Place:Żyrardów, Mazowsze, Poland

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Żyrardów is a city and former industrial hub in central Poland with approximately 41,400 inhabitants (2006). It is the capital of Żyrardów County situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999); previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998) west of Warsaw. Żyrardów, initially a textile settlement, was named after French engineer and inventor Philippe de Girard, who worked in the area.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Founded by the Łubieński brothers as a textile factory in 1833. One of the directors of the factory was French inventor Philippe de Girard (from Lourmarin). The city developed during the 19th century into a significant textile mill town in Poland. In honour of Girard, Ruda Guzowska was renamed Żyrardów, a toponym derived of the polonised spelling of Girard's name.

With the onset of dawn on September 12, 1939, the army of units of the 8th German army launched an attack on Żyrardów. After several hours of fierce defense of the city, the Polish army had to leave their positions and start delaying actions towards Wiskitki - Guzów - Szymanów and Paprotnia. In 1941 they transported Jews into Warsaw ghetto. The town museum is nowadays located in the former palace of owner of factory K. Dittrich. A sign near the entrance to the city states that it was the only city in Europe, entirely set up for a factory. The city was named one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated January 17, 2012. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

Research Tips

In the 19th century Żyrardów was part of the Wiskitki parish, so older records for Żyrardów will be found in the Wiskitki records. See this discussion at Genealogy.com for more info.

External Links

• Żyrardów home page (in Polish)
• Żyrardów: Birth of a Modern Town