{{about|the town|the castle|Książ}} {{Expand Polish|topic=geo|date=May 2013|Książ Wielkopolski}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Książ Wielkopolski | image_shield = POL Książ Wielkopolski COA.svg | image_flag = POL Książ Wielkopolski flag.svg | image_skyline = Saints Mary and Nicholas Church in Książ Wielkopolski.jpg | image_caption = Church of the Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas | pushpin_map = Poland | pushpin_label_position = bottom | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{POL}} | subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship | subdivision_name1 = Greater Poland | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Śrem | subdivision_type3 = Gmina | subdivision_name3 = Książ Wielkopolski | leader_name = | established_title = First mentioned | established_date = 1193 | established_title3 = Town rights | established_date3 = 1407 | area_total_km2 = 2.26 | population_as_of = 2010 | population_total = 2738 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_footnotes = <ref name=gus/> | timezone = CET | utc_offset = +1 | timezone_DST = CEST | utc_offset_DST = +2 | coordinates = {{coord|52|4|N|17|14|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}} | area_code = +48 061 | registration_plate = PSE | blank1_name = Climate | blank1_info = Cfb | website = http://www.ksiaz-wlkp.pl/ }} '''Książ Wielkopolski''' ({{IPA|pl|ˈkɕɔ̃ʐ vjɛlkɔˈpɔlskʲi}}) is a town in Śrem County, Poland,{{TERYT}} with 2,738 inhabitants (2010).

==History== thumb|left|Memorial at the site of the German massacre of Poles committed on October 20, 1939 The town was first mentioned in a bull of Pope Celestine III in 1193, when it was part of Piast-ruled Poland. In 1273 it was mentioned as a seat of a castellany. It was granted town rights between 1398 and 1416. Książ was a private town of Polish nobility, administratively located in the Kościan County in the Poznań Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland.<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Atlas historyczny Polski. Wielkopolska w drugiej połowie XVI wieku. Część I. Mapy, plany|year=2017|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk|page=1a}}</ref>

Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, the town was occupied by Germany until 1945 and local Poles were subjected to various crimes. On October 20, 1939, the German ''Einsatzgruppe VI'' carried out a public execution of 17 Poles at the main square as part of the ''Intelligenzaktion''.<ref name=mw>{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2009|title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=IPN|page=194}}</ref> Among the victims were a bank director, teacher, merchant, forester, military officer, landowners and mayor of the nearby town of Dolsk.<ref name=mw/> It was one of many massacres of Poles committed by Germany on October 20–23 across the region in attempt to pacify and terrorize the Polish population.<ref>{{cite book|last=Grochowina|first=Sylwia|year=2017|title=Cultural policy of the Nazi occupying forces in the Reich district Gdańsk–West Prussia, the Reich district Wartheland, and the Reich district of Katowice in the years 1939–1945|location=Toruń|page=87|isbn=978-83-88693-73-1}}</ref> The first expulsions of Poles were carried out by Germany in winter of 1939–1940.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2017|title=Wysiedlenia ludności polskiej z okupowanych ziem polskich włączonych do III Rzeszy w latach 1939-1945|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=IPN|page=153|isbn=978-83-8098-174-4}}</ref> Under German occupation the town's name was changed to ''Tiefenbach'' and then ''Schonz'' in attempt to erase traces of Polish origin.

==Demographics== {{Historical populations|align=left|cols=2|1843|1087|1871|1019|1880|998|1890|948|1900|918|1910|874|1921|913|1931|928|1939|1800|1950|1597|1960|1744|2010|2738 |source=<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Dokumentacja Geograficzna|volume=3/4|year=1967|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Instytut Geografii Polskiej Akademii Nauk|page=24}}</ref><ref name=gus>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_l_ludnosc_stan_struktura_31_12_2010.pdf|title=Stan i struktura ludności oraz ruch naturalny w przekroju terytorialnym w 2010 r.|year=2011|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny|page=106|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113152513/https://stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_l_ludnosc_stan_struktura_31_12_2010.pdf|archive-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>}} {{clear|left}}

==Sports== The local football club is Pogoń Książ Wielkopolski.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pogonksiazwlkp.futbolowo.pl|title=Pogoń Książ Wielkopolski - strona klubu|accessdate=28 March 2021|language=pl}}</ref> It competes in the lower leagues.

==Notable people== * Heinrich Graetz (1817–1891), historian, wrote a history of the Jewish people from a Jewish perspective.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Graetz, Heinrich |volume= 12 |last= Abrahams |first= Israel |author-link=Israel Abrahams |page=314 |short=1}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Gmina Książ Wielkopolski}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Śrem County Category:Cities and towns in Greater Poland Voivodeship