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Gora Kalwaria (Poland)

Piaseczno county, Mazowieckie Vojvodship

Góra Kalwaria town and commune flag
Góra Kalwaria Coat of Arms

See also:

Góra Kalwaria town and commune flag

by Jarig Bakker, 30 Dec 2002

GORA KALWARIA town - PIASECZNO County - MAZOWIECKIE Voivodship
Old Name: NOWA JEROZOLIMA (New Jerusalem)
Old Jewish Name: GER ( in Yiddish) - GUR ( in Hebrew)
Proper Name: Góra Kalwaria

The flagdescription is on this webpage:
"Flag of the Gora Kalwaria town is composed of two zones, upper one - gold (yellow) and the lower one - light blue.
In the middle there are two narrow stripes, red and silver(white) in 1/9 width of each of the zones."

HISTORY:
First mentioned in 1252 as a village of Gora. Established as a town by Bishop of Poznan, Stefan Wierzbowski. He wanted to create a sanctuary honoring the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Soil was brought from Jerusalem and spread along main road leading
to the hill, called Calvary (Kalwaria). King Michal Korybut Wisniowiecki granted the town its rights and the name Nowa Jerozolima (New Jerusalem) in 1670. The Coat of Arms of the town was supposed to reflect the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross.
In 1795 the town found itself under Prussian rule, which brought secularization and beginning of Jewish settlement. From 1815 until 1914 the town was under Russian occupation. During the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920, the town was a site of the important victory over the Red Armies by Polish Cavalry. From the early years of 20th century, the town became an important center of the Hasidic Movement led by rabbi (tzadik) Mordechaj Alter. More than half of the population was Jewish and the town was a place
of hasidic pilgrimages from all over the world. A special railroad was constructed from Warsaw to help bring the pilgrims. During the WW II almost all Jews of Gora Kalwaria perished in Nazi camps, save several families hidden by their Polish neighbors and friends and few individuals rescued by the Home Army (AK) from the transports to Treblinka. Recently, Gora Kalwaria experiences revival and is becoming a community of religious artists and artisans.
Chrystian Kretowicz, 30 Dec 2002

Góra Kalwaria Coat of Arms

image from this webpage, reported by Chrystian Kretowicz, 30 Dec 2002

The cross-topped mound on the Coat of Arms makes it canting. And the middle stripes of the flag are too narrow to my taste...
António Martins-Tuvalkin, 3 Jan 2003