Ostrów Wielkopolski

Coordinates: 51°38′58″N 17°48′59″E / 51.64944°N 17.81639°E / 51.64944; 17.81639
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the state, see Republic of Ostrów.
Ostrów Wielkopolski
Aerial view of downtown Ostrów Wielkopolski
Aerial view of downtown Ostrów Wielkopolski
Car plates
POS
ClimateCfb
Highways
National roads
Voivodeship roads
Websitehttp://www.umostrow.pl/

Ostrów Wielkopolski (

Ostrów Wielkopolski County. It is the fifth-largest city in the voivodeship after Poznań, Kalisz, Piła and Konin
.

History

Partyzancka Street in Ostrów Wielkopolski

Recently[when?], a small fortified dwelling dating from the 10th century was discovered on the north-east side of the town's limits. An archeological excavation is now[when?] in progress. It was part of Poland since the establishment of the state in the 10th century.

The oldest known mention of Ostrów comes from a document from 1293. Ostrów received

Grand Crown Marshal Franciszek Bieliński, the town received its status back with greater privileges. Another noble family, the Radziwiłł family
took patronage over the town and looked over its many investments. The care of the town's owners, work of its people, and dedication of its officials, as well as its location, favored the town's continuous growth.

During the

high schools in Greater Poland. Ostrów then became an important center of Polish education, press and publishing in the region. Among the local Polish elites were Antoni Bronikowski, an outstanding Hellenist who translated the works of Plato, Homer, Thucydides and Xenophon into Polish, and poet Anastazy Cywiński [pl].[2] The establishment of a railroad hub in Ostrów was a vital turning point in its development, helping to lend the town prominent status on the local and national scene. In 1875 the first railway connections were opened, with Poznań and Kluczbork.[2] The Primate of Poland Cardinal Mieczysław Halka-Ledóchowski was imprisoned in the local prison for two years by the Prussians, before they eventually expelled him from the country.[3]
After Poland regained independence, he was honored with a monument in the city.

Marshall Józef Piłsudski during his visit in Ostrów in 1919

Ostrów was an important center of Polish resistance and national liberation movements.

interbellum, Ostrów was one of the fastest growing towns: the number of inhabitants doubled, showy houses were built, as well as new schools, stadiums and a swimming pool.[2] Three new villa district were founded, and a modern railcar manufacturing (Fabryka Wagon) began.[2] In 1934 the city limits were widely expanded and the villages of Stare Kamienice [pl], Zębców [pl
], Wenecja and Krępa became new districts of Ostrów.

World War II

Memorial plaque at the former German labor camp which existed during the occupation of Poland

During the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II, the Einsatzgruppe III entered the city on September 7–9, 1939 to commit various crimes against Poles, and also the SS-Totenkopf-Standarte Brandenburg operated in the city.[5] During the German occupation of Poland, local Poles were subjected to mass arrests, imprisonment, deportations to concentration camps, expulsions, forced labour and massacres.

In late 1939 and early 1940, many Poles were arrested during the

Nazi German labor camp, Staatspolizeistelle Litzmannstadt Arbeitserziehungslager Ostrowo,[12]
operated within the town's limits, where 193 people died.

The Germans carried out first expulsions of Poles in October 1939, focusing on owners of bakeries, cafes, workshops and large apartments, which were then handed over to German colonists as part of the Lebensraum policy, while expelled Poles were held in a transit camp in nearby Nowe Skalmierzyce for several weeks, and then deported to the General Government (German-occupied central Poland).[13] Further 160 Poles were expelled in December 1939 to the Radom District of the General Government.[14] Also a transit camp for Poles expelled from nearby villages was established in the local church.[14] Further expulsions of Poles were carried out in 1940–1941.[15]

The town was one of the major

Fall of Communism
in the 1980s.

Recent period

Polish Army Barracks in 1971

After the war Ostrów Wielkopolski was part of the Poznań Voivodeship, and from 1975 to 1998 it was the second largest city of the Kalisz Voivodeship (behind Kalisz).

In September 1945, the Polish resistance movement made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the local communist jail and liberate the prisoners.[19] In July–August 1980, employees of local factories joined the nationwide anti-communist strikes,[20] which led to the foundation of the "Solidarity" organization.

In 1979 Ostrów's city limits were widely expanded for the second time, including the former villages Pruślin [pl], Szczygliczka, Zacharzew, Piaski, Stary Staw and Nowy Staw as new districts.

Sights

Ostrów has a well-preserved city center, with such sights as:

  • City hall (Ratusz) at the Market Square (Rynek), housing the local museum
  • Ostrów Wielkopolski Co-Cathedral
  • Virgin Mary Queen of Poland church
  • I Liceum Ogólnokształcące, the city's oldest high school, and one of the most renowned high schools of Greater Poland
  • Main Post Office
  • Monument of Primate of Poland Mieczysław Halka-Ledóchowski
  • Former synagogue

Places of interest outside the city center include:

  • City hall at the Market Square
    City hall at the Market Square
  • Ostrów Wielkopolski Co-Cathedral
    Ostrów Wielkopolski Co-Cathedral
  • Virgin Mary Queen of Poland church
    Virgin Mary Queen of Poland church
  • I Liceum Ogólnokształcące
    I Liceum Ogólnokształcące
  • Main Post Office
    Main Post Office
  • Facades of old townhouses in the city center
    Facades of old townhouses in the city center
  • Old Cemetery
    Old Cemetery
  • Graves of participants of the Greater Poland Uprising
    Graves of participants of the
    Greater Poland Uprising
  • Monument of Mieczysław Halka-Ledóchowski
    Monument of Mieczysław Halka-Ledóchowski
  • Elementary School No. 2
    Elementary School No. 2
  • Former synagogue
    Former synagogue
  • Park Miejski
    Park Miejski

Education

  • Społeczna Wyższa Szkoła Przedsiębiorczości i Zarządzania in Łódź, branch in Ostrów Wlkp.
  • Technical University of Łódź
    , branch in Ostrów Wlkp.

Sports

KM Ostrów Wielkopolski and Śląsk Świętochłowice
in Ostrów in the 1980s

From 5 July to 20 July 2013 Ostrów Wielkopolski hosted the 17th European Gliding Championships. Local pilot Łukasz Błaszczyk took a bronze medal in the Club Class.[21]

Notable people

Memorial plaque to Krzysztof Komeda

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Twin towns — sister cities

Ostrów Wielkopolski is

twinned
with:

References

  1. ^ a b "Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved 15 August 2022. Data for territorial unit 3017011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Witold Banach. "Historia kołem się toczy". UMOstrów.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  3. ^ Bernadeta Kruszyk. "Mieczysław Ledóchowski". Archidiecezja Gnieźnieńska (in Polish). Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  4. ^ Smoleń, Bogusław (1930). Zarys historji wojennej 60-go Pułku Piechoty Wielkopolskiej (in Polish). Warszawa. p. 25.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Wardzyńska, Maria (2009). Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warszawa: IPN. pp. 56–57, 61–62.
  6. ^ Wardzyńska (2009), p. 205-206
  7. ^ Wardzyńska (2009), p. 206
  8. ^ Wardzyńska (2009), p. 117
  9. ^ "NS-Gefängnis Ostrowo". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  10. ^ Wardzyńska (2009), p. 212-213
  11. ^ Wardzyńska (2009), p. 213-214
  12. ^ "Offer to sell domain: Kalisz.eu".
  13. ISBN 978-83-8098-174-4
    .
  14. ^ a b Wardzyńska (2017), p. 181
  15. ^ Wardzyńska (2017), p. 268, 319
  16. ISSN 1641-9561
    .
  17. ISBN 83-85003-97-5
    .
  18. ^ Marek Weiss, Przed 73 laty w Ostrowie okupacja dobiegła końca, „Ziemia Kaliska”, No. 4, 2018, p. 10 (in Polish)
  19. ISSN 1641-9561
    .
  20. ISSN 1641-9561
    .
  21. ^ Website of 17th European Gliding Championships
  22. ^ "Brantford Expositor – City gets a twin". Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2009-05-31.

External links

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