Wąchock

By majority of Poles, the name of Wąchock is associated with sołtys (village head) who has been a hero of hundreds of jokes for a few decades.

Neverthless, the origins of  Wąchock go back to the 12th century, when settlement developed around the Cistercian Abbey. The Cistercians were brought to Wąchock by bishop Gedeon in 1179, a few dozen years after they had built their first monastery in Jędrzejów. The population of the area was quickly growing due to the development of a sandstone quarry, mining and metallurgical industries on the territory of Cistercian  estate.

In 1454 Wąchock was granted its municipal rights. The town witnessed a few important historical events shuch as the battle of Polish btroops of general Marian Langiewicz against the Russian army in 1863, it was one of the decisive clashes during the January Uprising. Wąchock
lost its municipal rights following the fall of the uprising. It regained its municipal rights in 1994.