Mosina

Mosina is a town in Poznań County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, south of Poznań, with 12,107 inhabitants (2004). The Mosiński Canal runs east and west through the town, and joins the Warta River just to the east.

History

Mosina is one of the oldest cities in Wielkopolska. The first mention of the city dates back to 1247, when the name "Mosina" was first recorded in a document dividing Wielkopolska between Przemysł I and his brother Bolesław the Pious. The name "Mosina" comes from the old word " moszyna", meaning a place covered with moss, and originally referred to a river. The turning point for the city was 1302, when the Kalisz voivode, Mikołaj Przedpełkowicfrom the Łódź dynasty, granted Mosina city rights. The actual location did not occur until 1429, when King Władysław Jagiełło granted Mosina Magdeburg rights, confirmed and transumulated by subsequent Polish rulers.
In the winter of 1659 and 1660, half of Stefan Czarniecki's banner was stationed in the city on its way from an expedition to Denmark. The diarist Jan Chryzostom Pasek stopped here with them to convalesce after a bout of severe typhus. In 1793, Mosina, with its 419 inhabitants and 75 wooden houses, was incorporated into the Prussian partition. The city was visited three times by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1807 during an inspection of the territories, in 1812 when he marched on Moscow and when, defeated, he returned to Paris.
The year 1848 holds a special place in the history of Mosina. In the final phase of the Spring of Nations, the city and its surroundings were the scene of lively activity of insurgents fighting against the Prussian invader for national liberation. The instigator of the resistance was the famous lawyer and politician Jakub Krauthofer-Krotowski . Mosina owes it to him that on May 3, 1848, the independence of the Republic of Mosina, also known as the Mosina Republic, was solemnly proclaimed in Mosina. Unfortunately, on May 8, the lost battle with the Prussians near Rogalin ended the patriotic uprising. The Republic fell, and Krotowski was soon captured in Konarzewo. At that time, the city had 800 inhabitants.
The construction of the railway line from Poznań to Wrocław, which was launched in 1856, contributed to the significant economic revival of the city. Already in 1861, 1,260 people lived in Mosina, and 20 years later - 1,663 people. At the end of the 19th century, organizations were established in the city, led by local activists, to raise the national spirit of the inhabitants of Mosina. The Riflemen's Brotherhood was active, founded in 1761. At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1902, a volunteer fire brigade was established, in 1907 the People's Bank was founded, in 1909 the "Sokół" nest was created. In 1912, 2,027 people lived in Mosina.
After the outbreak of the Greater Poland Uprising on December 27, 1918, fighting very quickly engulfed the province. No armed units were formed in Mosina itself, but the insurgents from Mosina fought as part of the Śrem battalion on the western front of the uprising and near Rawicz. Mosina developed greatly in the interwar period. In 1928, the famous industrialist Stefan Kałamajski launched a steam dyeworks and dry cleaning company "Barwa", which provided work for about 300 people. The Perkiewicz Ceramic Works (established in 1886) employed over 200 people. Before the war, there were 2 sawmills, a steam mill, an iron store, a tannery, 5 carpenters, 2 basket makers, 9 shoemakers, 6 shoemakers, 1 confectioner, 8 bakers, 14 grocery stores, 3 hotels, 11 restaurants. There were 3 schools: Catholic, Evangelical and private.
The latest history is a painful memory for Mosina. German troops entered the city on September 9, 1939. Arrests began immediately (the first on September 17/18) and hostages were taken from among the residents who were held in the synagogue (today the Museum Chamber). After a parody of a trial, 15 of them were shot publicly in the market square on October 20, 1939. During the German occupation, 57 families (225 people) were displaced from the city, 513 people were arrested and placed in extermination camps, including 58 children from Mosina. Numerous murders were committed in the Mosina forests in the years 1940-1943. However, despite the persecution and terror of the occupier, from the first days of the war the society of the city and its surroundings resisted the Nazi occupier. The Armed Struggle Union, the Home Army, the Retaliation Union, and the Grey Ranks were active in Mosina. The city was liberated by the Red Army on January 25, 1945. After the battles for the city and the entry of Soviet troops, local government elections were held in the market square. The first mayor was Maciej Nowaczyk. After liberation, Mosina was one of the most intensively developing cities in Greater Poland . From a small town with almost 5,000 residents immediately after the end of the war, in 1980 Mosina grew into a city more than twice as large.
The turn of the 80s and 90s brought numerous changes to Mosina, related to the economic transformation and the construction of a civil society. During this period, the largest production and service plants declared bankruptcy: Cegielna Perkiewicza, Poznańskie Zakłady Sportowe "POLSPORT", Swarzędzkie Fabryki Mebli, Spółdzielnia Pracy "Barwa". In the field of culture: the Mosina Cultural Centre established in 1971 was joined by the Museum Chamber established in 1985, and the City Gallery in 1993. These institutions organize an average of 20 exhibitions of artists from Poland and abroad each year. The Mosina Sailing Club established in 1991 and the Association for Assistance to the Needy of St. Anthony joined the numerous organizations. In the 1990s, the commune established a number of partnerships with foreign cities: with the commune of Bunschoten in the Netherlands, the Oldenburg School in Germany, and the commune of Seelze in Germany.
The changes that occurred in those years influenced the direction of development that the city is taking today. Local entrepreneurship has developed, currently over 2 thousand business entities are registered in the commune; investments have been made in environmental protection, a modern sewage treatment plant has been built; the city is preparing a wide investment offer and a wide range of land locations for housing construction; the Social Housing Association is dynamically operating, thanks to which a modern housing estate has been built and is developing in the commune. Thanks to these activities, the Mosina commune has become an exceptionally attractive place for investors, tourists, and residents, and this is confirmed by the fact that the number of residents is still growing, currently the commune is inhabited by over 26 thousand people.

Sports

The local football club is KS 1920 Mosina. It competes in the lower leagues.

Notable residents

* Friedrich Bauer, (1812-1874), German missionary
* Lazarus Immanuel Fuchs (1833–1902), German mathematician
* Herbert Baum (1912–1942), German resistance fighter
* Monika Jagaciak (1994-), Polish model

References

External links

Official town webpage

{{Authority control

Cities and towns in Greater Poland Voivodeship
Poznań County