Sources: The Mayor of Częstochowa, Krzysztof Matyjaszczyk

While the first mention of Jews in Częstochowa dates back to 1620, the existence of the city itself goes back 400 years earlier – to 1220 – when, on 25th December 1220, in Krakow, Iwo Odrowąż, Bishop of Kraków and Chancellor to Prince Leszek the White, issued a document for the monastery of the Canons Regular in Mstów, listing surrounding settlements which were obliged to pay tithes to the monastery. One of the villages mentioned was Częstochowa.

To mark this anniversary, the City of Częstochowa has created a magnificent website, with a timeline, telling the history of the city from its first mention in 1220 to the present day in 2020.

The website’s presentation of the 800 years of the city’s history is amazing – both in graphics and text.

Unfortunately, the text is only in Polish, but it is certainly worthwhile to use a translator, such as Google Translate, to learn much about our families’ home city’s history.

At a press conference held on Thursday 6th February, Częstochowa Mayor Krzysztof Matyjaszczyk promised that “there will be many surprises” as part of the anniversary celebrations – this is certainly one of them.

To view the website, go to http://www.800.czestochowa.pl/.