Końskie

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Końskie ( listen) is a town in central Poland with 22,300 inhabitants (1995).


Końskie

	(Coat of arms)


Basic Information
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Świętokrzyskie
Population	22,300
Latitude Longitude	51°12' N 20°25' E
Density	1261,3/km²
Area code	+48 41
Car plates	TKN
Twin towns	Šaľa, Mohyliv-Podilskyi
Economy and Traffic
Administration
Mayor	Krzysztof Marek Obratański
Municipal Website

Situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Kielce Voivodeship (1975-1998). Most of the towns inhabitants were in the late 80s and early 90s employed in a local Huta (Steel Mill). Since 1997 the town has been slowly but surely developing into a major trade hub for small business owners.

[edit] History

The oldest trails of settlement in the vicinity is dated to XI century.

Once a major hotspot for Polish Resistance during World War II, the Armia Krajowa gave the Germans terrible beatings in the forests, where German army feared to enter for obvious reasons.

[edit] Jewish History of Końskie

A history of the Jewish population of Końskie (known as Kinsk - קינצק / קינסק among the Jews) including the time period of the Holocaust can be seen at Konskie (Kinsk) - Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities in Poland, Volume I. The pre World War II Jewish population of the town comprised about 2/3 of the total town population. Some of the Jews had Sephardic roots evidenced by their customs such as the additional blessings they said on shabbat during kiddush between the drinking of the wine and the eating of the hallah, in addition to being able to trace their lineage back to the expulsion from Spain in 1492. This was also reflected in some of the facial complexions that were distinguishable among the Jews in the area between those who knew they had Sephardic ancestry and those who did not. In some rare instances, some of them even kept their Sephardic names although they assimilated into orthodox Ashkenaz Jewish culture.