Leszno is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Warsaw West County __NOTOC__ The Warsaw West County () is a county in Masovian Voivodeship, located in the east-central Poland, with its seat of government located in Ożarów Mazowiecki. Other towns located in the county are: Łomianki, and Błonie. It was esta ...

Masovian Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship or Mazowieckie Province (, ) and any variation thereof, is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, containing Poland's capital Warsaw. Masovian Voivodeship has an area of and had a 2019 po ...

, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...

(administrative district) called

Gmina Leszno __NOTOC__ Gmina Leszno is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Warsaw West County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. Its seat is the village of Leszno, which lies approximately west of Ożarów Mazowiecki and west of Warsaw. Th ...

. It lies approximately west of

Ożarów Mazowiecki Ożarów Mazowiecki is a town in Poland, in Mazowsze Voivodship, in the Warsaw metropolitan area, just to the west of Warsaw. It is the capital of Warsaw West County (since January 1, 2006). Its population numbers 11,311 (2018). Transport The Po ...

and west of

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 ...

. Polish professional footballer

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of a ...

grew up in Leszno. In 2016 he became an honorary citizen of Leszno.

History

The history of Leszno dates back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. It was mentioned in documents in 1423. It was owned by various families, including the Łuszczewski family, which built a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

palace, which is the main landmark of the village. In the mid-19th century, a sugar factory was established in the village, the first in Poland equipped with a

steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

. Several men from Leszno died in various battles against the invading Russians during the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

of 1919–1920. A memorial to those soldiers is located in the local Catholic Church of Saint John the Baptist. During the

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 ...

, in early September 1939, the Germans captured Leszno. On September 16, Poles recaptured the village for tactical purposes, while the Germans retreated in panic. On September 17, the Germans occupied Leszno again, and carried out a massacre of around 50 inhabitants in an act of revenge. Many men were transported to

Błonie Błonie is a town in Warsaw West County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. History The settlement dates back to the 8th century. It was first mentioned in the 11th century, and already in the 12th century constituted a sizeable settlement with the f ...

, from where they were to be deported to

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

to Germany, but some managed to escape. About 70% of the village was burned down.

Sights

The main landmark of Leszno is the Baroque Łuszczewski Palace with an adjacent park. There are two historic churches, one

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and one Mariavite. In the village there is also a monument commemorating Polish soldiers, partisans and inhabitants killed during World War II.

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 Partyzant Leszno.

took his first steps in football in the club. It competes in the lower leagues.

Gallery

020613 Łuszczewski Palace in Leszno - 09.jpg, Architectural decorations on the facade of the Łuszczewski Palace 020613 Park around Łuszczewski Palace in Leszno - 23.jpg, Park Kościół Narodzenia pw. św. Jana Chrzciciela Leszno.jpg, Saint John the Baptist church LESZNO - Urząd Gminy 01a.jpg, Gmina office

References

{{Authority control Villages in Warsaw West County Sites of Nazi war crimes during the Invasion of Poland Sites of World War II massacres of Poles