Koło

Koło stands on the Warta, where Casimir the Great granted it town rights in 1362. The settlement occupied an island between branches of the river near a royal castle; it had gates but no town walls. Its markets and craftsmen made it a regional centre, known for metalwork, textiles and pottery.

In 1410 the nobility of Greater Poland gathered here before the war against the Teutonic Order. For much of the early modern period Koło hosted the region's general assembly, bringing together representatives from several voivodeships. The town was devastated by Lisowski's troops in 1622 and by the Swedes in 1655; its economy recovered only towards the end of the seventeenth century. Prussia annexed Koło in 1793; it later passed to the Duchy of Warsaw and Congress Poland.