Sandomierz

Sister cities

• Newark-on-Trent
• Emmendingen
• Ostroh

History

Sandomierz is one of the oldest and historically most significant cities in Poland. Archeological finds around the city indicate that humans have inhabited the area since Neolithic times. The city came into existence in the early Middle Ages, taking advantage of an excellent location at the junction of Vistula and San rivers, and on the path of important trade routes. The first known historical mention of the city comes from the early 12th century, when the chronicler Gallus Anonymus ranked it together with Kraków and Wrocław as one of the main cities of Poland. The testament (ca 1115–1118) of Bolesław III Wrymouth, in which he divided Poland among his sons, designated Sandomierz as the capital of one of the resulting principalities, the Duchy of Sandomierz. In the early 13th century, the second oldest Dominican monastery in Poland (after Kraków) and one of the oldest in Europe was founded in Sandomierz. In the course of the 13th century the city suffered grievous damage during the raids by Mongols in 1241, 1260 and 1287. The old wooden buildings of the town were completely destroyed. As a result, in 1286 the High Duke of Poland Leszek II the Black, effectively refounded the city under Magdeburg Law and granted staple right. The city archives preserve the founding document. (An important note: in 1260, as the Tartars invaded Christian Sandomir, a community of Dominicans was praying Matins while a novice read the martyrology for the next day: "the 49 martyrs of Sandomir". When the friars realized they were being warned of their death, they spent the remainder of the night and all the next day preparing to meet the Lord. At last, after the brethren had finished praying Compline, and as they processed singing the Salve Regina to Mary, the Tartars broke through the church…

Most-observed species

• Common Orange Lichen

  Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th.Fr. · Lecanoromycetes
  270
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  163
• Caspian Gull

  Larus cachinnans Pallas, 1811 · Aves
  157
• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  141
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  135
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  129
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  127
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  127