Ostrzeszów (german: Schildberg, 1943-45: Schildberg im Wartheland) is a town in central
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, in
Greater Poland Voivodeship
Greater Poland Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wielkopolskie; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 ...
. It is the capital of
Ostrzeszów County. The population in 2006 was 14,536 inhabitants. The town is situated around from
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...
, from
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popu ...
and from
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...
.
Attractions in the town include the surrounding forests, an attractive town square, and the
Norwegian POW Museum.
One of Ostrzeszów's honorary citizens is
Krzysztof Wielicki
Krzysztof Jerzy Wielicki (born 5 January 1950) is a Polish alpine and high-altitude climber, regarded as one of the greatest Polish climbers in history. He is the fifth man to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders and the first ever to climb Mount ...
, who climbed all of the world's mountains of over in height. Also, a young and popular guitarist,
Adam Fulara was born in Ostrzeszów.
History
The settlement of Ostrzeszów predates the
advent of Christianity in Poland in 966. In antiquity, the
Amber Road
The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade.
...
ran through the area.
[ Ostrzeszów acquired ]town privileges
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 traditio ...
sometime between 1261 and 1283,[ when it first appears in historical records. In the 14th century, Polish King ]Casimir III the Great
Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He ...
erected a castle, defensive town walls and the Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
church of the Assumption of Mary. The town's coat of arms was probably granted by Casimir's successor Louis the Hungarian.[ It contains the head of the crowned white eagle from the ]coat of arms of Poland
The coat of arms of Poland is a white, crowned eagle with a golden beak and talons, on a red background.
In Poland, the coat of arms as a whole is referred to as ''godło'' both in official documents and colloquial speech, despite the fact that ...
.[ Ostrzeszów was a Polish royal town][ and county seat within the Sieradz Voivodeship in the . During the 16th to 18th centuries it was the seat of district courts. Ostrzeszów prospered in the early modern era, multiple ]craft guilds
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
were founded and trade flourished until the Swedes destroyed the castle and the town in 1656 during the Swedish invasion of Poland (''Deluge'').[ The town declined as a result.
It was annexed by ]Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
in the Second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian W ...
in 1793. In 1807 it was regained by Poles and included within the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...
, in 1815 it was reannexed by Prussia, and from 1871 to 1918 it was part of Germany, however, in the early 20th century its population was still predominantly Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
.[ Under Prussian and German rule, the eagle in the coat of arms was changed to the black eagle from the ]coat of arms of Prussia The state of Prussia developed from the State of the Teutonic Order. The original flag of the Teutonic Knights had been a black cross on a white flag. Emperor Frederick II in 1229 granted them the right to use the black Eagle of the Holy Roman Empi ...
.[ In 1914, a Polish ]scout troop
A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted inf ...
was established in the town.[ After ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, in November 1918, Poland regained independence and the Greater Poland Uprising broke out, which goal was to reintegrate the town and region with the reborn Polish state. Local Poles made secret preparations for the uprising in November and December 1918. Polish insurgents liberated the town on January 1, 1919, and a local insurgent unit marched out of the town on January 7 to fight in other areas.[ In interwar Poland, the town's historic Polish coat of arms was restored.][
During the German ]invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
, which started World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the '' Einsatzgruppe III'' entered the town on September 6–7, 1939, to commit various crimes against Poles. During the subsequent German occupation
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
it was annexed directly to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, and was administered within the newly formed province of Reichsgau Wartheland
The ''Reichsgau Wartheland'' (initially ''Reichsgau Posen'', also: ''Warthegau'') was a Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Polish territory annexed in 1939 during World War II. It comprised the region of Greater Poland and adjacent ...
. Most of the Polish inhabitants were expelled. Germany operated the Stalag XXI-A prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...
in various buildings throughout the town from September 1939. Initially 12,000 Polish prisoners of war and civilians were imprisoned in the camp.[ Also ]Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
from Niepokalanów were held there, including Maximilian Kolbe
Maximilian Maria Kolbe (born Raymund Kolbe; pl, Maksymilian Maria Kolbe; 1894–1941) was a Polish Catholic priest and Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a man named Franciszek Gajowniczek in the German death camp ...
, who was later killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp and is now considered a saint of the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.[ From 1940 Polish, French and English POWs were held in the camp and in 1942 also ]Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians ( Bosnian and Croatian: ''Jugoslaveni'', Serbian and Macedonian ''Jugosloveni''/Југословени; sl, Jugoslovani) is an identity that was originally designed to refer to a united South Slavic people. It has b ...
.[ In 1943 the camp was converted to ]Oflag XXI-C
Oflag XXI-C was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp for officers ('' Offizierlager'') located in Ostrzeszów in German-occupied Poland. It held mostly Norwegian officers arrested in 1942 and 1943, but also Dutch, Italian, Serbian an ...
for 1,130 Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
officers, but also for Dutch, Italian, Serbian and Soviet POWs.[ The Germans also operated a Nazi prison in the town from 1942 to 1944. Shortly before retreating, on January 20, 1945, the Germans carried out a massacre of 14 Poles in the town, and the next day Soviet forces captured the town, which was then restored to Poland.][
]
Sports
The local football team is . It competes in the lower leagues.
Cuisine
The officially protected traditional food
Traditional foods are foods and dishes that are passed on through generations or which have been consumed for many generations. Traditional foods and dishes are traditional in nature, and may have a historic precedent in a national dish, regio ...
s originating from Ostrzeszów (as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland) are:
* ''kiełbasa wiejska ostrzeszowska'', a local type of kiełbasa
Kielbasa (, ; from Polish ) is any type of meat sausage from Poland and a staple of Polish cuisine. In American English the word typically refers to a coarse, U-shaped smoked sausage of any kind of meat, which closely resembles the ''Wiejska'' ...
, prepared using traditional non-industrial methods, smoked with beech wood.
* Ostrzeszów pork leg (''udziec wieprzowy ostrzeszowski''), a locally popular roast leg, prepared using traditional non-industrial methods, a staple Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
dish in the town and its surroundings.
* ''wędzonka ostrzeszowska'', a type of Polish smoked pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
meat, prepared using traditional non-industrial methods, also a popular traditional Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
and Easter dish in the town.
* Ostrzeszów oat
The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...
goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
(''gęś owsiana ostrzeszowska''), a local type of roasted goose, traditional dish of Ostrzeszów and the Greater Poland region.
Gallery
Fara ostrzeszow 2.jpg, Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
church of the Assumption of Mary
Baszta Ostrzeszów Nocą.jpg, Medieval castle tower at night
SM Ostrzeszów Zespół klasztorny bernardynów - dziedziniec (1) ID 743416.jpg, Baroque Holy Family of Nazareth monastery
Pomnik Powstańców Wielkopolskich Ostrzeszów.JPG, Monument to Polish insurgents of the Greater Poland Uprising (1918–19) Greater Poland Uprising (also Wielkopolska Uprising or Great Poland Uprising) may refer to a number of armed rebellions in the region of Greater Poland:
* Greater Poland Uprising (1794)
* Greater Poland Uprising (1806)
* Greater Poland Uprising (1 ...
Pomnik harcerski ostrzeszow.jpg, Monument to local Polish scouts fallen in the Greater Poland Uprising and World War II
References
External links
Official town webpage
Norwegian POW camp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrzeszow
Cities and towns in Greater Poland Voivodeship
Ostrzeszów County
Sieradz Voivodeship (1339–1793)
Poznań Voivodeship (1921–1939)