Sandomierz

Sandomierz (sändô`myĕsh), Rus. Sandomir, town, Świętokrzyskie prov., SE Poland, on the Vistula. Founded probably before Poland accepted Christianity, Sandomierz became the capital of a duchy in 1139. It was razed by the Tatars in 1241 and again in 1259, but was rebuilt (14th cent.) by Casimir III and became (16th cent.) a flourishing trade and cultural center and one of the most beautiful Polish towns. A synod (known as the Consensus Sandomiriensis) held there in 1570 united all Polish Protestants. The town was heavily damaged by the Swedes in 1656 and lost its importance. It passed to Austria in 1772, to Russia in 1815, and reverted to Poland in 1919. Its most notable buildings are a 13th-century town hall and a 14th-century castle.

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Sandomierz 

a city in southeastern Poland, in Tarnobrzeg Województwo (prior to 1975 in Kielce Województwo), on the Vistula River. Population, 19,000 (1973).

Sandomierz has large glass and mixed-feed plants, a shipyard, and food-processing enterprises. There are architectural landmarks dating from the 13th through 18th centuries. The city is a popular tourist site. During the Great Patriotic War (1941–45), Soviet troops seized the Sandomierz bridgehead in July and August 1944. In January 1945 a major offensive was initiated from the bridgehead by Soviet troops in the course of the Vistula-Oder Operation of 1945.