Janów Lubelski

Janów lies on the Białka at the edge of the forests south of Lublin. The noblewoman Katarzyna Zamoyska founded the town on the road between Zamość and Sandomierz, receiving a royal privilege in 1640. Originally called Biała, it was renamed Janów for her son Jan Zamoyski. Cossacks burned the young town in 1648, and disease followed. Seeking to rebuild it, Jan permitted Jewish settlers to establish themselves in 1652; Polish-allied Tatars also settled here, and Dominicans arrived in 1660.