Last modified: 2014-06-28 by andrew weeks
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![[Rydzyna flag]](../images/p/pl-wp-rd.gif)
image by Chrystian Kretowicz, 19 Nov 2008
Rydzyna is a Polish town that was the seat of king Stanisław Leszczyński
during Leszczyński's first short reign from 1704-1709.
It was founded at the beginning of the 15th century by Jan of Czernina,
a descendant of the Wierzbno family, a knight of king Władysław Jagiełło.
At the end of the 17th century the town and its environs were owned by
well-known magnates, the Leszczyński and then the Sułkowski families, whose
investment in the town resulted in its current nickname as "the pearl of
the Polish baroque".
The most historically important site in Rydzyna is Rydzyna Castle,
formerly the residence of king Stanisław Leszczyński and the Sułkowski
princes. The castle in Rydzyna was built at the beginning of 15th century
by Jan of Czernina. At the end of 17th century Italian architects Joseph
Simon Bellotti and Pompeo Ferrari erected the present Baroque castle on
its ancient foundations. The first owners of the castle were the Leszczyński
family. Together with its park and surrounding areas, it was one of the
most splendid palaces in Poland. Between 1704-1709 it was a residence
of the Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński. In 1709, during the Great Northern
War, the castle was partly burnt by tsar's soldiers. However wall-paintings
and stucco works in representative rooms, made by best Italian artists,
were not destroyed completely, and the castle was restored and expanded
by Prince August Sułkowski , who purchased the Leszczyński estates in 1738.
The castle together with its adjacent park and the surrounding terrain
forms one of the most valuable castle-park complexes in Poland.
Other historical monuments within the town boundaries are baroque tenement
houses around the market square together with the town hall and the baroque
parish church, all built in the 18th century and designed by the same architects
as the castle. The evangelical church building now serves as a concert
hall.
In the center of the market square a unique statue representing the
Trinity was erected in 1761 by the sculptor Andrew Schmidt in memory of
the plague that decimated the town in 1709. The monumental former annexes
to the castle, facing its north side, are in Classic style. All the monuments
are the works of prominent architects brought in from all over Europe by
the Leszczyński and Sułkowski families.
At one time there were over 40 windmills around Rydzyna. Today only one remains, renovated in 2003 it now houses the Museum of Agriculture and Milling.
Arms and flag adopted on February 17, 2003 (resolution # V/30/2003).
"Arms: on the background of white fortress a shield divided into four
parts.
On the first and fourth part are arrows with the crossed shafts on
the red fields.
On the second and third part there are six silver lilies of Anjou each
on the blue fields. All on the red shield.
This is based on the noble Coat of Arms "Wierzbno" to which the founder of the
town, Knight Jan z Czernina (John of Czernin) belonged.
Flag: made up of two colors in four parts, repeating the color scheme
and the composition of the Arms: four rectangles in the sequence red-blue-blue-red.
Proof sheet at the bottom of this
page.
Although it is not mentioned, I did reconstruct a possible ceremonial
flag from the flagoid shown on the old Leszno County website.
Chrystian Kretowicz, 19 Nov 2008
![[Rydzyna ceremonial flag]](../images/p/pl-wp_rd.gif)
image by Chrystian Kretowicz, 19 Nov 2008
![[Rydzyna coat of arms]](../images/p/pl-wp)rd.gif)
image by Chrystian Kretowicz, 19 Nov 2008