Rogoźno

Rogoźno is a town in Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship, about 40 km north of Poznań. Its population is 11,158 (2010). It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Rogoźno.

History
Rogoźno (former German name: Rogasen) dates back to a Lechitic (proto-Polish) stronghold from the 8th and 9th centuries. Its name is of Medieval Old Polish origin, and comes from the word rogoża, a type of plant. The oldest known mention comes from 1192. From the mid-12th century it was a seat of a castellan and in 1280 it was granted town rights by Przemysł II. King Przemysł II of Poland was murdered in or near Rogoźno in 1296. According to one tradition he was kidnapped while staying at the town, but was so badly wounded in the process that he was unable to continue the journey, and was killed by his captors at Sierniki a few miles to the east. Rogoźno was a royal town of Poland, administratively located in the Poznań County in the Poznań Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province.

The town was annexed by Prussia in the Second Partition of Poland in 1793. After the successful Greater Poland uprising of 1806, it was regained by Poles and included within the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw. The 10th Polish Infantry Regiment was formed in Rogoźno in 1806. In 1815 it was reannexed by Prussia, and from 1871 it was also part of Germany. As Rogasen, the town was subjected to Germanisation policies. In 1906–1907, local Polish school children protested against Germanisation. In November 1918, Poland regained independence and the Greater Poland uprising (1918–19) broke out, which goal was to reintegrate the town and region with the reborn state. The town was liberated by Polish insurgents on December 31, 1918.

During the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, which started World War II, the town was invaded by Germany and occupied until 1945. Polish residents were subjected to arrests, massacres and expulsions. Some inhabitants of Rogoźno were among Poles massacred by the Germans in nearby villages of Podlesie Kościelne and Międzylesie. In late 1939, around 900 Poles were expelled from the town and its surroundings. The Germans also established and operated a Nazi prison in the town. The Polish resistance was active in the area, and Poles produced a secret Polish newspaper in nearby Oborniki.

Sports
The local football team is. It competes in the lower leagues.

Notable residents

 * Rudolf Bornhof (1914–1944), Wehrmacht officer
 * Marcus Jastrow (1829–1903), Talmudic scholar
 * Antoni Przybylski (1913–1985), Polish-Australian astronomer