In 1825, Wadowice became the permanent garrison of the 56th Kaiser und Koenig Infanterie Regiment. Today, the regiment’s quarters — a three-story building erected in 1827 — is one of the best-preserved complexes of its kind in Poland. The barracks were located along the Imperial Highway, approximately 600 meters from the city center, which gave the military quick access to the main transport artery of Wadowice and Galicia. Until the mid-19th century, Wadowice was a key point on the military map of western Galicia. The local garrison performed not only policing and security functions, as during the November Uprising, but also played a significant role in suppressing the Kraków Uprising of 1846. However, in the second half of the 19th century, due to changes in army command tactics and the strengthening of the fortresses in Kraków and Przemyśl, the military importance of the town began to decline.
Albin Juliusz Karol von Brumowski served in the 56th Infantry Regiment, holding the position of titular Major General of the Imperial and Royal Army. He was the father of one of the Great War’s aces — Godwin Brumowski. Godwin was born on July 26, 1889, in Wadowice. After graduating from the Military Academy in 1910, Godwin began his service as a lieutenant in the field and mountain artillery officers’ corps, being assigned to the 29th Field Gun Regiment in Jarosław. He later served in artillery on the Russian front, and in July 1915 was assigned to the Imperial and Royal aviation as a balloon observer. Subsequently, at his own request, he was transferred to the aviation squadron Flik 1 (Fliegerkompagnie 1), where he served as an observer and demonstrated excellent marksmanship.
On April 12, 1916, together with pilot Otto Jindra, they conducted a bombing of Russian troops at Khotin during a review by Tsar Nicholas II. Brumowski also shot down two of four Russian Morane-Saulnier fighters. Having completed a pilot training course in July 1916 and earned his pilot’s badge, he was assigned to Flik 12 on the Italian front. In just two months, he shot down 5 enemy aircraft there. In March 1917, he trained with the German fighter squadron Jasta 24 on the Western Front, where he made contact with another famous pilot, Manfred von Richthofen — the Red Baron.
Brumowski played a key role in reforming Austrian aviation and creating fighter units modeled on German ones. After returning from the Western Front, he took command of the first Austro-Hungarian fighter unit, Flik 41J, operating on the Italian front. Flying the Oeffag D.III, he recorded further successes, achieving a total of 12 aerial victories by August 1918. During this period, he repainted his aircraft red and introduced a white skull on a black background as his personal identification mark. On October 11, 1918, he was appointed commander of all Austrian air forces on the Italian front in the Isonzo sector.
During the Great War, Brumowski officially scored 35 kills (including 5 balloons) and 8 probable aerial victories, making him the most successful pilot in the Austro-Hungarian army.
After the war, Brumowski never returned to Wadowice. For a time he worked as a farmer on his mother-in-law’s farm in Transylvania, but quickly went bankrupt. He then moved to Vienna, where he opened a flight school and taught piloting. He died on June 3, 1936, from injuries sustained in an aviation accident near Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, although he was not piloting the aircraft at the time of the accident. He was buried at the Central Cemetery in Vienna.
