Kłodawa

Infobox Settlement
name = Kłodawa


imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kłodawa, 18th century
image_shield = POL Kłodawa COA.svg
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position = bottom
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = POL
subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship
subdivision_name1 = Greater Poland
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Koło
subdivision_type3 = Gmina
subdivision_name3 = Kłodawa
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Józef Chudy
established_title = Established
established_date = 11th century
established_title3 = Town rights
established_date3 = 1430-1867, 1925
area_total_km2 = 4.32
population_as_of = 2006
population_total = 6829
population_density_km2 = auto
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2
latd = 52 | latm = 15 | lats = 2 | latNS = N | longd = 18 | longm = 54 | longs = 56 | longEW = E
postal_code_type = Postal code
postal_code = 62-650
area_code = +48 63
blank_name = Car plates
blank_info = PKL
website = http://klodawa.wlkp.pl Kłodawa [IPA-pl|k|ł|o|'|d|a|w|a] is a town in central Poland with 6,874 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodship (since 1999), having previously been in Konin Voivodship (1975-1998).

Kłodawa lies on the Rgielewka (a tributary of the Warta River). The town contains the largest operating salt mine in Poland, extracting halite and salts of potassium and magnesium.

Kłodawa was settled in the 11th century by craftsmen building the Church of St. Giles. It gained municipal rights in 1430. Much of the town was destroyed in the wars of the 17th century and World War II. It was once home to a vibrant Jewish community which vanished as a result of the Holocaust. On the outskirts there is a cemetery from the Lusatian culture.

History

Four thousand year old traces of settlements in the area of Kłodawa can be found in the nearby village of Słupeczka. Remains of the Lusatian culture, about 2500 years old, can be found in Old Kłodawa.

The settlement gained municipal rights on August 9, 1430 by the decree of King Władysław II Jagiełło. The town was badly damaged in the 1650s by the invading Swedes during “The Deluge”. Despite outside assistance, reconstruction took a very long time. Kłodawa was ruled by Prussia after the second partition of Poland in 1793. From 1806 until 1815, the town was part of the Duchy of Warsaw, and Congress Poland afterwards. In 1867, Kłodawa lost its municipal charter. After World War I it was returned to Poland and in 1925 regained its charter.

During the occupation by Germany during World War II, the town was renamed Tonningen (1940-1945). In 1941, more than 1500 Kłodawan Jews were killed by the Nazis in the Chelmno extermination camp. The Kłodawa parish priest, Father Teofil Choynowski, was killed in Dachau in 1943. Kłodawa was liberated on January 19, 1945 by the Red Army,

Notable residents

* Paweł Włodkowic of Brudzeń (c. 1370–1435)—medieval scholar and diplomat. Parish priest of the Church of St. Giles in Kłodawa, Retired here in 1424.
* Michał Rawita-Witanowski (1858–1943)—pharmacist, historian and ethnographer. Owned a pharmacy in Kłodawa. Wrote about the history of the region in several publications.
* Aaron Kozminski (1865–1919)—Jack the Ripper suspect
* Andrzej Ruciński (born 1958)—member of Sejm

Distance and driving time to regional cities

*Koło—20 km (10 mi)—about 20 minutes
*Konin—50 km (30 mi)—about 45 minutes
*Włocławek—50 km (30 mi)—about 45 minutes
*Łódź—65 km (40 mi)— about 1 hours
*Toruń—110 km (70 mi)—about 1.5 hours
*Bydgoszcz—150 km (95 mi)—about 2 hours
*Poznań—150 km (95 mi)—about 2 hours
*Warsaw—150 km (95 mi)—about 2 hours

References

External links

* [http://klodawa.wlkp.pl/ Kłodawa official website]
* [http://klodawa.org/ Jewish Community of Klodawa memorial website]