Tykocin

I have just came back from a long weekend in Biebrza National Park, beautiful lowland at the east of Poland. There is also small and sleepy town near protected area called Tykocin with a long history and I would like to show you some of it and tell a bit about it.
The village was established sometime in XI century and originally it was just a small settlement but in XV century it was given the status of town and started its quick development. Having great protectors among wealthy gentry to whom it belonged (changing hands due to political issues) it developed well although with some hassle around middle XVII century (Swedish wars) and by the end of XVIII century when Poland lost her independance.

First Jewish families settled here in 1522 and the Jewish community was developing rapidly with the protection of Polish kings. By 1800 Jews constituted 70% of Tykocin's population and it was the second greatest and most important Jewish community after Cracow. As far as I know it was also always peacefully coexisting with non-Jewish neighbours.
Tykocin became Polish again after regaining independence (1918) and right before II WW it had population of 5,000 half of them Jewish.

During Shoah it lost all but 1 Jewish citizens and around 400-500 non-Jewish ones (taken to concentration camps by Germans) thus loosing nearly 70% of inhabitants and civic rights (it was village again after the war). Today it is sleepy little town trying to remember its history. The synagogue devastated by Nazis during occupation was one of the first in Poland to be renovated and here's how it looks now.

As you can see at some homes you can still see the reminders of old inhabitants (this star of David by the door) and (last picture) on the new B&B names are given in Hebrew as well as in Polish