Rozprza is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Piotrków County
__NOTOC__
Piotrków County ( pl, powiat piotrkowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government ref ...
,
Łódź Voivodeship
Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a province- voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sier ...
, in central Poland. It is the seat of the
gmina (administrative district) called
Gmina Rozprza
__NOTOC__
Gmina Rozprza is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. Its seat is the village of Rozprza, Łódź Voivodeship, Rozprza, which lies approximately south of Piotrków Trybunals ...
. It lies approximately south of
Piotrków Trybunalski
Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the second-largest city situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Previously, it was the capita ...
and south of the regional capital
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...
.
The town has a population of 1,600.
History
Rozprza has a very long history, as it is one of the oldest Slavic
gords of Poland. It used to be the seat of a
castellan, and its name probably comes from the Old Slavic word "rozprza", which means the subject of an argument, and which indicates that in the early
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
Rozprza had a castellan court.
In the early years of Polish statehood, this part of central Poland belonged to the Province of
Łęczyca
Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, pl, Królewskie Miasto Łęczyca; german: Lentschitza; he, לונטשיץ) is a town of 13,786 inhabitants () in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the ...
, and the province itself was divided into eight castellanies, one of which was seated at Rozprza. The Rozprza
Castellany
A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...
had the area of 1,150 km
2., and its southern part was uninhabited. In the early Middle Ages, Rozprza was located at the intersection of two busy merchant routes, from
Gdańsk to
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, and from
Rus
Rus or RUS may refer to:
People and places
* Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname
* East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia
** Rus' people, the people of Rus'
** Rus' territories
*** Kievan ...
to
Sieradz
Sieradz ( la, Siradia, yi, שעראַדז, שערעדז, שעריץ, german: 1941-45 Schieratz) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivode ...
and
Kalisz
(The oldest city of Poland)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town
, image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...
. The gord itself lied at the edge of a large wilderness, and served as a toll collection point for merchants and their wagons. The gord of Rozprza was probably established in the 6th century, to be destroyed in unknown circumstances in the 9th century. A new stronghold was built in the same spot, which was probably destroyed by the
Polans Polans may refer to two Slavic tribes:
* Polans (eastern)
The Polans (, ''Poliany'', ''Polyane'', pl, Polanie), also Polianians, were an East Slavic tribe between the 6th and the 9th century, which inhabited both sides of the Dnieper river ...
in the mid-10th century.
In the second half of the 10th century, a system of the so-called service villages was established in Polish castellanies. In the Castellany of Rozprza there were such villages as Woźniki (manufacture of wagons), Piekary (bread baking), Bartodzieje (honey making), and Ciesle (woodworking). Rozprza itself was completely remodelled, with a new 12-meter wide moat and a wide rampart. Altogether the defensive system of the gord was some 30 meter wide. First documented mention of Rozprza comes from the year 1065, when during the reign of King
Bolesław II the Generous
Bolesław II the Bold, also known as the Generous ( pl, Bolesław II Szczodry ; ''Śmiały''; c. 1042 – 2 or 3 April 1081 or 1082), was Duke of Poland from 1058 to 1076 and third King of Poland from 1076 to 1079. He was the eldest son of Duk ...
, Rozprza was obliged to pay a fee to a Benedictine Abbey at
Mogilno
Mogilno (; ) is a town in central Poland, situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship (1975–1998).
History
Mogilno is one of the oldest settlements along the border of the Greater Poland an ...
. In the
Bull of Gniezno
''Ex commisso nobis'', more commonly known as the ''Bull of Gniezno'', was a papal bull issued on July 7, 1136 by Pope Innocent II. The bull split off the Bishopric of Gniezno from the Archbishop of Magdeburg. From a historical perspective, t ...
(1136), Rozprza is described as an important center of trade, commerce and administration.
Rozprza was destroyed in the mid-13th century, probably during the
Mongol invasion of Poland. The stronghold was quickly rebuilt, with a large garrison, which is confirmed by archaeological findings. Finally, west of the gord, the town of Rozprza was established before the year 1344. Due to proximity of quickly developing
Piotrków Trybunalski
Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the second-largest city situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Previously, it was the capita ...
, Rozprza remained a small town, whose population was app. 300 in the late 18th century. During 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 ...
, Rozprza was annexed by the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
. 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 ...
. Following its dissolution, from 1815 until 1915, it was part of
Russian-controlled Congress Poland. In 1846-47, Rozprza received rail connection due to construction of the
Warsaw-Vienna Railway. Following the
January Uprising, Rozprza lost its town charter and has remained a village. Following
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 1918, Poland regained independence and control of Rozprza. In 2023, Rozprza regained its town charter.
Transport
There is a train station in the town.
Notable people
*
Józef Pawlikowski
Józef Pawlikowski (1767 near Piotrków – 1828 in Warsaw) was a Polish noble (from an impoverished noble family) and political activist. One of the Polish Jacobins; secretary of Tadeusz Kościuszko
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ...
(1767–1828), Polish writer, publicist and political activist
References
{{Gmina Rozprza
Rozprza
Rozprza is a town in Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Rozprza. It lies approximately south of Piotrków Trybunalski and south of the regional capital Ł ...
Piotrków Governorate