Ryki

History

The first urban center of this part of Lesser Poland was located in Sieciechów, whose parish church controlled areas both east and west of the Vistula. In the 14th century, Sieciechów's significance diminished, and in the mid-15th century, the Stężyca County was created, as part of Sandomierz Voivodeship. The royal village of Ryki (Riki), which belonged to the County of Stężyca, was first mentioned in 1424. In 1570, Ryki had a wooden church of St. Jacob the Apostle, as well as a parish school. In 1591 a hospital was founded, and the seat of a starosta was established here. Ryki received its town charter in 1782 but lost it in 1810. Until the Third Partition of Poland, Ryki remained in the Sandomierz Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province. Then, between 1795 and 1809, it briefly belonged to Austrian Empire’s province of West Galicia. After the Polish victory in the Polish-Austrian War of 1809, the town became part of the Duchy of Warsaw, later from 1815 Congress Poland, governed by the Russians. It was an important center of Hasidic movement, and in 1908, Jews made 94% of town's population. On 2 August 1919 Ryki was added to Garwolin County, part of Lublin Voivodeship. Garwolin County became part of Warsaw Voivodeship on 1 April 1939. In September 1939, at the start of World War II, German Luftwaffe destroyed the centre of Ryki. During the German occupation, the Jewish residents of the town—between 3,000 and 4,000 Jews—were murdered in the Holocaust, either in Treblinka extermination camp, or Sobibor extermination camp. Some Jewish children, such as Shloime Judensznajder (now Solly Irving), were rescued by Polish families. Their descendants live currently in Poland, the UK and Israel. The town and its county was a major center of Home Army, whose units liberated…