Przysucha

History

First mention of Przesucha, as it was known then, comes from 1415. In the early 16th century, the village belonged to the Morsztyn family. Przysucha had a public house, a watermill, and a forge, and it belonged to the parish of Skrzyńsko. On December 11, 1710, upon a royal privilege, issued by King Augustus II the Strong, artisans were allowed to settle in the town, and a weekly market was established. Later on, two markets a week were permitted, and a manufactory was opened in town, along the Radomka river. German artisans from Silesia and Saxony founded in the early 18th century a settlement called Czermno, which today is part of Przysucha. In Przysucha itself, the number of Jews rapidly grew. At that time, the town was a major center of Hasidism. In 1777, Przysucha had 39 German, 85 Jewish, and 29 Polish houses. The town was divided into three parts - Germans lived in Czermno, Jews in Przysucha, and Poles - in Urszulin. Przysucha also was one of centers of early industry. In the late 18th century, it had a blast furnace, a sawmill, and a paper mill. Since its origins to 1795 Przysucha belonged to Sandomierz Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province. The town was annexed by Austria in the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. It was regained by Poles following the Austro–Polish War of 1809, and included within the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw. After the duchy's dissolution, in 1815, it fell to the Russian Partition of Poland. The period of prosperity ended. Przysucha remained a private town, and its industry was obsolete. In 1870, Tsarist authorities deprived Przysucha of its town rights. Przysucha was a center of Hasidic Judaism. Seven important Hasidic rebbes, such as The Holy Jew and Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, are buried in the town's Jewish cemetery, established…