Stalowa Wola (staˈlɔva ˈvɔla) is the largest city and capital of Stalowa Wola County with a population of 64,753 inhabitants, as of June 2009.^[1] It is located in south-eastern Poland in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously located in the Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship between 1975–1998.

The city is found near the confluence of the Vistula and San rivers.

History

This part of traditionally Polish lands are known as Eastern Galicia. During Partitions of Poland the area was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until World War I and as a result, benefited from the modernizing practices of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor, Franz Joseph I of Austria, who reigned during the 19th century, through WW I. For example, universal compulsory education was established in this territory to the benefit of all.

The Rozwadów suburb of Stalowa Wola was a thriving Jewish shtetl prior to World War II and was closely associated with Tarnobrzeg and other nearby shtetls including Ulanów, Mielec, Dzików, etc. These communities, infused with vitality before 1939, were utterly destroyed during the Holocaust after having been affected by World War I only some 20 years earlier. Jews in Rozwadów were a religiously observant community, i.e., traditional or orthodox in practice. The leading rabbi of Rozwadów, similar to other rabbis of the region, followed Hasidism practice and was of the Horowitz family. In New York a Rozwadower Rebbe established a small synagogue on the upper West Side which continued for many decades after the War.

Following Holocaust, the remaining Jews were motivated to seek a new start in Palestine thanks to Berihah effort. A community of former Rozwadów citizens had been established in New York and continued its affinity long after World War II. Many former Rozwadów citizens of Jewish backgrounds moved to the fledgling State of Israel.

The modern city is relatively young. It was established around a steel mill which was set up in order to manufacture high alloy steels and weapons - artillery, heavy machine guns in 1937. The name of the city means "Steel Will". However, it was built on the site of Pławo, a village which had existed since the first half of the 15th century.

The steel mill (HSW S.A.) was a major part of a series of investments made by the Polish government in the years 1936–1939 to create the Central Industrial Region. This was to be a group of factories built in an area in the middle of the country, away from the borders with Germany and the USSR. It was designed to provide a reasonably secure location for the production of armaments and high technology goods.

Economy

The main employer is sill HSW S.A. (manufacturer of heavy machines and hi-quality alloys), then StahlSchmidt (producer of aluminium rims),then ESW-(coal power plant), Prefabet Stalowa Wola (building materials), Mostostal S.A. (steel construction-bridges, tanks and so on). Within this community, it is commonly referred to as HUTA.

There is a link to a yizkor book about Rozwadow which gives further notes on the Jewish life there. The Rozwadow synagogue was for the years before WW-II, located on Attorney St. in the lower east side of NYC.

Education

• Catholic University of Lublin- Stalowa Wola Subsidiary
• Stalowa Wola Private College of Economics

Transport

Polish State Railways (PKP) provides scheduled connections to Lublin, Warsaw, Kraków, Katowice, Wrocław, Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Odessa (in Ukraine). Summer connections are available to Tricity (Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot) and Hel. The city has several train stations that include: Stalowa Wola, Stalowa Wola South, Stalowa Wola Center and Stalowa Wola Rozwadów.

ZMKS is the city's main public transit agency, operating a fleet of buses in Stalowa Wola and surrounding districts.

References

• City Website
• Stal Stalowa Wola

Coordinates: 50°34′N 22°03′E / 50.567°N 22.05°E / 50.567; 22.05