Rawicz

The town was founded by Adam Olbracht Przyjemski of Rawicz coat of arms for Protestant refugees from Silesia during the Thirty Years' War. In 1638 King Władysław IV Vasa granted Rawicz town rights and confirmed the town's coat of arms. Rawicz was built as a precisely planned town and developed at a rapid pace. After World War I Poland regained its independence in 1918. In 1919 the Battle of Rawicz was fought as part of the Greater Poland uprising, aiming to reincorporate the region into the reestablished Polish state. Though the city was located on the German side of the military demarcation line established following the ceasefire in February 1919, Rawicz was eventually assigned to Poland in January 1920. On the first day of the invasion of Poland, which started World War II on September 1, 1939, the Germans entered the town, but were forced to withdraw. Poles arrested during the Intelligenzaktion were imprisoned in the local prison. In October 1939 the Germans carried out the first executions of Polish residents, The expelled Poles were predominantly local activists and owners of better houses, which were then handed over to German colonists as part of the Lebensraum policy. ==Sights==

Among the historic sights of Rawicz are the Rynek (Market Square) with the Baroque town hall, the Baroque Church of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the Classicist Church of Saint Andrew Bobola, the Gothic Revival Church of Christ the King, the Planty Park and historic townhouses, dating back to the 18th and 19th century. File:Wnętrze z ławkami kościoła św. Andrzeja Boboli w Rawiczu.jpg|Interior of Saint Andrew Bobola's Church File:Rawicz,kościół.jpg|Exterior of Saint Andrew Bobola's Church File:Kościół pw. Chrystusa Króla i Zwiastowania Najświętszej Marii Panny.jpg|Church of Christ the King File:SM Rawicz Ratusz Sarnowski 2019 (2).jpg|Rawicz-Sarnowa Town Hall File:Rawicz,ul.Rynek 18.jpg|Old townhouses at the Rynek (Market Square) ==Sports==

Notable local sports clubs are speedway club Kolejarz Rawicz, who race at the Florian Kapała Stadium and football team . ==Transport==

The S5 expressway bypasses Rawicz to the west. The Rawicz exit of the expressway provides quick access to Poznań and to Wrocław. National road 36 bypasses Rawicz to the north. Rawicz has a station on the Poznań-Wrocław railway. ==Cuisine==

The officially protected traditional food originating from Rawicz is kiełbaska rawicka, a local type of kiełbasa (as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland). Local traditions of meat production date back hundreds of years. ==Notable residents==

• Heinrich Gottfried Ollendorff (1803–1865), German grammarian and language educator • Wolfgang Straßmann (1821–1885), politician • Heinrich Braun (1862–1934), surgeon • Maximilian Otte (1910–1944), Luftwaffe pilot • Robert Maćkowiak (born 1970), sprinter • Arthur Ruppin (1876–1943), Zionist • Reinhard Seiler (1909–1989), Luftwaffe officer • Piotr Świderski (born 1983), speedway rider • Anita Włodarczyk (born 1985), hammer thrower • Karol Świderski (born 1997), football player • Cesar Kaskel (1833-?), Southern Unionist == See also ==