Kepno
Encyclopedia
Kępno AUD is a town
in Poland
. It lies on the outskirts of the Greater Poland Voivodeship
, as it borders on Silesia
and the Łódz Land, at the crossing point of two transport routes: north to south (road number 11) and east to west (road number 8). As of December 31, 2009 Kępno had a population of 14,760. One popular attraction in Kępno is the recently restored Rynek
(market square).
, Kępno was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia
in the 1793 Second Partition of Poland
. Administered within South Prussia
from 1793-1807, it was part of the Napoleonic
Duchy of Warsaw
from 1807-1815. As Kempen, it was restored to Prussia in the 1815 Congress of Vienna
and administered within the Grand Duchy of Posen (until 1848) and the Province of Posen
, within which it was the seat of the district Kempen in Posen. The town was a 19th century shtetl
.
On 17 January 1920, after World War I
, it became part of the Second Polish Republic
. Following the invasion of Poland and the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Kępno was occupied by the Wehrmacht
and annexed by Nazi Germany
. It was renamed Kempen and administered as part of the county or district (kreis) of the same name within Reichsgau Wartheland
. Red Army
troops took the town on January 21, 1945 and with the end of the war, the town became part of the People's Republic of Poland
.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. It lies on the outskirts of the Greater Poland Voivodeship
Greater Poland Voivodeship
Wielkopolska Voivodeship , or Greater Poland Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Poznań, Kalisz, Konin, Piła and Leszno Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998...
, as it borders on Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
and the Łódz Land, at the crossing point of two transport routes: north to south (road number 11) and east to west (road number 8). As of December 31, 2009 Kępno had a population of 14,760. One popular attraction in Kępno is the recently restored Rynek
Rynek
Rynek may refer to the following places:*Rynek, Lesser Poland Voivodeship *Rynek, Masovian Voivodeship *Rynek, Subcarpathian Voivodeship *Rynek, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship...
(market square).
History
Previously part of the Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
, Kępno was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
in the 1793 Second Partition of Poland
Second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the second of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation of 1792...
. Administered within South Prussia
South Prussia
South Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1793 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Second Partition of Poland and included in 1793*the Poznań, Kalisz and Gniezno Voivodeships of Greater Poland;...
from 1793-1807, it was part of the Napoleonic
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
from 1807-1815. As Kempen, it was restored to Prussia in the 1815 Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
and administered within the Grand Duchy of Posen (until 1848) and the Province of Posen
Province of Posen
The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
, within which it was the seat of the district Kempen in Posen. The town was a 19th century shtetl
Shtetl
A shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
.
On 17 January 1920, after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, it became part of the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. Following the invasion of Poland and the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Kępno was occupied by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and annexed by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. It was renamed Kempen and administered as part of the county or district (kreis) of the same name within Reichsgau Wartheland
Reichsgau Wartheland
Reichsgau Wartheland was a Nazi German Reichsgau formed from Polish territory annexed in 1939. It comprised the Greater Poland and adjacent areas, and only in part matched the area of the similarly named pre-Versailles Prussian province of Posen...
. Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
troops took the town on January 21, 1945 and with the end of the war, the town became part of the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
.
Notable residents
- Wilhelm FreundWilhelm FreundWilhelm Freund was a German Jewish philologist, born at Kempen. He studied education at Berlin and Breslau, and was chiefly occupied in teaching till 1870, when he retired in order to devote himself to his literary pursuits...
(1806-1894), philologist - Samuel HoldheimSamuel HoldheimSamuel Holdheim was a German rabbi and author, and one of the more extreme leaders of the early Reform Movement in Judaism. A pioneer in modern Jewish homiletics, he was often at odds with the Orthodox community.- Early life :...
(1806-1860), reform rabbi - Meir Lob ben Jehiel Michel Weiser, MalbimMalbimMeïr Leibush ben Jehiel Michel Weiser , better known by the acronym Malbim , was a rabbi, Hebrew grammar master, and Bible commentator....
(1809-1879), rabbi - Hermann AronHermann AronHermann Aron [a:ron] was a German researcher of electrical engineering.- Background :Aaron was born in Kempen , in modern-day Poland, at the time a shtetl in the Province of Posen. His father was a chazzan and merchant...
(1845-1913), electrical engineer - Gustav Jacob BornGustav Jacob BornGustav Jacob Born was a German histologist and medical author, and father of Max Born. His wife Gretchen Kauffmann gave birth to Max and a daughter Käthe , but she died on 29 August 1886. Gustav married a second time with Bertha Lipstein, she gave birth to another son, Wolfgang Gustav Jacob...
(1851-1900), histologist - Edward LaskerEdward LaskerEdward Lasker was a leading German-American chess and Go player. He was awarded the title of International Master of chess by FIDE. Lasker was an engineer by profession, and an author.-Background:...
(1885-1981), chess player - Eugen RehfischEugen RehfischEugen Rehfisch was a German physician born in Kempen .He studied medicine at the Universities of Berlin and Wurzburg, earning his doctorate in 1887. Soon afterwards he worked as a physician in Berlin, where he was a colleague of urologist Leopold Casper...
(1862-1937), physician - Witold TomczakWitold TomczakWitold Tomczak is a right-wing Polish politician, currently a member of the European Parliament.Before his political career, Tomczak worked as a physician He graduated from the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice in 1987 and specialized in general medicine...
(born 1957), politician
Education
- Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania "Edukacja" in Wrocław, branch in Kępno