Dolsk

Dolsk (german: Dolzig) is a town in the Greater Poland Voivodeship of Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 1,550. A capital of Gmina Dolsk within the Śrem County, the town is a minor centre of trade and commerce. The town is located between two lakes, the ''Dolskie Wielkie'' and ''Dolskie Małe'', both deriving their names from the name of the town. Geographically, the town lies in the Leszczyńska Uplands in Greater Poland, close to its border with Lower Silesia.

History

The town was first mentioned in one of the first documents written partially in the Polish language, that is the Bull of Gniezno of 1136. Back then it was a private property of the Bishops of Gniezno. In the mid-13th century the town was transferred to the Bishops of Poznań, who remained the sole owners of the area until after the Partitions of Poland. Located at the trade route linking Poznań with Wrocław, the town drew significant income from the traders and merchants, who were obliged to sell their merchandise at the local market before proceeding down the trade route. In 1359 king Casimir III granted the town with Środa Law, a local variant of the famous Magdeburg Law. In 1793 Dolsk was annexed by Prussia in the Second Partition of Poland, and in 1797 it was confiscated by the Prussian authorities and gradually fell into dismay. In 1807 regained by Poles and included within the short-lived Polish Duchy of Warsaw, and in 1815 reannexed by Prussia. The town was restored to Poland, after the country regained independence in 1918 following World War I.

During World War II the town was under German occupation and in the mass executions carried out by the occupiers, 10 people from Dolsk and the surrounding areas were shot. The mayor of Dolsk, Józef Burdajewicz, was murdered in a public execution of 17 Poles, carried out by the German '' Einsatzgruppe VI'' on October 20, 1939 in the nearby town of Książ Wielkopolski. The Germans also expelled hundreds of Poles in 1939–1941, and handed over their houses to German colonists as part of the ''Lebensraum'' policy.Maria Wardzyńska, ''Wysiedlenia ludności polskiej z okupowanych ziem polskich włączonych do III Rzeszy w latach 1939-1945'', IPN, Warszawa, 2017, p. 153, 195, 285 (in Polish) Liberation from Nazi Germany's occupation took place on January 21, 1945.

Sights

The town is experiencing a period of growth due to increase in tourist traffic. Among the most notable tourist attractions are three local churches: St. Michael's church (circa 1460, burnt and rebuilt in 1790, one of the most notable pieces of late Gothic architecture in the area), Baroque St. Laurentius' church (17th century) and Holy Spirit's church (17th century wooden church, formerly a chapel for the local hospital). The area around the town is a mosaic of various types of landscape, mostly formed during the glacial age. Among the most notable features are dense forests, several lakes and healthy turf deposits.

Gallery

File:Dolsk kosciol 2 1.JPG, St. Michael's Church
File:Kozi Rynek.jpg, Dolsk Town Hall
File:159A.jpg, Wooden church of the Holy Spirit
File:Bohaterom Ziemi Dolskiej.jpg, Memorial to the ''Heroes of Dolsk land, who died for their fatherland in 1918–1919 and 1939–1945''

References

External links

Official site of Dolsk

Jewish community of Dolsk
on Virtual Shtetl

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Cities and towns in Greater Poland Voivodeship
Śrem County