Gostyń
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Gostyń (, 1941-45: ''Gostingen'') is a town in western
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, seat of the Gostyń County and Gmina Gostyń in the
Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland (''Wielkopolska'' ). The modern province includes most of this historic re ...
(from 1975 to 1998 in Leszno Voivodship). According to 31 December 2023 data its population was 27,846. The total area of Gostyń is . The town comprises 1% of the area of the county and 8% of the commune, according to Główny Urząd Statystyczny. The main
landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...
of Gostyń is Basilica of Święta Góra (Holy Hill), the main Marian sanctuary of the archdiocese of Poznań and a masterpiece of Pompeo Ferrari, with the monastery of the
Oratory of Saint Philip Neri The Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri (), abbreviated C.O. and commonly known as the Oratorians, is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men (priests and Religious brother, religious brot ...
.


History

Gostyń dates back to the 13th century. The town was founded by local
nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
and granted
town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
in 1278 by
Przemysł II Przemysł II ( also given in English and Latin language, Latin as ''Premyslas'' or ''Premislaus'' or in Polish as '; 14 October 1257 – 8 February 1296) was the Duke of Poznań from 1257–1279, of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, of Kraków fr ...
. It was named after the nearby village of Gostyń, which since took the name of Stary Gostyń ("Old Gostyń"). Gostyń was a
private town Private towns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were privately owned towns within the lands owned by magnates, bishops, knights and princes, among others. Amongst the most well-known former private magnate towns are Białystok, Zamość, R ...
, administratively located in the Kościan County in the
Poznań Voivodeship Poznań Voivodeship was the name of several former administrative regions (''województwo'', rendered as ''voivodeship'' and usually translated as "province") in Poland, centered on the city of Poznań, although the exact boundaries changed over t ...
in the
Greater Poland Province of the Polish Crown Greater Poland Province () was an administrative division of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1569 until 1795. The name of the province comes from the historic land of Greater Poland. The Greater Poland Province consisted initially of twel ...
. It developed as a local centre of trade and crafts. In the 16th century Gostyń was an important regional
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
center, and in 1565 a
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
of various Protestants of Greater Poland was held there. The town suffered during the 17th-century Swedish invasions and an epidemic in the 18th century. In the 18th century one of two main routes connecting
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
and
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
ran through the town and Kings
Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...
and
Augustus III of Poland Augustus III (; – "the Saxon"; ; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as List of rulers of Saxony, Elector of Saxony i ...
often traveled that route. In 1793 Gostyń was annexed by
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
during the
Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of partitions of Poland, three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition (politics), partition occurred i ...
. In 1807 regained by the
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
as part of the short-lived
Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...
, in 1815 it was re-annexed by Prussia. Gostyń was a center of Polish resistance to
Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people, and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In l ...
policies. In 1835 ''Kasyno Gostyńskie'' was founded, a significant local Polish organization, which under the disguise of social activity conducted economic, educational and library activities. The Prussians abolished the organization in 1846 and its library's collection was moved to
Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
. Gostyń was the site of preparations for the Greater Poland uprising (1848), and during the uprising, it was captured by the Prussians in April 1848. Many inhabitants took part in the next Greater Poland uprising (1918–19), after which Gostyń joined the re-established Polish state.


World War II

During the German
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
, which started
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Gostyń was captured by the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
on 6 September 1939. During the Nazi German
occupation of Poland Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...
, Gostyń became the site of public executions, arrests and expulsions of Poles. First mass arrests and executions were carried out in September 1939. On 21 October 1939 some 30 citizens of the town whose names were listed in the ''Sonderfahndungsbuch Polen'' ( Special Prosecution Book-Poland) prepared by local German minority, were executed by an
Einsatzkommando During World War II, the Nazi German ' were a sub-group of the ' (mobile killing squads) – up to 3,000 men total – usually composed of 500–1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo, whose mission was to exterminate Jews, Polish intellect ...
. Among the murdered were Gostyń's mayor Hipolit Niestrawski, Polish activists, officials, craftsmen and former Greater Poland insurgents. It was one of many massacres of Poles committed by Germany on 20–23 October 1939 across the region in attempt to pacify and terrorize the Polish population. Mass expulsions began on 4 December 1939, with up to 2,000 Poles deported to
General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
on the orders of SS-Standartenführer Ernst Damzog stationing in
Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
. Between spring of 1940 and 15 March 1941 additional 3,222 were deported. , Polish officer and pre-war chairman of the local football club Kania Gostyń, was murdered by the Soviets in the
Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...
in 1940. Despite such circumstances, local Poles organized an underground resistance movement, which included structures of the
Polish Underground State The Polish Underground State (, also known as the Polish Secret State) was a single political and military entity formed by the union of resistance organizations in occupied Poland that were loyal to the Government of the Republic of Poland ...
, the secret youth organization ''Tajny Hufiec'', and the ' organization, which was founded in 1940. ''Czarny Legion'' was crushed by the Germans in 1941. Several dozens of its members were arrested and then brutally tortured in a prison in
Rawicz Rawicz (; ) is a town in west-central Poland with 21,398 inhabitants as of 2004. It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Leszno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Rawicz County. History The ...
. After a Nazi
show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...
in
Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...
in 1942, 12 members were executed in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
, and several dozen were imprisoned in
Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...
, where 37 of them died. German occupation ended in 1945.


Demographics

Data for 31 December 2003: Data for 30 June 2004:


Culture

There is a local historical museum in Gostyń ('' Muzeum w Gostyniu'') and a private car museum ('' Auto-Muzeum w Gostyniu'').


Sports

The local
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club is . It competes in the lower leagues.


Gallery

File:Gostyń 042.jpg, Gothic St. Margaret's Church File:PL-Gostyn-Rynek-2.jpg, Town Hall at the Market Square (''Rynek'') File:Gostyń rynek 1.JPG, Independence monument at the Market Square File:PL-Gostyn-1-Maja.jpg, Town centre File:Gostyń 050.jpg, Holy Spirit Church and Gostyń County office File:ZUS Gostyn.jpg, ZUS office


Notable people

*
Wojciech Długoraj Wojciech Długoraj (c. 1557 - after 1619), also called Wiecesław Długoraj, Adalbert Długoraj and Gostinensis, was a Polish Renaissance composer and lutenist. Biography His birthplace is unknown, with Polish Gostyń and Ukrainian Gostynets a ...
(c. 1557-c. 1619), Polish Renaissance composer * Kuba Giermaziak (born 1990), Polish racing driver * Andrzej Juskowiak (born 1970), former Polish footballer, with 39 games played for the
Poland national football team The Poland national football team () represents Poland in men's international Association football, football competitions since their first match in 1921. It is governed by the Polish Football Association (PZPN), the governing body for football ...
* Wojciech Kaczmarek (born 1983), Polish footballer * Sebastian Fechner (born 1983), Polish footballer * Henry J. Messing (1847–1913), German-American rabbi * Paweł Piotrowski (born 1985), Polish Paralympian athlete * Bartosz Rymaniak (born 1989), Polish footballer


References


External links


UM.Gostyn.pl in Polish, English, and German

Gostyn at ''Gostyn24.pl''

Gostyn Virtual Tour at ''Wirtualnygostyn.pl''
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Greater Poland Voivodeship Gostyń County 13th-century establishments in Poland Populated places established in the 1270s