Kórnik
| Kórnik | ||
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  Kórnik | ||
| Coordinates: 52°14′12″N 17°5′55″E / 52.23667°N 17.09861°E | ||
| Country |
 Poland | |
| Voivodeship | Greater Poland | |
| County | Poznań | |
| Gmina | Kórnik | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 6.08 km2 (2.35 sq mi) | |
| Population (2006) | ||
| • Total | 6,981 | |
| • Density | 1,100/km2 (3,000/sq mi) | |
| Postal code | 62-035 | |
| Website | http://www.kornik.pl | |
Kórnik [ˈkurɲik] is a town with about 6,800 inhabitants (2006), located in western Poland, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) south-east of the city of Poznań. It is one of the major tourist attractions of the Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) region.
Until 1961 there were two separate towns, Kórnik and Bnin, both founded in the Middle Ages (Bnin gained town rights in 1395, and Kórnik in 1426), situated just 1 kilometre apart. Bnin lost its town rights in 1934, and in 1961 it became part of Kórnik. The enlarged town also includes the former settlement of Prowent, birthplace of Wisława Szymborska.
The town's notable sites include:
- Kórnik Castle, built in the 14th century, but designed and rebuilt in the 18th century in neogothic style by architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel for the Działyński family.
- Town halls of both Kórnik and Bnin. That of Kornik was built in 1907 as a neo-Baroque city hall; Bnin's is a piece of original 18th-century late Baroque architecture.
- Kórnik Library (Bibliotheca Cornicensis), one of the most famous Polish libraries, founded by Tytus Działyński in 1828. Currently the library, despite being looted by the German Nazis during World War II, is one of the five largest libraries in Poland and contains roughly 400,000 volumes, including 30,000 books more than 150 years old, and 14,000 manuscripts. Since 1953 it has been a part of the National Library of Poland.
In German the town was traditionally called Kurnik; during the Nazi occupation of 1939–1945 it was renamed Burgstadt. On 20 October 1939 a mass execution of 15 local residents was carried out, part of Operation Tannenberg.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Kórnik is twinned with:
Königstein im Taunus, Germany.
Distinguished residents
- Edmund Zalinski, American military engineer and inventor, born in Kórnik in 1849
- Wisława Szymborska, Nobel prize-winning poet, born in Prowent in 1923
Gallery
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The castle in 1842
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Print of the castle by Napoleon Orda
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A lake in the arboretum next to the castle
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Flowers in the arboretum
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All Saints' Church, Kórnik
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Bnin town hall
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Kórnik town hall
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kórnik. |
Coordinates: 52°15′N 17°06′E / 52.250°N 17.100°E
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