opoczyński "dom Esterki"

The so-called "Esterka's House". During the reign of Casimir the Great (1333-1370), a thousand villages and a hundred cities were established in medieval Poland, mostly financed by the monarch. The reign of the last king of the Piast dynasty was a period of unprecedented development of a network of cities (founded under German law), most of which was founded personally by Casimir the Great. There is no agreement in the literature as to how many new centers were established. Most of them were certainly in Małopolska. Cautious estimates say about 36 cities created in this province (including 29 royal ones), the highest - a total of 67. In the whole country, as many as 108 new cities could be established under Casimir the Great (and another 10 in Mazovia). It was calculated that each year Kazimierz the Great earned an income of between 70,000 and 95,000 fines, i.e. about one ton of gold (about PLN 200 million today). For comparison, the kings of England earned 1.7 tonnes of gold a year, and the kings of France - as much as 7.7 tonnes. Poles buy 5-6 tons of it annually, it is known - in order to be safe investing surplus money (and they are already very rich, it has not been like this for 700 years, thanks to ..., yes, yes! it is thanks to "programs like .."!) The main source of income was the salt mines in Krakow. They ran (or rather leased) them ..... (because they knew how to run businesses). Their annual rent was a staggering 18,000 fines. Thus, this one mine was responsible for up to a quarter of all revenues to the royal treasury! It is believed that the salt mines near Krakow were the largest enterprise in Europe in the 14th century. Salt was paid dearly! But going back to Esterka Małach - each of these 108 cities is proud that this is where the lover of the loving Kazimierz lived, a Jewish woman famous for her beauty ("judeae concubinae"). Tradition is associated with the king's romance with Esther, among others: Kazimierz Dolny, Niepołomice, Przedbórz, Radom, Rzeszów, Sandomierz, Wiślica, and above all Łobzów near Kraków, where the Royal Palace is located and where the Esther Mound existed in the 20th century, but also Krakow's Kazimierz, where the Esterka House is located (46 Krakowska Street). A tenement house named after her still exists in Rzeszów. In the Old Town Square in Radom there is a baroque tenement called the House of Esther, and the "House of Esterka" from Opoczno, next to the "Kazimierz Castle" (it is quite a different story, as long as there is a castle in this castle), is one of the most famous monuments in Opoczno. In Opoczno it is believed that she was the granddaughter of a respected merchant and doctor from Opoczno and knew many medical secrets. According to Jan Długosz, King Kazimierz - who had several wives - had sons only with Esterka Małach, although they were never officially married. Legend has it that their sons Pełko and Nemir (Niemierza) were baptized at their father's request. They both became the mythical ancestors of several Polish noble families ... [maybe Małachowski .. or maybe Pełczyński and Niemirski?]. In Kraków, Pełko dealt with the development of legal and commercial relations between Jews, Poles and Germans. Nemir was sent to Rus in order to establish a new knightly order. Kazimierz and Estera also had two daughters, but their mother raised them to be Jewish women. That is, yes - Kazimierz could demand a concubine from any Jewish community, after all, it was with his consent that the Jews settled in Poland so massively when they were ordered to leave the Reich. Unfortunately, the Opoczno "Esterka House" does not look interesting from any point of view, and .. that's all about it. For me, Bartholomew and the column of St. Rozalia, amen.