Włoszczowa

Włoszczowa is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. It lies approximately west of Kielce. It is the capital of Włoszczowa County. Population is 10,657 (2010). Włoszczowa lies in historic Lesser Poland. The town has the area of (11 sq miles).

==History== thumb|left|Włoszczowa in the early 20th century Włoszczowa was first mentioned in 1154, when Prince Henry of Sandomierz handed the village known then as Vloszcova to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta monks. It received its town charter in 1539, when King Zygmunt Stary handed the document to the starosta of Chęciny, Hieronim Szafraniec. The town remained the property of the Szafraniec family until the late 18th century. In the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Włoszczowa was part of the Sandomierz Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province.