Rabka-Zdrój

Rabka-Zdrój (pronounced [ˈrapka ˈzdrui̯], in Goral dialects: Robka, colloquially: Rabka) is a spa town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It is located between Kraków and Zakopane in a valley on the northern slopes of the Gorce Mountains, where the rivers Poniczanka and Słonka join the river Raba. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. There is a substantial population of Gorals in the town.

Rabka-Zdrój
Town centre
Flag
Coat of arms
Rabka-Zdrój
Coordinates: 49°36′30″N 19°58′0″E
Country Poland
VoivodeshipLesser Poland
CountyNowy Targ
GminaRabka-Zdrój
Area
 • Total36.59 km2 (14.13 sq mi)
Highest elevation
560 m (1,840 ft)
Lowest elevation
470 m (1,540 ft)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total12,662
 • Density350/km2 (900/sq mi)
Postal code
34-700
Websitewww.rabka.pl

Rabka was always known for its salt-works, and from 1864 became a popular spa town. The first treatment centre for children was established a few years later and continues to this day. Hydrotherapy continues to be utilised in local hospital and sanatoriums. During World War II, the Germans established a Nazi police school in the town,[1][2] to train executioners and torturers. The school and its surroundings were the place of a series of atrocities before it was eventually closed down as the war approached its end and the Germans left.[3]

The Władysław Orkan Museum established in a former 17th-century larch-wood church, includes a collection of folk sculpture and paintings on glass. It also houses the "Order of the Smile Museum" (which children award to adults) and hosts events such as a winter carnival, the Carpathian Festival of Children's Regional Ensembles and the Mountain Children's Holiday International Festival. Other entertainment and folk events are held in the summer season.

Notable people
  • A park in Rabka-Zdrój
  • Statue of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of Rabka
  • Historic wood-frame house

References
  1. Michał Rapta , Wojciech Tupta , Grzegorz Moskal. Mroczne Sekrety willi "Tereska": 1939-1945. Grafikon, 2008 (in Polish). ISBN 8360817146.
  2. Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe. Debating, obfuscating and disciplining the Holocaust: post-Soviet historical discourses on the OUN–UPA and other nationalist movements. East European Jewish Affairs. Vol. 42, Iss. 3, 2012
  3. Robin O'Neil. The Rabka Four - A Warning from History. Spiderwize, Office 404; Albany House 324/326 Regent Street, London, W1B 3HH, UK. 2011.
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