Łęczyca

Łęczyca (wɛnˈt͡ʂɨt͡sa; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, Królewskie Miasto Łęczyca; Lentschitza; לונטשיץ) is a town of inhabitants in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the Łęczyca County. The town was probably named after a West Slavic (Lechitic) tribe called Leczanie, which inhabited central Poland in the early Middle Ages. Some scholars however claim that the town was named after an Old Polish word łęg, which means a swampy plain. In medieval Latin documents, Łęczyca is called Lonsin, Lucic, Lunciz, Lantsiza, Loncizia, Lonsitia and Lunchicia. In the early 12th century, Gallus Anonymus called Łęczyca "Lucic", and in 1154, Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi named it Nugrada, placing it among other main towns of the Kingdom of Poland, such as Kraków, Sieradz, Gniezno, Wrocław and Santok. Łęczyca lies in the middle of the county, and has the area of . In the past, the town was the capital of the Land of Łęczyca, which was later turned into Łęczyca Voivodeship. In the Second Polish Republic and in 1945 - 1975, Łęczyca belonged to Lodz Voivodeship. In 1975–1998, it was part of Plock Voivodeship. The geometric centre of Poland is located near Łęczyca. Łęczyca is one of the oldest Polish cities, mentioned in the 12th century. It was the place of the first recorded meeting of Sejm, the Polish parliament, in 1180. In 1229, during the period of fragmentation of Poland, it became the capital of the Duchy of Łęczyca, which in 1263 was split into two parts - the Duchy of Łęczyca and the Duchy of Sieradz. In the early 14th century, the Łęczyca Voivodeship was created with Łęczyca serving as its capital. This administrative unit of the Kingdom of Poland was part of the larger Greater Poland Province of the Polish Crown and existed until the Partitions of Poland in the late 18th century. It was a royal city of the Polish Crown. Łęczyca, which lies in the centre of Poland, was for centuries one of the most important cities of the country.