Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska, is a Polish historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland.
The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history. Since the Late Middle Ages, Wielkopolska proper has been split into the Poznań and Kalisz voivodeships. In the wider sense, it also encompassed Sieradz, Łęczyca, Brześć Kujawski and Inowrocław voivodeships which were situated further east, and the Santok Land, located to the northwest. The region in the proper sense roughly coincides with the present-day Greater Poland Voivodeship.
Like all the historical regions of Poland, the Greater Poland region possesses its own folk costumes, architecture, cuisine, that make the region touristically and culturally interesting.
Name
Due to the fact that Greater Poland was the settlement area of the Polans and the core of the early Polish state, the region was at times simply called "Poland". The more specific name is first recorded in the Latin form Polonia Maior in 1257 and in Polish w Wielkej Polszcze in 1449. Its original meaning was the Older Poland to contrast with Lesser Poland, a region in south-eastern Poland with its capital at Kraków that later became the main centre of the state.Geography
Greater Poland comprises much of the area drained by the Warta River and its tributaries, including the Noteć River. The region is distinguished from Lesser Poland with the lowland landscape, and from both Lesser Poland and Mazovia with its numerous lakes. In the strict meaning, it covers an area of about, and has a population of 3.5 million. In the wider sense, it has almost, and 7 million inhabitants.The region's main metropolis is Poznań, near the centre of the region, on the Warta. Other cities are Kalisz to the south-east, Konin to the east, Piła to the north, Ostrów Wielkopolski to the south-east, Gniezno to the north-east, and Leszno to the south-west.
An area of of forest and lakeland south of Poznań is designated the Wielkopolska National Park, established in 1957. The region also contains part of Drawa National Park, and several designated Landscape Parks. For example, the Rogalin Landscape Park is famous for about 2000 monumental oak trees growing on the flood plain of the river Warta, among numerous ox-bow lakes.
Subregions
Greater Poland contains the following subregions:- Kalisz Region in the east, named after the historical capital and largest city Kalisz. Other main cities: Konin, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Gniezno.
- *Pałuki in the north-east. Historical capital: Żnin. Largest town: Wągrowiec.
- Poznań Region in the west, named after the historical capital and largest city Poznań. Other main cities: Piła, Leszno.
- *Wschowa Land in the south-west, named after the historical capital and largest town Wschowa.
- *Wałcz Land in the north, named after the historical capital and largest town Wałcz.
- *Biskupizna in the south. Historical capital and largest town: Krobia.
- Krajna in the north-east. Historical capital: Nakło nad Notecią. Largest city: Piła.
- Santok Land in the north-west, named after the historical capital Santok. Largest city: Gorzów Wielkopolski.
History
Medieval and early modern period
Greater Poland formed the heart of the 10th-century early Polish state, sometimes being called the "cradle of Poland". Poznań and Gniezno were early centres of royal power and the seats of Poland's first Catholic diocese, est. in Poznań in 968, and the first archdiocese, est. in Gniezno in 1000, but following devastation of the region by pagan rebellion in the 1030s, and the invasion of Bretislaus I of Bohemia in 1038, the capital was moved by Casimir I the Restorer from Gniezno to Kraków.In the Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth, which initiated the period of fragmentation of Poland, the western part of Greater Poland was granted to Mieszko III the Old. The eastern part, with Gniezno and Kalisz, was part of the Seniorate Province centered in Kraków, granted to Władysław II. However, for most of the period the two parts were under a single ruler, and were known as the Duchy of Greater Poland. It was one of the leading and fastest developing regions of Poland, with municipal rights modeled after Poznań and Kalisz becoming the basis of municipal form of government for several towns in the region, as two of five local Polish variants of medieval town rights. The region came under the control of Władysław I the Elbow-high in 1314, and thus became part of the reunited Poland of which Władyslaw was crowned king in 1320.
File:Zamek Kolo 229.JPG|thumb|Ruins of Koło Castle on the banks of the Warta River
In 1264, Duke Bolesław the Pious issued the Statute of Kalisz in the region. It was a unique protective privilege for Jews during their persecution in Western Europe, which in the following centuries made Poland the destination of Jewish migration from other countries.
From the late 13th century, the region experienced first German invasions and occupations. In the late 13th century, the northwestern part of Greater Poland was occupied by the Margraviate of Brandenburg. In 1331, during the Polish–Teutonic War of 1326–1332, the Teutonic Knights invaded central and eastern Greater Poland, however, the Poles defeated the invaders at Kalisz and an indecisive battle was fought at Konin. The Teutonic Knights soon retreated. King Casimir III the Great regained parts of northwestern Greater Poland, including Drezdenko in 1365 and Wałcz, Czaplinek and Człopa in 1368. Poland still attempted to recover the remainder of Brandenburg-annexed northwestern Greater Poland, which in 1373 became part of the Bohemian Crown, ruled by the House of Luxembourg. In 1402, Poland and the Luxembourgs reached an agreement, according to which Poland was to buy and re-incorporate the aforementioned territory, but eventually the Luxembourgs sold it to the Teutonic Order. Allied Poles and Czech Hussites captured several towns of Teutonic-held northwestern Greater Poland, including Dobiegniew and Strzelce Krajeńskie, during the Polish–Teutonic War of 1431–1435.
In the reunited kingdom, and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the country came to be divided into administrative units called voivodeships. In the case of the Greater Poland region these were Poznań Voivodeship and Kalisz Voivodeship. The Commonwealth also had larger subdivisions known as prowincja, one of which was named Greater Poland. However, this prowincja covered a larger area than the Greater Poland region itself, also taking in Masovia and Royal Prussia.
File:PALATINATVS POSNANIENSIS, IN MAIORI POLONIA PRIMARII NOVA DELINEATIO.PNG|thumb|Poznań Voivodeship within the borders of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1664
In 1655, Greater Poland was invaded by Sweden, and several battles were fought in the region, including at Ujście, Kłecko and Kcynia.
In the 18th century kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often resided in Wschowa, and sessions of the Senate of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were held there, thus the town being dubbed the "unofficial capital of Poland". In 1768 a new Gniezno Voivodeship was formed out of the northern part of Kalisz Voivodeship. However more far-reaching changes would come with the Partitions of Poland. In the first partition, northern parts of Greater Poland along the Noteć were taken over by Prussia, becoming the Netze District. In the second partition the whole of Greater Poland was absorbed by Prussia, becoming part of the province of South Prussia. It remained so in spite of the first Greater Poland uprising, part of the unsuccessful Kościuszko Uprising directed chiefly against Russia.
Partitions of Poland
More successful was the Greater Poland Uprising of 1806, which led to the bulk of Greater Poland becoming part of the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw, whereas the northwestern and northern outskirts remained part of Prussia. However, following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Greater Poland was again partitioned, with the western part going to Prussia. The eastern part joined the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland, where it formed the Kalisz Voivodeship until 1837, then the Kalisz Governorate.File:Wrzesnia.jpg|thumb|Children from Września who participated in the strike against Germanisation policies
Within the Prussian Partition, western Greater Poland became the Grand Duchy of Posen, which theoretically held some autonomy. Following an unrealised uprising in 1846, and the more substantial but still unsuccessful uprising of 1848, the Grand Duchy was replaced by the Province of Posen. The authorities made efforts to Germanize the region, particularly after the founding of Germany in 1871, and from 1886 onwards the Prussian Settlement Commission was active in increasing German land ownership in formerly Polish areas. The Germans imposed Germanisation and Kulturkampf policies, and the Poles organized resistance. In the early 20th century, the Września children strike against Germanisation started, which quickly spread to other places in Greater Poland and beyond, whereas Michał Drzymała with the Drzymała's wagon became a regional folk hero.
In the Russian Partition, Russification policies were enacted, and Polish resistance was also active. The largest uprisings in Russian-controlled eastern Greater Poland were the November Uprising of 1830–31 and January Uprising of 1863–64.
During World War I, Germany also occupied eastern Greater Poland, and in August 1914, the German Army carried out the destruction of Kalisz. Germany planned the annexation of eastern Greater Poland as part of the so-called "Polish Border Strip" and expulsion of its Polish inhabitants to make room for German colonization in accordance with the Lebensraum policy.