Usnarz Górny

Usnarz Górny [ˈusnaʐ ˈɡurnɨ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Szudziałowo, within Sokółka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland.[1] It is situated close to the border with Belarus. It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) north-east of Szudziałowo, 20 km (12 mi) south-east of Sokółka and 47 km (29 mi) north-east of the regional capital Białystok.

Usnarz Górny
Village
Road into Usnarz Górny
Road into Usnarz Górny
Usnarz Górny is located in Poland
Usnarz Górny
Usnarz Górny
Coordinates: 53°20′N 23°46′E
Country Poland
VoivodeshipPodlaskie
CountySokółka
GminaSzudziałowo

The word 'górny' in its name means 'upper',[2] and the village just east of Usnarz Górny, on the Belarusian side of the border, is known in Polish as Usnarz Dolny[3][4] ('lower Usnarz').

History

Near the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Usnarz Górny was owned by Kazimierz and Zuzanna Wiszczyński.[5][6] From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Białystok Voivodeship.

In 2011, the village was inhabited by 75 people;[7] most of its inhabitants are elderly.[8] Many of its mostly wooden houses are now unoccupied, and although an asphalt road leads to the village, the roads within the village are unpaved.[9]

Main article: 2021 Belarus-European Union border crisis

In August 2021, the village was talked about in the media when a group of 32[8] immigrants from Afghanistan and Iraq camped for a long time near it on the Belarusian side of the border (in the khutor of Dolny Usnar), not allowed to enter Poland by the Polish border guards and military[9] and prevented from returning to Belarus by Belarusian soldiers.[8] They had been led to the border by the Belarusian government as part of the operation codenamed "Sluice".[10] On October 24 of the same year, the Polish border guard reported that a group of about 60 migrants, including some of those trapped on the border since August, tried unsuccessfully to forcibly cross the border into Poland near Usnarz Górny, with the assistance of Belarusian soldiers, who tried to cut through the recently erected border fence; some of the migrants threw stones at the Polish soldiers guarding the border, two of whom were lightly injured.[11][12][13]

References
  1. "Central Statistical Office (GUS) – TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
  2. Fisiak, Jacek, ed. (1998) [1st edition published 1996]. "górny". Collins Polish-English Dictionary (2nd ed.). HarperCollins and Polska Oficyna Wydawcza "BGW". p. 79. ISBN 83-7066-661-2. górny adj (warga, piętro) upper; (półka) top
  3. Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny (1928). SOKÓŁKA (Map). 1:100000 (in Polish). Longitude 23° 46-48' East, latitude 53° ~20' North. Archived from the original on 2017-06-15.
  4. Google Maps (Map). Archived from the original on 2021-10-30. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  5. "Cerkiew pw. Świętych Apostołów Piotra i Pawła z 1867 r. (Samogród)" [Orthodox Church of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul from the year 1867 (Samogród)]. CIEKAWE PODLASIE I OKOLICE [Interesting Podlasie and its Surroundings] (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2021-08-23. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  6. Drożdżewicz, Leonard (2021). "Dziedzictwo historyczno-kulturowe powiatu sokólskiego" [Historical-cultural heritage of Sokółka County]. Znad Wilii (in Polish). Stowarzyszenie Użyteczności Publicznej na Rzecz Rozwoju Kultury "Znad Wilii". 2 (86): 60. ISSN 1392-9712.
  7. "Wieś Usnarz Górny w liczbach" [The village of Usnarz Górny in numbers]. Polska w Liczbach [Poland in Numbers] (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2021-10-30. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  8. Shotter, James; Majos, Agata (2021-08-27). "Poland-Belarus border stand-off leaves Afghan migrants stuck in limbo". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2021-08-28.
  9. Kozubal, Marek (2021-08-19). "Uchodźcy pomiędzy lufami karabinów" [Refugees between the barrels of rifles]. Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2021-10-30.
  10. Kokot, Michał (2021-08-25). "Skąd się wzięli imigranci na granicy z Białorusią? Łukaszenka dał zgodę na operację "Śluza"" [Where did the immigrants on the border with Belarus come from? Lukashenko agreed to Operation "Sluice"]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  11. Shotter, James (2021-10-25). "Poland to boost troop numbers on Belarus border". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26.
  12. "2 Polish troops hurt as migrants try forcing Belarus border". ABC News. Associated Press. 2021-10-25. Archived from the original on 2021-10-30.
  13. Tidey, Alice (2021-10-26). "Two guards hurt during violence at Poland-Belarus border". Euronews. Archived from the original on 2021-10-30.


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