Wieluń Land (;

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Terra Velumensis''), originally known as Ruda Land (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''ziemia rudzka'';

: ''terra Rudensis'', ''territorium Rudense''), was a

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

and the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, and a part of the historical Sieradz-Łęczyca Land (). Wieluń Land for centuries was part of

Sieradz Voivodeship Sieradz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Łódź Voivodeship. A Voivodeship is an area administered by a voivode (Governor), and the Sieradz Voivodesh ...

in the Province of

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 ...

. Wieluń Land covers current the counties of

Wieluń Wieluń () is a town in south-central Poland with 21,624 inhabitants (2021). The town is the seat of the Gmina Wieluń and Wieluń County, and is located within the Łódź Voivodeship. Wieluń is a capital of the historical Wieluń Land. W ...

Ostrzeszów Ostrzeszów () () is a town in south-central Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Ostrzeszów County. Ostrzeszów is located in the historical Wieluń Land. The population in 2023 was 14,095 inhabitants. The town is situated ...

Wieruszów Wieruszów () is a town in south-central Poland with 8,446 inhabitants (2020). Situated in the southwestern part of Łódź Voivodeship, it is the seat of the Gmina Wieruszów and Wieruszów County. Wieruszów is located in the historical Wieluń ...

and

Kępno Kępno is a town in south-central Poland. Kępno is located in the historical Wieluń Land. It lies on the outskirts of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, bordering the historical region of Silesia and the Łódź Voivodeship. As of December 31, 200 ...

(the eastern half, with the capital), as well as some locations in the counties of

Olesno Olesno is a town in Opole Voivodeship, Opole Voivodship, in southern Poland, about north-east of the city of Opole. It is the capital of Olesno County and seat of the Gmina Olesno, Opole Voivodeship, Gmina Olesno. History The area near the anci ...

Pajęczno Pajęczno is a town in Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about north of Częstochowa. It is the capital of Pajęczno County. Its population is 6,651 (2020). It is located in the Sieradz Land. History First mentioned in historical sources from 1 ...

Kłobuck Kłobuck is a town in southern Poland, with 12,934 inhabitants (2019). Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, about 15 km northwest of Częstochowa, it is the capital of Kłobuck County. Historically, Kłobuck belongs to Lesser Poland, and is l ...

, and also

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

(an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

). It covers about 3,000 km² and has 200,000 inhabitants.

History

Wieluń Land developed from the medieval

Castellany A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

of Ruda, which was first mentioned in the 1136

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, the ...

, and during the period known as the Fragmentation of Poland (see

Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller nov ...

), it was part of

proper. During a few years in the 13th century, it was twice ruled by the

Dukes of Silesia The Duke of Silesia was the title of sons and descendants of the Polish people, Polish Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth. In accordance with the Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty, last will and testament of Bolesław, upon his death his lands were d ...

. In 1281, the castellany was moved from Ruda to nearby

. In both the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Wieluń Land had its own offices, and the Castellan of Wieluń was one of the Senators of Poland. The land had four

starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

s – at Wieluń itself,

Bolesławiec Bolesławiec (pronounced , ) is a historic city situated on the Bóbr River in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Bolesławiec County, and of Gmina Bolesławiec, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Gm ...

and

Grabów nad Prosną Grabow is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. Grabow may also refer to other placenames derived from ''grab'', the Slavic word for hornbeam: Places in Germany *Grabow (Amt) an Amt in the district of Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg ...

. Two deputies to the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

were elected at Wieluń's

Sejmik A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; ) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of Poland (before ...

s. Furthermore, the Voivode of Sieradz was obliged to appoint his deputy from Wieluń. Wieluń Land had its own

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, established between 1410 and 1434.

Sources

History of Wieluń and its land
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wielun Land Ziemias Former administrative regions of Greater Poland