Wronki () is a town in the

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 ...

, western-central Poland, situated in the

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 ...

. It is located close to the

Warta River The river Warta ( , ; ; ) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly through the Polish Plain in a north-westerly direction to flow into the Oder at Kostrzyn nad Odrą on Poland's border with Germany. About long, it the second-longest rive ...

to the northwest of

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

on the edge of Noteć Forest, and has a population of approximately 11,000.

History

The town's name comes from ''wrona'', the Polish word for a

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

, which is also reflected in the town's coat of arms. According to local rumour, in 1002 Boleslaw the Bold was once caught offside on the banks of Wronki River. The oldest known mention of Wronki comes from 1279. Trade and crafts developed in the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

, due to the town's location both on the Warta river and on the trade route which connected major cities

and

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

. At various times Wronki was either a royal town of the Polish Crown or 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 ...

Polish nobility The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

. Administratively it was located in the Poznań County 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. 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 1793 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 ...

, regained by Poles and included in 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 ...

in 1807, re-annexed by Prussia in 1815, and from 1871 to 1919 it also was 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 name was Germanized to ''Wronke'' when it was part of Prussia and Germany. The population was subjected to

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 ...

policies, nevertheless it remained a center of Polish resistance, and

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 ...

established various educational, industrial and sporting organizations, also one of the oldest Polish

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respo ...

s was founded in the town. At the beginning of the 20th century,

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

were 18% of the total population. 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 ...

, the number decreased because Wronki was restored to Poland after the country regained independence, and the Jews of Wronki belonged to the German culture. In 1932, the German-language journal ''Die Stimme'' published an article stating that in 933, a synagogue - the first in Poland - was constructed in Wronki, and in 1933 Jews near Wronki celebrated what they believed to be the millennium of Jewish life in Poland. During the

German occupation of Poland German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(

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 ...

), the Polish population was subjected to mass arrests, imprisonment, massacres, deportations 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 ...

to Germany and expulsions (see ''

Nazi crimes against the Polish nation War crime, Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with Schutzmannschaft#Police battalions, auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occu ...

''). In November and December 1939, inhabitants of Wronki 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 ...

, and in 1940 the Germans murdered 280 Poles, previously held in the local prison, in the Kobylniki forest. In December 1939, the German police and ''

Selbstschutz ''Selbstschutz'' (German for "self-protection") is the name given to different iterations of ethnic-German self-protection units formed both after the First World War and in the lead-up to the Second World War. The first incarnation of the ''Sel ...

'' expelled many Poles, mostly the

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

, and owners of shops and workshops. Several Poles were held by the Germans in the local prison for aiding and rescuing Jews. From 1978 to 1998, it was administratively located in the former

Piła Voivodeship Piła Voivodeship () was a voivodeship (unit of administrative division and local government) in Poland from 1975 to 1998. It was superseded by the Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivode ...

Economy

The town is a major hub for

white goods A major appliance is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation. Such appliances are sometimes collectively known as white goods, as the products were tradi ...

, most notably the headquarters of Amica SA, who hail from the town, and is also where Samsung Electronics Manufacturing Poland who produce

washing machines A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a machine designed to launder clothing. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water. Other ways of doing laundry include dry cleaning (which uses alternat ...

and fridges in the town. The town also contains Wronki Prison, the largest prison in Poland.

Main sights

* St. Catherine's church -

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

church built towards the end of the 15th century * Franciscan monastery with the church of the Annunciation -

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

monastery complex built in the 17th century according to a design by Krzysztof Bonadura senior * Holy Cross chapel - built in 1887 by Jadwiga Słodowicz * Historic

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

, now housing the Regional Museum and a public library * Lapidarium of Jewish Tombstones

Sports

The town is represented by

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

Błękitni Wronki MKS Błękitni Wronki is a Polish association football club from Wronki, Greater Poland. The original Błękitni Wronki was created in 1921 and played until 1992. Błękitni then merged with Wromet Wróblewo and became Amica Wronki. In 2007, in ...

, the predecessor and successor of

Amica Wronki Amica Wronki was a Polish football club based in Wronki, Poland. The club was invariably linked to Amica, a manufacturer of white goods, predominantly stoves, which gave the club its nickname. The company's increasing profits gave the new te ...

, who were three times

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

and two times

Polish SuperCup The Polish Super Cup (, ) is an annually held match between the champions of the Ekstraklasa and the Polish Cup winners or, if the Ekstraklasa champions also win the Polish Cup, the Cup's runners-up. As of 2024, the Polish Super Cup has been p ...

winners, and who competed in Poland's top division from 1995 to 2006, and in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

in the early 2000s. Currently the town is home to the academy of

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...

and the home for their reserve team,

Lech Poznań II Lech Poznań II () is the reserve team and the senior academy team of Lech Poznań, a Polish professional football club based in Poznań. The team and its facilities are based in Wronki. They currently play in group II of the fourth tier of the ...

. Wronki co-hosted the

2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2006 Final Tournament was held in Poland between 18 July and 29 July 2006. The top three teams in each group qualified for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Players born after 1 January 1987 were allowed to par ...

and 2014

European Under-18 Rugby Union Championship The Rugby Europe Under-18 Championship is an annual rugby union championship for Under-18 national teams, held since 2004. The championship is organised by rugby's European governing body, Rugby Europe.Wronki railway station is located on the

Poznań–Szczecin railway The Poznań–Szczecin railway is a Polish rail transport line that connects Poznań with Krzyż Wielkopolski, Stargard and further to Szczecin. The railway is part of European TEN-T route E59 from Scandinavia to Vienna, Budapest and Prague. ...

, and the city has railway connections with major Polish cities like

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

Notable people

* Wincenty Kruziński (1840–1928), Polish composer *

Adolf Pinner Adolf Pinner (August 31, 1842 – May 21, 1909) was a German chemist. Early life and education He was educated at the Jewish Theological Seminary at Breslau and at the University of Berlin (Phd in Chemistry (Doctor der Chemie), 1867). In 1871 ...

(1842–1909), German chemist *

Hans Ferdinand Emil Julius Stichel Hans Ferdinand Emil Julius Stichel (16 February 1862 – 2 October 1936, in Berlin) was a German railways officer and amateur entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. His son Wolfgang Stichel became an entomologist who specialised in the bugs ...

(1862–1936), German biologist *

Bernhard Zondek Bernhard Zondek (; 29 July 1891 – 8 November 1966) was a German-born Israeli gynecologist who developed the first reliable pregnancy test in 1928. Biography Bernhard Zondek was born in Wronke, Germany, now Wronki, Poland. He studied medicine ...

(1891–1966), Israeli gynaecologist * Else Koffka (1901–1994), German lawyer * Rafał Grupiński (born 1952), Polish politician *

Leopold Treitel __NOTOC__ Leopold Jakob Jehuda Treitel (7 January 1845 – 4 March 1931) was a German Jewish Ancient philosophy, classical Scholarly method, scholar in the late 19th and early 20th century, and the last rabbi of the Judaism, Jewish community in the ...

(1845–1931) German Jewish classical scholar

Other residents

Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg ( ; ; ; born Rozalia Luksenburg; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary and Marxist theorist. She was a key figure of the socialist movements in Poland and Germany in the early 20t ...

(1871–1919), Polish Marxist, imprisoned in Wronki by German authorities during World War I * Carl Maria Splett (1898–1964), Catholic bishop

References

History of Jewish community in Wronki

History of Jewish community in Wronki
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Greater Poland Voivodeship Populated places on the Warta Szamotuły County Historic Jewish communities in Poland