Września () is a town in west-central Poland near Poznań, with 28,600 inhabitants (1995). It is situated in the Września County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, on the Wrześnica River.

History

thumb|left|175px|[[Gothic architecture|Gothic Church of the Assumption of Mary]]

Września was first mentioned in 1256 in a document issued in Poznań. Early sources speak of Wressna (1317) or Wresna (1364). Września was granted town privileges before 1357. The Polish language had long been tolerated in the schools, so the introduction of German as mandatory language led to protests. The controversy led to drawn-out protests between parents and authorities. For refusing to speak German, Polish children were severely beaten by Prussian teachers for several hours. Parents who tried to break into the school and protect their children from Prussian teachers were punished later by a Prussian court stating that their actions were "atrocious acts against the state". The strike spread to neighboring cities and eventually ended in 1904.

In 1905 the town was inhabited by about 7000 people of which 65.4% were Poles, 28.9% Germans and 5.5% Jews. In the surrounding county, Poles comprised 85.6% of the population. The hundred-year-long Prussian rule came to an end with the outbreak of the Wielkopolska Uprising in 1918, shortly after Poland regained independence, and in 1920, the town officially once again became part of Poland. About 800 local Poles formed the Września Volunteer Legion (Legia Ochotnicza Wrzesińska) under the command of Stanisław Mycielski to fight against the Soviet invasion.

thumb|left|Memorial to the 68th Infantry Regiment, which fought in the [[invasion of Poland|Polish 1939 defensive war]]

With the invasion of Poland and the outbreak of the Second World War, the German Wehrmacht occupied the city on September 10, 1939. It was incorporated into Reichsgau Wartheland as a part of the district or county (kreis) of Wreschen. The Germans carried out mass arrests of local Poles, who were afterwards imprisoned in the local prison, and soon murdered in large massacres in nearby forests in October and November 1939 (see also: Intelligenzaktion). Poles were also subjected to mass expulsions, however the Polish resistance movement remained active throughout the war. Following the arrival of the Red Army and the end of the war the town was made part of the People's Republic of Poland.

In Września there is an antique coach house at the Kosciuszko Street. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of the Poznań Voivodeship. In 1979, the Maria Konopnicka Monument designed by Mieczysław Welter was unveiled to pay tribute to poet and writer Maria Konopnicka for her support of the Września schoolchildren during the Września school strike (1901–1904).

Jewish community

Among the members of the community special mention may be made of Rabbi Ẓebi Hirsch, and his father Rabbi Aaron Mirels, and the Bible commentator Rabbi Meïr Löb Malbim.

Ẓebi Mirels, was the author of the "Mispar Ẓeba'am", and presented a Hebrew hymn to General Möllendorf when the latter was sent by king Frederick William II of Prussia to receive the allegiance of the new province of southern Prussia. Rabbi Aaron Mirels, the author of the "Bet Aharon", is buried in the cemetery at Jelenia Góra in Silesia. In Września, Malbim wrote his first work, the collection of annotations on the first chapters of the Shulḥan 'Aruk, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, which laid the foundation of his renown as a scholar. The musical director, Louis Lewandowski was also born in Września on April 3, 1821.

Sights and monuments

  • Gothic Church of the Assumption of Mary
  • Holy Cross Church
  • Town Hall
  • Rynek (Market Square) filled with colourful historic townhouses
  • Park im. Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego
  • Monument to Września Children
  • Poniński Palace with the Children of Września Park
  • Maria Konopnicka Monument
  • World War II memorials, including the Katyń massacre memorial, 68th Infantry Regiment Monument, and the Monument to the scouts of Września killed during the war
  • Graves of Polish insurgents of 1848 and 1918–1919 at the local cemetery
  • Wrzesińskie Lake
  • Holy Spirit church
  • District office building
  • Courthouse

Water towers

thumb|Tower at the water treatment plant

There are three water towers in Września, which once supplied the town with water. Two water towers are still in use. The tallest was built in 1904 (some sources say 1907 and 1911) and is the highest building in the vicinity. The tower is tall and its top is finished with a brass dome. The building belongs to the municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Enterprise. Next to the water tower stands the water treatment plant. The tower is near two ponds, allotment gardens and Polytechnic School.

Education

Primary schools

  • Samorządowa Szkoła Podstawowa nr 1 im. 68 Pułku Piechoty
  • Samorządowa Szkoła Podstawowa nr 2 im. Dzieci Wrzesińskich
  • Samorządowa Szkoła Podstawowa nr 3 im. Mikołaja Kopernika
  • Samorządowa Szkoła Podstawowa nr 6 im. Jana Pawła II

Middle schools

thumb|Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Henryka Sienkiewicza

  • Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Henryka Sienkiewicza
  • Zespół Szkół Politechnicznych im. Bohaterów Monte Cassino
  • Zespół Szkół Zawodowych nr 2 im. Powstańców Wielkopolskich
  • Zespół Szkół Technicznych i Ogólnokształcących im. gen. dr. Romana Abrahama

Transport

thumb|[[Września railway station]]

The Września railway station is located in the town, and there are also two defunct narrow-gauge railway stations,

Września Miasto and .

Cuisine

Września is one of the production sites of the Greater Poland liliput cheese (ser liliput wielkopolski), a traditional regional Polish cheese, protected as a traditional food by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland.

Sports

Notable people

  • Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock (1897–1978), general
  • Zygmunt Gorgolewski (1845–1903), architect
  • Łukasz Koszarek (born 1984), basketball player
  • Jarosław Kukulski (1944–2010), composer
  • Louis Lewandowski (1821–1894), musician
  • Peter J. Lucas (born 1962), actor
  • Malbim (1809–1879), rabbi and Bible commentator

See also

  • Kreis Wreschen / Landkreis Wreschen
  • Sport in Września

References

  • Marian Torzewski (red.): Września. Historia miasta. Muzeum Regionalne im. Dzieci Wrzesińskich we Wrześni, Września, 2006,
  • Września
  • Poland-wide competition for school children, dedicated to the one-hundredth anniversary of the school strike in Września
  • Report on the state of Września 2021