Wolsztyn

Parish church

Coat of arms

Wolsztyn

Coordinates: 52°7′N 16°7′E / 52.117°N 16.117°E

Country

Poland

Area

• Total

4.78 km² (1.85 sq mi)

Population (2006)

• Total

13,557

• Density

2,800/km² (7,300/sq mi)

Postal code

64-200, 64-201

Website

http://www.wolsztyn.pl

Wolsztyn [ˈvɔlʂtɨn] (German: Wollstein) is a town in western Poland, on the western edge of Greater Poland Voivodeship (from 1975 to 1998 it was in Zielona Góra Voivodeship). It is the seat of Wolsztyn County, and of the smaller administrative district of Gmina Wolsztyn.

The town is situated within the historic Greater Poland region, located on the small Dojca river, a headstream of the Obra, about 72 kilometres (45 mi) southwest of Poznań.

The municipal area includes a large lake (Jezioro Wolsztyńskie; Wolsztyn Lake), next to which is a former palace built in Classical style in the early 20th century, now used as a hotel and restaurant, and a park. Nearby tourist destinations include the Pszczew Landscape Park and the Przemęt Landscape Park.

The current settlement was established about 1285 on a causeway across the swampy Dojca River, probably by Cistercian monks descending from Obra Abbey. It developed as a centre of wool (German: Wolle) trade and cloth manufacturing on the road from Poznań to Lusatia, vested with market rights in 1424. Wolsztyn's town privileges were confirmed in 1519. Part of the Greater Polish Poznan Voivodeship for centuries, it was annexed by Prussia in the course of the Second Partition of Poland in 1793.

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Wikipedia