Przeworsk

Przeworsk (ˈpʂɛvɔrsk; Переворськ; פּרשעוואָרסק) is a town in south-eastern Poland with 15,675 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Since 1999 it has been in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, and is the capital of Przeworsk County. The ancient Przeworsk culture was named after the town. Przeworsk was a settlement since the 10th century, though evidence of human settlement in the general area is even older. It is first mentioned in historical records from the 13th century, and was granted its town charter in 1394. From 1772 the town was part of the Habsburg monarchy where it remained until 1918 when an independent Poland returned. Przeworsk is located on European route E40. It also is an important railway junction, with trains going in three directions – east (towards Przemyśl), west (towards Rzeszów) and north (towards Stalowa Wola). Przeworsk has some 60 historic buildings, including two fortified Gothic abbeys, a town hall, the Lubomirski Palace in classical style, a baroque monastery, and an open-air museum (skansen). The town covers an area of . In 13th century Ruthenian documents, Przeworsk was spelt Pereworesk. In the 14th and 15th centuries, its name was subject to variation. It was called Preworsko, Przeworsko, Przeworszko, Przeworscho, Przeiworsko, Przyworsko and Prziborsko. Since the 15th century, the name Przeworsko was most often used. In the early Middle Ages, a defensive gord existed there. The area was included in the emerging Polish state by its first historic ruler Mieszko I in the 10th century. In 981 it was annexed from Poland by the Kievan Rus', and afterwards, in the High Middle Ages, it changed owners several times between Poland and the Rus', and even fell to the Mongol Empire in the mid-13th century.