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Ropa commune (Poland)

Malopolskie vojvodship

image by Jens Pattke, 7 Oct 2004

Ropa commune flag
Ropa Coat of Arms

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Ropa commune flag

Here is the flag of Ropa commune (voj. Malopolskie, Gorlice County).
The Ropa Commune
Area: 49,09 km2; Inhabitants: 4 896 people. Main spots of the commune: Klimkówka, Łosie, Ropa
The Ropa Commune was created after the separation of the village of Ropa from the Gorlice Commune, and the village of Łosie from the Uście Gorlickie Commune. Before that, the commune existed from the mid-19th century, but it was got rid of during the 1975 administrative reform. In the year 2000 (1st of January) the commune was extended by adding the village of Klimkówka to it.
Ropa is situated by the river called Ropa as well, in the place where its waters suddenly turn to the east. In 1359 King Kasimir the Great gave the lands in the river Ropa valley to Jan Gładysz of Szymbark. Gładysz founded the village of Ropa, and his sons- villages called Klimkówka and Łosie.
These lands were the property of the Gładysz family for the next 169 years. During that time, 13 villages and the town of Gładyszów were initiated. In 1528 the village was taken over by Spytko Jordan who built the St Michael Archangel Parish here. His descendants were Arians, and so during the Swedish invasion they supported the enemy. In the years of the Barska Confederacy, the insurgents often stayed in the local villages, and you can still find graves of many soldiers from that period in almost every cemetery. Between 1772 and 1869 Ropa belonged to the Siemieński family. Count Wilhelm Siemieński set up a tanning workshop, also called "the factory of English leather". Siemieński also built a beautiful palace and a new one-aisle church, extended by his son Stanisław. The first school in Ropa was open in 1859.
The development of Ropa in the 19th century was connected with the discovery of oil pools in the whole region. "Rock oil", as oil was often called, had been known and widely used much earlier though. The liquid was simply gathered from holes in the fields, and it was used in the production of lubricants and liniments. Above all, the inhabitants of Łosie were known for liniment production (called "maziarstwo" in Polish). In the second half of the 19th century Mikołaj Fedorowicz Ogiński became the owner of Ropa, and he was the one to establish an oil refinery by the bank of the Ropa River. The location of the refinery proved to be badly chosen as the flood destroyed it in 1894. The mines and the refinery attracted many people, often coming here from distant corners of Poland and Europe. In 1888 there were 140 foreigners in Ropa, including many Jews, Germans, and even two Englishmen. The First World War did not affect the commune, even though there are some military cemeteries scattered here and there.
The Ropa Commune is an agricultural area, with typical in this part of Poland little farms. Nevertheless, there are perfect conditions to host tourists here. It is the place of clash of two cultures and ethnic groups: Pogórzanie and Łemkowie. There are so many monuments to be seen, and of course the mountains, forests and the Klimkowskie Lake. The farms, perfectly adjusted to the requirements of agrotourism, are waiting for those who seek relaxation in beautiful surroundings.
Information from this website.
Jens Pattke, 7 Oct 2004

Ropa Coat of Arms

image from this website.