Solec Kujawski (<small>Polish pronunciation:</small> ; ) is a town in north-central Poland with 15,505 inhabitants, located in Bydgoszcz County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is situated within the historic region of Kuyavia, around southeast of Bydgoszcz. The town features Saint Stanislaus in its coat of arms.

Urban parts

  • Makowiska
  • Otorowo
  • Przyłubie
  • Solec Kujawski - Town
  • Wypaleniska

History

thumb|left|upright|Saint Stanislaus church

The oldest known mention of Solec dates back to 1263, when it was part of the Duchy of Kuyavia within fragmented Piast-ruled Poland. From 1267 it was part of the Polish Duchy of Inowrocław, which in the 14th century was transformed into the Inowrocław Voivodeship of the Kingdom of Poland, which soon became part of the larger Greater Poland Province. In 1325 Duke Przemysł of Inowrocław vested Solec with town rights, which were confirmed by various Polish kings in the following centuries. It was a royal town in the Bydgoszcz County.

In the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the town was annexed by Prussia, which introduced Germanisation policies, confiscated Polish estates and limited Polish education. In 1807 Solec was regained by Poles and included within the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw, and in 1815 it was re-annexed by Prussia, initially as part of the semi-autonomous Grand Duchy of Poznań. and the town was eventually reintegrated with Poland.

Just before the outbreak of World War II, the Poles were preparing for the German invasion, while the local German minority members were preparing to carry out crimes against Poles. Local Germans carried out acts of sabotage against the Polish Army even before the German army entered the town on September 7, 1939, and afterwards they were organized into the Selbstschutz whose task was to exterminate Poles. The town was then occupied by Germany until 1945. 42 Poles from Solec were executed by the Germans in October and early November 1939 in various places in the town. Some Poles were dragged out of their homes at night by the Selbstschutz and shot in the municipal park. The town was subjected to harsh Germanisation policies, Polish schools were closed down, and the usage of the Polish language was forbidden. The Germans brought English, Italian, French and Russian prisoners of war to the town as forced labour.