Przeworsk and surroundings
Przeworsk
Przeworsk is situated on the banks of the river Mleczka, in the central part of the Podkarpackie Voivodship, between towns of Łańcut and Jarosław. The name of the town derives from the Old Polish word “przewora” which means barrier, dam or hindrance and suggests that the town of Przeworsk, as a fenced area, was a Polish-Ruthenian border fortress. The first notice of the town appeared in records of 1281. In 1393, Przeworsk – the estate of Jan Tarnowski (the coat-of-arms of Leliwa) – was granted town privileges by King Władysław Jagiełło. The Tarnowskis were the founders of two sanctuaries, preserved up to this day: the Holy Spirit Church, erected for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (the Order of Bożogrobcy) and the St. Barbara Church, manned by the Bernardine Order. Until 1848 Przeworsk was a private town. Its successive owners were eminent Polish aristocratic families such as the Tarnowskis, the Kostkas, the Ostrogskis and the Lubomirskis. In the time of the Galician Autonomy, in 1848 Przeworsk became the Royal Free Town.
