Wola is a district of western Warsaw, Poland, formerly the village of Wielka Wola, that was incorporated into Warsaw in 1916. Mentioned in texts of the 14th century, it became the site of the free elections, from 1573 to 1764, of Poland's kings by the szlachta (nobility) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The Wola district later won fame for the Polish Army's heroic defenses of Warsaw in 1794 during the Kosciuszko Uprising and in 1831 during the November Uprising of 1830-1831. During the Warsaw Uprising (August-October 1944), Wola was the scene of fierce battles against Nazi German forces. It was there that, on August 8, 1944, the Germans perpetrated the largest single massacre of civilians (some 40,000) during the Uprising.
Wola is an industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century.
