Goszczyn

Goszczyn is a village in Poland, located in the Masovian Voivodeship, within the Grójec County. It serves as the seat of the municipality of the same name and the parish of St. Michael the Archangel. Once a royal town, it received its town charter in 1386, with its privileges confirmed by successive monarchs. During its heyday in the 16th and 17th centuries, Goszczyn was a renowned center for crafts, particularly sieve-making, which allowed its residents to trade as far as Hungary. The history of Goszczyn dates back to the 12th century, though the first written records come from 1809. Between 1975 and 1998, the village belonged to the Radom Voivodeship. The eclectic parish church of St. Michael the Archangel, an example of late 19th-century architecture, was designed by Wojciech Bobiński, and its current form is the result of a redesign by Stefan Szyller. Remains of 19th-century buildings, such as an inn—now the seat of the Municipal Office—still exist. In the 18th century, the town declined due to wars, fires, and exploitation, and in 1869 it was stripped of its town rights and reduced to a village. Interestingly, as a result of World War II, Goszczyn’s population increased significantly due to the settlement of Poles displaced from other regions. Despite wartime destruction, the rural community remained active, and local traditions have survived to this day. The oldest documents related to the town date back to 1808 and are kept in the archive in Grodzisk Mazowiecki. Goszczyn was the birthplace of notable figures such as Jan Głogowski and Stefan Pietrusiński, underscoring the local contribution to Poland’s broader history.