Leszno is a city that flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was then an important center of the Reformation, where the famous educator Jan Amos Komensky stayed for some time. One of the monuments from the period of the greatest development of Leszno is the Renaissance-Baroque town hall.
The city was founded in the mid-16th century in the place of a village. Its owners were the Leszczyński family, who converted to Lutheranism and created an important center of Reformation in Leszno in Poland. There was a printing house, elementary school, university gymnasium, library and theater. Jan Amos Komensky, a well-known reformer of pedagogy, lectured in the local gymnasium, as well as many other scientists of the Renaissance.
In the architecture of Leszno, the urban layout of the 16th-century city has been preserved. The most important monument, the Leszno Town Hall, stands on the large rectangular market square. It is surrounded by tenement houses with decorative facades. Nearby is the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption with a half-timbered structure, which was built as a Calvinist temple. The most impressive sacred building is the baroque church of St. Nicholas.
Among the attractions of Leszno are also the District Museum with a large exhibition devoted to the history of the city and the Mini Zoo located in the Millennium Park.
