Mariiampil

The Polish researcher W. Urban found in the ancient documents of the parish of Marijampil that in 1691, the town of Božyj Vydok was renamed as Marijampol by Stanislaw Jablonowski.

The view from the hill breathes of its history about the kings and their (boyars), about the Tatar and their raids, about the religious growth and years of neglect.

Based on the folklore tale recorded by I. Drabčuk, the castle was built by either king Danylo of Halych or one of his sons in the 13th as a defensive outpost.

The first historical mention of this settlement can be found in 1404, when the lord of Vovchkiv, a "dibr Vovce" Dobeslav out of Delijiv had to send seven of his subjects to the court in Halych.

The nucleus of the city was the wooden castle called Bozhy Vydok (Heavenly View), that was built by Belezecky on one of the foothills.

The second half of the 17th century was extremely difficult for Galicia: military campaigns, Tatar raids, epidemics, fires, and civil strife.

In 1655, the inhabitants of Vovchkiv and neighbouring towns, raided the castle of Jesupol, destroying its gate and taking the treasure of the former szlachta.

In two years time, the raids of the renegade Cossack leader Anton Sichlos ruined the towns of Jesupol and Vovchkiv-Bozhy Vydok.

In 1691, the Polish king gave the ruined town of Vovchkiv-Bozhy Vydok to the Krackowian, castellan, hetman Stanislaw Jan Jablonowski (1634–1702) with the privilege of building a fort on this location.

Due to the work of the Stanislaw Jan Jablonowski, the town not only obtained its name, but also the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Marijampil, the main religious object of this settlement.

Under his supervision, the wooden (Roman Catholic) church of Holy Trinity, which now housed the Icon of the Mother of God, was built.

In 1746, under the patronage of Therese of Wilgorsly, the wife of Jan Kaietan Jablonowski, a hospital for the poor and a school for princely (szlachta) orphans was built.

In accordance with the decree of the Austrian king about closing small monastic establishments, the Capuchin monastery was abandoned.

The 130-year common use of this church by both the Roman Catholics and Greek-Catholics was the source of many disagreements and legal cases of both courts in Halych and Lviv.

Based on the plan given by the engineer Volodymyr Sichynsky, the members of the club met in a single-story building that became a meeting place for the drama group, the choir, a store, and a credit union.

For the further development of trade in Marijampol, Jablonowski invited Jewish merchants and built a Market Square (bazaar).

In 1857, this town was settled by the followers of the Hasidic sect led by rabbi Elisar Gorovuč ben Meshulam Isaac Ga Levi .

Thus, the Sister Servants and the Roman Catholic parish pastor, Father Maricin Bosak emptied the church of the Greek-Catholics icons and objects.

One of the most important figures in the interwar period in Marijampol was the Roman Catholic pastor Marcin Bosak (1889–1941), who arrived in this town in 1920, and immediately took an interest in the cultural growth of the Polish community.

Under his initiative, the shingle factory, the city's cultural center, the three-story school, new sewers, sidewalks, and the new Roman Catholic Church were built.

In its halls were headquartered the Milkmen Association (Molocarska spilka), the store "Village Host" (Silskiy hospodar), Agrarian school (Khliborobska byshkil), the "Self-help" co-operative (Vlasna pomic), a patriotic organization Sokol, and other numerous organizations such as a library and a child daycare (ran by the sisters of Father Vasyl Motiuk, Stephania and Olha).

On 19 December 1940, the German Gestapo roaming through the countryside of western Ukraine before Operation Barbarossa shot 12 members of the OUN.

During the night of 23/24 September, OUN members killed the Roman Catholic pastor Father Marcin Bosak.

On Good Friday of 1947, agents of the NKVD arrested Father Honchar, who had refused to renounce the Greek Catholic Church.

Since it was brought to this town by its founder Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski, the icon has guarded the inhabitants of Marijampil from misfortunates and fortified them against evil.

This icon was placed in the field chapel of the royal hetman Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski during his battle at Chotin (1673), Zurawny (1676), and the Siege of Vienna in 1683, as well as his countless campaigns in the Volyn, Podilia, and Bukovina regions.

The grandson of the hetman, Jan Kajetan Jablonowski, in 1721, placed the icon in the newly built wooden church of the Holy Trinity.

The wife of Jan Kaietan Jablonowski, Theresa from Wilgorska created for the icon a silver crown and gown.

During the postwar population exchange, the icon was saved by the Polish community from the hands of the atheistic communists and brought to Poland.

In 1965, four Polish bishops, including the future Pope, but then Archbishop of Kraków, John Paul II, festivally transferred the "Knightly Icon of Our Lady" to the newly built, 13-storey church on Piasek in Wrocław.

Welcome sign
Miraculous Icon of the Our Lady of Marijampil