Map - Gmina Bochnia (Bochnia)

Bochnia Commune (Gmina Bochnia) is a gmina ("commune" or "municipality") within Lesser Poland Voivodeship in the south of Poland. It is situated on the borderline between two geographical regions: the Sandomierz Basin (Kotlina Sandomierska) in the northern part of the commune's territory, and the Wieliczka Piedmont (Pogórze Wielickie) in the southern part.

The commune consists of 31 townships and covers an area of 131 km2. the number of residents was 19,358. Its territory extends over about 50 km along the Raba and Stradomka rivers and their tributaries. The commune is cut almost in half by the E40 Dresden-Kraków-Lvov International Road, a railway line and, in the near future, the A-4 highway. The international Kraków-Balice airport is 40 km away.

The area contains flat fields and meadows of the Raba river valley in the north, including the Niepołomice Forest (Puszcza Niepołomicka); and a mountainous area in the south, within visual range of the Beskid Wyspowy mountain range, and in good weather, also the Tatra and Pieniny mountain ranges.

Considering the historical attractiveness, Bochnia Commune belongs to the most interesting districts in the Lesser Poland (Małopolska). Early settlements dating back to the prehistoric domain of Vistulians (Wiślanie) flourished in two neighboring centers: Łapczyca and Chełm. Łapczyca (in Latin referred to as: Labscicia et cum sole - Łapczyca with salt) was mentioned in Cardinal Idzi's edict of 1105 as the property of the Tyniec Benedictine Monastery. Łapczyca is a village of the longest unwritten history in the region, one of the oldest villages in southern Poland and also one of the most significant early settlements in the Bochnia region. There are some traces of a medieval fortified castle (grodzisko) which enjoyed its magnificence from the 9th through 11th centuries. A site of the greatest historic value is a gothic church founded by King Casimir the Great (Kazimierz Wielki) in 1360 as an expiatory gift. Since 1849 pilgrimages from Bochnia to the Łapczyca historic church are held annually in order to commemorate the town's miraculous salvation from an epidemics of cholera. Monachus - the Patriarch of Jerusalem is the author of a document dated 1198, confirming that a magnate - Mikora of the Gryfit Family - donated the Chełm village to the Friars of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem based at Miechów along with the feudal dues (dziesięcina - the tenth part of a serf s income due to the feudal lord), village fair and even 'karczma' - the local inn. Salt - the greatest natural wealth of the region - was discovered in consequence of their activities and, in effect, led to the foundation of the town of Bochnia operating in compliance with Magdeburg law from 1253. Since 1999 the Parish Museum of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Bożogrobcy) has been operating at Chełm. Its founder and custodian is the parish priest of the local church under the invocation of St. John the Baptist - Rev. Antoni Tworek. The most valuable exhibits are gold and silver embroidered chasubles dating from the 17th through 19th centuries, a monstrance and an alms-box dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Some of the exhibits are stored at the local belfry. Since 2004 the museum has been acting as the premises of the "Chełm" Art Gallery. Every year a great outdoor event is organized at Chełm - Wianki Świętojańskie (floating wreaths on the Raba river on St. John's Eve), which combines some elements of pagan beliefs with the Christian tradition of St. John's holiday. In the northern part of the commune's territory, at Bessów, some traces of early settlements dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries AD were preserved - some pottery and primitive smelting furnaces used for iron metallurgical processing and primitive farm tools production. In the 1970s numerous sensational archeological discoveries were made re, which turned the village into a researchers' "El Dorado". According to a legend, some Tartar warriors who invaded Poland during the Crimean 13th century settled at Cerekwia. Brzeźnica is another very old village (first chronicled in 1242). It is situated in the eastern part of the commune's territory. From 1242 onwards it enjoyed municipal rights for a few years. According to a legend, St. Stanisław of Szczepanów, then the Bishop of Cracow, was persecuted by King Boleslaus the Bold and had to escape from Kraków. City residents refused to give him water and accommodation. Having spent the night on a haystack, he raised his hands to heaven, prayed and hit the ground with his truncheon. Since that time, a spring of cristal clear water, regarded as 'miraculous' by the local people, has been gushing at the site. Other historic localities are: Krzyżanowice, Nieszkowice, Bogucice, Pogwizdów and Stanisławice situated at the fringe of the Niepołomice Virgin Forest (Puszcza Niepołomicka). The forest was first mentioned in a document of 1242, where it was referred to as "the Kłaj Forest" (Las Kłaj). In 1393 it was referred to as "the Niepołomice Forest" (Las Niepołomicki), and in 1441 the name "Niepołomice Virgin Forest" (Puszcza Niepołomicka) was used for the first time. The name "niepołomicka" derives from an old Polish word "niepołomny" which denoted something hard, unbreakable or indestructible. Throughout Poland's history the forest belonged to me State Treasury. For years it was an excellent hunting area used by the Polish kings. A forest trail called "the Royal Route" was used by the hunting kings, penetrating deep into the forest: Casimir the Great (Kazimierz Wielki), Ladislaus Jagiełło (Władysław Jagiełło), Sigismund the Old (Zygmunt Stary), Sigismund Augustus (Zygmunt August), Stephen Bathory (Stefan Batory) or Augustus III of Saxony (August III Sas). Big game was hunted for at the time: bear, wild pig, aurochs, moose, deer, bison and wolf. During the partitions, 'work at the foundations' characterized the localities neighboring Bochnia. Most of their inhabitants contributed to the restitution of Poland's sovereignty with their military effort and the sacrifice of their lives. An obelisk in the centre of Łapczyca is memorial to the personage of Józef Chwałkowski, who was killed in the January Uprising of 1863. The history of Gawłów is also extremely interesting. Until 1945 he village had been inhabited by former German colonists and their descendants who settled there after the first Partition of Poland. Until World War II, at the neighboring Majkowice village, there had even been a German school. Another fact worth attention, is that the Polish and German communities coexisted here for one and a half century in full harmony and mutual respect. During World War II the region of Bochnia experienced many tragic events. On 10 September 1939 the region's biggest battle took place at the fringe of fringe Niepołomice Virgin Forest (Puszcza Niepołomicka). Over 50 soldiers of the Kraków Army (Armia Kraków) were killed in the strife. Another local drama was shooting by the Germans of over 500 Jews at Baczków - by way of liquidation of the Bochnia's ghetto as of 25 August 1942. Today the monuments at the fringe of the forest testify to the fact. The Pilots' Monument erected at Nieszkowice Wielkie reminds us of the heroic "Liberator" team, who were killed on their attempt to help the fighting soldiers of the Warsaw Uprising. On the eve of the Liberation Day, in January 1945, Germans pacified the Grabina village and shot many residents.