Książ Wielkopolski
Church of the Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas
Church of the Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas
Coat of arms of Książ Wielkopolski
Coat of arms
Książ Wielkopolski is located in Poland
Książ Wielkopolski
Książ Wielkopolski
Coordinates: 52°4′N 17°14′E / 52.067°N 17.233°E / 52.067; 17.233
Country Poland
VoivodeshipGreater Poland
CountyŚrem
GminaKsiąż Wielkopolski
First mentioned1193
Town rights1407
Area
 • Total1.96 km2 (0.76 sq mi)
Population
 (2006)
 • Total2,724
 • Density1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code+48 061
Car platesPSE
ClimateCfb
Websitehttp://www.ksiaz-wlkp.pl/

Książ Wielkopolski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkɕɔ̃ʐ vjɛlkɔˈpɔlskʲi]; German: Xions, 1940–43 Tiefenbach, 1943–45 Schonz) is a town in Śrem County, Poland, with 2,663 inhabitants (2004).

History

Memorial at the site of the German massacre of Poles committed on October 20, 1939

The town was first mentioned in a bull of Pope Celestine III in 1193, when it was part of Piast-ruled Poland. In 1273 it was mentioned as a seat of a castellany. It was granted town rights between 1398 and 1416. Książ was a private town of Polish nobility, administratively located in the Kościan County in the Poznań Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province of the Polish Crown.[1]

Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, the town was occupied by Germany until 1945 and local Poles were subjected to various crimes. On October 20, 1939, the German Einsatzgruppe VI carried out a public execution of 17 Poles at the main square as part of the Intelligenzaktion.[2] Among the victims were a bank director, teacher, merchant, forester, military officer, landowners and mayor of the nearby town of Dolsk.[2] It was one of many massacres of Poles committed by Germany on October 20–23 across the region in attempt to pacify and terrorize the Polish population.[3] The first expulsions of Poles were carried out by Germany in winter of 1939–1940.[4] Under German occupation the town's name was changed to Tiefenbach and then Schonz in attempt to erase traces of Polish origin.

Sports

The local football club is Pogoń Książ Wielkopolski.[5] It competes in the lower leagues.

Notable people

  • Heinrich Graetz (1817–1891), historian, wrote a history of the Jewish people from a Jewish perspective.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Atlas historyczny Polski. Wielkopolska w drugiej połowie XVI wieku. Część I. Mapy, plany (in Polish). Warszawa: Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 2017. p. 1a.
  2. 1 2 Wardzyńska, Maria (2009). Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warszawa: IPN. p. 194.
  3. ↑ Grochowina, Sylwia (2017). Cultural policy of the Nazi occupying forces in the Reich district Gdańsk–West Prussia, the Reich district Wartheland, and the Reich district of Katowice in the years 1939–1945. Toruń. p. 87. ISBN 978-83-88693-73-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ↑ Wardzyńska, Maria (2017). Wysiedlenia ludności polskiej z okupowanych ziem polskich włączonych do III Rzeszy w latach 1939-1945 (in Polish). Warszawa: IPN. p. 153. ISBN 978-83-8098-174-4.
  5. ↑ "Pogoń Książ Wielkopolski - strona klubu" (in Polish). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Abrahams, Israel (1911). "Graetz, Heinrich" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). p. 314.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.