Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - information about the city

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska [kalˈvarja zɛbʐɨˈdɔfska] is a town in southern Poland with 4,429 inhabitants (as of 2007). It is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship (1975–1998). The town is named after the religious complex (calvary) founded by Governor of Kraków Mikołaj Zebrzydowski on December 1, 1602. The complex, which is known as the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska park (Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Architectural and Park Landscape Complex and Pilgrimage Park), was added in 1999 to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The city of Zebrzydów was established in 1617 in order to house the growing number of pilgrims visiting the religious complex. The city rights were expanded and the city remapped by Jan Zebrzydowski in 1640, gaining the name Nowy Zebrzydów (New Zebrzydów). Around 1715 the city suffered a large fire, and was subsequently rebuilt, by its then owner, Józef Czartoryski. The Czartoryski family palace was built in 1729-1731 (in the 1980s it was reconfigured into the current seminary.) The Habsburg Austrian Empire annexed the city as part of its invasion of Poland during the First Partition of Poland in 1772, giving it the name Kalwaria. In 1887 Jan Kanty Brandys became the owner of the town and around 1890 the name Kalwaria Zebrzydowska appeared. In 1896 the town lost its City Rights due to a decision by the governing Austrian authorities. Construction of St. Joseph's church occurred around 1905. The town's jurisdiction was returned to Poland in 1918 at the end of World War I. The City Rights were restored in 1934 by decision of the Polish government. Post- World War II the town's economic development largely relied on the expansion of its furniture manufacturing and woodcraft industry as well as a growing number of pilgrims to its religious complex.

Geographical coordinates: 49.8667, 19.6833
Approximate population: 4,503