Located on the Warta river, Poznań was an important cultural and political centre with centuries before the Christianization of Poland, becoming later the capital of Wielkopolska (Greater Poland), and, for a short time, even the capital of the kingdom. After a long time of prosperity, in the 17th and 18th centuries the city was severely affected by a series of wars, plagues and floods, which practically depopulated it. Following, in area were brought, in several waves, Dutch and Bambergian settlers, exclusively Catholics, as ordered in 1710 August II the Strong, Elector of Saxony, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. The polonisation of the latter ones, subsequently named Bambrzy, was, beyond all doubt, a voluntary act and happened very quickly. In the late 19th century, the meaning of the word "Bamber" (singular form) became wider, designating all the people living in those villages, regardless of their ethnic or cultural background.
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