<p><b>Łazy</b> is a town in <a href="/pages/w/104121069624149">Zawiercie County</a>, <a href="/pages/w/230403800306056">Silesian Voivodeship</a>, <a href="/pages/w/106085842755444">Poland</a>. Until 1947 the town was the seat of the Rokitno Szlacheckie municipality. In the years 1975-1998 the town administratively belonged to the Katowice province. According to data from December 31, 2004 the town has 7,242 inhabitants. During <a href="/pages/w/109429592416229">World War II</a>, German occupiers changed the name to <i>Lazy</i> then to <i>Lasern</i> without a legislative decree. Łazy belongs to the province of <a href="/pages/w/274740745964873">Lesser Poland</a>, and since its foundation until the <a href="/pages/w/137900579568443">Partitions of Poland</a>, it was part of <a href="/pages/w/103148906406006">Krakow Voivodeship</a>.</p><p>In the <a href="/pages/w/109562339063423">Middle Ages</a>, in the area of today’s Łazy were five settlements: Grabowa, Niegowonice, Wiesiolka, Wysoka and Ciagowice. Another village, which today is located within boundaries of Łazy, Chruszczobrod, belonged to the <a href="/pages/w/126386154071673">Duchy of Siewierz</a>, which was incorporated into the <a href="/pages/w/106670599372511">Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth</a> in 1790. In the year 1386, King <a href="/pages/w/110665412287264">Wladyslaw Jagiello</a> granted the villages of Niegowonice, Wiesiolka, Wysoka, Grabowa and Rokitno Szlacheckie ro Wlodek of Charbinowice, the <a href="/pages/w/112353672113039">starosta</a> of <a href="/pages/w/112034902147254">Lublin</a> and <a href="/pages/w/113228112059931">czesnik</a> of <a href="/pages/w/106029346094605">Kraków</a>. Until 1795, Grabowa, Hutki Kanki and Niegowoniczki belonged to <a href="/pages/w/114570031889406">Lelow</a> County, while Niegowonice, Wiesió∏ka,Wysoka, Ciagowice, Rokitno Szlacheckie and Turza were part of Kraków County. During the <a href="/pages/w/112723652075132">Swedish invasion of Poland</a>, the area of today’s Łazy witnessed heavy fighting and destruction. Stanislaw Warszycki, owner of the so-called <a href="/pages/w/108092129212217">Ogrodzieniec</a> Properties, fought Swedish invaders. As a result, the Ogrodzieniec Castle was destroyed, together with numerous villages, such as Grabowa, with its fortified stronghold on the Lesser Poland - Silesian border.</p>