Lake Firlej

Lake Firlej is a lake in east Poland in Lubartów County near the village of Firlej. Lake is surrounded by forest.

Firlej

Firlej [ˈfirlɛi̯] is a village in Lubartów County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Firlej. It lies approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) north-west of Lubartów and 35 km (22 mi) north of the regional capital Lublin. It is situated close to Lake Firlej

In 2004 the village had a population of 1,000.

History

The town Firlej was founded by Mikołaj Firlej in 1557. From the beginning the town has typical agriculture and handicraft character.

The other owners of Firlej were the families of Zalewski, Lubomirski and Sanguszko. In 1839 the town belonged to the president of Bank Polski - Mr Henryk Łubieński, who grounded the first factory of tools and agriculture machines in Lublin area.

Firlej took part also in uprising fights in 1831 and in 1863. The town had lost his rights because of patriotism of its citizens in 1869. Battles during World War I brought heavy damage to the town. In the first half of August 1920 in Firlej, marshal Józef Piłsudski inspected the Polish troops going to the east.

Firlej family

Firlej (plural: Firlejowie) was a Polish szlachta (nobility) family. Magnates in the 15th and 17th century.

History

According to Kasper Niesiecki, Ostafi of Lewart coat of arms came from Franconia, Germany, to Poland, in 1317, to serve Polish king Władysław Łokietek. He was nicknamed Firlej, and the name became his family name. From the 15th to 17th centuries, the Firlej family was a powerful magnate family in the Lesser Poland (Małopolska) region. A branch of the family became a vocal supporter of Protestantism in Poland.

The family went extinct in the 18th century.

Notable members