Oborniki

Oborniki Wielkopolskie is a town 30 miles north of Poznań, at the mouth of the Wełna and Warta Rivers. The oldest traces of man in the region of Oborniki go back to before 12,000 B.C.  The town's origins began with a castle that was built in the western part of the settlement at the mouth of the Wełna and Warta Rivers, along an important road to Kołobrzeg known since the 9th century as the salt trail.  The factors that led to the growth of Oborniki in the Middle Ages included its location on the Warta River at the edge of the Notecka Forest, its proximity to transit routes leading from Gniezno in the direction of Międzyrzecze and from Poznań to the Pomerania region.  A crownless eagle of the Piast dynasty adorns the town's crest, and has remained on the crest to the present day.
 Oborniki was first described as a town in 1339, and the earliest known imprint of the town's stamp is on an undated document from the beginning of the 14th century, located in Toruń's archives.
 The town center is a market square, with a turbine-like street layout, with two streets leading from each corner.  This unusual design of the square continues to characterize the town center.  In the Public Library of the Town and Municipality of Oborniki in the Regional Chamber, where paleontological, archeological, ethnographic, and modern-day documents are held.
 Moreover, there are various architectural landmarks, particularly churches, manors and palaces in Oborniki and the environs of the municipality.
 The municipality is highly forested (over 38%), which increases its value as a vacation area.  Large areas of woods also help create a specific, healthy microclimate.  Besides the forests, there are also nature reserves in the area.  There are five protected species of horsetail, including the giant horsetail, which can reach a height of two meters.
 

In July of 1998, the city was enriched by a new sports and rehabilitation facility.   On the road between Oborniki and Czarnków, two of four indoor swimming pools, including a water slide and offering a high sanitary and technical standard, have been opened.  This is the first stage of the facility's construction.  The swimming pool is 12.5 m wide and 25 m. long, with a depth ranging from 1.37 m to 1.87 m. The swimming pool designed for teaching of swimming is 12 m wide and 7 m. long, with a depth ranging from 0.7 m to 1.37 m.

 One of the pool's attractions is a water slide, with a length of 87 m., located just outside of the swimming pool hall.  A ride down the slide lasts about 30 seconds.  The Oborniki pools' machinery is entirely automated, with the possibility of manual control.
 The building is to eventually be utilized to provide rehabilitation activities for the handicapped, and offer a place for water sports, saunas, a tanning salon, a fitness center, a bowling alley, and other types of recreation. Competitions and sporting contests, conferences, and congresses, as well as cultural and artistic events will be organized, and gastronomic and hotel services will be offered.
 Work on the remaining two swimming pools and their attendant recreation and gastronomical facilities, however, will have to wait until a future date depending on when the necessary financial resources and a sufficient number of active participants interested in running businesses there are obtained.
 The municipality is constantly developing industrially, and over the last ten years, the region had been transformed from a primarily agricultural region with some industry to an industrial and agricultural area offering services, as well.
 In addition, the town of Oborniki is one of the largest industrial centers in the Wielkopolska Province.  The chemical industry has developed here, including housing elements - Metalplast Oborniki panels - and the lumber industry - furniture and interior furnishings and the metal industry.  Many companies have been set up here to serve the construction industry.  The largest of these in the town are Metalplast - Oborniki Holding Sp. z o.o. and Meble Oborniki S.A. (furniture), the Lucyna glassworks, and the Unicom Bols Group, which together employ a large percent of the municipality's citizens.
 Additionally, there are well-developed services in the agricultural, construction, transport, wholesale and retail sales, and trades, proof of which is the number of companies registered by the town's residents.  There are about 2500 businesses registered to do business in the town, and many new and important companies have started up operations there.
 The city also has a well-developed infrastructure.  There are sites available for construction of facilities for industry, trades, and for housing construction.  In addition, Oborniki is an important bus transport center and the Piła-Poznań electrified rail line runs through the town .