Złotów [ˈzwɔtuf] is a town in northwestern Poland , with a population of 18,303 inhabitants (2011), seat of the Złotów County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship .
83-436: The town is located on the river Głomia and is surrounded by five lakes. It is part of the historic Greater Poland region. A railway line connects it to Piła and Chojnice , with buses operating locally. The local Metaplast windows fitting factory is the biggest industrial employer. The Euro Eco Meeting is organized regularly there each July. Złotów is the historical centre of the northern part of Krajna . Human activity in
166-445: A corporation with common assets to these ends, called Provinzialverband (provincial association, or – within government regions or smaller entities – Bezirksverband or Kommunalverband , i.e. municipal or regional association). Since 1875 all provinces had this double identity, being based on central Prussian prerogatives from above, on the one hand, and being bottom-up corporations of province-wide or region-wide self-rule, on
249-527: A high mortality rate. On the order of Heinrich Himmler , most of the camps were dissolved in 1943, and its surviving prisoners were sent to ghettos and death camps. Germany operated several prisoner-of-war camps , including Stalag XXI-B, Stalag XXI-C , Stalag XXI-D , Stalag XXI-E, Stalag 302, Oflag II-C , Oflag XXI-A, Oflag XXI-B , Oflag XXI-C and Oflag 64 , for Polish, French , British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander, Belgian, Dutch, Serbian, American, Italian , South African and other Allied POWs in
332-710: A larger area than the Greater Poland region itself, also taking in Masovia and Royal Prussia . (This division of Crown Poland into two entities called Greater and Lesser Poland had its roots in the Statutes of Casimir the Great of 1346–1362, where the laws of "Greater Poland" – the northern part of the country – were codified in the Piotrków statute, with those of "Lesser Poland" in the separate Wiślica statute.) In 1655, Greater Poland
415-622: A population share of 4.3%. The share of the vote of the Polish-Catholic People's Party was stable at around 3% in all state and Reichstag elections in the Weimar Republic . The settlement centers of the Polish minority were unevenly distributed. According to the census of 1925, the districts of Bomst (20.6%), Flatow (16.8%) and Meseritz (5.8%) had the highest proportions of Polish speakers (including bilinguals). A special achievement of
498-501: A result of the epidemic. After the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Złotów was incorporated into Prussia . In 1784 a Protestant half-timbered church was built on the great market square, which during the time span 1829–31 was replaced by a modern church designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel . From 1772 to 1945, as part of Prussia and later Germany it was known as Flatow . The town was given county ( Kreis ) town status in 1818. It
581-637: Is a Polish historical region of west-central Poland . Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz , the oldest city in Poland. The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history. Since the Late Middle Ages , Wielkopolska proper has been split into the Poznań and Kalisz voivodeships . In the wider sense, it also encompassed Sieradz , Łęczyca , Brześć Kujawski and Inowrocław voivodeships, which were situated further east, and
664-514: Is produced in various places, especially in the Noteć and Warta river valleys in the north and west. Notable centers of honey production include Pszczew , Wałcz , Tuczno , Lubiszyn and Stare Drawsko in northern and western Greater Poland and Kopaszewo and Witosław in southern Greater Poland. The Saint Michael's Honey Fair is held annually in Gorzów Wielkopolski . Grodzisk Wielkopolski
747-427: Is the most accomplished speedway team in Poland, and other accomplished teams in the region are Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski and Polonia Piła . Main handball clubs are MKS Kalisz , KPR Ostrovia Ostrów Wielkopolski , Nielba Wągrowiec , Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski , Grunwald Poznań and KPR Wolsztyniak Wolsztyn . Field hockey enjoys less popularity, however, the region is dominant in the sport in Poland, with 80 of
830-625: Is the place of origin of the Grodziskie beer style. Other traditional Polish beers , officially protected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, are produced in Bojanowo , Czarnków , Miłosław , Nakło nad Notecią and Wschowa . Football and speedway enjoy the largest following in Greater Poland. The most accomplished football teams are Lech Poznań and Warta Poznań . 18-times Team Polish Champions (as of 2023), Unia Leszno ,
913-554: The Cecylia choir , which is one of the oldest still existing choirs of Greater Poland and an agricultural and trade cooperative, all three of these entities operate to this day. In 1919, it was decided that the eastern part of the Flatow district would be ceded to Poland and the western part of the district, including the town of Flatow would remain in Germany . This caused huge protests from
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#1732851329895996-752: The Drzymała's wagon became a regional folk hero . In the Russian Partition, Russification policies were enacted, and Polish resistance was also active. The largest uprisings in Russian-controlled eastern Greater Poland were the November Uprising of 1830–31 and January Uprising of 1863–64. During World War I , Germany also occupied eastern Greater Poland, and in August 1914, the German Army carried out
1079-556: The Gestapo carried out arrests of Polish activists, teachers and entrepreneurs, closed various Polish organizations and enterprises and seized their funds. The Poles tried to resist German persecution, but some were forced to escape German arrest and thus fled to Poland. In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland starting World War II . During the attack the German army, Einsatzgruppen and Selbstschutz perpetrated various crimes against
1162-667: The Kingdom of Poland under Russia and the Free City of Cracow (a joint protectorate of Austria , Prussia, and Russia); Danzig returned to West Prussia. The Grand Duchy of Posen was mostly made up of former parts of South Prussia and the Netze District, but also included the Kulmerland which had been part of West Prussia before 1807; the Kulmerland was restored to West Prussia in 1817. In 1829 West Prussia and East Prussia were merged to form
1245-656: The Polish resistance conducted espionage of German activity in the town. In the last months of the war, the town was captured by Polish troops in the Battle of Złotów [ pl ] on 31 January 1945 and was finally reintegrated with Poland. After World War II , the redrawn borders forced upon Germany and Poland by the Soviet Union in the Potsdam Agreement placed the town, once again, inside Poland. Its first post-war mayor
1328-603: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and were administratively parts of the Poznań , Gniezno ( Kalisz before 1768) and Pomeranian Voivodeships. Following the First Partition in 1772 the Kingdom of Prussia established the West Prussian province and the Netze District on annexed Pomerelian and Greater Polish (and Kuyavian ) territories respectively. The South Prussian province was established following
1411-508: The Polish–Teutonic War of 1431–1435 . In the reunited kingdom, and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , the country came to be divided into administrative units called voivodeships . In the case of the Greater Poland region these were Poznań Voivodeship and Kalisz Voivodeship . The Commonwealth also had larger subdivisions known as prowincja , one of which was named Greater Poland . However, this prowincja covered
1494-729: The Province of Posen . With Prussia, these provinces became part of the North German Confederation in 1867 and the unified German Empire in 1871. Ethnic tensions were exacerbated by the Germanisation policies of the Berlin government and the anti-Catholic Kulturkampf measures enacted by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck . Upon the German defeat in World War I, another Greater Poland Uprising broke out in 1918, which aimed to incorporate
1577-505: The Province of Prussia , but they were restored in 1878. Both Posen and West Prussia lay beyond the borders of the German Confederation and Posen was, at least nominally, semi-autonomous. Their population was predominantly Catholic and Polish -speaking, while a sizable Protestant German minority settled mainly in the western parts. Posen lost its semi-autonomous status after the failed Greater Poland Uprising of 1848 , becoming
1660-479: The Rogalin Landscape Park is famous for about 2000 monumental oak trees growing on the flood plain of the river Warta , among numerous ox-bow lakes . Greater Poland formed the heart of the 10th-century early Polish state , sometimes being called the "cradle of Poland". Poznań and Gniezno were early centres of royal power and the seats of Poland's first Catholic diocese, est. in Poznań in 968, and
1743-456: The Santok Land , located to the northwest. The region in the proper sense roughly coincides with the present-day Greater Poland Voivodeship ( Polish : województwo wielkopolskie ). Like all the historical regions of Poland, i.e Pomerania , Warmia , Silesia , Mazovia or Lesser Poland and others, the Greater Poland region possesses its own folk costumes, architecture, cuisine, that make
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#17328513298951826-625: The Second Partition of 1793 and included the remainder of Greater Poland among other territories; the Third Partition in 1795 ended the existence of the Polish state entirely. In 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars , South Prussia, the Kulmerland (part of West Prussia) and part of the Netze District, along with New Silesia and New East Prussia (excluding the area around Białystok which
1909-737: The Second Polish Republic . Posen–West Prussia was established in 1922 as a province of the Free State of Prussia within Weimar Germany , formed from merging three remaining non-contiguous territories of Posen and West Prussia , which had lost the majority of their territory to the Second Polish Republic following the Greater Poland Uprising . From 1934, Posen–West Prussia was de facto ruled by Brandenburg until it
1992-722: The destruction of Kalisz . Germany planned the annexation of eastern Greater Poland as part of the so-called " Polish Border Strip " and expulsion of its Polish inhabitants to make room for German colonization in accordance with the Lebensraum policy. Following the end of World War I , the Greater Poland uprising (1918–19) ensured that most of the region became part of the newly independent Polish state, forming most of Poznań Voivodeship (1921–1939) . Northern and some western parts of Greater Poland remained in Germany, where they formed much of
2075-634: The expulsion of Poles , now also in pre-war Polish territory, with the Special Staff for the Resettlement of Poles and Jews ( Sonderstab für die Aussiedlung von Polen und Juden ) established in Poznań in November 1939, soon renamed to Office for the Resettlement of Poles and Jews ( Amt für Umsiedlung der Polen und Juden ), and eventually to Central Bureau for Resettlement (UWZ, Umwandererzentralstelle ). The place of
2158-513: The 1980 strikes in various cities and towns, which led to the foundation of the Solidarity organization, which played a central role in the end of communist rule in Poland. With the reforms of 1975 it was divided into seven provinces, partially or wholly located in Greater Poland (the voivodeships of Bydgoszcz , Gorzów , Kalisz , Konin , Leszno , Piła and Poznań ). The present-day Greater Poland Voivodeship , again with Poznań as its capital,
2241-494: The 86 men's Polish Championships won by local teams (as of October 2023). The following table lists the cities in proper Greater Poland with a population greater than 25,000 (2015): Posen-West Prussia The Frontier March of Posen–West Prussia ( German : Grenzmark Posen-Westpreußen ; Polish : Marchia Graniczna Poznańsko-Zachodniopruska ) was a province of Prussia from 1920/1922 to 1938, covering most of lands of historical Greater Poland that were not included in
2324-570: The German administration was confined to the smaller western parts of Posen and West Prussia, the Prussian state government was represented by the former Bromberg supervisor ( Regierungspräsident ) Friedrich von Bülow, who relocated his administrative seat to Schneidemühl. With the entry into force of the German Ostmark law on 1 July 1922, the province was created out of those smaller western parts of former Posen and West Prussia that remained with
2407-472: The German army, rescued Polish children kidnapped by the Germans, and facilitated escapes of Allied prisoners of war from German POW camps. The Germans cracked down on the resistance several times, and even kidnapped children of the resistance members and sent them to a camp for Polish children in Łódź , nicknamed "little Auschwitz " due to its conditions, where many died. From August 1944 to January 1945,
2490-601: The German police and Einsatzgruppe VI carried out mass public executions of some 300 Poles in various towns in the region, i.e. Gostyń , Kostrzyn , Kościan , Kórnik , Krobia , Książ Wielkopolski , Leszno , Mosina , Osieczna , Poniec , Śmigiel , Śrem , Środa and Włoszakowice , to terrorize and pacify the Poles. The Polish and Jewish population was classified by Nazis as subhuman and subjected to organized genocide, involving mass murder and ethnic cleansing, with many former officials and others considered potential enemies by
2573-441: The Germans used hundreds of thousands of Poles as forced labour to build fortifications in the region ahead of the advancing Eastern Front . In January 1945, before and during their retreat, the Germans committed several further massacres of Polish civilians, prisoners and Polish and other Allied POWs, including at Pleszew , Marchwacz , Żabikowo, Łomnica and Kuźnica Żelichowska and perpetrated several death marches . Poznań
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2656-747: The Museum of Polish State Origins in Gniezno, and the National Museum and Wielkopolska Museum of Independence in Poznań. Several castles and palaces house museums, such as those in Dobrzyca, Gołuchów , Jarocin , Kołaczkowo , Koźmin Wielkopolski , Kórnik, Poznań , Rogalin and Śmiełów . Poland's largest church, the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń , is located in the region. The oldest preserved European signpost beyond
2739-626: The Nazis being imprisoned or executed, including at the notorious Fort VII concentration camp in Poznań. Major sites of massacres of Poles in the region included Dopiewiec , Dębienko , Winiary , Mędzisko , Paterek , Łobżenica , Górka Klasztorna , Kobylniki and Bukowiec . During Aktion T4 , the SS-Sonderkommandos gassed over 2,700 mentally ill people from the psychiatric hospitals in Owińska , Dziekanka and Kościan . The Germans continued
2822-696: The Older Poland to contrast with Lesser Poland (Polish Małopolska , Latin Polonia Minor ), a region in south-eastern Poland with its capital at Kraków that later became the main centre of the state. Greater Poland comprises much of the area drained by the Warta River and its tributaries, including the Noteć River . The region is distinguished from Lesser Poland with the lowland landscape, and from both Lesser Poland and Mazovia with its numerous lakes. In
2905-563: The Pious issued the Statute of Kalisz in the region. It was a unique protective privilege for Jews during their persecution in Western Europe , which in the following centuries made Poland the destination of Jewish migration from other countries. From the late 13th century, the region experienced first German invasions and occupations. In the late 13th century, the northwestern part of Greater Poland
2988-420: The Poles was taken by German colonists in accordance with the Lebensraum policy. Many Poles were also enslaved as forced labour and either sent to forced labour camps or German colonists in the region or deported to Germany and other German-occupied countries. Over 270,000 Polish children aged 10–18 were subjected to forced labour in Greater Poland, which, in addition to German profits of 500 million marks ,
3071-647: The Polish people in the occupied areas, whereas the persecution of Poles of northern and western Greater Poland reached its climax with mass arrests of Polish activists, who were detained in temporary camps in Piła and Lipka , and then deported to concentration camps , expulsions and closure of Polish schools and enterprises. The invading troops committed multiple massacres of Polish civilians and prisoners of war , including at Kłecko , Zdziechowa , Mogilno , Trzemeszno , Niewolno , Winiary , Wągrowiec , Mielno , Jankowo Dolne , Podlesie Kościelne and Obora . Afterwards,
3154-762: The Polish-Catholic School Society. Local Poles managed to establish a Polish school, preschool, library and the Sparta Złotów football club (multi-section club after the war). Polish press was still issued in the town. The Polish school was devastated by the Germans in the 1930s, and the local synagogue was destroyed during the Kristallnacht in 1938. In 1939, shortly before the invasion of Poland , local Polish activists and teachers were arrested and later imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps . During World War II ,
3237-623: The Prussian Partition, western Greater Poland became the Grand Duchy of Posen (Poznań), which theoretically held some autonomy. Following an unrealized uprising in 1846 , and the more substantial but still unsuccessful uprising of 1848 (during the Spring of Nations ), the Grand Duchy was replaced by the Province of Posen . The authorities made efforts to Germanize the region, particularly after
3320-574: The Second Polish Republic. The capital of the Prussian Posen-Westpreußen province and seat of the Oberpräsident supervisor was Schneidemühl. The seat of the province's Landeshauptmann elected by the Landtag assembly remained at Meseritz. The office of an Oberpräsident (i.e. upper president) appointed by the Prussian state government had to carry out central prerogatives on
3403-538: The Weimar Republic. In view of the previous clashes of arms and the "lost" territories, the remaining German population from the beginning had a strong nationalistic attitude, with the national conservative German National People's Party (DNVP) emerging as the strongest political power in the provincial elections. Friedrich von Bülow, himself a member of the national liberal German People's Party , remained Oberpräsident until his retirement in 1933, whereafter he
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3486-408: The border with the adjacent Prussian provinces of Pomerania, Brandenburg and Silesia. The Polish advance was halted, after the German forces had re-organised in several Freikorps units and the demarcation line became the basis of the ruling by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, adjudicating the parts occupied by Polish forces uti possidetis to the Second Polish Republic . The governmental power of
3569-553: The boundaries of the former Roman Empire is located in Konin . In addition to traditional nationwide Polish cuisine , Greater Poland is known for its variety of regional and local traditional foods and drinks, which include especially various meat products (incl. various types of kiełbasa ), cheeses , honeys , beverages and various dishes and meals, officially protected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland . Among
3652-411: The competences transferred to the provincial or regional associations. Before the formal establishment of the new Province, the rural and urban district assemblies elected representatives for the Kommunallandtag Posen–West Prussia, legislating within the competences of the former Posen and West Prussia provincial associations and its premises within the territory of the future Posen–West Prussia. After
3735-423: The first archdiocese, est. in Gniezno in 1000, but following devastation of the region by pagan rebellion in the 1030s, and the invasion of Bretislaus I of Bohemia in 1038, the capital was moved by Casimir I the Restorer from Gniezno to Kraków . In the Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth , which initiated the period of fragmentation of Poland (1138–1320), the western part of Greater Poland (including Poznań)
3818-522: The formal formation of the province, its parliament was called the provincial diet of Posen–West Prussia which elected a provincial executive body (government), the provincial committee ( Provinzialausschuss ), and a head of province, the Landeshauptmann ("Land Captain"). After the Treaty of Versailles came into force, some members of the local Polish minority emigrated to Poland. In 1925, 13,284 people declared themselves to be either Polish -speaking or bilingual German/Polish. This corresponded to
3901-457: The founding of Germany in 1871, and from 1886 onwards the Prussian Settlement Commission was active in increasing German land ownership in formerly Polish areas. The Germans imposed Germanisation and Kulturkampf policies, and the Poles organized resistance . In the early 20th century, the Września children strike against Germanisation started, which quickly spread to other places in Greater Poland and beyond, whereas Michał Drzymała with
3984-414: The lands once annexed by Prussia into a re-established Polish state. The forces of the Polish Military Organisation were able to oust the German administration from the bulk of the Greater Polish lands, whereafter the Posen governor ( Landeshauptmann ) Ernst von Heyking was forced to retire to Meseritz (Międzyrzecz) and de facto only ruled over the far western, predominantly German settled districts at
4067-405: The large Polish minority of the town (approx. 12%) and the surrounding rural lands. From 1922 until 1938, Flatow was part of the newly formed Province of Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia inside Germany. When this province was dissolved on 1 October 1938, Flatow was integrated into the Province of Pomerania . Despite this, the town became the seat of local branches of the Union of Poles in Germany and
4150-445: The leading and fastest developing regions of Poland, with municipal rights modeled after Poznań and Kalisz becoming the basis of municipal form of government for several towns in the region, as two of five local Polish variants of medieval town rights. The region came under the control of Władysław I the Elbow-high in 1314, and thus became part of the reunited Poland of which Władyslaw was crowned king in 1320. In 1264, Duke Bolesław
4233-445: The most known local snacks are the St. Martin's croissant from Poznań and Kalisz andruts . Notable centers of traditional meat production include Grodzisk Wielkopolski , Krotoszyn , Kruszewnia , Nowy Tomyśl , Rawicz , Trzcianka and Złotniki , whereas centers of traditional cheese and quark production include Wągrowiec , Gniezno , Oborniki , Witkowo , Witoldzin and Września . A plethora of traditional Polish honey
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#17328513298954316-459: The north, Ostrów Wielkopolski to the south-east, Gniezno (the earliest capital of Poland) to the north-east, and Leszno to the south-west. An area of 75.84 square kilometres (29.28 sq mi) of forest and lakeland south of Poznań is designated the Wielkopolska National Park ( Wielkopolski Park Narodowy ), established in 1957. The region also contains part of Drawa National Park , and several designated Landscape Parks . For example,
4399-456: The northwestern and northern outskirts remained part of Prussia. However, following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Greater Poland was again partitioned, with the western part (including Poznań) going to Prussia. The eastern part (including Kalisz) joined the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland , where it formed the Kalisz Voivodeship until 1837, then the Kalisz Governorate (merged into the Warsaw Governorate between 1844 and 1867). Within
4482-486: The occupiers launched the Intelligenzaktion genocidal campaign against the Polish population, and annexed the entire region into Nazi Germany . Administratively, most of Greater Poland was included within the Reichsgau Posen , later renamed Reichsgau Wartheland ( Warthe being the German name for the Warta river), whereas northern and western parts were located in the provinces of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia , Pomerania and Brandenburg . On 20–23 October 1939,
4565-591: The only monument in Poland to Piast the Wheelwright , the semi-legendary founder of the Piast dynasty , was unveiled in Złotów. In 1961 the Regional Museum was established. From 1975 to 1998, it was administratively located in the Piła Voivodeship . The local women's volleyball team, Sparta Złotów , plays in the third national league. Złotów is twinned with: There has also been some cooperation with: Greater Poland Greater Poland , often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska ( pronounced [vjɛlkɔˈpɔlska] ; Latin : Polonia Maior ),
4648-501: The other hand. Initially, the assemblies of the urban and rural districts elected representatives for the provincial diets ( Provinziallandtage ; or as to regional diets, the so-called Kommunallandtage ), which were thus indirectly elected. After the end of the Prussian monarchy, the provincial or regional diets were all directly elected by the citizens of the provinces (or regions, respectively), with direct elections first held in 1921 and 1922. These parliaments legislated within
4731-627: The province of Posen-West Prussia (1922–1938), whose capital was Schneidemühl ( Piła ). To maintain contact with the Poles of German-controlled northern and western Greater Poland, Poland opened a consulate in Piła in 1922. From 1933, the Polish Głos Pogranicza i Kaszub newspaper was issued in Złotów . Under the Nazi government , repressions of Poles intensified. In January 1939, Germany resumed expulsions of Poles and many were also forced to flee. The Sturmabteilung , Schutzstaffel , Hitler Youth and Bund Deutscher Osten launched attacks on Polish institutions, schools and activists. In mid-1939
4814-433: The province of South Prussia . It remained so in spite of the first Greater Poland uprising (1794) , part of the unsuccessful Kościuszko Uprising directed chiefly against Russia . More successful was the Greater Poland Uprising of 1806 , which led to the bulk of Greater Poland becoming part of the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw (forming the Poznań Department and parts of the Kalisz and Bydgoszcz Departments), whereas
4897-409: The provincial level and to supervise the implementation of central policy on the lower levels of administration. As to common interests and tasks to be fulfilled on the provincial level, such as schools, traffic installations, hospitals, cultural institutions, sanitary premises, jails etc., the urban and rural districts ( Kreise ) within each province (sometimes within each government region ) formed
4980-406: The region goes as far back as the 8th century BC. Around 700 AD, a hill fort on the shore of the Baba lake was the residence of a Pomeranian tribal chief. The land belonged to the dukes of Gdańsk Pomerania from the house of the Samborides within partitioned Poland and after the last duke Mestwin II died in 1294 it passed under direct rule of the Piast dynasty . In the early 14th century it
5063-399: The region touristically and culturally interesting. Due to the fact that Greater Poland was the settlement area of the Polans and the core of the early Polish state , the region was at times simply called "Poland" (Latin Polonia ). The more specific name is first recorded in the Latin form Polonia Maior in 1257 and in Polish w Wielkej Polszcze in 1449. Its original meaning was
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#17328513298955146-431: The region. There were also multiple forced labour subcamps of the Stalag II-B , Stalag II-D and Stalag XX-A POW camps in the region, a subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in Owińska, a subcamp of the Stutthof concentration camp in Obrzycko , a subcamp of the Ravensbrück concentration camp in Kalisz Pomorski , and a camp for Sinti and Romani people in Piła. A particularly notorious prison camp
5229-528: The remainder of Brandenburg-annexed northwestern Greater Poland, which in 1373 became part of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown , ruled by the House of Luxembourg . In 1402, Poland and the Luxembourgs reached an agreement, according to which Poland was to buy and re-incorporate the afforementioned territory, but eventually the Luxembourgs sold it to the Teutonic Order. Allied Poles and Czech Hussites captured several towns of Teutonic-held northwestern Greater Poland, including Dobiegniew and Strzelce Krajeńskie , during
5312-411: The strict meaning, it covers an area of about 33,000 square kilometres (13,000 sq mi), and has a population of 3.5 million. In the wider sense, it has almost 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 sq mi), and 7 million inhabitants. The region's main metropolis is Poznań , near the centre of the region, on the Warta. Other cities are Kalisz to the south-east, Konin to the east, Piła to
5395-429: The war, while the fate of many remains unknown to this day. Jews from the region were also expelled and deported to other locations, including to Nazi ghettos , concentration camps and forced labour camps. From 1940, the occupiers also operated several forced labour camps for Jews in the region. Due to poor feeding and sanitary conditions, epidemics spread in those camps, which, combined with frequent executions, led to
5478-399: Was Jan Kocik [ pl ] , leading pre-war Polish activist in Złotów, who was imprisoned by the Germans in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp during the war. Already in 1945, new Polish schools were founded, and both the Sparta Złotów sports club and the "Cecylia" choir resumed their activities. The Culture Center was established in 1946 and the Municipal Library in 1947. In 1957,
5561-408: Was invaded by Sweden , and several battles were fought in the region, including at Ujście , Kłecko and Kcynia . In the 18th century kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often resided in Wschowa , and sessions of the Senate of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were held there, thus the town being dubbed the "unofficial capital of Poland". In 1768 a new Gniezno Voivodeship
5644-434: Was aimed at the children's biological destruction. The Germans also operated Germanisation camps for Polish children taken away from their parents in Kalisz, Poznań, Puszczykowo and Zaniemyśl . The children were given new German names and surnames, and were punished for any use of the Polish language, even with death. After their stay in the camp, the children were deported to Germany; only some returned to Poland after
5727-419: Was ceded to Russia ) were ceded to the Napoleonic client Duchy of Warsaw ; Danzig was also detached from West Prussia as the Free City of Danzig . The parts of the Netze District which remained within the Kingdom of Prussia were incorporated into West Prussia. After the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Duchy of Warsaw was re-partitioned between the Grand Duchy of Posen under Prussia,
5810-401: Was created in 1999, however, parts of Greater Poland are located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian , Lubusz , Łódź and West Pomeranian voivodeships. The region is rich in historical architecture of various styles from Romanesque and Gothic through Renaissance and Baroque to Neoclassical and Art Nouveau . Greater Poland boasts 13 Historic Monuments of Poland : Major museums include
5893-425: Was declared a fortress in the closing stages of the war, being taken by the Red Army in the Battle of Poznań , which ended on 22 February 1945. After the war, Greater Poland was fully reintegrated with Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the 1980s. The region experienced several waves of anti-communist protests and strikes, including the 1956 Poznań protests and
5976-770: Was destroyed by the Teutonic Knights in 1455 during the Thirteen Years' War . The town later belonged to the Potulicki family which provided it with a new Gothic castle in Renaissance style at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1619, Jan Potulicki issued a founding document for the church and parish of the Holy Assumption of Mary. Later it passed to the Grudziński family. In 1665 the town still had Magdeburg rights. The castle
6059-553: Was destroyed during the Swedish invasion in 1657 . The bombardment also destroyed other parts of the city including the town hall . A new church, still standing today, was founded there in 1664 by Andrzej Karol Grudziński. After the rule of the Grudziński family came to an end in 1688, the Działyński family came into power. From 1709 to 1711, a plague beset the area. According to incomplete church records, approximately 1,650 people died as
6142-513: Was dissolved by Nazi Germany , effective 1 October 1938 and its territory divided between the provinces of Pomerania , Brandenburg and Silesia . Schneidemühl (present-day Piła ) was the provincial capital. Today, lands of the province are entirely contained within Poland . Until the late 18th century partitions of Poland , the lands which made up Posen–West Prussia had been part of the Greater Poland and East Pomeranian ( Pomerelian ) regions of
6225-454: Was established in Poznań. Activities included secret Polish schooling , secret Catholic services, printing and distribution of Polish underground press , sabotage actions, espionage of German activity, military trainings, production of false documents, preparations for a planned uprising, and even secret football games. The Polish resistance provided aid to people in need, including prisoners, escapees from camps and ghettos and deserters from
6308-452: Was formed out of the northern part of Kalisz Voivodeship. However more far-reaching changes would come with the Partitions of Poland . In the first partition (1772), northern parts of Greater Poland along the Noteć (German Netze ) were taken over by Prussia , becoming the Netze District . In the second partition (1793) the whole of Greater Poland was absorbed by Prussia, becoming part of
6391-399: Was further on ruled with Brandenburg under Nazi Oberpräsident Emil Stürtz until it was dissolved in 1938, when its territory was divided between the adjacent provinces of Silesia , Pomerania and Brandenburg. Despite the name, the city of Posen (Polish: Poznań ) was no longer part of the province, as it had become the capital of the re-established Greater Polish Poznań Voivodeship of
6474-603: Was granted to Mieszko III the Old . The eastern part, with Gniezno and Kalisz , was part of the Seniorate Province centered in Kraków , granted to Władysław II . However, for most of the period the two parts were under a single ruler, and were known as the Duchy of Greater Poland (although at times there were separately ruled duchies of Poznań, Gniezno, Kalisz and Ujście ). It was one of
6557-609: Was occupied by the Margraviate of Brandenburg . In 1331, during the Polish–Teutonic War of 1326–1332 , the Teutonic Knights invaded central and eastern Greater Poland, however, the Poles defeated the invaders at Kalisz and an indecisive battle was fought at Konin . The Teutonic Knights soon retreated. King Casimir III the Great regained parts of northwestern Greater Poland, including Drezdenko in 1365 and Wałcz , Czaplinek and Człopa in 1368. Poland still attempted to recover
6640-421: Was occupied by the Teutonic Knights . Złotów was mentioned in 1370 in the chronicle of Jan of Czarnków . In 1370, Złotów was granted Magdeburg rights while under Polish rule. According to the last will of Polish king Casimir III the Great after his death in 1370 his grandson, Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania , was to inherit the lands of Dobrzyń , Bydgoszcz , Kruszwica , Złotów and Wałcz as fiefs . Złotów
6723-612: Was operated in Żabikowo , where mostly Poles were imprisoned, but also Luxembourgers, Dutch, Hungarians, Slovaks, Americans, Russians and deserters from the Wehrmacht , and many were tortured and executed. The Polish resistance movement was active in the region, including the Union of Armed Struggle , Bataliony Chłopskie , Gray Ranks and Home Army . The Polish Underground State was organized, and in July 1940, even an underground Polish parliament
6806-522: Was part of the Flatow district in the Prussian Province of West Prussia . In 1871, a railway line from Piła (then Schneidemühl ) was completed. Around this time many local people emigrated to America, including many members of the local Polish community. Despite the Germanisation policy of the Prussian authorities, local Poles founded several organizations, including the People's Bank ( Bank Ludowy ),
6889-794: Was succeeded by the Meseritz DNVP politician Hans von Meibom. After the DNVP dissolved in the course of the Nazi Gleichschaltung process, von Meibom was disempowered and replaced by the Nazi Oberpräsident of neighbouring Brandenburg , Wilhelm Kube . Kube, notorious for his corruption, ruled over both provinces until he was deposed after entering into a conflict with the Nazi jurist Walter Buch , father-in-law of mighty Martin Bormann . Posen–West Prussia
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