PARTNERSHIP

POLAND - Gmina Kamionka Wielka

https://www.kamionkawielka.pl/

Our history    

The location of the village falls on the first years of the reign of King Casimir the Great. The local act was issued on February 3, 1336 by Queen Jadwiga, daughter of Duke Bolesław the Pious. The village belonged to the property of the starosty of Sądecki. The second document after the location of the village was the privilege issued by Władysław Jagiełło in 1402 in Biecz regarding the sale of the village for 250 marks to the burghers of Sądecki by Mikołaj Ometło. The next source mention can be found in Długosz.

As early as 1539, there was a parish school in Kamionka, where organ teachers - called bakałarze - raised the level of education. It was not until 1876 that a separate building was built for the school, giving it the name of Władysław Jagiełło. In the years 1853-1857, Szczęsny Morawski, a historian of the Sądecczyzna region, lived in Kamionka.

In 1876, Kamionka gained a railway connection via the Tarnów-Leluchów line. A tunnel was driven through Czarna Kamionka, and a railway station was located in the village. The construction of the tunnel and station contributed to the development of the quarry, which was exploited until the 1960s and provided employment to the village's residents.

The establishment of the railway is associated with the opening of the first post office (in 1889). After World War I, two sawmills were built in Kamionka Wielka, which were among the 11 largest of this type in the Sądecczyzna region. This fact partially changed the face of the overpopulated village. Despite the existence of sawmills and quarries, there was not enough work for everyone. It was sought in nearby Nowy Sącz, Grybów, and even in Krynica, when building sanatoriums.

The Nazi occupation left a bloody mark on the history of Kamionka Wielka. 80 residents died at the hands of the Nazis. In 1943, a Home Army outpost was established in the village, carrying out many successful sabotage actions on enemy targets. The villagers provided partisans with selfless help, hiding and feeding them, informing them about the enemy's movements. Throughout the occupation, secret education was conducted by Feliks Stefański, who taught the youth about the history, geography and literature of the country. After the war, the village developed, the thatched roofs disappeared, roads were built, the village was electrified and the riverbeds were regulated.

Panorama of the western part of Kamionka Wielka (on the left you can see Kamionka Mała and Nowy Sącz)