Ostrów Wielkopolski | |
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.jpg) .jpg)   .jpg) Left to right: aerial view of Market Square, City Hall, Ostrów Wielkopolski Co-Cathedral, Stefan Rowiński bench, former Women's College. | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Ostrów Wielkopolski | |
| Coordinates:51°38′58″N17°48′59″E / 51.64944°N 17.81639°E /51.64944; 17.81639 | |
| Country |  Poland |
| Voivodeship | Greater Poland |
| County | Ostrów Wielkopolski |
| Gmina | Ostrów Wielkopolski(urban gmina) |
| First mentioned | 1293 |
| City rights | 15th century |
| Government | |
| • City mayor | Beata Klimek (L) |
| Area | |
• Total | 41.9 km2 (16.2 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 175 m (574 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 123 m (404 ft) |
| Population (30 July 2024) | |
• Total | 68 949 [1] |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 63-400 to 63-417 |
| Area code | +48 62 |
| Car plates | POS |
| Climate | Cfb |
| Highways |  |
| National roads |   |
| Voivodeship roads |  |
| Website | http://www.umostrow.pl/ |
Ostrów Wielkopolski (Polish pronunciation:[ˈɔstruvvjɛlkɔˈpɔlskʲi]ⓘ; often abbreviatedOstrów Wlkp., formerly called simplyOstrów;Latin:Ostrovia) is a city in west-central Poland with inhabitants 68 949 (2024),[1] situated in theGreater Poland Voivodeship;[2] the seat ofOstrów Wielkopolski County. It is the fifth-largest city in the voivodeship afterPoznań,Kalisz,Piła andKonin.
It is located in theKalisz Region in the south-eastern part of historicGreater Poland.
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 receivedtown rights in 1404 but the economic stagnation caused by fires, wars, and a weak 16th-century nobility, led to the town's officials dropping its town status in 1711. Administratively it was located in theKalisz Voivodeship in theGreater Poland Province. In 1714, one of thenobles of Ostrów,Jan Jerzy Przebendowski [pl], intervened at the royal court, for the status to be reinstated. To help the city grow, new settlers were exempt from taxes for six years.[3] By the power ofGrand Crown MarshalFranciszek Bieliński, the town received its status back with greaterprivileges. Another noble family, theRadziwiłł 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 theSecond Partition of Poland, in 1793, the town was annexed byKingdom of Prussia. After the successfulGreater Poland uprising of 1806, it was regained by Poles and included within the short-livedDuchy of Warsaw. It was re-annexed by Prussia, to be included within the initially autonomousGrand Duchy of Poznań in 1815. The cloth industry prospered in Ostrów until 1825, whenRussia imposedtariffs on imported cloths, as a result of which many textile manufacturers moved east to theRussian Partition of Poland.[3] In 1828 local nobleAntoni Radziwiłł funded the construction of a new town hall. In 1845 the Royal Catholic Gymnasium was established, a significant Polish school in thePrussian Partition of Poland,[3] which as theI Liceum Ogólnokształcące remains one of the most renownedhigh schools inGreater 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 ofPlato,Homer,Thucydides andXenophon into Polish, and poetAnastazy Cywiński [pl].[3] 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, withPoznań andKluczbork.[3] The Primate of Poland CardinalMieczysław Halka-Ledóchowski was imprisoned in the local prison for two years by the Prussians, before they eventuallyexpelled him from the country.[4] After Poland regained independence, he was honored with a monument in the city.
Ostrów was an important center of Polish resistance and national liberation movements.[3] One of the town's historic episodes was the so-calledRepublic of Ostrów (Republika Ostrowska), which was the citizens’ upheaval of 1918. No blood was shed at that upheaval and all political powers were taken over from the Prussian authorities. The anniversary of the upheaval, November 10, is celebrated as the official Day of the City of Ostrów Wielkopolski.[3] The first Polish mayor of Ostrów after regaining independence wasStefan Rowiński [pl], one of the leading independence activists and publishers in Ostrów before 1918.[3] Following thePolish–Soviet War, from 1920, the 60th Infantry Regiment of the Polish Army was stationed in Ostrów Wielkopolski.[5] In theinterbellum, 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.[3] Three new villa district were founded, and a modern railcar manufacturing (Fabryka Wagon) began.[3] In 1934 the city limits were widely expanded and the villages ofStare Kamienice [pl],Zębców [pl], Wenecja and Krępa became new districts of Ostrów.
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During the Germaninvasion of Poland, which started World War II, theEinsatzgruppe III entered the city on September 7–9, 1939 to commit variouscrimes against Poles, and also theSS-Totenkopf-Standarte Brandenburg operated in the city.[6] During the Germanoccupation of Poland, local Poles were subjected to mass arrests, imprisonment, deportations toconcentration camps,expulsions,forced labour and massacres.
In late 1939 and early 1940, many Poles were arrested during theIntelligenzaktion, then imprisoned inKalisz and murdered in large massacres in theWiniary forest.[7] Among the victims were activists, school principals, former participants of the PolishGreater Poland uprising (1918–19) against Germany, and pre-war mayor Stanisław Musielak.[8] The Germans also established a Nazi prison for Poles in Ostrów.[9][10] Further mass arrests of around 400 Poles from the county were carried out in April–May 1940, and many of the victims were then imprisoned in the local prison.[11] Teachers from Ostrów were among Polish teachers murdered in theMauthausen concentration camp.[12] ANazi German labor camp, Staatspolizeistelle Litzmannstadt Arbeitserziehungslager Ostrowo,[13] 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 toGerman colonists as part of theLebensraum policy, while expelled Poles were held in a transit camp in nearbyNowe Skalmierzyce for several weeks, and then deported to theGeneral Government (German-occupied central Poland).[14] Further 160 Poles were expelled in December 1939 to theRadom District of the General Government.[15] Also a transit camp for Poles expelled from nearby villages was established in the local church.[15] Further expulsions of Poles were carried out in 1940–1941.[16]
The town was one of the majorPolish conspiracy centers in the Greater Poland region. The PolishSecret Military Organization was founded in Ostrów in October 1939, and there were also structures of thePolish Underground State in the city.[17] In 1941, after theGestapo's crackdown on the headquarters of the Poznań branch of the underground armyUnion for Armed Struggle-ZWZ, the headquarters were moved to Ostrów. From here the re-structure of the Poznań region of the Union was conducted.Polish underground press was printed in Ostrów and then distributed in Ostrów and other nearby towns, includingKrotoszyn,Ostrzeszów,Pleszew.[18] Ostrów was liberated from German occupation on January 23, 1945.[19] The town was restored to Poland, although with aSoviet-installed communist regime, which then stayed in power until theFall of Communism in the 1980s.
After the war Ostrów Wielkopolski was part of the Poznań Voivodeship, and from 1975 to 1998 it was the second largest city of theKalisz Voivodeship (behindKalisz).
In September 1945, thePolish resistance movement made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the local communist jail and liberate the prisoners.[20] In July–August 1980, employees of local factories joined the nationwide anti-communist strikes,[21] 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 villagesPruślin [pl], Szczygliczka, Zacharzew, Piaski, Stary Staw and Nowy Staw as new districts.
Ostrów has a well-preserved city center, with such sights as:
Places of interest outside the city center include:
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The S11 expressway bypasses Ostrów Wielkopolski to the east.
National road 36 passes through the town connecting it toKrotoszyn.
Ostrów Wielkopolski has a station on the Poznań-Opole railway line.
From 5 July to 20 July 2013 Ostrów Wielkopolski hosted the17th European Gliding Championships. Local pilot Łukasz Błaszczyk took a bronze medal in theClub Class.[22]
Ostrów Wielkopolski istwinned with:
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Seat:Ostrów Wielkopolski (urban gmina) | ||
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