Bakałarzewo
Bakałarzewo is a village in Suwałki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Bakałarzewo. It lies approximately west of Suwałki and north of the regional capital Białystok. The village has a population of 820.
Bakalarzewo was founded in early 16th century, among dense forests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At that time, it was called Dowspuda Bakalarzewska or Bakalarszczyzna, but by the second half of the 16th century, it was commonly called Bakalarzewo. It owes its name to the nickname of Mikolaj “Bakalarz” Michnowicz, royal writer and one of founders of the town.
By 1558 Bakalarzewo had already had a town charter, with a mayor, a vogt and a starosta. In 1609, local nobleman Mikolaj Wolski funded an altar for the town church: the altar still exists. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries Bakalarzewo remained a small, private town. Following the Partitions of Poland it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, and after the Congress of Vienna it became part of Russian-controlled Congress Poland, where it remained until World War One. In 1870, as a punishment for the January Uprising, Russian authorities reduced Bakalarzewo to the status of a village.
In early 20th century, Bakalarzewo had the population of 2,000, with a large Jewish community. In the Second Polish Republic, the village belonged to Bialystok Voivodeship. In 1927, a complex of a new school was built, in 1936 a new church, and in 1937, office building by the market square.
During World War Two nearly 90 % of all Bakalarzewo building were destroyed by 1945, it was an important center of the Home Army, and on May 25, 1944, German soldiers killed 12 Home Army members.
