Middle Ages The Land of Wieluń (ziemia wieluńska, Terra Velumensis) was a historic land of the
Kingdom of Poland and the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which for centuries was part of
Sieradz Voivodeship,
Greater Poland Province. It was based on the medieval
Castellany of
Ruda (located some from Wieluń), which was established in the 10th or 11th century. Ruda was the seat of a
castellan and a Roman Catholic
archdeacon, which made it the center of local administration. In the mid-13th century, however, the importance of Ruda diminished, at the expense of Wieluń, which was located in a more convenient spot. In 1281, the castellan's office was moved to Wieluń, and by 1299, the term Land of Ruda (Ziemia rudzka) had been replaced in documents by Land of Wieluń (Ziemia wieluńska). The medieval
Castellany of
Ruda, which was established in the 10th or 11th century. The Castellany of Ruda was first mentioned in the 1136
Bull of Gniezno, and during the period known as Fragmentation of Poland (see
Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth), it was part of the
Seniorate Province. As a result of ongoing power struggles in the districts during Fragmentation of Poland,
Mieszko III the Old regained Greater Poland in 1181 and incorporated the Wieluń Land into it. In the late 12th century, the Castellany was acquired by Duke
Władysław Odonic, and in 1217 it became property of
Władysław III Spindleshanks. Later on, it was ruled by the
Dukes of Silesia from the
Duchy of Opole, and in the second half of the 13th century, was in
Duchy of Greater Poland. In 1281, the castellany was moved from Ruda to Wieluń, and since then, it has been called the Land of Wieluń. The settlement of Wieluń was founded probably in c. 1220 by Duke
Władysław Odonic. It was first mentioned in documents in 1282, and probably in the same year it received a town charter. In the mid-14th century King
Casimir III the Great built a castle here, which was part of defensive system protecting the border between the
Kingdom of Poland and Czech-ruled
Silesia. The castle itself was remodeled several times, due to frequent fires and wars. Currently, there is a Classicistic palace in its location. In both Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Land of Wieluń as part of
Sieradz Voivodeship had its own civil servants, offices and courts, and the Castellan of Wieluń was one of Senators of Poland. The land had four
starostas – at Wieluń itself,
Ostrzeszów,
Bolesławiec and
Grabów nad Prosną. Two deputies to the
Sejm were elected at Wieluń's
Sejmiks, furthermore, the Voivode of Sieradz (of the
Sieradz Voivodeship) was obliged to appoint his deputy from Wieluń. regarding salt trade, granted by King
Władysław II Jagiełło in 1402 In 1370, following the last will of Casimir the Great, King
Louis I of Hungary handed the Land of Wieluń to
Duke of Opole,
Władysław Opolczyk. In the same period, the Archbishop of
Gniezno,
Jarosław of Bogoria and Skotnik built a manor house in Wieluń. The town remained in the hands of Władysław Opolczyk until 1395, when it was returned to Poland. Wieluń quickly developed, in the 1390s a
Paulists church together with an abbey were built, and in 1413, Archbishop
Mikołaj Trąba moved the ancient
collegiate church from Ruda to Wieluń. In the 1440s and 1450s, Wieluń was frequently destroyed in raids of Silesian dukes. By that time, it had already been an important center of commerce and government. The Land of Wieluń had its own coat of arms, established between 1410 and 1434. It can be found on the tomb of King
Władysław II Jagiełło, together with coats of arms of Poland,
Lithuania,
Ruthenia,
Greater Poland, and the
Dobrzyń Land. Historically, the Land of Wieluń covers current counties of Wieluń, Ostrzeszów,
Kępno and
Wieruszów, as well as some locations in the counties of
Olesno and
Pajęczno.
Modern era Wieluń prospered in the 16th century, the so-called
Polish Golden Age. It was a
royal city of Poland and capital of the
Land of Wieluń, part of the
Sieradz Voivodeship in the
Greater Poland Province. At the beginning of the 17th century, the mother of future
Grand Crown Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski, one of the greatest commanders in Polish history, founded a
Renaissance monastery of the Bernardine nuns in Wieluń, now housing a museum dedicated to the town's history. Thousands were injured and many fled. No Polish military units were present in Wieluń at that time (31 August – 1 September 1939). By decision from 5 September 1939, one of the first three German special courts in occupied Poland was established in the town; it was eventually moved to
Piotrków Trybunalski on September 22, 1939. On 6–8 September 1939 the
Einsatzgruppe II entered the town, and mass searches of Polish offices and organizations were carried out. Already on September 8, 1939, inhabitants of Wieluń were among the 30
Poles massacred by German troops in Chechło near
Pabianice. Wieluń was annexed to
Nazi Germany on 8 October 1939 and placed under the administration of
Reichsgau Wartheland. The Germans instigated a reign of terror against the
Jewish population of Wieluń, which had lived there since the 1500s and amounted to around 4,000 people at the beginning of the war. Jews were kidnapped for
forced labour with little pay. Around 40 Poles from Wieluń were murdered by the Soviets in the large
Katyn massacre in April to May 1940. In June 1940, the Germans
expelled around 200 Poles, owners of villas, which were handed over to new German officials or converted to German offices. During the
German occupation, a transit camp was operated in the town for Poles expelled from the region, who were then either deported to the so-called
General Government in the eastern part of German-occupied Poland or to
forced labour in
Germany and
German-occupied France or sent as slave laborers to new German colonists in the town's vicinity. The Germans also established and operated a Nazi prison in the town, and
looted the local historical numismatic collection, which they sent to a newly established German museum in occupied
Poznań. In 1941, Jews were forced into a ghetto. Many were then sent away to labour camps. In January 1942, the German publicly hanged ten Jews. Later that year, the 2,000 Jews still remaining in the city and others brought to Wieluń were rounded up and confined for several days in a church building without food or water. Several died there of exhaustion, others were murdered and 900 were then selected and sent to the
Łódź ghetto. The rest were sent to the
Chełmno extermination camp, where they were immediately gassed. Seventy to one hundred Wieluń Jews survived the war, and many returned to the city although most left soon afterward. The city was liberated on 19 January 1945 by troops of the
Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front in the course of the
Sandomierz–Silesian Offensive. ==Climate==