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Kościan () () is a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
on the Obra canal in west-central
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 ...
, with a population of 23,952 inhabitants as of June 2014. Situated 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 ...
, it is the capital of Kościan County.


History

Kościan was founded in the 12th or 13th century, when it was part of the Duchy of Greater Poland of the fragmented Polish realm. It was granted town rights in the second half of the 13th century, which were later confirmed by King Władysław Jagiełło in 1400. From 1332 Kościan was a royal town of Poland. It was a county (''
powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...
'') seat in the Poznań Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province. In the 15th century Kościan was famous for its cloth production. King Casimir IV Jagiellon granted Kościan cloths the first industrial
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
in the history of Poland. At the time Kościan was the second largest city within historic
Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...
(behind
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 ...
). Kościan was captured by the
Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...
during the Swedish invasion of Poland (the ''Swedish Deluge'') in 1655, but was soon recaptured by a partisan unit led by Krzysztof Żegocki. The town suffered from further Swedish and Russian invasions in the 18th century. The 2nd Polish National Cavalry Brigade was stationed in Kościan. Kościan 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, ...
in 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 1793. The Polish Greater Poland uprising of 1794 began in Kościan. After the successful Greater Poland uprising of 1806, it was regained by Poles and included with 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 ...
. The 12th Polish Infantry Regiment was formed in Kościan in 1806. In 1815 it was reannexed by Prussia. In 1918, Poland regained independence, and shortly afterwards the Greater Poland uprising broke out, which goal was to reunite the town and region with the reborn Polish state. On 29–30 December 1918, local Polish scouts stole more than 900 machine guns, rifles and pistols from a German military warehouse and Kościan was liberated.


World War II

During the German occupation of Poland (
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 ...
), the Polish population was subject to mass arrests, executions, expulsions, deportations to
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 ...
and confiscation of property. The '' Einsatzgruppe VI'' carried out public executions of Poles in the town on October 2 and October 23, 1939 as part of the ''
Intelligenzaktion The ''Intelligenzaktion'' (), or the Intelligentsia mass shootings, was a series of mass murders committed against the Polish people, Polish intelligentsia (teachers, priests, physicians, and other prominent members of Polish society) during the ...
'', killing 8 and 18 people respectively, including activists, merchants, landowners, the director of the local narrow gauge railway, the chairman of the local branch of the "Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society, principals of schools from Kościan and the nearby village of Borowo and one student. In Kościan, the Germans operated a prison for Poles from both the town and the region, many of whom were later transported to the infamous Fort VII 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 ...
. On November 7 and 9, 1939, 66 Polish craftsmen, merchants, farmers, local officials and workers, previously held in the local prison were massacred in the nearby forest. Further such massacres were carried out by the Germans in December 1939 and in January and February 1940. The local high school principal was among Polish teachers and principals murdered in the Dachau concentration camp. Over 50 Poles, including local activists,
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
and the families of victims of executions, were expelled in 1939, while 2,139 Poles were expelled in 1940, and their houses were then handed over to German colonists as part of the ''
Lebensraum (, ) is a German concept of expansionism and Völkisch movement, ''Völkisch'' nationalism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' beca ...
'' policy. 534 patients of the local
psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...
were gassed by the Germans in January 1940, and afterwards patients from psychiatric hospitals in Germany were transported to Kościan and also gassed. The Polish resistance movement was active, including local units of the Union of Armed Struggle/
Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier ZwiÄ…zek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
, ''Narodowa Organizacja Bojowa'' and the ''Pakt Czterech'' secret
scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...
organization. Two Polish underground newspapers were printed in the town. In mid-1941, the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
crushed the ''Pakt Czterech'' organization and arrested its members, who were then sent to
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 ...
, however, they survived. In October 1941, the Gestapo arrested the founders of the local unit of the ''Narodowa Organizacja Bojowa'', who were then sentenced to death and executed the following year. In 1944, the Germans arrested Leon Ciszak and Franciszek Bawor, leaders of the local units of the Union of Armed Struggle and Home Army, who were then imprisoned in the notorious camp in Żabikowo and soon sent to concentration camps. Bawor died in the Mauthausen concentration camp, whereas Ciszak survived and returned to Kościan after the war. The pre-way Polish mayor of the town joined the resistance in
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 ...
.


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.


Notable people

* Dezydery Chłapowski (1788–1879), general and political activist * Klemens Koehler (1840–1901), physician * Józef Surzyński (1851–1919), composer *
Feliks Stamm Feliks "Papa" Stamm (14 December 1901, Kościan () German Empire – 2 April 1976, Warsaw) was a prominent Polish boxing coach. He is widely regarded as the father of Polish boxing, and the creator of the so-called Polish school of boxing. To com ...
(1901–1976), boxing coach * Izabella Zielińska (1910–2017), pianist * Rafał Bryndal (born 1960), satirist and journalist * Jarosław Jaromi Drażewski (born 1961), musician * Waldemar Brygier (born 1970), journalist * Bartosz Jurecki (born 1979), handball player * Michał Jurecki (born 1984), handball player * Krystian Klecha (born 1984), speedway rider * Maria Stenzel (born 1998), volleyball player *
Adam Szłapka Adam Stanisław Szłapka (born December 6, 1984, in Kościan) is a Polish politician, political scientist, and local government official. He has been a member of the Sejm (Polish Parliament) for the 8th, 9th, and 10th terms (since 2015). He ha ...
(born 1984), politician * Tomasz Nowak (born 1985), footballer *
Zofia Nowakowska Zofia Nowakowska (born 25 February 1988, Kościan) is a Polish singer. Besides Polish performances, she has also recorded an English version of the song "The Right to Love". From 2004-2010, Nowakowska was part of the Studio Buffo musical theat ...
(born 1988), singer


International relations


Twin towns – Sister cities

Kościan is twinned with:


Gallery

File:Ratusz w Kościanie.jpg, Town hall, which currently houses the Regional Museum File:Kościół Św. Ducha na Placu Niezłomnych - panoramio.jpg, Christ Church built in 1666 File:Kościański Canal in Koscian (3).jpg, Kościański Canal File:Pomnik Jana Pawła II na Placu Niezłomnych - panoramio.jpg, District court and
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
Monument File:Pomnik Floriana Marciniaka - panoramio.jpg, Florian Marciniak Monument File:Park miejskikoscian.jpg, Municipal park


References


External links


Official town website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Greater Poland Voivodeship Kościan County