Osieczek o is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Książki

Gmina Ksiazki

Gmina Książki is a rural gmina in Wąbrzeźno County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. Its seat is the village of Książki, which lies approximately north-east of Wąbrzeźno and north-east of Toruń....

, within Wąbrzeźno County

Wabrzezno County

Wąbrzeźno County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and only town is Wąbrzeźno,...

, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

-Transportation:Transportation infrastructure is of critical importance to the voivodeship's economy. Kuyavia-Pomerania is a major node point in the Polish transportation system. Railway lines from the South and East pass through Bydgoszcz in order to reach the major ports on the Baltic Sea...

, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) south-east of Książki

Ksiazki

Książki is a village in Wąbrzeźno County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Książki. It lies approximately north-east of Wąbrzeźno and north-east of Toruń....

, 12 km (7 mi) east of Wąbrzeźno

Wabrzezno

Wąbrzeźno is a town in Poland, in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, about 35 km northeast of Toruń. It is the capital of the Wąbrzeźno County...

, and 44 km (27 mi) north-east of Toruń

Torun

Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....

.

History

The first information about Osieczek dates from 1222. However, the village existed much earlier, which is proved by the remains of the early medieval fortification. It was located on the shore of Jezioro Wielkie, about 750 m in a north-east direction from the present day centre of the village. The medieval fortification was surrounded by 4-5 m high embankment, which was made of earth and wood (you can see the remains even today), and by moat, due to which the fortification was completely cut off from the land. That fortification existed probably from the 10th to the end of the 13th century. It was used by country dwellers as a shelter in case of attack of Prussian tribes which happened very often. At the very beginning of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, Osieczek belonged to Chełmno Land (ziemia chełmińska) which was ruled by the first Piasts

Piast dynasty

The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great...

. The village became the property of the Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

 (for short the Teutonic Order) in 1226. As a result of the administrative changes, Osieczek became a part of the commandership Brodnica

Brodnica

Brodnica is a town in northern Poland with 27,400 inhabitants . Previously part of Toruń Voivodeship [a province], from 1975 to 1998, Brodnica has been situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999...

 (komturstwo brodnickie). The village was owned by Jeśke von ritter Mosseken (Jan from Osieczek) at the time. In 1450 it was passed into Jakob von Mossegh’s hands and in 1499 into Johanes Osyeczkowski’s hands. Descendants of the latter sold the village to voivode Jan Działyński. He owned 2621 włóka of land, 118 buildings, 72 houses, 3 inns, a watermill, a brewery and a distillery. He was also maintaining a church and added a tower and a chapel with vault to it. The latter was designed for the family tomb of the founders. During Swedish wars the village was completely destroyed and depopulated. It faced also the outbreak of a cholera epidemic which decimated inhabitants. The remains of these horrible days are statues standing at the ends of the village where the sick were being buried. After the second Swedish war, Olędrzy were brought to the village. Towards the end of the 17th century, Działyński family gave Osieczek to Benedictine nuns from Grudziądz who moved into the village. Działyński family bought Osieczek from the order in 1770. The land was leased to Pokrzywnicki and Piwnicki. Osieczek became a member of the parish Nieżywięć and belonged to it until 1920. Prussian authorities built a school in 1840. It is a building of historic interest today. During the period of Partitions of Poland

Partitions of Poland

The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...

, inhabitants of Osieczek were opposing Prussian authorities very strongly. The proof of it may be a peasant who as the first in Poland moved to a cart in 1905 (before a famous Drzymała). After the Polish army took over Pomerania from Germans, the village came back to the motherland after 123 years.

Monuments

- the remains of the medieval fortification

- the parish church dedicated to Saint Katarzyna from 1222

- a cottage owned by J. Lewandowski, the 19th century

- a cottage owned by A. Janke, the 19th century