BASIC GEOGRAPHY, Part I

(left) Zolynia and its relationship to other nearby villages and towns.

(right) The "Gmina" of Zolynia in relationship to the other Gminas of the "Powiat" of Lancut.

Zolynia lies between Lancut and Lezajsk, about 18 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of the historic city of Rzeszow. It is also about 188 miles (300 kilometers) south and a little east of the Polish capital of Warszawa (click on maps to enlarge).

The Gmina of Zolynia (roughly equivalent to a "township" in most ofthe United States) is comprised of the village of Zolynia and two smaller villages (Brzoza Stadnicki and Smolarzyny). The current population of the Gmina is 6,787, including 5,088 people (75%) living within the village of Zolynia. The Gmina of Zolynia is one of seven Gminas which make up the Powiat of Lancut, a powiat being roughly equivalent to an American county. Twenty Powiats and four independent cities make up the Voivodship of Podkarpackie. The sixteen new Polish voivodships (provinces) were created in 1999 and Podkarpackie is based around Rzeszow.

Zolynia lies on a little river called Zolynianka, which years ago was known as Zolynski Potok (Zolynia Brook). It runs into the Wislok River to the south of the town. Just east of Zolynia the Wislok River runs into the San, the north-south river which in places marked the traditional border between the Austrian and Russian Empires. Zolynia lies among the Karpackie ("Carpathian") Foothills in an area which to this day is in large part covered by the dense woods of the Sandomierz Forest. Just to the south lie the Lower Beskid and Bieszczady Mountains, part of the Carpathian mountain range that stretches from central to eastern Europe.

In Polish, Zolynia is pronounced "Zha-Ween-Ya," the Zh having the sound of "s" in "pleasure." In Yiddish, the daily language of local Jews, the town was usually called Zha-Leen."

On older maps and documents the town can be referred to as Zolynia Miasteckzo, Wies Zolynia, Zholinia, Zolinia, Zolin, Zholin and other variations.

(left) This current terrain map of Gminy Zolynia shows the large amount of forest throughout the community. The purple lines are the borders between the three official villages, (north to south) Brzoza Stadnicka, Zolynia and Smolarzyny.