Zagadkowe początki Rychwała
Enigmatic Origins of the Rychwał

Summary/Abstract: The article concerns the beginnings of the town of Rychwał (located south of Konin). Until now its foundation dates back to the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. A re-analysis of sources, including those hitherto unknown or not taken into account, allows dating the town’s foundation at around 1350-1360. The founder was Wawrzyniec from Królikowo (coat of arms Zaremba), the castellan of Poznan (d. 1379), whose descendants owned this property for several hundred years. The economic rationale for the town’s establishment was its location at a convenient point on the important transit route from Wrocław to Toruń, exactly halfway between Stawiszyn and Konin. Initially the town was referred to as Nowe Miasto (New Town), but in time the name Rychwałd or Rychwał was adopted, which was a polonization of the German toponym Reichwalde. Such a name was probably given to an earlier existing village, on the grounds of which the town was founded. The village was probably founded at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries as a result of the clearing of the surrounding forests by German settlers (which corresponds to the mentioned name). A trace of this village is the suburban settlement of Stara Wieś, which existed for centuries, and a chapel „outside the city”, mentioned as early as 1608. It may serve as an analogy for an unknown document regarding the location of Rychwał.

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