Łobżenica

Łobżenica [wɔbʐɛˈɲit͡sa] (German: Lobsens, Hebrew: לובזניצ'ה) is a town in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,172 inhabitants (2010).^[1]

Łobżenica
Łobżenica as seen from the water tower
Flag Coat of arms
Łobżenica
Coordinates: 53°16′N 17°15′E / 53.267°N 17.250°E / 53.267; 17.250
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Greater Poland
County	Piła
Gmina	Łobżenica
Town rights	before 1438
Area
• Total	3.25 km^2 (1.25 sq mi)
Elevation	100 m (300 ft)
Population  (2010)^[1]
• Total	3,172
• Density	980/km^2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	89-310
Vehicle registration	PP
Website	http://www.lobzenica.pl

History

 

17th-century Polish coins from the Łobżenica mint

Łobżenica dates back to the 11th century.^[2] It prospered due to its location between Gdańsk Pomerania and central Poland.^[2] It was granted town rights before 1438, most likely in the 14th century by King Ladislaus the Short or Casimir III the Great of the Piast dynasty.^[2] Łobżenica was a private town located in the Nakło County in the Kalisz Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland.^[3] It was ravaged by the Teutonic Knights in 1431 and 1457.^[2] The town prospered thanks to crafts, brewing and trade. Local merchants participated in trade with large Polish cities of Poznań, Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Gdańsk, as well as other nearby towns.^[2] In 1606, Scottish merchants settled in the town.^[2] In the years 1612-1630 a mint operated in Łobżenica.^[2] In the 17th century, Łobżenica became a Reformation center under the patronage of the Grudziński family.^[2]

After the late 18th century Partitions of Poland, the town was annexed by Prussia. It was reintegrated with Poland, soon after the country regained independence in 1918. After the invasion of Poland, which started World War II, the Germans carried out mass arrests and executions among local Poles in 1939, mainly as part of the Intelligenzaktion, murdering about 200 people in October and November 1939 in the Łobżenica massacre [pl].^[4]

The town had a population of 467 Jews in 1881 and 77 Jews in 1921.^[5]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1843 2,751 —     1871 2,712 −1.4% 1880 2,579 −4.9% 1890 2,251 −12.7% 1900 2,238 −0.6% 1910 2,376 +6.2%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 1,904 −19.9% 1931 2,294 +20.5% 1939 2,506 +9.2% 1950 1,872 −25.3% 1960 2,542 +35.8% 2010 3,043 +19.7%
Source: ^[6]^[7]^[1]

Sports

The local football team is Pogoń Łobżenica, which competes in the lower leagues.^[8]

Notable people

• Jan Rymarkiewicz [pl] (1811–1889), Polish historian, teacher and insurgent
• Wilhelm Arndt (1838-1895), German historian
• Władysław Seyda [pl] (1863–1939), Polish lawyer and politician, minister, First President of the Supreme Court of Poland

References

1. (PDF) (in Polish). Warszawa: Główny Urząd Statystyczny. 2011. p. 105. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2011.
2. "Historia Łobżenicy". Urząd Miejski Gminy Łobżenica (in Polish). Retrieved 9 March 2020.
3. Atlas historyczny Polski. Wielkopolska w drugiej połowie XVI wieku. Część I. Mapy, plany (in Polish). Warszawa: Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 2017. p. 1b.
4. Wardzyńska, Maria (2009). Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warszawa: IPN. pp. 163–164.
5. "JewishGen Locality Page - Łobżenica, Poland". JewishGen.org. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
6. Wiadomości Statystyczne Głównego Urzędu Statystycznego (in Polish). Vol. X. Warszawa: Główny Urząd Statystyczny. 1932. p. 201.
7. Dokumentacja Geograficzna (in Polish). Vol. 3/4. Warszawa: Instytut Geografii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 1967. p. 28.
8. "Pogoń Łobżenica - strona klubu" (in Polish). Retrieved 9 May 2020.