Kórnik (german: Kurnik, 1939-45 Burgstadt) is a town with about 7,600 inhabitants (2018), located in western

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 ...

, about south-east of the city of

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 ...

. It is one of the major tourist attractions of the

Wielkopolska Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city ...

region and the

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 ...

because of the historical castle and arboretum, which is amongst the oldest and richest collections of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s and shrubs in Poland.

History

Napoleon Orda, Zamek Działyńskich w Kórniku

Until 1961 Kórnik was separate from Bnin, situated just 1 km apart. Both towns were founded in the

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 ...

(Bnin gained

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 1395, and Kórnik in 1426), but Bnin lost its town rights in 1934, and in 1961 it became part of Kórnik. The enlarged town also includes the former settlement of Prowent, birthplace of the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

-winning poet

Wisława Szymborska Maria Wisława Anna SzymborskaVioletta Szosta gazeta.pl, 9 February 2012. ostęp 2012-02-11 (; 2 July 1923 – 1 February 2012) was a Polish poet, essayist, translator, and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Prowent ( ...

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and a ...

founded an early Polish

stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

in present-day Bnin in the 10th century. Kórnik was first mentioned in documents in the 12th century, while the town of Bnin started to develop in the 13th century, and a

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 ...

was located in Bnin since 1232. After granting town rights, both Kórnik and Bnin were

private town A private town is a town owned by a private person or a family. History of Private Towns in Poland In the history of Poland, private towns (''miasta prywatne'') were towns within the lands owned by magnates, bishops, knights, princes, etc. ...

s of Polish nobility, administratively located in the Pyzdry County in the Kalisz Voivodeship in the

Greater Poland Province of the Polish Crown , subdivision = Province , nation = Poland , year_start = , event_end = Third Partition of Poland , year_end = , image_map = Prowincje I RP.svg , image_map_capt ...

. Kórnik was initially owned by the Górka family until 1592. The

Łodzia coat of arms Łodzia (obsolete Polish for "boat") is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by many noble families of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. A variant serves as the coat of arms of the city of Łódź (the city's name ...

of the Górka family is the coat of arms of Kórnik since. Afterwards the town was held by the Czarnkowski, Grudziński and Działyński families. Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1968-034-19A, Exekution von polnischen Geiseln

Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1968-034-19A, Exekution von polnischen Geiseln

After the joint German-Soviet

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 ...

in September 1939, the town was

occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...

and annexed by

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 ...

from 1939 to 1945 as part of ''Landkreis Schrimm'',

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 ...

. It was renamed ''Burgstadt'' in attempt to erase traces of Polish origin. Already on 27 September 1939 the Germans confiscated and robbed the rich museum and library of the

Kórnik Castle Kórnik Castle (Polish: Zamek w Kórniku or Zamek Kórnicki) is a castle in the Polish town of Kórnik, which was constructed in the 14th century. The current neogothic design and remodeling was done in 1855 partly on the basis of architect Karl ...

. On 20 October 1939, the German '' Einsatzgruppe VI'' carried out a public execution of 16

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

at the Market Square as part of

Operation Tannenberg Operation Tannenberg (german: Unternehmen Tannenberg) was a codename for one of the anti-Polish extermination actions by Nazi Germany that were directed at the Poles during the opening stages of World War II in Europe, as part of the ''Generalplan ...

. Among the victims was pre-war mayor Teofil Wolniewicz. Inhabitants of Kórnik were also among 15 Poles murdered on the same day in a public execution in nearby

Mosina Mosina (german: Moschin) is a town in Poznań County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, about 20 km south of Poznań, with 12,107 inhabitants (2004). The Mosiński Canal runs east and west through the town, and joins the Warta River jus ...

. The purpose of the executions was to pacify and terrorize Poles. Nevertheless, the Polish resistance movement was still organized in the town. Local teachers were also among Polish teachers murdered in the

Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...

.Wardzyńska, p. 213-214

Sights

The town's notable sites include: *

, built in the 14th century, but designed and rebuilt in the 18th century in

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style by architect

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassic ...

for the Działyński family. *

Kórnik Arboretum The Kórnik Arboretum in Kórnik, in western Poland, is the largest and oldest arboretum in Poland and fourth-largest arboretum in Europe, with over 3300 taxa of trees and shrubs. It was established in the early 19th century around the histor ...

, established in the early 19th century by Count Tytus Działyński, later enriched with new species and varieties by his heirs, his son Jan Kanty Działyński and grandson Władysław Zamoyski. It is the largest and oldest arboretum in Poland and fourth largest arboretum in Europe, with over 3300 taxa of trees and shrubs. * Town halls of both Kórnik and Bnin. That of Kornik was built in 1907 as a neo-Baroque city hall; Bnin's is a piece of original 18th-century late

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

. *

Kórnik Library Kórnik Library ( pl, Biblioteka Kórnicka) is one of the most famous Polish libraries, founded by Tytus Działyński in 1828 in the town of Kórnik. Currently the library, despite being robbed by the Germans during World War II, is one of the f ...

(''Bibliotheca Cornicensis''), one of the most famous Polish libraries, founded by

Tytus Działyński Tytus Adam Działyński (1796–1861, son of Ksawery, father to Jan Kanty) was a Polish political activist and protector of arts and a Prussian politician. Biography He was a publisher of historical sources important for the Polish history, ...

in 1828. Currently the library, despite being looted by the German

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s during

, is one of the five largest libraries in Poland and contains roughly 400,000 volumes, including 30,000 books more than 150 years old, and 14,000 manuscripts. Since 1953 it has been a part of the

National Library of Poland The National Library ( pl, Biblioteka Narodowa) is the central Polish library, subject directly to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland. The library collects books, journals, electronic and audiovisual publicat ...

Sports

The local football club is . It competes in the lower leagues.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kórnik is twinned with: *

Königstein im Taunus Königstein im Taunus () is a health spa and lies on the thickly wooded slopes of the Taunus in Hesse, Germany. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Owing to its advantageous location for both scenery and transport on the ed ...

, Germany *

Uman Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...

, Ukraine

Distinguished residents

* Edmund Zalinski (1849–1909), American military engineer and inventor *

(1923–2012),

-winning poet * Mateusz Taciak (born 1984), racing cyclist

Gallery

File:Castillo de Kórnik, Kórnik, Polonia, 2016-12-21, DD 04.jpg,

and its moat File:Kornik, oficyna w zespole zamkowym, 2 pol. XVIII, nr. rej. 2422A z 12.03.1930 (1).JPG, One of the Kórnik Castle outbuildings File:Arboretum Kórnik staw.jpg, A pond in the arboretum next to the castle File:Iglesia de Todos los Santos, Kórnik, Polonia, 2016-12-21, DD 14.jpg, All Saints' Church File:Kornik, pl. Niepodleglosci 1, Ratusz, pol. XIX, 1908-09, nr. rej. 145WlkpA z 19.09.2003.JPG, Town hall File:Dom urodzin Wisławy Szymborskiej 01.jpg, Birthplace of

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kornik Cities and towns in Greater Poland Voivodeship Poznań County