Wadowice

Situated on the Silesian Plateau on the Skawa River, Wadowice was established in the 13th c. the first record about a settlement by this name comes from 1327, and in 1430 it was granted city rights.

The town developed only after the partition of Poland, when the Austrian authorities built a road connecting Vienna with Lviv. Wadowice was a town on a major communications route and the seat of the county was transferred here. After Poland’s regaining independence in 1918 Wadowice remained a country town. During World War II the Nazi occupants persecuted the local elites, such as clerks and teachers; nearly all of the 2,000 town dwellers of Jewish origin were exterminated in death camps. Currently Wadowice has over 20,000 residents, employed mainly in the food processing industry.

Karol Wojtyła – Pope John Paul II was born here on 18 May 1920. Once can encounter papal mementoes everywhere. The "Home of the Holy Father". Museum admits 200,000 visitors yearly. The numerous restaurants, cafes, and bakeries offer Wadowice cream cakes, made famous throughout the world by John Paul II. Traditional "Wadowice Days" are celebrated on 18 May each year, the anniversary of birth of Karol Wojtyła.

as, PAP //mam