Skwierzyna

Skwierzyna (; ) is a town in Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, serving as the administrative seat of the Gmina Skwierzyna. , it had a population of 9,078 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Obra and Warta rivers, about north of Międzyrzecz and south-east of the regional capital Gorzów Wielkopolski. The town is situated in a particularly green part of Poland. Extensive forests and numerous lakes can be found in the vicinity.

==History== Skwierzyna was originally a Slavic fishing settlement, located on an important trade route connecting Szczecin and Kraków. It became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. During the fragmentation period in Polish history, from 1138 it belonged to the Duchy of Greater Poland and from 1296 to 1329 to the Duchy of Głogów. Afterwards it was located in the Poznań Voivodeship within the larger Greater Poland Province. It already held town privileges upon the death of the Piast King Przemysł II of Poland in 1296, renewed by King Władysław II Jagiełło in 1406. The population was predominantly Polish, Jewish and German. The colonization of the area was largely implemented by the Cistercian monks of nearby Paradyż Abbey, a filial monastery of Lehnin Abbey in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. In 1530 Skwierzyna was granted a coat of arms and in 1543 became a royal town of the Polish Crown.