Armenians in Poland

The presence of Armenians in Central Europe has been evidenced since the 11th century. The tradition kept alive in some families of Polish Armenians explains the arrival of their ancestors into this area as a result of emigration caused by the capture of Ani by the Seljuk Turks in 1064. However, existing historical evidence points rather to commercial reasons for the formation of first Armenian communities by the Black Sea, and later in Ruthenian towns. These communities had flourished and therefore attracted further newcomers from Armenia. As a result of that, when in the middle of the 14th century the king Casimir the Great annexed some Ruthenian territories to Poland they were already inhabited by the considerable number of Armenians.

Polish kings, Casimir the Great and coming after him Vladislav Jagiello, Sigismund August, and John III Sobieski gave and confirmed privileges owing to which Armenians could live in Poland in well organized communities ruled according to the Armenian law. At that time Armenians in Poland were engaged in trade with the East and also in the crafts enabling them to manufacture in Poland some Eastern goods, which were in demand at local market. They were luxury products such as oriental carpets and rugs, waistbands, garments, morocco, cordovan, jewellery, ornaments, and arms, often exquisite and very expensive. Thanks to their commercial abilities Armenians became rich and created similar opportunities to others because profitable trade with the East stimulated economy of the towns inhabited by them. The towns in which Armenians played an important role were, first of all, Lvov and Kamieniec Podolski, and many other from Bałta in the east (present southern Ukraine) to Zamość in the west (present southeastern Poland), e.g. Tyśmienica, Brody, Brzeżany, Łysiec, Stanislavov, Kuty. To the Armenians' prosperity in Poland contributed not only the favourable circumstances but also the fact that they were not persecuted for ethnic or religious reasons.

In the 18th century Armenians in Poland had to change gradually the economic basis of their existence. Because of unfavourable political and economic processes in Poland which occurred in that century the trade with the East declined. Many Armenians became estate owners, and in the course of time most of them became members of the Polish middle class. It was possible owing to the continuing polonization, which was accelerated after the union of the Armenian Church with the Roman-Catholic Church, which took place in Poland in the first half of 17th century. After the religious unification, the polonization of culture and tradition of Armenians started. The crucial stage of this process was the loss of Armenian language at the turn of 19th century. Between the World Wars all the differences between Polish Armenians and Poles dissapeared, with the exception of the consciousness of Armenian origin and pride of their ancestors' achievements. The last stage of the polonization was accomplished after the change of Polish borders after the Second World War. Armenian communities were dispersed during the displacement of the population of the former southeastern Poland. For political reasons it was impossible for Polish Armenians to reconstruct their community up till early 80-ties.

As a result of these processes, at present most of Polish Armenians define themselves as Poles of Armenian origin. In spite of that they are still exhibiting interest in Armenian tradition, taking part in activities of several Armenian cultural organisations, and are in contact with the only Armenian Catholic parish with the centre in Gliwice in Silesia. They are also giving kind attention to Armenians arriving to Poland after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The number of new Armenian immigrants varies from tens of thousands up to 200,000. It is considerably greater than the number of Polish Armenians, which most realistic estimates range between 5,000 and 10,000. Looking at the present-day newcomers, who are seeking in Poland refuge from catastrophic decrease of living standards in Armenia, it can be noticed how the centuries of residence in Poland separated Polish Armenians from their old homeland. In spite of that the contacts between these two groups are close and augur well for the future. Undoubtedly some of Polish Armenians have an opportunity to go back to their roots, while the Armenian community in Poland will be enriched by these newcomers, who hope to find new home in Poland.