Rzepin
Rzepin () is a town in western Poland. Situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship (since 1999), in Słubice County it is a seat of the urban-rural Rzepin Gmina. From 1975 until 1998 the town, from an administrative point of view, belonged to the Gorzów Wielkopolski Voivodeship. As of 2019, the town had a population of 6,529 inhabitants. Geography. The town is situated in the western part of the Lubusz Lake District and Torzymska Plain (315.43), in the longitudinal postglacial valley, in the historical region of Lubusz/Lebus Land. Hydrology. The Ilanka river, which is the right-bank tributary of the  Oder river, flows through the town and takes the tributary Rzepin to the south of the town, near Nowy Młyn. Among the Ilanka's hydrological curiosities is the phenomenon of bifurcation, occurring to the north of Rzepin, where the river separates its stream. As a result, some waters flow into the Łęczna river to the Warta drainage. Rzepin surroundings is rich in glacial lakes, among others: Busko, Długie – local bathing beach, Głębiniec, Linie, Lubińskie, Oczko, Papienko (Popienko) and Rzepsko. Rzepin Forest. Rzepin was given ownership of the adjacent forests before 14th century, which was confiscated in 1553 because of the  wrongly laid tax by the town authorities. The town maintained its rights only to a small part of the rickety woodland. High population of game animals in the region was confirmed by the presence of two royal forests in the vicinity of Rzepin. In the 18th century, a royal forest district was established under administration of the "Oberforsthaus Reppen", which, under current name of Dąbrówka, also known as Osęka (currently a part of the Rzepinek settlement) is still being used as a forest lodge. Currently the term Rzepin Forest should only be treated in historical context, or to some extent , as an equivalent of the Lubusz Forest, which is a vast woodland situated mostly in the vicinity of Rzepin and Torzym in the Lubusz Voivodeship. The forest district administration is located in Rzepin. Etymology. The origin is, without any doubt, Slavic. In 1856 Berghaus investigated the town name origin of words: repina (a folk name of maple), rjepa (turnip), or rjepnik (field of turnip). According to Mucke, the name could originate from the word ryby (fish) – Rybin, Rybek, Rybno – fisherman's colony (town located by the riverside). Current Polish etymology (according to Rospond, Rymut and Malec) clearly indicates a nickname  Rzepa (Polish name of turnip), or the name of turnip itself, as the town name origin. History. The town was founded in the place of a 10th-century fort and a craftsmen settlement outside the fort, which was located near a convenient crossing of the Ilanka river. It was located in Lubusz Land, which was part of the provinces of Greater Poland and Silesia of the Medieval Kingdom of Poland. In the second half of the 13th century the land was handed over by archbishops of Magdeburg to Brandenburg margraves. Rzepin's history become turbulent ever since. The town was  sold many times and its land was regularly confiscated. Medieval Rzepin was a town inhabited by craftsmen. There were guilds of clothiers, butchers, bakers and shoemakers. Its citizens were also earning their living as fishermen and brewers. A water mill was a part of the town landscape. Thanks to the citizens’ resourcefulness and valor the town was developing rapidly, however, it was hindered by plagues and other disasters, including numerous fires. One of them destroyed a historical town hall. Between 1373 and 1415 the town was part of the Lands of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown. From the 18th century the  town was part of the Kingdom of Prussia and between 1871 and 1945 it was part of Germany, before becoming again part of Poland. The oldest record about Rzepin dates back to 1297 and it regards the presence of pleban de Repin (Repin's parson) Iacobus Craft at a ceremony of granting the village of Wystok to the Paradyż monastery. In 14th and 15th century the town was defined with a ‘New’ suffix, which could signify its new location or new town charter: 28 July 1329 – Newen Reppin, 1335 – Nyen Rypin, 1441 – Nyen Reppen. The grad was possibly transferred into  a more convenient place because the remains of an earlier grad upon the Ilanka river, between Tarnawa Rzepińska and Starościn, survived until our times. The names Reppin or Reppen appear in the German literature, while Rypin or Rzepin can be found in the Polish sources. In 1437 the name Stat Kleynen Reppin appeared once more, however an attempt to call the town ‘little’ was unsuccessful. Since the mid-15th century, its name was written without the adjective. After World War II, during a short period of time, the town was called Rypin Lubuski, whereas since the late 1940s the current form  has been used. It also became the county town (Rzepin County with its seat in Słubice). A short history of the town (1850–1945): Urban planning. The shape of the medieval Rzepin resembled a rectangle 300 x 400 m. The town layout revealed three parallel streets, that were crossing the town longitudinally and transversely, distinguishing the medieval marketplace. The oldest plan of Rzepin was compiled by Eichler in 1725. The Old Town, with high – density housing, is located on the right bank of the Ilanka, whereas from the remaining sides it was surrounded by a ditch (town moat), which was subsequently  filled back in due to the negative influence of the humid microclimate. Now it serves as a park alley. Town layout consists of 69 streets and 2 squares: the Kościelny (Church) Square and the Ratuszowy (Town Hall) Square. Culture. The ‘Chrobry’ Cinema that operates within the Community Cultural Center. Transport. Train connections. Rzepin has connections in Tourist trails. Source: Twin towns – sister cities. See twin towns of Gmina Rzepin.