Szaflary

History abstract

From the 11th century, a defensive stronghold functioned near today's Szaflary. In the period of feudal fragmentation, the area of today's Nowotarska Valley fell into the hands of the Gryfit family. In 1234, Theodore Gryfit received a privilege from Henry the Bearded to colonise these lands under German law. He bequeathed the estate to the Cistercians he brought to Ludźmierz. In 1308, Władysław the Elbow-high confirmed the privileges granted to the monks, but soon the estates in the region of today's Podhale were taken away from them and became part of the royal land. The town of Szaflary was first mentioned in a document from 1328, and before 1338 it was founded under German law. As part of the king's lease, it was later transferred to successive governors. In 1350, a parish of St. Andrew the Apostle in Szaflary had already existed. At the end of the 15th century, one of the tenants of the estate, Marek Ratułd, established a manor farm in Szaflary, seizing the land belonging to peasants, the parsons and the village leader (the latter had to be returned). At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, the castle of Szaflary burnt down, and has never been rebuilt again. In 1519, the church of St. Andrew the Apostle in Szaflary lost its parish status and became a branch temple of the parish of St. Catherine in Nowy Targ. In 1532, the Szaflary and Nowy Targ estates were taken over by Prokop, the son of the startost of Nowy Sącz, Jan Pieniążek. The estates were since called the Starosty of Nowy Targ. Throughout the entire Old Polish period there was a conflict between the starosts and the village inhabitants, who tried to limit the role of village leaders and take away their rights. In 1630, the highlanders started an armed rebellion against the particularly brutal starost, Mikołaj Komorowski, and in 1651, the inhabitants of Szaflary took part in an uprising against the local landlords led by Aleksander Kostka-Napierski, which ended in a fiasco. During the Swedish Deluge, they supported Jan Kazimierz, by taking part in battles throughout the Republic of Poland, and later also in Transylvania. In 1669, during the times of starost Jan Wielopolski, another rebellion took place due to the imposition of additional burdens on peasants. In 1770, the Starosty of Nowy Targ was seized by Austria and two years later it was connected with the lands belonging to the Austrian Empire. In 1773, the last starost Franciszek Rychter died, and the Galician Administration of Dominions and Salins took over the estate. In 1819, the Szaflary section was acquired by Tomasz and Honorata Uznański. The inhabitants of the village took part in the events of 1846, forming an insurgent unit, which was quickly defeated and dispersed by the Austrian border guards. In 1899, a railway connection between Cracow and Zakopane was opened, passing through Szaflary. In 1910, on the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, a cross was erected on Ranisberg Hill to commemorate the victory over the Teutonic Knights. Just before World War II, Szaflary were taken away from the Uznański family and auctioned off for debts. During the war, a poet and underground activist from Szaflary, Augustyn Suski, founded the Tatra Confederation, whose main task was to oppose the "Goralenvolk" action. In 1946-1951, People's University of Podhale operated in Szaflary. In 1966, a ski factory "Polsport", which moved from Zakopane, was established in the village and declared bankruptcy in 1992. Currently, the town is developing mainly thanks to the provision of tourist services.