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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Łapy
| image_skyline = Poland Łapy.jpg
| image_caption = Łapy's skyline featuring St. Peter and Paul's church
| image_flag = POL Łapy flag.svg
| image_shield = POL Łapy COA.svg
| shield_size = 100px
| pushpin_map = Poland
| pushpin_label_position = top
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeship]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Podlaskie Voivodeship|Podlaskie]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Powiat|County]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Białystok County|Białystok]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Gmina]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Gmina Łapy|Łapy]]
| elevation_min_m = 120
| elevation_max_m = 130
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = [[Wiktor Brzosko]]
| established_title = Town charter
| established_date = 7 January 1925
| area_total_km2 = 12.14
| population_as_of = 2010
| population_total = 16049
| population_footnotes = <ref name=gus/>
| population_density_km2 = auto
| coordinates = {{coord|52|59|N|22|53|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}}
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 18-100 to 18-101
| area_code = (+48) 85
| registration_plate = BIA
| blank_name_sec2 = [[Voivodeship road]]s
| blank_info_sec2 = [[File:DW681-PL.svg|32px]] [[File:DW682-PL.svg|32px]]
| website = 
}}
'''Łapy''' {{IPAc-pl|'|ł|a|p|y}} is a town in north-eastern [[Poland]], in [[Białystok County]], [[Podlaskie Voivodeship]]; the administrative centre of the urban-rural [[gmina Łapy]].{{TERYT}} It is situated in the [[North Podlasie Lowland]], on the river [[Narew]].

According to data from 31 December 2010,<ref name="Ludność2010-12">{{cite book|title=Ludność. Stan i struktura w przekroju terytorialnym (Stan w dniu 31 XII 2010 r.)|publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny|location=Warsaw|date=2011-06-10|issn=1734-6118|url=http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/5840_655_PLK_HTML.htm|language=pl|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127094758/http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/5840_655_PLK_HTML.htm|archive-date=27 November 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> the town had 16,049 inhabitants.

Situated here are the bankrupt [[ZNTK w Łapach|Railway Fleet Repair Works]], a [[dairy]], and the [[sugar refinery]] closed in February 2008. Now, Łapy is a medical and educational centre for the region of the former Łapy county.

== Location ==
The town of Łapy is located in north-eastern Poland. According to Kondracki's division of Poland into physico-geographical regions, the town of Łapy sits on [[Nizina Północnopodlaska|North-Podlasie Plain]], over the [[Upper Valley of Narew]]. The town of Łapy lies by the [[Narew]] river. The terrain is elevated here from 120 to 130 metres. {{citation needed|date=June 2011}}

Included in [[Metropolitan Białystok|Białystok agglomeration]], the town is situated in the [[buffer zone]] of [[Narew National Park]].

According to data from 1 January 2010,<ref>{{cite book|title=Powierzchnia i ludność w przekroju terytorialnym w 2010 r.|publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny|location=Warsaw|date=2010-08-20|issn=1505-5507|url=http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/5840_908_PLK_HTML.htm|language=pl|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220071949/http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/5840_908_PLK_HTML.htm|archive-date=20 December 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> the town area then was {{convert|12.14|km2|abbr=on}}.

Between 1954 and 1975 Łapy was the administrative centre of Łapy County of [[Białystok Voivodeship (1945–1975)|Białystok Voivodeship]]. Between 1975 and 1998 the voivodeship was [[Voivodeships of Poland (1975–1998)|smaller]].

=== Residential areas ===
[[File:Lapy - Lapy Osse - Osiedle kolejarskie.jpg|thumb|Railwaymen's settlement Osse]]

Presently Łapy comprises the following parts:
* Barwiki
* Bociany
* Goździki
* Leśniki
* Osse
* Wity
* Wygwizdowo
* Zięciuki

== History ==

=== Foundation ===

The name 'Łapy' is of [[Masovian dialect|Masovian]] origin, and it initially represented a soubriquet of the kin, who founded the settlement on Narew. A legend links the foundation of the town with the nobleman Łappa of the [[Lubicz (coat of arms)|Lubicz]] coat of arms, who settled down here during the 15th-century [[Masovians|Masovian]] colonisation.

The first historical records of these lands come from the early 13th century. It is known that in 1375 [[Płonka Kościelna]] was an independent parish. Firstly Łapy was a backwater where the [[Szlachta|gentry]] cultivated patriotic traditions. Soon as a result of the village's development, new settlements emerged on the eastern and the western banks of the river [[Narew]], which was a water trade route from [[Suraż]] to [[Gdańsk]] in 16th and 17th centuries, and after World War II from [[Puszcza Białowieska]] to [[Tykocin]]; and at the east side of the high road from Suraż to Płonka.

=== Expansion ===

Following the expansion of the family, a series of backwaters were founded, including Rechy, Brusięta, [[Barwiki (Łapy)|Barwiki]], [[Łapy-Korczaki|Korczaki]], [[Łapy-Pluśniaki|Pluśniaki]], Wągle, Wity, Zięciuki, Kosmyki, Łazie, Stryjce, Wojtysze. Some of those names disappeared replaced by others, such as: Goździki, [[Łapy-Dębowina|Dębowizna]], Bociany, Leśniki. After the [[Third Partition of Poland]], in 1795, Łapy fell to the [[Prussian Partition]]. In 1807, after the [[Treaties of Tilsit|Tilsit Peace Treaty]], it became a part of the short-lived Polish [[Duchy of Warsaw]], and after its dissolution, in 1815, it passed to so-called [[Congress Poland]] in the [[Russian Partition]] of Poland. An important event for the future history of Łapy was Napoleonic army's marching through twice in 1812. In the 1820s the backwaters had 1000 inhabitants and 180 houses. In 1825, a fusion of six backwaters (Łapy-Barwiki, Łapy-Leśniki, Łapy-Zięciuki, Łapy-Wity, Łapy-Goździki, Łapy-Bociany) produced the farm settlement of Łapy.

=== Industrialisation ===

Łapy owes its development to the [[Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway]] with a station here, opened on 15 December 1862, and to the French having built here the works for repairing steam locomotives and carriages the same year.
That caused an influx of tradesmen and labourers not only from the nearby villages, but also from distant Polish locations and from the [[Russian Empire]].

[[File:Łapy - rada miejska 1928 r.jpg|thumb|Town council of Łapy in 1928]]
In the beginning of the [[January Uprising]], the railway station was captured by a Polish insurgent detachment of Władysław Cichorski ''nom de guerre'' "Zameczek" on the night of 22–23 January 1863,<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Katalog miejsc pamięci powstania styczniowego w województwie podlaskim|year=2013|language=pl|location=Białystok|publisher=Towarzystwo Opieki nad Zabytkami Oddział Białystok|page=20|isbn=978-83-88372-50-6}}</ref> and then recaptured by the Russians on 27 January 1863.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zieliński|first=Stanisław|title=Bitwy i potyczki 1863-1864. Na podstawie materyałów drukowanych i rękopiśmiennych Muzeum Narodowego w Rapperswilu|year=1913|language=pl|publisher=Fundusz Wydawniczy [[Polish Museum, Rapperswil|Muzeum Narodowego w Rapperswilu]]|location=Rapperswil|pages=253–254}}</ref> Further clashes between Polish insurgents and Russian troops were fought in Łapy on 11 and 18 July 1863.<ref>Zieliński, pp. 265–266</ref> Following [[World War I]], Poland regained independence and control of Łapy.

The repair works exist today as [[ZNTK Łapy|'ZNTK Łapy S.A.']] They played a decisive role in Łapy's urbanization, the town charter granted on 1 January 1925.

At the eve of the German-Soviet [[invasion of Poland]], which started [[World War II]] in 1939, the town population reached 8,000 citizens. Following the invasion, Łapy was first [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupied]] by the [[Soviet Union]] until 1941, and then by Germany until 1944, when it was finally restored to Poland. During the war, the town was 80% destroyed, and the entire local Jewish population was murdered by the German occupiers in [[the Holocaust]].
{{Historical populations|1921|3495|1931|6674|2010|16049
|source=<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Wiadomości Statystyczne Głównego Urzędu Statystycznego|volume=X|year=1932|language=pl|location=Warsaw|publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny|page=195}}</ref><ref name=gus>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_l_ludnosc_stan_struktura_31_12_2010.pdf|title=Stan i struktura ludności oraz ruch naturalny w przekroju terytorialnym w 2010 r.|year=2011|language=pl|location=Warsaw|publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny|page=86|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113152513/https://stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_l_ludnosc_stan_struktura_31_12_2010.pdf|archive-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>}}

On Sunday, July 30, 1944, the [[Wehrmacht]] set [[Uhowo]] on fire. They also blew up the bridges over the Narew River. On July 31, they began destroying the city. Factory halls were blown up and the town was burning. The population hid in shelters and the church and Soviet planes shelled the church tower and German infantry positions near the cemetery on daily basis. On August 6, in the early morning hours, they launched a general assault. At around 11 in the morning, Soviet patrols entered the burning city.<ref>{{cite book|title=Łapy Miasto przy kolei|first=Piotr|last=Sobieszczak|year=2014|publisher=Miasto i gmina Łapy|lang=pl|isbn=9788393674817}}</ref> Following the end of the war the town became part of [[Białystok Voivodeship (1944–1975)|Białystok Voivodeship]].

== Transport ==

=== Roads ===

There are two voivodeship roads crossing the town:
* {{Jct|country=POL|DW|681}} [[Roszki-Wodźki]] – Łapy – [[Brańsk]] – [[Ciechanowiec]]
* {{Jct|country=POL|DW|682}} Łapy – [[Markowszczyzna]]

Furthermore, the [[Trunk road|national road]] {{Jct|country=POL|DK|8}} runs {{convert|19|km|0|abbr=off}} to the north, being upgraded to {{Jct|country=POL|S|8}} [[Limited-access road|express-way]].

=== Railway ===

There are two railway routes going through the town:
* [[Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway]] ([[Białystok]] – [[Warsaw]])
* Łapy – [[Ostrołęka]] (partly out of order)

Łapy hosts a railway station for all kinds of trains, which is situated in the town centre; and a railway stop [[Łapy Osse]] for slow trains only, in the Osse quarter, {{convert|3|km|0|abbr=in}} from the centre.

Łapy's railway destinations are numerous: [[Bielsko-Biała]], [[Warsaw]], [[Suwałki]], [[Białystok]], [[Wrocław]], [[Opole]], [[Częstochowa]], [[Kraków]], [[Szczecin]], [[Poznań]].

=== Bus services ===

There are many small [[Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Samochodowej|PKS]] bus stops and the main one – Łapy, next to the railway station building in the centre, from which local lines operate in the directions of [[Białystok]], [[Zambrów]], [[Siemiatycze]], [[Bielsk Podlaski]], etc.

=== Bike and foot trails ===

* [[File:Szlak rowerowy czerwony.svg|18px|link=Bike_trail]] Red bike trail; the ring route of [[Narwiański Park Narodowy|Narew National Park]]
[[Choroszcz]] – [[Zawady (gmina Turośń Kościelna)|Zawady]] – [[Baciuty]] – [[Dobrowoda (powiat białostocki)|Dobrowoda]] – [[Turośń Dolna]] – [[Borowskie Michały]] – [[Suraż]] – Łapy – [[Płonka Kościelna]] – [[Stara Łupianka]] – [[Jeńki]] – [[Waniewo (powiat wysokomazowiecki)|Waniewo]] – [[Kurowo, Podlaskie Voivodeship|Kurowo]] – [[Stare Jeżewo]] – [[Tykocin]] – [[Choroszcz]]
* [[File:POL Szlak czerwony.svg|24px|link=sTrail_blazing]] Red foot trail of [[Włodzimierz Puchalski]] – 36 [[kilometer|km]]
[[Łapy Osse]] – [[Gąsówka-Osse]] – [[Płonka Kościelna]] – [[Płonka-Strumianka]] – [[Stara Łupianka]] – [[Bokiny]] – [[Jeńki]] – [[Waniewo (powiat wysokomazowiecki)|Waniewo]] – [[Kurowo, Podlaskie Voivodeship|Kurowo]] – [[Stare Jeżewo]]
* [[File:POL Szlak zielony.svg|24px|link=sTrail_blazing]] Railwaymen's green foot trail
[[Łapy Osse]] – [[Grochy]] – [[Turek (województwo podlaskie)|Turek]] – [[Pietkowo]] – [[Suraż]]

== Economy ==
Until 2009, Łapy's economy was mainly based on the then functioning:
* [[sugar refinery]], being one of the best in Poland and selling its sugar to ''inter alia'' Islamic countries and to the Middle East;
* and [[ZNTK w Łapach|Railway Fleet Repair Works]].
Unfortunately for the town, both of the works have been closed.

There are plans to create a subzone of [[Tarnobrzeska Specjalna Strefa Ekonomiczna|Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone]]. A corresponding bill has been submitted at The [[Cabinet of Poland|Cabinet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lapy.podlasie.pl |title=Łapy Town and Gmina Website |language=pl}}</ref>

The development of industrial economy in Łapy and its neighbourhood is hindered first of all by the close proximity of [[Narwiański Park Narodowy|Narew National Park]]. On the other hand, the town has a potential for the tourism industry.

== Sights ==
=== Historical buildings ===
[[File:Saints Peter and Paul church in Łapy.jpg|thumb|upright|St. Peter and Paul's church]]

* St. Archangel Michael's parish church complex in [[Płonka Kościelna]]:
** 1800 wooden chapel
** c. 1905 brick church
** c. 1905 fence and brick gate
* [[Water tower]] in the complex of [[Łapy Railway Station|the railway station]], built at the beginning of the 20th century
* 1920s Etkun's House in Spółdzielcza Street
* [[St. Peter and Paul's church in Łapy|St. Peter and Paul's]] parish church complex:
** 1920-27 brick gate
** c. 1929 wooden presbytery
** c. 1930 brick vicarage
** 1920 chapel
* St. Adalbert's parish church complex in Uhowo
* Four wooden houses built in 1924 in the railwaymen's settlement Wygwizdowo
* 27 brick houses built in the 1930s in the railwaymen's settlement Osse
* Block group in Sikorskiego St. and Spółdzielcza St.
* Market square

=== Memorials ===
[[File:Łapy - monument to Stanisław Nilski-Łapiński.jpg|thumb|upright|LTC Nilski-Łapiński's memorial]]
* The statue of [[Jan III Sobieski]] in the nearby village [[Płonka Kościelna]]
* A stone dedicated to LTC [[Stanisław Nilski-Łapiński]]
* The statue of Heroic Polish Children, dedicated to the children killed during the World War II

=== Graveyards ===

* Historical church graveyard in [[Płonka Kościelna]]
* Roman Catholic graveyard in [[Płonka Kościelna]]
* Orthodox graveyard in Osse
* Roman Catholic graveyard in Uhowo
* [[Jewish cemetery in Łapy]]

=== Nature ===

* [[Narwiański Park Narodowy|Narew National Park]]
* [[#Bike and foot trails|Bike and foot trails]]

==Cuisine==
The officially protected [[traditional food]] of Łapy (as designated by the [[Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Poland)|Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland]]) is the ''klinek z Łap'', a local type of traditionally produced [[Quark (dairy product)|quark]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.pl/web/rolnictwo/klinek-z-lap|title=Klinek z Łap|website=Ministerstwo Rolnictwa i Rozwoju Wsi - Portal Gov.pl|access-date=26 November 2022|language=pl}}</ref>

== Sport clubs and organisations ==
* {{ill|Pogoń Łapy|pl}}, the town's main [[Association football|football]] club
* UKS Olimp LO Łapy
* UKS Łapa Łapy

== Cultural organizations and associations ==

* [[Łapskie Towarzystwo Regionalne]]

== Education ==

=== Kindergartens ===

* Council Kindergarten nr 1, ul. Polna 27
* Council Kindergarten nr 2, ul. Cmentarna 23

=== Primary schools ===

* Primary school, ul. [[Jan Matejko|Jana Matejki]] 10 (managed by 'Edukator' association from [[Łomża]])
* Primary school nr 1, ul. Polna 9
* Primary school nr 2, ul. Piękna 17
* Primary school nr 3, ul. Letnia 1

=== Gymnasiums ===

* Gymnasium nr 1, ul. Matejki 19
* Gymnasium nr 2, ul. Letnia 1

=== High schools ===

* High School nr 1, ul. Bohaterów [[Westerplatte]] 10
* Vocational High Schools of Mechanics' Group, ul. [[Władysław Sikorski|Władysława Sikorskiego]] 68
** Vocational High School
** Basic Vocational School
** High School nr 2
** Specialised High School nr 2
** Postgraduate School
** High School for Adults
** High School for Adult Remedial Education
** Postgraduate School (extramural)

==Prominent people==
* [[Józef Kosacki]] (1909–1990), Polish engineer, inventor, officer, who invented [[Polish mine detector|the first mine detector]]. His device was a significant contribution to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies']] victory in World War II.
* [[Waldemar Kikolski]] (1967–2001), Polish [[paralympic]] [[Track and field|athlete]] born in Łapy

== History literature concerning Łapy ==

* Bitwy i potyczki 1863-1864, oprac. Stanisław Zieliński, Raperswil 1913.
* Rocznik Statystyczny Królestwa Polskiego za 1913, Warsaw 1914.
* Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z oznaczeniem terytorialnie im właściwych władz i urzędów oraz urządzeń komunikacyjnych; WWarsaw-Przemyśl 1933.
* Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Warsaw 1887.
* Księga adresowa Polski (wraz z W.M. Gdańskiem) dla handlu, przemysłu, rzemiosł i rolnictwa na 1930 r., Warsaw 1930.
* J. Beszta Borowski, Pół wieku zarazy 1944-200. Moje zapiski faktów i refleksji, Komorów 2002.
* S. Chankowski, Powstanie styczniowe w Augustowskiem, Warsaw 1972.
* A. Dobroński, Infrastruktura społeczna i ekonomiczna guberni łomżyńskiej i obwodu białostockiego (1866–1914), Rozprawy Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 197, Białystok 1979.
* Ł. Lubicz-Łapiński, Łapy i ich mieszkańcy. Zaścianki Łapińskich w XV-XVIII w., Białystok 2004.
* S. Łaniec, Partyzanci żelaznych dróg w roku 1863, Warsaw 1974.
* M. Olechnowicz, Z przeszłości Łap i okolic, z. 1, Łapy 1999.
* J. Szumski, Łapy w latach 1862-1914, Białostocczyzna”, nr 1, 1997.
* P. Sobieszczak, Poświętne wczoraj i dziś. Rys historyczny parafii i gminy do końca XX wieku., Łapy 2008.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{official website|http://lapy.podlasie.pl}}
* [http://www.lapskie.pl Łapskie Towarzystwo Regionalne]

{{Gmina Łapy}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Podlaskie Voivodeship]]
[[Category:Białystok County]]
[[Category:Holocaust locations in Poland]]