Słupca

See also: Słupca, Masovian Voivodeship

Słupca
Flag of Słupca Flag Coat of arms of Słupca Coat of arms
Słupca
Coordinates:
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Greater Poland
County	Słupca County
Gmina	Słupca (urban gmina)
Established	13th century
Town rights	1290
Government
• Mayor	Michał Pyrzyk
Area
• Total	10.31 km2 (3.98 sq mi)
Highest elevation	96 m (315 ft)
Lowest elevation	92 m (302 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	14,363
• Density	1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	62-400
Area code(s)	+48 63
Car plates	PSL
Website	http://www.miasto.slupca.pl

Słupca [ˈswupt͡sa] is a town in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, and the seat of Słupca County. It has 14,650 inhabitants (2006).

History

Nov 15th, 1290 - Przemysł II, the Duke of Greater Poland, agrees that Slupca becomes a town

1296 - Slupca acquires town privileges again; this time however it was granted a range of new privileges. It is inhabited by about 1000 people

Nov 11th, 1314 r. Wladysław Łokietek grants Slupca a privilege to establish a mint and make coins

1331 - Slupca ridden and burnt by the Tutonic Order Knights

1375 - 1382 - defense walls of the length of 1100 meters under construction;

1454 - 1466 - the 13-years-war; the town of Slupca sends 20 knights so as other 9 biggest towns of Greater Poland do

the end of 15th century- Slupca inhabited by about 2000 people

1655 - 1660 - a war with Sweden; the town looted several times

2nd Partition of Poland - Slupca becomes part of Prussia (later Germany)

1794 - Slupca becomes a base for Kosciusko's Uprising

1815 The Vienna Congress - Kingdom of Poland created- Slupca becomes a part of Russia; at the turn of the 19th century, defense walls dismantled

19th century- economic upturn due to Slupca's location being along the route to Berlin

1867 - the county of Slupca created

1922 - a railway link Kutno Strzalkowo is built; Slupca acquires railway connection with Warsaw and Poznan

1939 - 1945 - All of Slupca's 1,800 Jews - men, women, and children, are murdered

1955 - Słupca Lake created as a recreational center on former turbary land

1975 - an administrative reform; the town is incorporated into Konin District

January 1, 1999 - Slupca becomes a seat of a county for the 3rd time in history

Monuments

Churches

File:Słupca w 1945.jpg

1945 plan of Słupca

Churches have always played an important part in the town's history. A careful observer will notice that our coat of arms is built of five crosses, each of which symbolizes a shrine. A legend has it that there were once five different temples of different religions. Yet another argument that Slupca has always been renowned for its tolerance. For instance, at the beginning of the 20th century there were as many Jews living here as Poles- approximately each nation had a population of 2,000 inhabitants. These days, however, the Orthodox church as well as the Synagoge are no longer in existence, partly due to changing winds of the 20th century.

Saint’s Laurence Church was, historically, Slupca’s first shrine. It was built in the middle of the 15th century by a bishop of Poznan. It is a Gothic temple constructed with the use of bricks and stones. It was built at the same place as the church from 1296, which had burnt. Traditionally, the temple is very much connected with the town's history and customs. Every summer there is a church fair associated with plenty of sporting, music and cultural events as well as concerts organised by the local authorities in the Town Park near Slupeckie Lake. On the western wall there is a plaque devoted to Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Polish partiot, and his bravery. Inside the church one can find a Gotish stoup. At the back of the tample there are defensive walls. At the beginning it was one of the seats of some bishops from Poznań diecese. The Slupecka parish was valued by the nobility. Again, thanks to the importance the shrine has to the inhabitants of Slupca they have always been willing to participate in it redecorations. Recently, we’ve observed this attitude in collecting money for the renovation of parish’s organs.

Saint’s Leonard Church was Slupca’s second church. It is a wooden shrine built in the 16th century. Historically, it was located on the route from the Northern Poland to Kalisz. Inside there is a Renaissance altar with bas-relief ‘Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary’ and sculptures of Saint’s Leonard and John the Baptist. It’s got two tiny chapels: Northern and Southern. A valuable painting of Saint Leonard from 1460 can be found in the former. In the latter there is also a Gothic crucifix and a stone stoup. Today this is one of the most beautiful churches in Greater Poland and as such it is certainly worth visiting. Inside the church there is also a gravestone of a priest Jakub Basinski who used to be a parson of the parish. From the west there is also a magnificent a quadrilateral bell tower dating back to 1765.

The Church of the Blessed Bishop Michal Kozal was built at the turn of the 21st century. It is a new temple built in a style far from that prevailing in the local shrines. The walls are plane, covered only with white paint. All the emphasis was placed on the altar, which is made of granite. Behind the altar the is a crucifx hung on another plane wall. As of 2006 the grounds surrounding the church have been announced to become the park of John Paul II. There are plans to plant a number of trees and make two sections for: practicing sports (northern part) and relaxation for those who prefer tranquillity (proximity of the church).

A Synagogue in Slupca is situated on the Boznicza 11 Street. It was built in the 19th century. It was destroyed by Nazis during the Second World War. Then this building was converted into Municipality; later into a library. Today it is no longer in use. In 2005 the synagogue was handed over to Wrocław Jewish Community.

Jews in Slupca

Jews arrived in Slupca at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1822 Jewish settlers were prohibited from living in Slupca by the Russians, and were allowed back in Slupca only by 1862. A Jewish cemetery was established in the 19th century. Towards the end of the 19th century the Jewish community grew very quickly. Most of the Jews were craftmen and tradesmen. The synagogue was built at the beginning of the 1870s. Organized Zionist groups already existed in Slupca at the beginning of the 20th century. Between the two world wars some Zionist parties were active in Slupca. Jewish merchants suffered from Polish anti-Semitic incidents. When the town was captured by the Germans in September 1939, Jews were forced to provide forced laborers, and their freedom of movement to leave the town was restricted. By February 1940, several hundreds of Jews were exiled to Tarnów and Bochnia. The synagogue was set on fire in July 1940 and the holy books of Torah were burned. From July 1941, all Jews were expelled to nearby ghetto in Rzgow. In October 1941, all the Jews in Rzgow, including the remaining Jewish community of Slupca, were transported to the forest of Kazimierz Biskupi and murdered. The Germans devastated the Jewish cemetery and used the tombstones for building and construction purposes. 12 tombstones that survived were put in the Regional Muzeum of Słupca. All tombstones have Hebrew inscriptions. A commemorative plaque informing the existence of a Jewish cemetery was erected at the site.

Education

Committee of the National Education Primary school is 81 years old. It was built by Franciszek Szczyglowski who was a local parson. Pupils stay here for six years and then chose a Junior High School they’d like to attend. The building neighbours with a High School. There is a statue of priest in front of the Primary School. Today there are 19 classrooms, 2 computer classroom, and a gym. There is also a common room and a library and reading room. Children have access to a canteen and a school shop. The educational institution has always had high reputation in the town. Experienced and well-motivated teachers are doing their best to cater for pupils needs. These days there is strong emphasis placed on teaching of modern languages, mainly English and German.

Nicolas Kopernik Junior High School was founded as recently as in 1999, however the building had existed for another 40 years as a Primary School. Pupils stay here for 3 years. It has it own logo with national colours and Greek columns. In the building one can find regular as well as computer classes, a canteen, a library and a gym.

Maksymilian Jackowski Technical Secondary School was founded in 1925. It is another school built by Franciszek Szczyglowski, a local parson. The educational institution offers 4 courses leading to the acquisition of the following titles: Technician of Economics; Technician of Trade; Technician of Logistics; Technician Gastronomics. Wojciech Wozniak used to be the most incompetent student in Maksymilian Jackowski Technical Secondary School.

Marszalek Pilsudski High School was built in 1921. It is situated next to the Primary School nr. 1. At the beginning, in 1921, there was a seminar. Education at the school last only 3 years. Pupils from the School are quite successful easily qualifying for major national universities. Moreover, they take part in a number of competition and generally achieve acclaim. There is a lot of extra activities and school ceremonies. Recently, due to the ‘Orange Revolution’ in Ukraine Poland is trying to support Ukrainian movement for democracy. Following government’s example local authorities have decided to support exchange of teachers and students between our countries. High School in Slupca offers 6 courses with the following majors: mathematics; natural science; humanities and English; mathematics and geography.

Apolinary Szeluto School of Music. Here local children have an opportunity to develop their musical skills as well as to gain professional musical education. Many dancing and self-improvement courses are organized in the building of the school. Also quite often there are concerts organized in recently created concert hall.

Getting to Slupca

Nearest airports are at Poznań Lawica: http://www.airport-poznan.com.pl/en/ or Warsaw Okecie Airport. Have a look at this website: http://www.e-lowcost.net/. If you land in Warsaw you may take an intercity train to Konin. And when you arrive in Konin, you can get a taxi or take a bus or change a train. If you decide to land in Poznań reaching Slupca is much easier, both because it is closer to the town and there are dircect bus or railway connections. It is important to have a map of Greater Poland, available in newsagent's.

External links

• Official town webpage