29 May 1493 | The Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Hans von Tieffen, pays homage to Jan Olbracht (John I Albert) in Poznań Castle. |
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1548 | Andrzej Górka, General Starosta of Wielkopolska, benevolently receives the Unity of the Brethren, banished from Bohemia by Ferdinand I. Some of them remain in Górka’s cities of Szamotuły, Koźmin and Kórnik. They quickly win the support of the upper and middle nobility all over Wielkopolska. Leszno becomes the main centre for the Unity of the Brethren. |
1599 | Jakub Wujek, a Wągrowiec-born Jesuit, translates the entire Bible into Polish. |
25 Jul 1655 |
A levy en masse of Wielkopolska nobility under the command of Andrzej Karol Grudziński and Krzysztof Opaliński surrenders to the Swedish army under the command of Field Marshall Arvid Wittenberg at Ujście nad Notecią during the Swedish “deluge”. All of Wielkopolska is soon under Swedish control. Cities and villages throughout Wielkopolska are pillaged and laid waste in contravention of the terms of the treaty. Krzysztof Żegocki, the Starosta of Babimost, creates one of the first guerrilla units in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to fight the Swedes at the Conquest of Kościan, the Battle of Wieluń, the Battle of Krzepice and the Siege of Jasna Góra. |
1683 | Jan III Sobieski (John III Sobieski) prays in the Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary in Skrzatusz before setting out on the Vienna expedition and sends the town numerous gifts after the victory. |
1700-21 | Swedish, Saxon and Russian troops march through Wielkopolska during the Great Northern War. August II Mocny (Augustus II the Strong), King of Poland and Saxony, King Charles X of Sweden and Russian Tsar Peter the Great all stay in the village of Stary Dworek near Skwierzyna at one time or another during the Great Northern War. |
1704 | On 12 July, nobles opposed to August II Mocny convene an election to choose Stanisław Leszczyński, who has the support of Charles X of Sweden, as King of Poland. |
1709 | King Stanisław Leszczyński is forced to leave Poland, although the act of abdication is not signed until 5 December 1712. August II Mocny assumes power once more. |
1719 | The first Bamberg settlers arrive in the Poznań area. |
1725 |
Maria, the daughter of Stanisław Leszczyński and Katarzyna Opalińska, becomes Queen of France when she marries King Louis XV (15 August per procura and 5 September in Fontainebleau). |
12 Sep 1733 | Stanisław Leszczyński is elected King of Poland once more – this time with French support. |
27 Jan 1736 | Stanisław Leszczyński abdicates and leaves for France, where he is given the Duchy of Lotharingia and Bar (Lorraine and Barrois) as a life estate. |
5 Aug 1772 | The First Partition of Poland is effected on the strength of a document signed by Austria, Prussia and Russia in St. Petersburg. Northern and north-eastern Wielkopolska are illegally annexed by Prussia in contravention of the agreement. |
30 Jan 1793 | The Second Partition of Poland. Prussia seizes the rest of Wielkopolska and creates the province of South Prussia. Wielkopolska residents are the only ones in the country to resist the invading partitioning armies – at Kargowa near Wolsztyn (27 January), Sieraków near Rawicz, and in the Gniezno region (6-8 February). |