View source for Wieluń

{{More footnotes needed|date=July 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Wieluń
| image_skyline = Wielun z lotu ptaka.jpg
| image_caption = Old town in Wieluń
| image_flag = POL Wieluń flag.svg
| image_shield = POL_Wieluń_COA.svg
| pushpin_map = Poland
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeship]]
| subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Łódź Voivodeship|name=Łódź}}
| subdivision_type2 = [[Powiat|County]]
| subdivision_name2 = {{Flagicon image|POL Wieluń flag.svg}} [[Wieluń County|Wieluń]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Gmina]]
| subdivision_name3 = {{Flagicon image|POL powiat wieluński flag.svg}} [[Gmina Wieluń|Wieluń]]
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Paweł Okrasa
| established_title = First mentioned
| established_date = 1282
| established_title2 = Town rights
| established_date2 = 1283
| area_total_km2 = 16.9
| population_as_of = 31 December 2021
| population_total = 21624 {{decrease}}<ref name="population">{{cite web|url=https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/bdl/dane/teryt/jednostka|title=Local Data Bank|access-date=26 August 2022|publisher=Statistics Poland}} Data for territorial unit 1017094.</ref>
| population_density_km2 = auto
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 98–300
| area_code = +48 43
| blank_name = [[Polish car number plates|Car plates]]
| blank_info = EWI
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| coordinates = {{coord|51|13|14|N|18|34|12|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}}
| website = http://www.wielun.eu/
}}
'''Wieluń''' {{IPAc-pl|'|w|j|e|l|u|ń}} ({{langx|la|Velun}}) is a town in south-central [[Poland]] with 21,624 inhabitants (2021).<ref name="population" /> The town is the seat of the [[Gmina Wieluń]] and [[Wieluń County]], and is located within the [[Łódź Voivodeship]]. Wieluń is a capital of the historical [[Wieluń Land]].
Wieluń has a long and rich history. In the past, it used to be an important urban trade centre of the [[Kingdom of Poland]]. Several Polish kings and notables visited the town, but following the catastrophic [[Deluge (history)|Swedish Deluge]] (1655–1660), Wieluń declined and never regained its status. In September 1939, during the [[invasion of Poland]], it was heavily bombed by the [[Luftwaffe]]. The [[Bombing of Wieluń]] is considered to be the first [[World War II]] bombing in Europe. It killed at least 127 civilians, injured hundreds more and destroyed the majority of the town.
== Origin of the name ==
Wieluń was first mentioned in a 1282 document as the town of Velun (in 1283: Vilin).<ref>{{cite book |last=Rosin |first=Ryszard |date=1963 |title=Słownik historyczno-geograficzny ziemi wieluńskiej w średniowieczu |trans-title=Historical and Geographis Dictionary of the Wieluń Lands in the Middle Ages |url= |language=pl |location=Warsaw |publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe |page=169-173|isbn=}}</ref> The exact origin of the name has not been explained. Historians claim that either it comes from a Slavic word "vel" (which means a wetland), or from a given name Wielisław. [[Jan Długosz]] wrote that Wieluń was located in the area abundant with water, which may mean that the former theory is correct.
== History ==
===Middle Ages===
[[File:Wielun staryRynek ok1910 z widokiemNaKoscioly MIchala i Jozefa.jpg|thumb|left|Old Town in 1910]]
'''The Land of Wieluń''' (ziemia wieluńska, Terra Velumensis) was a historic land of the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]] and the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], which for centuries was part of [[Sieradz Voivodeship (1339–1793)|Sieradz Voivodeship]], [[Greater Poland Province, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Greater Poland Province]].
It was based on the medieval [[Castellany]] of [[Ruda, Wielun County|Ruda]] (located some {{convert|4|km|0|abbr=on}} from Wieluń), which was established in the 10th or 11th century. Ruda was the seat of a [[castellan]] and a Roman Catholic [[archdeacon]], which made it the center of local administration. In the mid-13th century, however, the importance of Ruda diminished, at the expense of Wieluń, which was located in a more convenient spot. In 1281, the castellan's office was moved to Wieluń, and by 1299, the term Land of Ruda (Ziemia rudzka) had been replaced in documents by Land of Wieluń (Ziemia wieluńska).
The medieval [[Castellany]] of [[Ruda, Wielun County|Ruda]], which was established in the 10th or 11th century. The Castellany of Ruda was first mentioned in the 1136 [[Bull of Gniezno]], and during the period known as Fragmentation of Poland (see [[Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty|Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth]]), it was part of the [[Seniorate Province]].
As a result of ongoing power struggles in the districts during Fragmentation of Poland, [[Mieszko III the Old]] regained Greater Poland in 1181  and incorporated the Wieluń Land into it. In the late 12th century, the Castellany was acquired by Duke [[Władysław Odonic]], and in 1217 it became property of [[Władysław III Spindleshanks]]. Later on, it was ruled by the [[Dukes of Silesia]] from the [[Duchy of Opole]], and in the second half of the 13th century, was in [[Duchy of Greater Poland]]. In 1281, the castellany was moved from Ruda to Wieluń, and since then, it has been called the Land of Wieluń.
[[File:Mury obronne i baszta męczarnia, Wieluń.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Medieval defensive walls]]
The settlement of Wieluń was founded probably in c. 1220 by Duke [[Władysław Odonic]]. It was first mentioned in documents in 1282, and probably in the same year it received a town charter. In the mid-14th century King [[Casimir III the Great]] built a castle here, which was part of defensive system protecting the border between the [[Kingdom of Poland]] and Czech-ruled [[Silesia]]. The castle itself was remodeled several times, due to frequent fires and wars. Currently, there is a Classicistic palace in its location.
In both Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Land of Wieluń as part of [[Sieradz Voivodeship (1339–1793)|Sieradz Voivodeship]] had its own civil servants, offices and courts, and the Castellan of Wieluń was one of Senators of Poland. The land had four [[starosta]]s – at Wieluń itself, [[Ostrzeszów]], [[Bolesławiec, Łódź Voivodeship|Bolesławiec]] and [[Grabów nad Prosną]]. Two deputies to the [[Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland|Sejm]] were elected at Wieluń's [[Sejmik]]s, furthermore, the Voivode of Sieradz (of the [[Sieradz Voivodeship (1339–1793)|Sieradz Voivodeship]]) was obliged to appoint his deputy from Wieluń.
[[File:AGAD Wladyslaw Jagiello, krol polski, wydaje mandat do zupników zlecajacy wydawanie soli dla mieszczan wielunskich.png|thumb|Royal [[Privilege (law)|privilege]] regarding salt trade, granted by King [[Władysław II Jagiełło]] in 1402]]
In 1370, following the last will of Casimir the Great, King [[Louis I of Hungary]] handed the Land of Wieluń to [[Duke of Opole]], [[Władysław Opolczyk]]. In the same period, the Archbishop of [[Gniezno]], [[Jarosław of Bogoria and Skotnik]] built a manor house in Wieluń. The town remained in the hands of Władysław Opolczyk until 1395, when it was returned to Poland. Wieluń quickly developed, in the 1390s a [[Paulist]]s church together with an abbey were built, and in 1413, Archbishop [[Mikołaj Trąba]] moved the ancient [[collegiate church]] from Ruda to Wieluń. In the 1440s and 1450s, Wieluń was frequently destroyed in raids of Silesian dukes. By that time, it had already been an important center of commerce and government.
The Land of Wieluń had its own coat of arms, established between 1410 and 1434. It can be found on the tomb of King [[Władysław II Jagiełło]], together with coats of arms of Poland, [[Lithuania]], [[Ruthenia]], [[Greater Poland]], and the [[Dobrzyń Land]]. Historically, the Land of Wieluń covers current counties of Wieluń, Ostrzeszów, [[Kępno]] and [[Wieruszów]], as well as some locations in the counties of [[Olesno]] and [[Pajęczno]].
===Modern era===
Wieluń prospered in the 16th century, the so-called [[Polish Golden Age]]. It was a [[Royal city in Poland|royal city of Poland]] and capital of the [[Land of Wieluń]], part of the [[Sieradz Voivodeship (1339–1793)|Sieradz Voivodeship]] in the [[Greater Poland Province, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Greater Poland Province]]. At the beginning of the 17th century, the mother of future [[Grand Crown Hetman]] [[Stanisław Koniecpolski]], one of the greatest commanders in Polish history, founded a [[Renaissance in Poland|Renaissance]] monastery of the Bernardine nuns in Wieluń, now housing a museum dedicated to the town's history.<ref name=mzw/> The town was devastated in the [[War of the Polish Succession (1587–88)|War of the Polish Succession]], as the [[Battle of Byczyna]] took place near Wieluń. Good times ended in the catastrophic [[Deluge (history)|Swedish invasion]] (1655–1660), when the town was ransacked and burned both by the Swedish invaders, and by Polish troops, who took revenge on its Protestant residents for their support of the Lutheran Swedes. Finally, in 1707–1711, Wieluń's population was decimated by a plague (see [[miasma theory]]), which killed 2,000. Following the [[Second Partition of Poland]] in 1793, Wieluń briefly belonged to the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], in 1807 it became part of the newly formed, but short-lived, Polish [[Duchy of Warsaw]], and in 1815 it became part of [[Russian Partition|Russian]]-controlled [[Congress Poland]], where it remained until [[World War I]]. The town burned twice (1791, 1858), and after the second fire, it was rebuilt in a new shape. After [[World War I]], Poland regained independence in 1918, and in the [[interbellum]] Wieluń was a county seat in the [[Łódź Voivodeship (1919–1939)|Łódź Voivodeship]].
===World War II===
[[File:Zniszczenia1939 0.jpg|thumb|left|Wieluń just after [[Bombing of Wieluń|Luftwaffe bombing]] on 1 September 1939]]
On 1 September 1939, the city was [[terror bombing|bombed]] by the German [[Luftwaffe]] in the first action of World War II (apart from the [[Jabłonków Incident]] on 25/26 August). In the [[Bombing of Wieluń]], German planes destroyed most of the town centre, including a clearly marked hospital, a synagogue, and the historic [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] church, and killed at least 127 civilians.<ref name=IPN/> According to [[Norman Davies]], the bombings destroyed three quarters of the town.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davies |first1=Norman |author-link1=Norman Davies |title=We must not forget the real causes of the war |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/we-must-not-forget-the-real-causes-of-the-war-1778973.html |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=30 August 2018}}</ref> Thousands were injured and many fled. No Polish military units were present in Wieluń at that time (31 August – 1 September 1939).<ref name=IPN>{{cite web |title=Oddziałowa Komisja w Łodzi (stan na maj 2018 r.). Śledztwo w sprawie zabójstwa przez lotników niemieckich w dniu 1 września 1939 roku, podczas bombardowania miasta, 32 pacjentów Szpitala w Wieluniu oraz kilkuset Polaków i Żydów, którzy zginęli w innych miejscach podczas bombardowania miasta, to jest o zbrodnię nazistowską stanowiącą zbrodnię wojenną (S 10.2004.Zn). |url=http://lodz.ipn.gov.pl/pl6/sledztwa/sledztwa/oddzialowa-komisja-w-lo/31454,Sledztwa-zakonczone-wydaniem-postanowienia-o-umorzeniu.html |website=lodz.ipn.gov.pl |publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]] |access-date=30 August 2018 |language=pl |date=May 2018}}</ref>
By decision from September 5, 1939, one of the first three German special courts in occupied Poland was established in the town; it was eventually moved to [[Piotrków Trybunalski]] on September 22, 1939.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Grabowski|first=Waldemar|year=2009|title=Polacy na ziemiach II RP włączonych do III Rzeszy|magazine=Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej|language=pl|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|issue=8–9 (103–104)|page=62|issn=1641-9561}}</ref> On September 6–8, 1939 the ''[[Einsatzgruppen|Einsatzgruppe II]]'' entered the town, and mass searches of Polish offices and organizations were carried out.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2009|title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|page=118}}</ref> Already on September 8, 1939, inhabitants of Wieluń were among the 30 [[Polish people|Poles]] massacred by German troops in Chechło near [[Pabianice]].<ref>Wardzyńska (2009), p. 95</ref> Wieluń was annexed to [[Nazi Germany]] on 8 October 1939 and placed under the administration of [[Reichsgau Wartheland]]. The Germans instigated a reign of terror against the [[Jewish]] population of Wieluń, which had lived there since the 1500s and amounted to around 4,000 people at the beginning of the war. Jews were kidnapped for [[forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] with little pay.
[[File:Wieluń pomnik nauczycieli poległych wlatach1939-45.jpg|thumb|Monument to local teachers fallen or murdered during World War II]]
Around 40 Poles from Wieluń were murdered by the Soviets in the large [[Katyn massacre]] in April to May 1940.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.um.wielun.pl/aktualnosci/2732-80-rocznica-zbrodni-katynskiej.html|title=80. rocznica Zbrodni Katyńskiej|website=UM Wieluń|access-date=29 December 2020|language=pl}}</ref> In June 1940, the Germans [[expulsion of Poles by Nazi Germany|expelled]] around 200 Poles, owners of villas, which were handed over to new German officials or converted to German offices.<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=251|isbn=978-83-8098-174-4}}</ref> During the [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|German occupation]], a transit camp was operated in the town for Poles expelled from the region, who were then either deported to the so-called [[General Government]] in the eastern part of German-occupied Poland or to [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] in [[Germany]] and [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|German-occupied France]] or sent as slave laborers to new German colonists in the town's vicinity.<ref>Wardzyńska (2017), p. 251, 306, 308, 336</ref> The Germans also established and operated a Nazi prison in the town,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100001025|title=NS-Gefängnis Welun|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=29 November 2020|language=de}}</ref> and [[World War II looting of Poland|looted]] the local historical numismatic collection, which they sent to a newly established German museum in occupied [[Poznań]].<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=97|isbn=978-83-88693-73-1}}</ref> In 1941, Jews were forced into a ghetto. Many were then sent away to labour camps. In January 1942, the German publicly hanged ten Jews. Later that year, the 2,000 Jews still remaining in the city and others brought to Wieluń were rounded up and confined for several days in a church building without food or water. Several died there of exhaustion, others were murdered and 900 were then selected and sent to the [[Łódź ghetto]]. The rest were sent to the [[Chełmno extermination camp]], where they were immediately gassed. Seventy to one hundred Wieluń Jews survived the war, and many returned to the city although most left soon afterward.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Megargee |first1=Geoffrey |title=Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos |date=2012 |publisher=University of Indiana Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=978-0-253-35599-7 |page=Volume II 114–115}}</ref>
The city was liberated on 19 January 1945 by troops of the [[Red Army|Soviet]] [[1st Ukrainian Front]] in the course of the [[Sandomierz–Silesian Offensive]].
==Climate==
Wieluń has an [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Cfb'') using the {{convert|-3|C|F|0}} isotherm or a [[humid continental climate]] (Köppen climate classification: ''Dfb'') using the {{convert|0|C|F|0}} isotherm.<ref name="kottek2006">{{cite journal|last1=Kottek|first1=Markus|last2=Grieser|first2=Jürgen|last3=Beck|first3=Christoph|last4=Rudolf|first4=Bruno |last5=Rubel|first5=Franz|title=World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated|journal=Meteorologische Zeitschrift|date=2006|volume=15|issue=3|pages=259–263|doi=10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130|bibcode=2006MetZe..15..259K|url=https://opus.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de/opus4/files/40083/metz_Vol_15_No_3_p259-263_World_Map_of_the_Koppen_Geiger_climate_classification_updated_55034.pdf}}</ref><ref name=Peel>{{cite journal |author1=Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification |journal=Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=1633–1644 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 |issn=1027-5606|url=https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf |doi-access=free }}</ref>
{{Weather box
| location = Wieluń (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present)
| metric first = y
| single line = y
| Jan record high C = 13.8
| Feb record high C = 18.0
| Mar record high C = 23.8
| Apr record high C = 29.5
| May record high C = 31.7
| Jun record high C = 36.4
| Jul record high C = 36.4
| Aug record high C = 37.1
| Sep record high C = 34.8
| Oct record high C = 26.3
| Nov record high C = 19.9
| Dec record high C = 15.2
| year record high C = 37.1
| Jan high C = 1.7
| Feb high C = 3.3
| Mar high C = 7.9
| Apr high C = 14.7
| May high C = 19.5
| Jun high C = 22.8
| Jul high C = 25.1
| Aug high C = 24.9
| Sep high C = 19.4
| Oct high C = 13.4
| Nov high C = 7.4
| Dec high C = 2.7
| year high C = 13.6
| Jan mean C = -1.0
| Feb mean C = 0.1
| Mar mean C = 3.5
| Apr mean C = 9.2
| May mean C = 13.9
| Jun mean C = 17.2
| Jul mean C = 19.3
| Aug mean C = 19.0
| Sep mean C = 14.2
| Oct mean C = 9.1
| Nov mean C = 4.3
| Dec mean C = 0.3
| year mean C = 9.1
| Jan low C = -3.4
| Feb low C = -2.7
| Mar low C = 0.1
| Apr low C = 4.2
| May low C = 8.7
| Jun low C = 12.0
| Jul low C = 13.9
| Aug low C = 13.8
| Sep low C = 9.8
| Oct low C = 5.7
| Nov low C = 1.9
| Dec low C = -1.9
| year low C = 5.2
| Jan record low C = -29.0
| Feb record low C = -28.0
| Mar record low C = -19.4
| Apr record low C = -7.0
| May record low C = -2.4
| Jun record low C = -1.6
| Jul record low C = 4.1
| Aug record low C = 2.4
| Sep record low C = -2.9
| Oct record low C = -7.7
| Nov record low C = -17.3
| Dec record low C = -25.3
| year record low C = -29.0
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 33.8
| Feb precipitation mm = 30.9
| Mar precipitation mm = 37.0
| Apr precipitation mm = 35.8
| May precipitation mm = 69.6
| Jun precipitation mm = 70.3
| Jul precipitation mm = 90.7
| Aug precipitation mm = 51.5
| Sep precipitation mm = 51.2
| Oct precipitation mm = 42.0
| Nov precipitation mm = 37.9
| Dec precipitation mm = 36.9
| year precipitation mm = 587.6
| Jan snow depth cm = 6.7
| Feb snow depth cm = 6.0
| Mar snow depth cm = 4.1
| Apr snow depth cm = 1.2
| May snow depth cm = 0.0
| Jun snow depth cm = 0.0
| Jul snow depth cm = 0.0
| Aug snow depth cm = 0.0
| Sep snow depth cm = 0.0
| Oct snow depth cm = 0.5
| Nov snow depth cm = 1.7
| Dec snow depth cm = 3.6
| year snow depth cm =
| unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 16.81
| Feb precipitation days = 14.57
| Mar precipitation days = 14.27
| Apr precipitation days = 11.70
| May precipitation days = 13.33
| Jun precipitation days = 14.17
| Jul precipitation days = 14.17
| Aug precipitation days = 12.43
| Sep precipitation days = 11.83
| Oct precipitation days = 13.63
| Nov precipitation days = 13.70
| Dec precipitation days = 16.27
| year precipitation days = 166.88
| unit snow days = 0 cm
| Jan snow days = 14.9
| Feb snow days = 13.6
| Mar snow days = 6.1
| Apr snow days = 0.9
| May snow days = 0.0
| Jun snow days = 0.0
| Jul snow days = 0.0
| Aug snow days = 0.0
| Sep snow days = 0.0
| Oct snow days = 0.3
| Nov snow days = 3.1
| Dec snow days = 9.6
| year snow days = 48.5
| Jan humidity = 85.9
| Feb humidity = 83.0
| Mar humidity = 76.9
| Apr humidity = 68.5
| May humidity = 70.5
| Jun humidity = 71.4
| Jul humidity = 70.4
| Aug humidity = 70.1
| Sep humidity = 76.6
| Oct humidity = 82.4
| Nov humidity = 86.9
| Dec humidity = 87.4
| year humidity = 76.1
| Jan sun = 51.1
| Feb sun = 69.6
| Mar sun = 123.5
| Apr sun = 188.9
| May sun = 240.7
| Jun sun = 234.7
| Jul sun = 245.4
| Aug sun = 232.4
| Sep sun = 163.8
| Oct sun = 114.9
| Nov sun = 58.0
| Dec sun = 43.3
| year sun = 1766.2
| source 1 = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management<ref name=IMGWtavg>
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211203115527/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TSR_AVE
| archive-date = 3 December 2021
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TSR_AVE
| title = Średnia dobowa temperatura powietrza
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991–2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=IMGWtmin>
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115043924/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMIN_AVE
| archive-date = 15 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMIN_AVE
| title = Średnia minimalna temperatura powietrza
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991–2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=IMGWtmax>
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115044916/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMAX_AVE
| archive-date = 15 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMAX_AVE
| title = Średnia maksymalna temperatura powietrza
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991–2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=IMGWprecip>
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220109045820/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_SUMA
| archive-date = 9 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_SUMA
| title = Miesięczna suma opadu
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991–2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=IMGWprecipdays>
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115051112/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_01
| archive-date = 15 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_01
| title = Liczba dni z opadem >= 0,1 mm
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991–2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=IMGWsnowdepth>
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115054936/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_SR_GRUB
| archive-date = 15 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_SR_GRUB
| title = Średnia grubość pokrywy śnieżnej
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991–2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=IMGWsnowdays>
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220121044246/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_0
| archive-date = 21 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_0
| title = Liczba dni z pokrywą śnieżna > 0 cm
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991–2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=IMGWsun>
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115055331/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/USL
| archive-date = 15 January 2022
| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/USL
| title = Średnia suma usłonecznienia (h)
| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991–2020
| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref>
|source 2 = Meteomodel.pl (records, relative humidity 1991–2020)<ref name=recordhigh>
{{cite web
| url = https://meteomodel.pl/dane/srednie-miesieczne/?imgwid=351180455&par=tmax&max_empty=3
| title = Wieluń Absolutna temperatura maksymalna
| publisher = Meteomodel.pl
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=recordlow>
{{cite web
| url = https://meteomodel.pl/dane/srednie-miesieczne/?imgwid=351180455&par=tmin&max_empty=3
| title = Wieluń Absolutna temperatura minimalna
| publisher = Meteomodel.pl
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=relativehumidity>
{{cite web
| url = https://meteomodel.pl/dane/srednie-miesieczne/?imgwid=351180455&par=rh&max_empty=3
| title = Wieluń Średnia wilgotność
| publisher = Meteomodel.pl
| language = pl
| access-date = 22 February 2022}}</ref>
}}
== Sights ==
{{multiple image |align=right |caption_align=center |perrow=2 |total_width=350 |header=Sights of Wieluń (examples)
| image1 = Wieluń. Ratusz (7).jpg
| image2 = Wieluń - Kościół p.w. Bożego Ciała .jpg
| image3 = MuzeumZW.JPG
| image4 = Wieluń - Kościół p.w. św. Józefa.jpg
| image5 = Wieluń. Pomnik Witolda Pileckiego. (3).jpg
| image6 = Pl. Kazimierza WielkiegoWieluń2.JPG
| caption1 = Town Hall
| caption2 = Corpus Christi Collegiate church
| caption3 = Museum of Wieluń Land
| caption4 = St. Joseph Church
| caption5 = Monument of [[Witold Pilecki]]
| caption6 = King Casimir the Great Square
}}
Cultural heritage sights of Wieluń include the Town Hall, medieval defensive town walls, the former [[Piarists|Piarist]] college, and several historic churches such as the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] Corpus Christi Collegiate church, the Gothic-[[Baroque in Poland|Baroque]] Church of St. Nicholas, and Baroque churches of Saint Joseph and of the Annunciation of Mary.
The Museum of Wieluń Land (''[[:pl:Muzeum Ziemi Wieluńskiej w Wieluniu|Muzeum Ziemi Wieluńskiej]]''), located in the [[Renaissance in Poland|Renaissance]] Bernardine monastery, is the town's primary museum, dedicated to the history of Wieluń and its surroundings. It contains archaeological, ethnographic, historical and art collections.<ref name=mzw>{{cite web|url=https://muzeum.wielun.pl/o-muzeum-slow-kilka/|title=O Muzeum słów kilka|website=Muzeum Ziemi Wieluńskiej w Wieluniu|author=Jan Książek|access-date=2 October 2022|language=pl}}</ref> Displayed artifacts include jewelry and weaponry from the [[Bronze- and Iron-Age Poland|Bronze Age]] and Middle Ages, weapons and memorabilia from the 19th-century Polish national liberation uprisings, religious paintings and traditional folk sculptures, and ''[[Brest Bible|Biblia Brzeska]]'', one of the oldest [[Bible translations into Polish|Polish translations of the Bible]].<ref name=mzw/> There is also an exhibition dedicated to the German [[bombing of Wieluń]] at the start World War II.<ref name=mzw/>
There are monuments to notable people such as [[Witold Pilecki]] and [[Pope John Paul II]] in Wieluń. There are also several World War II memorials, dedicated to the victims of the German bombing of 1939, to local Poles murdered by the Soviets in the [[Katyn massacre]], to local Jews murdered by the German occupiers in [[the Holocaust]], etc.
== Demographics ==
The majority of the population are Catholic.
;Number of inhabitants in years
* 1900: 7,361<ref>''Meyers Konversations-Lexikon''. 6th edition, vol. 20, Leipzig and Vienna 1909, p. 601 (in German).</ref>
* 1909: 9,095; incl. 3,444 Jews (37.8%), 352 Protestants (3.9%) and no [[Mariavite Church|Mariavites]].<ref>Erich Zechlin: ''Die Bevölkerungs- und Grundbesitzverteilung im Zartum Polen'' (''The distribution of population and property in tsaristic Poland''). Reimer, Berlin 1916, pp. 90–91 {{in lang|de}}</ref>
* 1931: 13,220<ref>''Der Große Brockhaus''. 15th edition, vol. 20, Leipzig 1935, p. 303 (in German).</ref>
* 2006: 24,347
== Transport ==
===Roads===
Wieluń is an important transportation hub. Main roads stemming from Wieluń include connection with [[Warsaw]] (to the north-east) and [[Wrocław]] (to the west), via the [[National roads in Poland|National Road]] {{Jct|country=POL|DK|74}}. There are also two national roads: number {{Jct|country=POL|DK|43}} to [[Częstochowa]] and {{Jct|country=POL|DK|45}} to [[Opole]] and [[Łódź]].
Furthermore, there are two voivodeship (local) roads starting from Wieluń: road number 481 (going north-east) to [[Łask]] and road number 486 (going south-east) to [[Radomsko]].
The biggest communication problem in Wieluń is huge traffic (including transit) in the center of the town, due to lack of bypasses. A bypass of [[National roads in Poland|National Road]] {{Jct|country=POL|DK|74}} was fully completed and opened in March 2017, later additional bypasses will be built. The first section of the eastern bypass has already been finished. In the area of Wieluń there is also expressway S8 (it is located near the northern outskirts of the town). Additionally, there is a plan to build the 70&nbsp;km-long Kalisz-Wieluń Road in the future.
[[File:DK43 pilsudskiego wielun 2.JPG|thumb|[[National road 43 (Poland)|National road 43]] in Wieluń]]
===Railways===
Rail connection links Wieluń to [[Poznań]] and [[Katowice]]. The line was built in the 1920s, as the junction of [[Kluczbork]] remained within borders of [[Weimar Germany]] and direct rail communication between Polish part of [[Upper Silesia]] and Poznań was impossible. Therefore, it was crucial to construct a brand new line, which runs from [[Herby Nowe]] to [[Kępno]]. The line was one of the most important connections in the [[Second Polish Republic]], but after World War II, when Kluczbork was annexed by Poland, it lost its importance.
Also, until the end of the 1980s, there was a narrow gauge railroad, which connected Wieluń with nearby [[Praszka]]. Currently, the town has two operating railway stations: ''Wieluń Dąbrowa'' and ''Wieluń Miasto''. Wieluń is directly connected by rail with such cities as [[Tarnowskie Góry]], Katowice, Poznań, [[Szczecin]] and Kępno. Once there was also a direct connection to [[Częstochowa]] and [[Lubliniec]]. Another means of communication with the surroundings and the entire country are buses. There is a modern (though built in 1976) bus station, which also handles international communication.
===Public transport<ref>{{Cite web |title=Komunikacja miejska - PKS Wieluń - biuro podróży, biuro turystyczne |url=http://pks-wielun.pl/strefa-pasazera/komunikacja-miejska |access-date=2022-08-29 |website=pks-wielun.pl}}</ref>===
Wieluń, like most cities, has a municipal communications. In Wieluń runs 8 lines operated by a local transport company – PKS Wieluń. Public transportation has existed since 1988.
* Line A: Wieluń-Dąbrowa Railway Station – Rychłowice
* Line B: Gas bottling plant – Ruda
* Line C: Wieluń-Dąbrowa Railway Station – Olewin
* Line D: Kurów – Wierzchlas
* Line D – BIS: Wieluń-Dąbrowa Railway Station – POW street
* Line E: Gas bottling plant – Stare Sady housing estate
* Line G: Gas bottling plant – Częstochowska street
* Line H: Masłowice – Stare Sady housing estate
==Sports==
[[File:Pamapol Wielton Wieluń.jpg|thumb|Volleyball players of Siatkarz Wieluń in the team's last season in the [[PlusLiga]]]]
The town has a sports club WKS Wieluń, established in 1957 after a merger of two earlier clubs. In the past, WKS Wieluń had several departments, such as [[track and field]], [[basketball]], [[table tennis]], [[handball]] and [[association football]]. Currently, the only remaining department is football. Another notable club is {{interlanguage link|Siatkarz Wieluń|pl|display=1}}, [[volleyball]] team, which competes in the lower leagues, but in the past played in the [[PlusLiga]], Poland's top division, most recently in the [[2010–11 PlusLiga|2010–11 season]].
==Notable residents==
* [[Teresa Janina Kierocińska]] (1885–1946), nun
* [[Piotr Paweł Morta]] (born 1959), political activist, dissident, economist, co-inventor, activist in underground "Solidarity"
* [[Jan Wątroba]] (born 1953), [[bishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Rzeszów|Rzeszów]]<ref>[http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/rzes0.htm Diocese of Rzeszów, Poland], GCatholic.org.</ref><ref>[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bwatroba.html Bishop Jan Franciszek Wątroba].</ref>
* [[Mariusz Wlazły]] (born 1983), volleyball player, World Champion
==Districts==
[[File:Stary Zamek w Wieluniu.jpg|thumb|County office]]
*Downtown
*Armii Krajowej housing estate
*Bugaj housing estate
*Kopernika housing estate
*Stare Sady housing estate ("Old Orchards" housing estate )
*Wyszyńskiego housing estate
*Wojska Polskiego housing estate
*"Za szpitalem" (Behind Hospital housing estate)
*Niedzielsko
*Chrusty
*Berlinek
*Stodolniana housing estate
*Moniuszki housing estate
*Podszubienice
*Kijak
*Błonie
==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}}
===Twin towns – Sister cities===
Wieluń is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref name="Wieluń twinnings">{{cite web|url=http://www.um.wielun.pl/index.php/miasta-partnerskie|title=Gmina Wieluń – Miasta partnerskie|access-date=2013-08-03|language=pl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729111938/http://www.um.wielun.pl/index.php/miasta-partnerskie|archive-date=2012-07-29}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Adelebsen]], Germany<ref name="Wieluń twinnings"/>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Osterburg (Altmark)|Osterburg]], Germany<ref name="Wieluń twinnings"/>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Ochtrup]], Germany<ref name="Wieluń twinnings"/>
==See also==
*[[Bombing of Wieluń]] in World War II
*[[History of the Jewish community of Wieluń]]
==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links==
*[http://www.um.wielun.pl/ Official website]
{{commons|Wieluń}}
{{Wieluń County}}
{{Gmina Wieluń}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Cities and towns in Łódź Voivodeship]]
[[Category:Wieluń County]]