Grodzisk Wielkopolski

Grodzisk Wielkopolski is a town in western Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship (Wielkopolskie), with a population of 13,703 (2006). It is south-west of Poznań, the voivodeship capital. It is the seat of Grodzisk Wielkopolski County, and also of the smaller administrative district called Gmina Grodzisk Wielkopolski. The suffix "Wielkopolski" distinguishes it from the town of Grodzisk Mazowiecki in east-central Poland. History The settlement was first mentioned in 1257 by the name of Grodisze in a document by Przemysł I of Greater Poland. It was referred to as a village belonging to the Cistercians. The exact date when the town received its charter is unknown. Documents say that the town definitely had its town charter in 1303. It was a private town of Polish noble families of Ostroróg and Opaliński, administratively located within the Poznań Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province of the Polish Crown.