Pniewy is a town in

Szamotuły County __NOTOC__ Szamotuły County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into existence on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms ...

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland (''Wielkopolska'' ). The modern province includes most of this historic re ...

, Poland, with 7,747 inhabitants as of 2020. There is a lake and a beach with access to a playground, stage and a softball pitch.

History

Pniewy was founded in the 12th century as part of the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

-ruled

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 ...

, although a stronghold also existed at the site earlier. The oldest known mention of Pniewy comes from 1256, and

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

were probably granted in the late 13th century. Pniewy's name probably comes from the Polish word ''pień'', which means "

trunk Trunk may refer to: Biology * Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso * Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure, and the stem of woody plants * Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy * Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant Comput ...

", which is also depicted in the town's coat of arms. Pniewy was a

private town Private towns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were privately owned towns within the lands owned by magnates, bishops, knights and princes, among others. Amongst the most well-known former private magnate towns are Białystok, Zamość, R ...

held by various

Polish noble families 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 ...

, the first of which was the Nałęcz family, later known as the Pniewski family of

Nałęcz coat of arms ''Nałęcz'' () is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by associated ''szlachta'' families in the Kingdom of Poland (see Kingdom of Poland (1320–1385), and Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)) and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795 ...

. Administratively it was located in the

Poznań Voivodeship Poznań Voivodeship was the name of several former administrative regions (''województwo'', rendered as ''voivodeship'' and usually translated as "province") in Poland, centered on the city of Poznań, although the exact boundaries changed over t ...

in the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. The town suffered during the 17th and 18th century wars, however it was revived thanks to the Szołdryscy family, and local

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s were granted several privileges. Rittergut Pinne Sammlung Duncker

In 1793 it was annexed by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of partitions of Poland, three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition (politics), partition occurred i ...

. Following the successful

Greater Poland uprising of 1806 Greater Poland uprising of 1806 was a Polish military insurrection which occurred in the region of Wielkopolska, also known as Greater Poland, against the occupying Prussian forces after the Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1 ...

, it was regained by

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

and included within the short-lived

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

. After its dissolution, in 1815, it was re-annexed by Prussia, and from 1871 to 1918 was also part of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The population took part in Polish uprisings of 1830–1831 and

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

. The town was subjected to anti-Polish policies including

Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people, and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In l ...

, however it remained a center of Polish resistance, and Poles established various organizations. 707 Jews lived in Pniewy in 1837, and 225 in 1910. In November 1918, after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Poland regained independence, and in December 1918, local Poles liberated the town from the Germans, and it was re-integrated with Poland. Local Poles took part in multiple battles of the

Greater Poland uprising (1918–19) Greater Poland Uprising (also Wielkopolska Uprising or Great Poland Uprising) may refer to a number of armed rebellions in the region of Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish histor ...

, in which 18 of them were killed. In the 1920s Polish

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

Ursula Ledóchowska Julia Ledóchowska, USAHJ (17 April 1865 – 29 May 1939), religious name Maria Ursula of Jesus, was a Polish Catholic religious sister and the foundress of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus. Ledóchowska was a prolific supporter of ...

, today considered a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, founded the

Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus The Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (Polish: ''Zgromadzenie Sióstr Urszulanek Serca Jezusa Konającego''), also known as the Grey Ursulines, is a Catholic religious institute founded by Ursula Ledóchowska in Poland. ...

in Pniewy. Following the joint German-Soviet

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, which started

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in September 1939, the town was occupied by Germany. During the

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

, the Polish population was subjected to expulsions, confiscation of property, deportations to

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

and to

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

, and executions. In November and December 1939, inhabitants of Pniewy were among Poles murdered in mass executions in

Mędzisko Mędzisko is a settlement in the administrative district of Gmina Obrzycko, within Szamotuły County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. History According to the 1921 census, the village had a population of 11, entirely Polish b ...

and

Szamotuły Szamotuły (, ) is a town in western Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship, about northwest of the centre of Poznań. It is the seat of Szamotuły County and of the smaller administrative district Gmina Szamotuły. The population was 19,090 in ...

. The Polish resistance was active in the town. Ignacy Hulka, commander of the

Lwówek Lwówek is a town in Nowy Tomyśl County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,961 inhabitants (2010). History Town rights were granted by King Władysław II Jagiełło. The town was known as Lwów, before the name was changed to the cu ...

-Pniewy unit of the

Union of Armed Struggle The Union of Armed StruggleThus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. (; ZWZ), also translated as the Union for Armed Struggle, Association of Armed Struggle, and Association for Armed Struggle ...

, was arrested by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

on 14 October 1942 and subjected to brutal interrogations during which he died a week later.

Demographics

Sports

The local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club is

Sokół Pniewy Klub Sportowy Sokół Pniewy is an association football club based in Pniewy Pniewy is a town in Szamotuły County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 7,747 inhabitants as of 2020. There is a lake and a beach with access to a playground, ...

. It competes in the lower leagues, but in the 1990s it played in Poland's top division.

Education

There are two schools located in the town of Pniewy. The primary school of Powstańców Wielkopolskich and an upper-secondary school complex (high school and upper vocational school) Zespół Szkół im. Emilii Sczanieckiej.

Business

There are local and international companies operating in Pniewy and the Municipality of Pniewy.
Postęp Sp. z.o.o.
company hires about 200 employees. It manufactures furniture for

IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...

company.

Twin cities- sister cities

Pniewy signed legal agreements for partnerships with municipalities. Halluin (France), Lübbenau and Oer - Erkenschwick (Germany), North - Tyneside (The UK), Kocevje (Slovenia), Radków and Kościerzyna (Poland).

Notable people

* Ezekiel Caro, rabbi * Joseph Chayyim Caro, rabbi, called to the rabbinate of this town *

Gustav Gottheil Gustav Gottheil (May 28, 1827, Pinne/ Pniewy, Grand Duchy of Posen, Prussia – April 15, 1903, New York City) was a Prussian-born American rabbi. Gottheil eventually became one of the most influential, well-known and controversial Reform Je ...

, American rabbi *

and Lawrence Wnuk, Polish Catholic clergy, buried in this city * Adolf Lewin, German rabbi and author *

Josef Tal Josef Tal (; September 18, 1910 – August 25, 2008) was an Israeli composer. He wrote three Hebrew operas; four German operas, dramatic scenes; six symphonies; 13 concerti; chamber music, including three string quartets; instrumental works; ...

, composer

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Greater Poland Voivodeship Szamotuły County 12th-century establishments in Poland Populated places established in the 12th century Populated lakeshore places in Poland