Zagórz 2023-05-11

Zagórz Railway Station.

Geographic coordinates 49.512N 22.263E. Elevation 309 m.

City of Zagórz.

The city of Zagórz is located in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship in the Sanok County, in the Zagórz Commune. City rights were granted in 1977. The city’s area is 22.39 km2. in 2020, the city was inhabited by 5,251 inhabitants. Zagórz is located near the mouth of the Osława River into the San, in the Bukowskie Foothills, in the Sanok Land. Historically, it is Lesser Poland, and culturally, the Bieszczady Mountains.

The city was founded in 1412 and was a private settlement of Mikołaj from Tarnawa. Until the 17th century, the city was owned by the Tarnawski family. Then, the settlement was ruled by other magnate families. Already in the 14th century, there was a Roman Catholic parish here. In 1710, a Monastery – Fortress of Discalced Carmelites was built in Zagórze, the ruins of which now dominate the area. In 1713, a hospital for war invalids was built next to the monastery.

The development of the railway contributed to the further development of the settlement and the surrounding area. In 1872, the railway line of the First Hungarian-Galician Iron Railway was put into operation. This line connected Zagórz with the Kraków-Lviv line running through Przemyśl on the Charles Ludwik Railway. In 1874, the tunnel in Łupków was put into operation, which connected Przemyśl – Zagórz – Budapest. In 1884, the Galician Transversal Railway was supplemented with the Stróże – Nowy Zagórz section. At that point, Zagórz became a large railway junction. About 3,000 people worked on the railway. A housing estate was built for the railway families.

During the Polish-Ukrainian fighting in 1918, the Defenders of the Zagórze Junction Committee was organized in Zagórze, consisting of railway workers and members of the “Sokół” organization. For the needs of the fighting, the railway workers assembled two armored trains, “Gromobój” and “Kozak”. The trains contributed to maintaining smooth rail traffic. The decoration – the Defenders of the Zagórze Junction Cross was established as a result of the fighting between Poland and Ukrainians, which had been going on since November 1918. The Polish population and Polish railway workers stood up for the defense of Zagórze and the railway junction, which the Ukrainians wanted to destroy. The crosses as a decoration were made of bronze alloy in the locomotive shed in Zagórze. Again, in September 1939, Polish railway workers contributed to the efficient evacuation of civilians, and then Polish soldiers to the south. Many railway workers were members of the Home Army and led reversal actions against the Germans. On September 13, 1944, Zagórz was occupied by the Soviets.

In 2000, the Millennium Cross was placed on the hill in Zagórz. The cross is 16 m high and the arms have a span of 3.20 m. On November 11, 2000, the cross was consecrated by the Archbishop Metropolitan of Przemyśl, Father Józef Michalik. In the past, on the hill since 1933, there was a cross placed on the anniversary of Poland regaining independence in 1918, which was destroyed during World War II.

For such a small city, Zagórz has two railway stations; Nowy Zagórz and Zagórz.

Nowy Zagórz Station.

At Nowy Zagórz Station there is a beautiful palace-style station. The original station was opened in 1884. It was a two-story building with a sloping roof covered with tiles. During the Great World War the building was destroyed by the Muscovites. In the period 1921-1924, the station was rebuilt in a much larger form, in the palace style. The station has three storeys. It is covered with brown tiles. A platform roof was placed on the side of the platforms. On the side of the station square, a representative entrance to the station hall was placed, above which there is a balcony. On the sides of the entrance, towers protruding from the front of the building were built. The entire building is symmetrical, with numerous cornices and decorations. The building awaits renovation of the facade and roof. The building contained; a waiting room, ticket and luggage offices, a restaurant and the Polish Post Office. There were also apartments and railway service rooms. The station is located on Dworcowa Street, and the square in front of the station is called Chopin Square. There are currently six tracks in use at the station. Previously, there were 12 tracks. There are traffic lights at the station. Low-type platforms are earthen. Nowy Zagórz station serves up to 10 passengers per day (2018).

Zagórz Station.

The station was the first station in Zagórz. For some time, the station was called Sanok Zagórz (1973 – 1976). Zagórz Station is located directly on the line towards the tunnel in Łupków. There is a station building at the station, which is currently inaccessible to passengers. The building is two-story, simple in shape.

There are 2 platforms and 2 platform edges at Zagórz Station. The station has 6 main tracks, 2 of which are located at low, earth platforms. Currently (2023) the ticket offices at the station are closed. The station building is inaccessible to passengers. Toilets are outside in the form of Toi-Toi cabins. There is a 24-hour Railway Protection Guard station at Zagórz Station. There were two locomotive sheds at the station. One of them was demolished in 2010. This was the time when the Freemasons were eliminating rail connections in Poland. Fortunately, most of the railway facilities have been occupied by SKPL, where the company’s rolling stock is being renovated. Train traffic at the station is managed by two signal boxes: “Zg” and “Zg1”, which have mechanical devices, centralized with traffic lights. In 2017, the station served up to 20 passengers per day, and in 2022, up to 40 passengers per day.

The Zagórz and Nowy Zagórz stations serve two railway lines; No. 107 Nowy Zagórz – Łupków and line No. 108 Stróże Krosna – Sanok – Zagórz – Krościenko – Chyrów (currently in Ukraine). There is also a railway link No. 617 Zagórz – Zagórz R101.

Railway line No. 617 is a single-track, non-electrified line connecting switch No. 46 with switch No. 101 at Zagórz station. The line is 1.179 km long. Currently (2023) the train speed is 40 km/h. At the time of construction (November 12, 1872), it was a section of the railway route from Przemyśl to Budapest. Automatic train braking electromagnets are installed on the line. It should be remembered that the track layout in this part of the station forms a triangle, which was used to rotate locomotives. Therefore, a locomotive turntable was not built in Zagórz. The entire route; Przemyśl – Chyrów – Zagórz – Komańcza – Budapest was put into operation on December 25, 1872. Individual sections of the route were put into operation on the following dates: Przemyśl – Chyrów 33.2 km – May 13, 1872. Chyrów – Krościenko 19.4 km – July 1, 1872. Krościenko – Ustrzyki Dolne 8.1 km – September 3, 1872. Ustrzyki Dolne – Zagórz – Komańcza 70.2 km – November 12, 1872. Komańcza – Łupków 13.7 km – December 18, 1872.

The railway route from Sanok was launched in 1884.

 In 1892, the Railway Workshops in Stare Zagórze were liquidated and the employees were transferred (about 400 railwaymen) to the Workshops in Nowy Sącz. The workshop facilities were taken over by the Wagon and Machine Factory in Sanok – Kazimierz Lipiński, currently “Autosan”. 

Since the 1950s, PKP trains from the center of Poland to the Bieszczady Mountains have been running through Chyrów. Railway line No. 102; Przemyśl – Malhowice, is 12.380 km long, single-track, electrified. The line then leads to the unused Hermanowice – Chyrów border crossing (in Ukraine). This was the Przemyśl – Chyrów – Krościenko – Ustrzyki Dolne – Zagórz route. The border crossing was completely closed in 1994. The track still exists. During the Polish People’s Republic, the standard gauge track preserved on the Soviet side allowed travel from Krościenko through Starzawa, Chyrów and Niżankowice to Malhowice. Long-distance trains to the Bieszczady Mountains ran along this route. These trains were inaccessible to residents of the CCCP. Soviet soldiers stood on the steps of the wagons and guarded passengers and Polish railway workers. In 1963, an intergovernmental agreement was concluded. It allowed for the control of passengers and railway workers on trains within the CCCP. There was no border check and no need for passports, but an identity card was necessary. In 1994, passenger train traffic was suspended. No agreement was concluded with the Ukrainian government. In 2022, renovations were carried out on the Polish side. On the section from Krościenko towards the border, tourist draisines are used. There were no plans to build a route only in Poland, Krościenko – Malhowice, due to the very difficult terrain and little benefit from such a connection.

Current train connections are from Zagórze via Sanok – Krosno – Jasło – Rzeszów – Kraków. In May 2023, Zagórz was served by TLK “Wetlina” 30110 and TLK “Bieszczady” 30112 trains. There are more connections during the holiday season.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman