LESZNO

German Lissa, town, Leszno wojewdztwo (province), west-central Poland. The town is a rail junction and an agricultural and manufacturing centre. It was founded in the 15th century by the prominent Leszczynski family, whose tombs are in the parish church. In the 16th century a band of Protestant Moravian Brothers, expelled from Bohemia, made Leszno a centre of the Reformation. The educator John Amos Comenius lived and taught there. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the town prospered as a textile and academic centre. It passed to Prussian and Russian rule, returning to Poland after World War I. Pop. (1991 est.) 59,000.