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Wyszogrod is a town in Poland in Wojewodztwo Mazowsze , located in the middle of Plonsk Upland, by the Vistula River. The population of Wyszogrod is 2 800 inhabitants (as of 2001). The town of Wyszogrod was an early Slavic settlement as early as 10th century. In 11th century it became fortified and started to act as a local centre of commerce. In 12th century it became the seat of local castellany and soon it became one of the seats of Dukes of Masovia. Relocated on Magdeburg Law in 1398, Wyszogrod became one of the most important inland ports and centres of textile production in the area.
During The Deluge the town was pillaged and burnt by the Swedes. Several subsequent fires destroyed Wyszogrod almost completely. After the Partitions of Poland in 1793 annexed by Prussia. In 1807 reconquered by the Duchy of Warsaw and after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815 transferred to the Kingdom of Poland. At the end of 19th century Wyszogrod again recovered. During World War II there were several partisan groups operating both within the city and in the forests nearby. Destroyed by the Germans during the Operation Tempest, rebuilt in the 1940's.

  • Church of the Holy Trinity (1773-1786)
  • Remnants of the Franciscan abbey
  • St. Mary of Angels Church (1408)
  • Monastery (1684)
  • Old Town market (18th and 19th centuries)

The town appears for the first time in the 'Deeds of Kings' in 1231 (S. Geogr. Dict.), but in the 'Universal Encyclopedia' the year 1095 is mentioned, the well-known year the first crusade and Jewish emigration from Germany. There it already appears as a town from which 'Boleslaw the Courageous received certain monies' for the Benedictine monks (id.) ? and that always means, 'From its Jews'; for already at that time the town was rich in taxes and excises and labor-turnover, which goes together with industry and trade only ? which spells presence of Jews.

We know that in times of peace Jewish merchants from Frankfort-on-the-Oder and Berlin used to ship their merchandise via the Baltic Sea up the Vistula river to Cracow and Lublin, and to carry on the way home field and forest products from Poland. We may assume that they did not keep off Wyszogrod with its natural landing pier of the Vistula. It is sure that the same Jews who were the factor in the development of Cracow, Warsaw and Plock, were also the factor in the development and wealth of Wyszogrod, which had an attractive power to Jews and 'did not endure prohibition of residence of Jews for ages' (S. 'Jewish Encyc. [in Russian]').

In 1905, when the first crusaders committed the horrible massacre of the Jews in the Rheinland, (S. R. Eliezer's from Mainz 'Kuntras HTN'U'), Dubnov writes (IV, par. 55) 'the emigration changed into a mass flight'; Dinaburg admits ('Israel in exile') 'We have no specific information about the flight and its dimensions, but on the ground of rabbinic and other contemporary notes we learn that 'Jewish merchants from Germany and France visited Poland and Russia and took in time root in the towns they visited'. Which means, they built there houses for themselves and in times of stress they made their temporary residences into permanent homes.

This certainly happened in Wyszogrod, too. Prof. Mahler asserts explicitly: ...although Jews as permanent citizens in Poland settled in the 12th century, there is much evidence that Jews settled in Poland already two centuries before it, or earlier even'.
As to Great Poland which afterwards included Mazowia, Mahler admits ...Kadlubek Vincenty (the Polish Historian H.R.) tells that Mieszko III the ruler of Great Poland in the years 1173-1202 inflicted the 'Seventy lash' penalty upon a Jew murderer (the same punishment that was imposed for defamation of the name of the king).
In Great Poland there are listed in the twelfth Century three villages of the name 'Zhydowo' (Mahler, ib).
Dubnov (IV par. 31), writes explicitly:
From that time on (966 H.R.) German Jews began to settle in Poland even earlier than in the tenth cent. Jews used to come from time to time to the Slavic towns between the Vistula and the Warta'.
And about the twelfth cent. Says Dubnov:'Jews settled at that time (1173-1209) in Great Poland and in Little Poland, in Mazowia and in Kuyavia'.