Ostrzeszów

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Ostrzeszów is a town in south-central Poland, in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seat of Ostrzeszów County and lies in the historic region of Wieluń Land. The town has about 14,000 residents (2023–2024) and is located roughly 80 km from Wrocław, 170 km from Katowice and 160 km from Poznań.

The settlement is very old, with the Amber Road passing through the area long before Christianity arrived in Poland. Ostrzeszów received town privileges between 1261 and 1283. In the 14th century, King Casimir the Great built a castle, defensive walls and a Gothic church there. The town’s coat of arms features a crowned white eagle, connected to Poland’s emblem.

Ostrzeszów was a royal town and the county seat in the Sieradz Voivodeship of the Greater Poland Province. It thrived in crafts and trade from the 16th to the 18th century, but its fortunes declined after the Swedish invasion in 1656. The town was annexed by Prussia in 1793, briefly became part of the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807, and was re-annexed by Prussia in 1815. From 1871 to 1918 it was part of Germany, where the Polish population remained strong.

In the 19th century four fairs were held each year and tanning was a common local craft. In 1879 Bank Ludowy, a Polish-owned bank, was founded and later became a hub for Polish resistance against Germanisation.

After World War I, Poland regained independence, and the Greater Poland Uprising helped bring Ostrzeszów back into Poland. The Polish coat of arms was restored in the interwar period. During World War II, Germany occupied Ostrzeszów and ran a large transit camp for prisoners of war and civilians, including Maximilian Kolbe. Many local residents helped inmates by supplying food and aiding escapes. The Germans carried out expulsions of Poles and other repressive acts. In 1945 Soviet troops liberated the town, and Poland returned to a communist government until 1989. In 1980 local workers helped spark the nationwide Solidarity movement.

Today Ostrzeszów has sports teams such as UKS Piast Poprawa Ostrzeszów (table tennis) and Victoria Ostrzeszów (football). The town is also associated with officially protected traditional foods.