Żarnowiec [ʐarˈnɔvjɛt͡s] is a village in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland.

Żarnowiec lies in northeastern corner of Silesian Voivodeship, on the Pilica River, among the hills of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland.

The village was first mentioned in the Chronicle of Gallus Anonymus, who wrote that near Żarnowiec, Prince Władysław I Herman met with his sons Zbigniew of Poland and Bolesław III Wrymouth.

At that time Żarnowiec was the seat of a county, located in Lesser Poland's Kraków Voivodeship.

In the 16th century Żarnowiec was one of the most important urban centers of Lesser Poland, and the seat of a starosta.

But, like most towns of Lesser Poland, Żarnowiec was destroyed by the Swedes in the Deluge (1655 - 1660) related to its invasion of the area.

The population did not start to grow until this period, due mostly to an increase in Jewish settlers from other parts of the empire.

Twenty years later, the construction of a main road from Kraków to Warsaw bypassed Żarnowiec, which contributed to the town's long-term decline.

During the January Uprising, Żarnowiec was one of the centers of rebellion; a battle with the Russians took place here on February 20, 1863.

About 1930 the Jewish community owned a brick synagogue in Warszawska Street, which had a rabbi's prayer room and women's gallery next to the main hall.

[3] Most of villagers died after the 1939 invasion of Nazi troops and the Holocaust, which included persecution, and deportation to concentration and death camps.