The History of Stary Sącz
Who ruled Sącz
Castellan, duchess, abbess, imperial official, mayor – those who held power over the town, with the gaps in the sources clearly marked.
Many hands have held the helm in Sącz: first the duke’s castellans from the stronghold on the Dunajec, then the lady and duchess Kinga, and after her, for five centuries, the abbesses of the Poor Clares, for the town was their property. When Austria came, the imperial treasury and the magistracy took over, and in more recent times the mayors: elected, imposed by the occupier, and at last elected once again by the townspeople themselves. The list is incomplete, because in many places the sources are silent, and we mark those gaps honestly.
The castellans of Sącz
12th c. – c. 1273The castellan sat in the Grobla stronghold in present-day Podegrodzie and, on the duke’s behalf, exercised judicial, administrative and military authority over the district. Around 1273 the castellans disappear from the sources; perhaps they were rivals to Duchess Kinga’s authority.
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mentioned 1224–1227Chwalisław castellan of Sącz
The first known by name; he took part in the assemblies of Leszek the White. Korusiewicz gives the year 1225.
source: medievalheritage.eu -
c. 1240 (tradition)Piotr Wydżga castellan (according to legend)
Supposedly lord of Rytro and builder of Lemiesz Castle. A figure from a tradition based on Długosz, undocumented.
source: Zaremba 1994
Gap in the sources: A full list of the 13th-century castellans has yet to be compiled from printed works: “Urzędnicy małopolscy XII–XV wieku. Spisy” (1990) and Barański 1992. The later castellans of Sącz (from the 15th century onwards) were senatorial dignitaries linked with Nowy Sącz, not governors of Stary Sącz, so we do not list them here.
Lords and ladies of the Sącz land
until 1257 – 1339The Sącz land was a province of the dukes of Kraków until, in 1257, Bolesław the Chaste gave it to Kinga. From then on, for a century, the fate of Sącz was decided above all by ducal widows who entered the convent of the Poor Clares.
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until 1257Bolesław V the Chaste Duke of Kraków and Sandomierz
On 2 March 1257 at Korczyn he granted the Sącz land to his wife Kinga as compensation for her dowry.
source: Zakrzewski 1999 -
1257–1292St Kinga (Cunegonde) “domina et princeps de Sandech”, lady and duchess of Sącz
She founded the town under charter, in 1280 founded the convent of the Poor Clares and gave it Sącz with 28 villages. The legal nature of the grant (ownership, life tenure or pledge) is disputed.
source: AHMP -
after 1292Gryfina widow of Leszek the Black, abbess
Kinga’s successor as abbess; after 1292 she ruled the Sącz region.
source: Pluta-Saladra 2021 -
1334–1339Jadwiga of Kalisz queen, widow of Władysław the Elbow-high
She took over the government of Stary Sącz when Abbess Konstancja stepped down; she died on 10 December 1339 and was laid to rest in the convent. Another source dates her arrival to 1337.
source: en.wikipedia: Jadwiga of Kalisz
The abbesses – owners of the town
1280–1782For five hundred years Stary Sącz was a private ecclesiastical town: its lord was the convent of the Poor Clares, represented by the abbess. It was she who granted privileges, approved the statutes of the guilds and confirmed the election of the town authorities. We list the abbesses whom the sources link with specific matters concerning the town.
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until 1334Konstancja abbess
She stepped down to become an ordinary nun; Jadwiga of Kalisz took over the government.
source: Migrała 2016 -
mentioned 1336
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mentioned 1341Wisława abbess
An unsuccessful attempt to settle a village between the Dunajec and the Poprad.
source: Pluta-Saladra 2021 -
mentioned 1357Konstancja, Princess of Świdnica abbess, former Duchess of Głogów
Niece of Casimir the Great; in 1357 she granted the town Magdeburg law (the second charter), confirmed by the king in 1358.
source: Migrała 2016 -
mentioned 1505
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mentioned 1590
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1624–1630, 1642–1644, 1647–1649Anna Lipska abbess
Benefactress of the vaults of the Poor Clares’ church, of the rebuilding of the parish church after the fire of 1644 and of St Roch’s Church. The statute of the joint guild of 16 December 1638 bears her name, although the date falls outside the terms of office given (to be verified).
source: Bazielich 1966 -
mentioned 1691Konstancja Jordanówna abbess
In March 1691 she founded the convent’s musical ensemble.
source: Garnczarski 2014
Gap in the sources: A full list of abbesses with the dates of their terms requires consulting printed works (e.g. Sułkowska, “Za klauzurą”, 2006). The gaps are particularly large c. 1550–1590 and 1700–1719. The last owner of the town was the abbess in office at the time of the Josephine dissolution (1781/1782).
Village heads, vogts and the town council
1268 – 18th c.Day to day, the town was run by the village head (sołtys), later by the vogt (wójt), and from the early 14th century also by the town council with a mayor. The vogtship soon passed into the hands of the convent, and the town authorities were elected subject to the abbess’s approval.
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1268Pysz (Pyschon) village head of Sącz
On 4 June 1268 Kinga granted him the office of village head; Sącz was still a village at the time.
source: Z. Bazielich 1997 -
mentioned 1273Michał vogt (“advocatus de civitate nostra Sandecz”)
The first mention of Sącz as a town, in a document of 18 April 1273.
source: Migrała 2016 -
mentioned 1307Town council burghers’ self-government
The first mention of the council. In 1315 the vogtship was sold, and from 1357 it remained in the hands of the Poor Clares.
source: Migrała 2016
Gap in the sources: The names of the mayors, vogts and councillors of the 14th–18th centuries are contained in the town books and in Z. Bazielich’s article “Elekcje władz miejskich Starego Sącza w XVII w.” (Rocznik Sądecki 25, 1997), which we have not yet been able to work through. Note: Vogt Albert of 1311 was the vogt of Kraków. Stary Sącz merely housed the Hungarian troops sent against his rebellion.
Under the Habsburg sceptre: magistracy and council
1772–1918After the Josephine dissolution, the Poor Clares’ estates and the town itself passed into imperial ownership (“K.K. Ex-Nonnen Herrschaft Alt-Sandez”), and the old self-government was replaced by a magistracy. From 1867, under the Galician statutes, an elected town council with a mayor was once again at work.
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from 1782Magistracy town office under the supervision of the district (Kreis) authorities
It was the magistracy that, the day after the great fire of 24 April 1795, asked the cameral authorities for help.
source: starosadeckie.info – Fires -
mentioned 1799Wincenty Reszkiewicz town clerk
His notes are a source of knowledge about arson attacks in the town.
source: starosadeckie.info – Fires -
from 1867Town council self-government under the Galician statutes
Among other things, from 1894 it campaigned for a teacher training college and undertook to build its premises.
source: AHMP
Gap in the sources: We have not found the names of the mayors from 1867–1918 in the sources available online. They should be sought in “Historia Starego Sącza” (ed. H. Barycz, 1979), in the Galician schematisms and in the National Archives in Kraków (Nowy Sącz Branch).
Mayors of the Second Polish Republic
1918–1939In independent Poland the town was run by the Municipal Board headed by the mayor. Just before the war it employed 30 people.
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1920sEdward Szayer mayor, lawyer
Father of the singer Ada Sari, co-founder of the “Sokół” society (1893). His term of office is given inconsistently: culture.pl – 1920–1930, en.wikipedia – seventeen years.
source: culture.pl – Ada Sari -
mentioned 1937 – Sept. 1939Robert Ogorzały mayor
Under his chairmanship, on 18 February 1937 the council designated the college buildings for the Teacher Training Lyceum; he was in office in September 1939.
source: Bednarczyk 2010, “Z Grodu Kingi”
Gap in the sources: Not established: who took power in 1918 and who governed between Szayer and Ogorzały.
Occupation authorities
1939–1945After the Germans marched in, Stary Sącz (Alt-Sandez) found itself in the Kreis Neu-Sandez of the Kraków District. No one in the town elected these authorities. They were an instrument of the occupier.
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Sept. – 26 Oct. 1939Military administration of the 14th Army military administration source: Bednarczyk 2010, “Z Grodu Kingi”
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6 Dec. 1939 – Aug. 1944Fryderyk Spiess commissarial mayor
Lutheran pastor from Stadła, appointed by the German authorities.
source: Bednarczyk 2010, “Z Grodu Kingi”
Gap in the sources: Not established: who held office from August 1944 until the Red Army arrived in January 1945.
National councils of People’s Poland
1945–1990After the war, self-government was replaced by national councils and their presidiums, and from 1973 by the office of the head (naczelnik) of the town and commune. From 1974 the urban-rural commune of Stary Sącz existed.
Gap in the sources: We have not found in online sources the names of the chairmen of the Town National Council or of the heads of the town and commune from 1945–1990. They are probably covered in vol. 2 of “Historia Starego Sącza” (ed. F. Kiryk, 1995).
Mayors of free local government
from 1990The first free local elections were held on 27 May 1990. Since 2002 the mayor has been elected by the residents in direct elections.
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1990–1995
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1995–1998
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1998–2002Marian Kuczaj mayor
He opposed moving the papal altar to Nowy Sącz (1999).
source: starosadeckie.info – 30 years of local government -
2002–2011Marian Cycoń mayor
4,388 days in total, the longest in the history of the office; initiator of the redevelopment of the Market Square and of the bypass. He resigned on 24 October 2011 and died on 20 November 2020.
source: starosadeckie.info – Marian Cycoń has died -
from 2012Jacek Lelek mayor
Elected in the early election of 22 January 2012 (82.69%), and re-elected in 2014, 2018 and on 7 April 2024.
source: Stary Sącz Town Hall – Mayor