Gubin () is a border town in Krosno County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the administrative seat of the rural Gmina Gubin, though not part of it.
Gubin is on the right bank of the Lusatian Neisse river, at the border with Germany. The rail and road border crossings are connected with the German town of Guben, of which Gubin was the central and eastern part until the division of the city by the Oder–Neisse line in 1945.
Geography
Gubin is situated in the Polish part of the historic Lower Lusatia region, at the confluence of the Neisse and Lubsza rivers. It is located on the national road 32 operating as an orbital road for Gubin. It starts at the border crossing with Guben, runs to Krosno Odrzańskie and the regional capital Zielona Góra, and further leads to the national road 5 that connects Wrocław and Poznań. Gubin also has a railway border crossing on the line from Guben to Zbąszyń.
The municipal area of Gubin comprises of which 61% is used for agricultural purposes and 5% is used for forestry. The city takes up 1.5% of the area of the Krosno County.
History
thumb|left|Medieval Ostrowska Gate Tower at night
The trade settlement existed since the 11th century. In the early 11th century it became part of the early Polish state under Bolesław I the Brave, and later it fell to the March of Lusatia.
In 1319 the town was unsuccessfully besieged by King John of Bohemia, and afterwards it fell to the Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg, before it was captured by House of Wittelsbach in 1324. It was regained by the Silesian Piasts in 1362, After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Kingdom of Saxony ceded the town to the Kingdom of Prussia. Guben became the capital of a district within the Province of Brandenburg. In 1871, Guben became part of the German Empire.
thumb|Former theatre
During World War II, in 1944–1945, the Germans operated a subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, in which around 1,000 women, most of whom were Jewish, were imprisoned and used as forced labour. In February 1945 the Germans evacuated the prisoners, who were taken to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Gubin was repopulated with Polish settlers, partly from former eastern Poland, which was annexed by the Soviet Union.
thumb|Monument to the veterans of the fights for Poland's freedom and independence
While the town hall dating from the 14th century has since been restored, the Late Gothic parish church is today a stabilised ruin. Recently, a historical society has set up plans for a reconstruction.
Gubin belonged to Zielona Góra Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. A large garrison of the Polish Army was based in Gubin in 1951–2002, including the 5th Infantry Division, which evolved into the 5th "Saxony" Tank Division in 1956. The garrison was closed in 2002 following restructuring.
Since the Schengen Agreement entered into force on 21 December 2007, border controls between Gubin and Guben have been abolished.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of both the city of Gubin and Guben are almost identical, which further emphasizes their shared history as one township. Whereas the original arms of Guben features the Saxon coat of arms, the Bohemian Lion and the Prussian Eagle, Gubin dropped the Saxon and Prussian shields after it became part of Poland, and replaced the Bohemian double-tailed Lion in the centre with the Polish Eagle.
Education
In Gubin, all of the schools to date are run by the local government.
Sights
thumb|[[Adam Mickiewicz Park]]
- Town Hall
Sports
The local football club is . It competes in the lower leagues.
Notable people
- Czesław Fiedorowicz (born 1958), politician
- Barbara Jaracz (born 1977), chess player
- Michał Janota (born 1990), footballer
Twin towns – sister cities
Gubin is twinned with:
- Guben, Germany
- Kwidzyn, Poland
- Laatzen, Germany
- Paks, Hungary
References
External links
- Official website
- Jewish Community in Gubin on Virtual Shtetl