Gąsawa

Infobox Settlement
name = Gąsawa
settlement_type = Village
total_type =


image_shield =


subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = POL
subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship
subdivision_name1 = Kuyavian-Pomeranian
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Żnin
subdivision_type3 = Gmina
subdivision_name3 = Gąsawa
latd = 52
latm = 46
lats =
latNS = N
longd = 17
longm = 45
longs =
longEW = E
pushpin_

elevation_m =
population_total = 1400
website = http://www.gasawa.pl/

Gąsawa IPA-pl| [|g|ą|'|s|a|w|a|] ( _de. Gonsawa is a village in Żnin County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Gąsawa. It lies approximately convert|10|km|mi|0 south of Żnin and convert|43|km|mi|0|abbr=on south-west of Bydgoszcz. The village has a population of 1,400.

Gąsawa received the city rights in 1388 and lost them in 1934.

It is famous as the place of the assassination of the Leszek I the White, prince of Poland (November 23 1227). In 1600 Gąsawa hosted the Lubrański Academy ( _pl. Kolegium Lubrańskiego) which temporarily moved out of plague-stricken Poznań.

The main tourist attraction in Gąsawa is the 17th century wooden St. Nicolas Church with a unique collection of multi-layered mural paintings, the earliest from the 17th century, and the most recent from 1807 [ [http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?05PLAAAA0032791] Iconographic Baroque mural paintings in a wooden church "accessed 3 July 2007"] .

The church itself, a larch construction with a slate roof, was in a such a bad state around 1850 that local officials asked the regional Prussian government to allow the church to be dismantled and build a new one instead. The response gave permission to only overhaul the building. Existing wall paintings were covered with a layer of reed and ordinary plaster, and forgotten for some 150 years [ [http://www.odyssei.com/travel-tips/15233.html] Saint Nicolas' Church in Gasawa. "accessed 7 July 2007"] [ [http://www.znin.pl/index_en.php?par=0&cid=401&unroll=10] Monuments of Sacred Architecture, Żnin county official website "accessed 7 July 2007" ] .

The town name was spelled "Gonzawa" in some old documents.

References