These features of the layout are still legible today. The town, which originated as a market settlement by the medieval trade route connecting Silesia with Pomerania, the so-called Toruń-Wrocław route, has an elongated spindle-shaped layout with buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries and the baroque St. Stanislaus Church designed by Jan Catenazzi.

History of the structure/dating of construction phases

Żerków was first mentioned in a document issued by prince Bolesław Pobożny in 1257. In 1283 Żerków already appears as a town. That year is considered the beginning of the town. In 1372, the sources mention “castrum Zircowo”, i.e. the Żerków hillfort. Three years later Żerków became the property of Andrzej Zaremba, the starost of Śrem. In 1382 Żerków was burnt down by the royal army together with St. Nicholas Church during the civil war between the Grzymalit and the Nałęcz families. After 1386, as the heir to Żerków, Wawrzyniec Zaremba led to the reconstruction of the town and consecration of the new St. Stanislaus church (1390). At the beginning of the 15th century Żerków became the property of the Doliwa-Kot family from Dębno. In 1539 it was sold to Andrzej Górka-Roszkowski, of the Łodzia coat of arms. Hence, the town’s coat of arms - a golden boat (łódź) - the Górka family emblem - with a six-pointed star above. In 1574 Żerków was visited by Henryk Walezy, the first elected king, who was going to Krakow for the coronation. Around 1618, Hieronim Radomicki (Kotwicz coat of arms), castellan of Krzywiń, starost of Wschowa and later Governor of Inowrocław, became the owner of this private town. Five years later, King Sigismund III of Poland visited Żerków with Prince Ladislaus. In the early 18th century the town was struck by a number of disasters, including fire, occupation by Swedish troops and plague. In gratitude for saving life, the St. Cross Chapel was erected in the burial cemetery. In the years 1717-18 from the foundation of Maciej Radomicki, Governor of Inowrocław and General of Wielkopolska, a magnificent Baroque church of St. Stanislaus and a nearby palace were built. The construction of both buildings is associated with the work of Jan Catenazzi. As a result of a fire in 1772, the old St. Nicholas Church and its surroundings were burned down. A description of the town made by Prussians at the end of the 18th century shows that (...) Żerków was a small, open town with unpaved streets. The town had 57 houses, 3 plots were empty and on 14 there was debris left after the fire in 1772. The buildings were wooden and their roofs were covered with wood shingles or thatch (...) Moreover, there were 16 barns situated next to the town. In the town itself there were two churches (St. Stanislaus and St. Nicholas), St. Cross Chapel in the cemetery, a school, a hospital, the owners’ palace, 2 taverns, 3 mills, 6 inns, 3 water mills, 5 windmills, 9 stalls. The town was inhabited by 349 people engaged in craft, trade and agriculture. In 1831 the renovated Radomicki Palace burned down. In the 19th century, fires struck the town several times. After the fire of 1861, when two-thirds of the town burned down, and the whirlwind of 1862, the streets were regulated and straightened, and the construction of wood shingled or thatched buildings was prohibited. The newly built houses were already made of brick, often very impressive and lavish. St. Nicholas Church, which was destroyed again, was not rebuilt. During the period of partitions a number of German families of Evangelical faith settled in the town. Until 1890 they held their services in the palace hall. They built their own parish house in 1890 and a church in 1904. In the late 19th century, Żerków was inhabited by about 1900 people. Currently, the number of inhabitants is similar. The town is a local craft and service centre, the seat of the commune and one of the tourist attractions due to its location in the Żerkowsko-Czeszewski Landscape Park and Mickiewicz Cultural Park.

Description of the structure

Żerków - a town located in the Jarocin district, within the so-called Żerkowskie hills, 11 km to the north from Jarocin. North of Żerków there are the so-called Żerkowskie Hills covered with forests and cut with picturesque ravines. The highest point is Łysa Gora, 2 km away from the town (161 m), which offers a wonderful view of the Warta River valley. By the road to Śmiełów there is also a vantage point. The town was located on an elevated dry river terrace. The ducal hillfort called Ostrów pod Wilkowyją, the progenitor of the present Żerków, did not develop and finally collapsed in 1382. Żerków, located by the Toruń-Wrocław route, had a customs chamber. The layout of the town is still legible today. The basic urban axis remains the southern one, coinciding with the layout of the above-mentioned route running through Żerków. In the 13th century, a spindle-shaped square (called półwieś or nawsie) was formed from the road’s extension. The original outline of the square was marked from the south by the bifurcation of Jarocińska street into its upper section and Moniuszki street, then by the Marketplace, and from the north by Mickiewicza street from the bifurcation with Ogrodowa street. The second important factor in the layout of the medieval town was the road to Nowe Miasto, which ran halfway across the market square towards the west. It was there, in the vicinity of the square, that the first, now non-existent church in Żerków, dedicated to St. Nicholas, was located. Originally, the road omitted the church plot. Currently, the area of the former church is occupied by a square intersected by Kolejowa Street, which was laid out in the second half of the 19th century and connected with the road to Nowe Miasto. The medieval town was probably formed after a fire in 1382. The layout of the streets with the St. Nicholas Church and the market square remained unchanged, and Kościelna St. was probably created, leading south-east towards the hill, on which St. Stanislaw Church was built. On the backside of the market plots, Ogrodowa Str. probably developed in the eastern part of the town, while in the western part, Św. Mikołaja Str. (now 700-lecia) and Targowisko Str. Farm roads marked the depth of the narrow plots of the radial village. To the west of the town and St. Nicholas Church, an outbuilding in the form of a barn complex was constructed. This part of the town is characterized by a rather chaotic layout, except for the road to Nowe Miasto, Kolejowa Street, which was laid out in 1866. The construction of the owners’ residence and St. Stanislaus Church did not introduce significant changes to the town’s spatial layout. The various elements were connected by a network of unbuilt roads. The layout of the town remained essentially unchanged until the fire of 1772. It was followed by intensive development of the market square, which was large for such a small town. As a result of post-1861 regulation, the dominant spindle-shaped market square was reduced to a central rectangular square - the marketplace - and the outlying blocks were partitioned and developed. In this way the present Moniuszki street and the upper part of Jarocińska street were formed, as well as a short street going from the northern frontage of the market towards Ogrodowa street. The southern part of the spindle-shaped square was intersected by a block parallel to the southern market frontage, which is an extension of Kościelna Street to the west. At the bifurcation of Kościelna Street, leading to the residence and the church, a manor inn was located - an inn with a post office and stables. At that time, the narrow plots (two or three) were combined and a new ridged building was created in place of the gable development. In the years 1808-1853 terraces were built on the hill of St. Stanislaus Church on the rectory side, crossing the slopes of the hill.

At the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, the buildings in Żerków stretched along the exit streets. In particular, Kolejowa Street, which connected the towns with the railroad station in Chrzan, located 4.5 km away, gained significance. In the years 1941-44, a three-sided single-family housing estate was delineated and developed in the north-western part of the town, bounded by the road to Bieździadów (Wiosny Ludów Street) and 700-lecia Street (former św. Mikołaja). Currently, the town is being developed along Mickiewicza and Kolejowa Streets and in the direction of Pyzdry. The existing windmills in Żerków were situated on the hills north of St. Stanislaus church, on the road to Bieździadów and south on the road to Jarocin. Most of the small-town architecture dates back to the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century. There are also older buildings from the 1st half of the 19th century - houses at the Market Square, Jarocińska, Moniuszki and Mickiewicza Str. Noteworthy are the compact one-storey buildings from the third quarter of the 19th century at Moniuszki and Targowisko Streets. The single-storey development, once common in the buildings, is being broken up by single-storey buildings, and in some cases even higher. The town’s architecture is complemented by 18th century buildings, including the gatehouse and the former inn.

Visitor access. The site is accessible to visitors.

Author of the note: Teresa Palacz, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Poznań, 28-12-2017

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