited as early as the Neolithic period, or about 4500 BCE. Stone artifacts dating to this period have been excavated within Biecz proper and the surrounding area. A hoard of copper alloy weapons and jewellery dating from the early Bronze Age was found in a bog in the vicinity of Biecz in the nineteenth century. Now in the British Museum, the hoard is famous for its rare conical helmet or Kegelhelm. During the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age, the area was home to the Lusatian culture. Pottery fragments were uncovered during archaeological work at the castle in 1961. Excavated Byzantine and Roman coins dating from the 2nd to the 5th centuries indicate that the area was part of an important trade route for these empires.
Early Middle Ages A castle was erected as early as the 9th century, a small settlement quickly developing around its perimeter. This early castle was demolished by King Casimir IV Jagiellon in the 13th century and replaced with a much larger structure, now one of three surviving castles in the area. Biecz is first referenced by name in church documents written by Thietmar of Merseburg c. 1012–1018. In 1184, Casimir II the Just gave the land as tithes to St. Florian of Kraków. Documents dating to 1243 and 1257 make reference to specific castellans: Nicolaus de Beycz and Bronisius de Begech.
The castle was a strategic military stronghold due to its location near the Polish border. It served as a preparation area for attacks on enemy states and a rallying point for forces resisting invasion. The stronghold also served as a center for trade due to its position at the crossroads between east–west and north–south trade routes between Red Ruthenia and Hungary.
Magdeburg rights
Biecz was granted its Magdeburg rights around the year 1257 CE, probably by Prince Bolesław V the Chaste of Kraków. The exact year is unknown, as the royal edict granting these rights has not been preserved. These rights were confirmed by King Casimir III the Great in 1363, and then later by Queen Jadwiga. Trade relations with Bardejov across the Carpathians were also formalized during the 14th century.
During the late 13th century, King Wenceslaus II gifted the town to Jan Muskata, bishop of Kraków, in exchange for the territory where he would later found Nowy Sącz. According to contemporary documents, the transfer of power occurred on 24 March 1303 in Prague.
During the fall of 1306, ownership of the town and castle were peacefully transferred to the control of Władysław I the Elbow-high. From this point forward, the town and municipality were under the control of the Polish crown. Władysław I based his campaign to unify Poland from the castle of Biecz from September 1311 to April 1312. Due to the importance granted to the city during this period, Biecz was initially considered the capital city of Poland.
Initially the town was protected by earthworks and ditches. Walls were first constructed during the 14th century, as evidenced by a royal edict issued by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) in 1399 ordering all able-bodied men to assist in the expansion and repair of the city walls. The walls were extended in the 16th century and again in the 17th, when seventeen towers were constructed to aid in the fortification and protection of the town.
Golden age
King Casimir III the Great took great interest in the city. In 1361 he gave orders for the construction of weighing scales and textile mills, and established a number of fairs, which were major sources of income. In addition, he granted all Biecz business an exemption from taxation and tariffs, as well as economic benefit from surrounding villages.
Biecz flourished under Jagiellonian rule. The crown's encouragement of growth and trade, as well as the town's favorable location, were major influences on Biecz's rapid growth during this period. Under the rule of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, the town built its first municipal water supply. Inhabitants were also granted a number of privileges, such as relief from duties on various imported commodities. Additionally, merchants entering Polish territory were required to pass through Biecz, wherein taxes and other import tariffs were levied. This practice was established by Louis I of Hungary in 1372 along the Hungarian-Red Ruthenian trade route.
Economic development prompted rapid population growth. By the end of the 14th century, Biecz had become one of the largest cities in all of Poland, with a population of over 3,000 in the city and its suburbs.
As a castellany, Biecz was not only entrusted with defensive responsibilities, but also served as judicial, administrative, and economic center for southern part of Kraków Voivodeship. After a lull in economic and population growth in the latter half of the 14th century, the judiciary and administration of the region were reorganized. The region of Kraków, or Kraków Voivodeship was established, and was further split into six powiats (districts), one of which was the large district of Biecz. Biecz was then designated a judicial center, and was home to two different court systems. Kraków, Nowy Sącz, and Biecz were the locations of the high courts that dealt with the enforcement of the Magdeburg laws as established in 1374 by the Privilege of Košice.
Little is known about the establishment of the Biecz starostwo during the late 14th century. Nothing is known about the first recorded starosta but his name: Drago. The starostwo were Crown lands administered by the starosta, and established mainly for economic purposes as the Crown considered revenues generated by these administrative regions a significant source of income. The Biecz starostwo had a strong economic base; by 1581 it encompassed 23 villages and Crown-operated folwarks. Until 1641 the starosta had an office in the Franciscan monastery; after 1641 his office was moved to a designated administrative building.
In 1624, the reformed Franciscan order arrived in Biecz from Zakliczyn, where a substantial reformation had recently occurred under the guidance of Friar Hipolit Łowicjan and Father Piotr Zielonacki. In 1651 the Franciscan monastery was moved from its original location on the Ropa River to a new location closer to the city center.
Numerous public and private buildings were built during the 15th and 16th centuries. On 25 July 1395, Queen Jadwiga issued building orders for the Szpital św. Ducha (Hospital of the Holy Ghost). The writ appropriated a nearby folwark, several fish ponds, and the remnants of a plaza that had been destroyed by fire in 1388. Funded entirely by tax revenue, the hospital's budget was the largest in the country.Dokumenty dotyczące budowy i uposażenia szpitala św. Ducha w Bieczu opublikował w całości S. Kuraś; I. Sułkowska-Kuraś, Zbiór dokumentów małopolskich, cz. IV, Wrocław 1969, nr 1121, 1124
Over the years, many churches have been located in Biecz, the most ever being seven within the city limits. The most prominent of these is Corpus Christi Church (Kościół Bożego Ciała). The oldest surviving structures date back to 1480, but the register of monuments of the Kingdom of Poland show that construction had already begun by 1326. The main nave was constructed during the 15th century and completed by 1519. The side chapels were built between 1521 and 1560, and the main altar was added in 1604.
Another important monument constructed during this period is City Hall. The original bell tower was constructed in 1569, and the rest of the structure was built between 1569 and 1580. The structure was built with funds donated by Marcin Kromer. Once construction on the tower was completed, the tradition of trumpeting the hejnał was begun. The hejnał was played every morning, noon, and evening, coinciding with the closing of the city gates, as well as in times of emergency.
In 1523, the Dom Barianów-Rokickich was built. The building was owned by Marcin Kromer and served as a pharmacy until the 17th century. Other important period buildings include the 1519 Kromer House, which never actually had anything to do with Marcin Kromer, and the Castle, built in the first half of the 16th century.