Serock

History

The stronghold was founded in the 10th century, shortly after the creation of the Polish state by the Piast dynasty. The first mention of the settlement dates from 1065 with the so-called "Falsyfikat mogileński," a document from the Benedictine monastery in Mogilno. The town is situated on the route which was the trade route leading from Gdańsk and Truso to Rus'. Between 1113 and 1124, Serock was also mentioned in a list as one of the most important princely castles of Mazovia, which operated a river crossing (the Bug and Narew rivers intersect beside Serock) with a customs house. During the fragmentation of Poland into smaller provincial duchies, Serock became part of the Duchy of Masovia, still ruled by the founding Piast dynasty. In 1417, Serock was granted town rights under Chełmno law by Janusz I of Warsaw. By then it was already a craft and commercial center. From this period the urban layout was created in the form of the market square and the late Gothic church of the parish. Serock was a royal town of the Polish Crown and county seat, administratively located in the Masovian Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province. In the 15th and 17th century municipal courts were held there. From 1655 to 1660, during the Swedish invasion, the town was largely destroyed. After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, it was located in the Prussian Partition. In 1807 it came under the possession of the short-lived Polish Duchy of Warsaw, and after its dissolution in 1815 it was part of so-called Congress Poland in the Russian Partition of Poland. Serock repeatedly was on the battle lines on the outskirts of Warsaw, including in 1794, 1809 and 1831. In 1806, on the orders of Napoleon I fortifications were built in Serock. From 1807 it was a fortress. During the…