Wapno


Wapno is a village in Wągrowiec County, in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, close to the border with Żnin County. Wapno is Polish for Lime and reflects the large gypsum and lime deposits in the area. There are also large deposits of rock salt that were mined extensively beginning in the nineteenth century.
Wapno lies in the so-called Gniezno Lake District, and is close to several lakes. The town is 20 km north of the town of Wągrowiec.

Municipal organization

The present municipality of Wapno includes the following hamlets in addition to the central village of Wapno:
The town is first mentioned in 1299, in an entry in the Codex Diplomaticus Majoris Poloniae, which records the appearance of one Count Adam of Wapno at a trial in the court of one Count Rozal, concerning the rights of the Cistercian monastery in Łękno vis-a-vis the village of Dębogóra. At that time, Wapno was part of the Kuyavian principality headed by Duke Władyslaw I Łokietek, who became the second king of Poland upon his election in 1330.
Under Prussian rule, Wapno was part of the Province of Posen, Bydgoszcz District. After World War I, it became part of the Second Polish Republic. Under the German General Government, it was briefly renamed Salzhof — "Saltville."
On September 29, 1977, a saltmine underneath the town center collapsed, forcing the evacuation of around 1000 residents.