| Łęczyca | |||
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| Royal Castle | |||
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Łęczyca
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Poland | ||
| Voivodeship | Łódź | ||
| County | Łęczyca County | ||
| Gmina | Łęczyca (urban gmina) | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Andrzej Olszewski | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 9.0 km2 (3.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| • Total | 15,423 | ||
| • Density | 1,713.7/km2 (4,438.4/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 99-100 | ||
| Car plates | ELE | ||
| Website | http://www.leczyca.info.pl | ||
Łęczyca [wɛnˈt͡ʂɨt͡sa] (in full The Royal Town of Łęczyca, Polish: Królewskie Miasto Łęczyca; other names: Lenczyk, Luntschitz, German: Lentschütz, Hebrew: לונטשיץ) is a town of 16,594 inhabitants (as of 2004) in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the Łęczyca County.
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Łęczyca is one of the oldest Polish cities, mentioned in the 12th century. It was the place of the first recorded meeting of Sejm, the Polish parliament in 1182. It was the capital of the Łęczyca Duchy in the 13th century, and next it became the capital of Łęczyca Voivodeship since 14th till 18th century.
In 1331 the Teutonic Knights sacked the city during one of their repeated incursions into central Europe. A considerable number of buildings were burned down, including two churches. A few decades later, on the initiative of Kazimierz the Great, the city was walled and a castle built to the southeast of the city.[1]
The city's prominence came to and end with the Swedish invasion of Poland when the castle was overrun and most of the city once again destroyed, and it remained in a state of crisis until the Partitions.[1]
Following the invasion of Poland at the start of the Second World War, Łęczyca was occupied by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the region known as Reichsgau Wartheland as part of the district or county (kreis) of Lentschütz. In January 1942 there was a forced labor camp operating in or near the town.[2] After the war it was integrated into the People's Republic of Poland.
Because of its royal history Łęczyca is probably more tourist-worthy than its current size might suggest. Some of the more interesting sights include:
A couple of kilometres away are the Collegiate church and the earthworks at the site of the medieval settlement of Tum.
after 1305 parts of the united Kingdom of Poland initially as two vassal duchies, later incorporated as Łęczyca Voivodeship and Sieradz Voivodeship.
After 1305 part of the united Kingdom of Poland as a vassal duchy, later after 1343 incorporated by the king Casimir III the Great as the Łęczyca Voivodeship.
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