 The first modern settlements were established here between the 10th and 12th centuries.During the Mongol invasion of Poland and other Mongol/Tatar raids of the early Kingdom of Poland, residents of Lesser Poland escaped to the dense forest to save themselves from Asiatic hordes.Sandomierz Forest remained sparsely populated until the mid-14th century, when King Kazimierz Wielki initiated a program of mass settlement, founding several towns.