Leszno - a city in central Poland. Located in the southern part of the Wielkopolska Region since 1999. He was previously the capital of the eponymous province (1975-1998). Leszno has the status of the county.

The settlement was first mentioned in historical documents in 1393. The area belonged to the family Veniva. Rhode Leszczynski took the name on behalf of its property in accordance with the medieval tradition of the Polish nobility.

The arrival of Czech Protestants in Leszno, and the weavers and artisans from the nearby Silesian settlement helped rapidly grow and develop. In 1547 Leszno received city rights from King Sigismund I the Old. In the sixteenth century, the city became the largest printing center in Wielkopolska through the activities of the Protestant community, the number of which has increased due to the influx of German refugees from Silesia during the Thirty Years War. Leszno Golden Age ended with the great fire in 1655. During the Northern War the city was burned down again in 1707 Russian, and only two years later the residents suffered a new disaster - a terrible plague.

Leszczynski family owned the town until 1738, after which Leszno was annexed by Prussia. The city took part in the Polish uprising of 1918, and the Treaty of Versailles was returned to Poland. In 1939, Leszno was captured by the Nazis.

In the postwar years Leszno was completely rebuilt, and today you can see the monuments of the city's architecture: the baroque town hall, parish church of the 18th century, built by Jan Katenachi decorated Baroque altars and a magnificent facade, the Lutheran Church of St. Cross, built in the early 18 century, the unique architecture of the city's main square. In the museum has a rich collection of Polish portraiture.