Głowno

Sister cities

• Alife
• Remptendorf

History

Although the first settlement at the site of present-day Głowno is thought to have appeared in the 11th century, the first town was organized in the early 15th century near a trade route from the Duchy of Masovia, a Polish fief, to the Polish Kingdom. Rawa Mazowiecka feudal lord and Sochaczew podczaszy (deputy cup-bearer) Jakub Głowiński founded Głowno's first Roman Catholic church, which was consecrated on March 11, 1420 as the Church of St. Jacob. On Jakub's request, Duke Siemowit V of Masovia granted city rights under Kulm law. The city rights have been maintained until the modern day, with an interruption between the years 1870–1925. Upon incorporation of the Duchy of Rawa into the Kingdom of Poland as a reverted fief in 1462 the Rawa Voivodeship was established, which was also part of the larger Greater Poland Province of the Polish Crown. Głowno belonged to that voivodeship until 1793 or the Second Partition of Poland. In 1504 a fire destroyed a large part of the city, whereupon King Alexander Jagiellon suspended taxation for its inhabitants for ten years. In 1522 second fire struck and King Sigismund I the Old granted another 10 year taxation reprieve. Because of the Deluge and the rebellion under Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, the population severely diminished, and in 1676, only 74 people lived in Głowno, but under the rule of King John III Sobieski the town population recovered somewhat. During the Great Northern War the town and church were ransacked by Saxon and Swedish troops, including a short but devastating stay by king Charles XI of Sweden and his mounted troops in 1704, recorded by the parish priest of the Saint Jacob church. Consequently, in 1710, an epidemic struck, killing inhabitants from local nobility to town peoples, and town was almost finished.…

Geography

Głowno is located in the Central Polish Lowlands (Nizina Polska), within the smaller geographical area of Łowicz-Błońska Plain at the confluence of three small rivers: Mroga, Mrożyca, and Brzuśnia. There are two dammed lakes with the total area of around 39 hectares, both fed by the waters of Mroga River. The city's elevation is from 119.3 to 145.9 meters, the higher number belongs to the northern part of the town, above sea level. The valleys of Mroga and Mrożyca form a natural, ecological contour of Głowno. The town area is a rather flat surface, and only the edges of the river valleys and a small chain of sand dunes in the center of the town (known as Marakan) form any variation in otherwise flat landscape. The land area of Głowno consists of 1,867 hectares, or 18.67 square kilometers. Town is located 29 kilometers northeast of Łódź and about 100 kilometers southwest of the Polish capital, Warsaw. According to 2002 data, Głowno has a surface area of 19.82 square kilometers, including 35% rural and 30% forested. The city comprises 2.32% surface of the administrative district. Głowno is surrounded by forests of pine, oak, birch, and fir. They are the remainder of the forests that formerly grew in the region of Łódź. They cover the area of the valley of the village of Olszowa. The northern forested part of Głowno has been declared as the Zabrzeźnia Reserve. The total area is 27.6 hectares. In the field of the reserve grows an oak-hornbeam forest. In Głowno, fir and beech are the main objects of preservation for the Zabrzeźnia Reserve. The northern limit of the occurrence of this tree crosses through here. The forested valley of three rivers form a unique microclimate around the region of Głowno. The yearly air temperature averages 7.5C, in the summer +10C, in the…

Most-observed species

• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  444
• Fly Agaric

  Amanita muscaria (L.) Lam. · Agaricomycetes
  400
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  376
• Mute Swan

  Cygnus olor (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  345
• Graylag Goose

  Anser anser (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  335
• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  333
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  328
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  321

Most recent

• M 4.5 — 2014-11-30
  8 km SSW of Szczerców, Poland
• M 2.8 — 2008-07-14
  4 km SE of Szczerców, Poland
• M 2.5 — 2005-07-01
  3 km NW of Sulmierzyce, Poland
• M 3.7 — 2005-05-30
  5 km SW of Kluki, Poland
• M 3.2 — 2004-06-08
  0 km W of Kluki, Poland
• M 3.2 — 2004-03-16
  5 km SE of Kluki, Poland