Gęsiniec g is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Strzelin

Gmina Strzelin

Gmina Strzelin is an urban-rural gmina in Strzelin County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Strzelin, which lies approximately south of the regional capital Wrocław....

, within Strzelin County

Strzelin County

Strzelin County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. The county covers an area of...

, Lower Silesian Voivodeship

Lower Silesian Voivodeship

Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province , is one of the 16 voivodeships into which Poland is currently divided. It lies in southwestern Poland...

, in south-western Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. From 1867 to 1945, it was in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

It lies approximately 2 kilometres (1 mi) south of Strzelin

Strzelin

Strzelin is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is located on the Oława river, a tributary of the Oder, about south of the region's capital Wrocław. The town is the seat of Strzelin County and also of the smaller municipality of Strzelin...

, and 41 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of the regional capital Wrocław (formerly called Breslau).

Gęsiniec was settled in 1750 by Hussites, whose religious faith was based on the writings of Jan Hus

Jan Hus

Jan Hus , often referred to in English as John Hus or John Huss, was a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague...

 (ca. 1369–1415), a Czech religious reformer and priest
who was burnt at the stake as a heretic. Its former name, Husinec, refers to Hus. Historically, the town's residents had ethnic Czech roots. It is located in Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

, a region once ruled by the Kingdom of Bohemia

Kingdom of Bohemia

The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...

, and after 1526, by the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

.

Silesia was conquered by Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

 in the First Silesian War in 1742, codified by the Treaty of Hubertusburg

Treaty of Hubertusburg

thumb|right|300px|Hubertusburg, WermsdorfThe Treaty of Hubertusburg was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg by Prussia, Austria, and Saxony. Together with the Treaty of Paris, it marked the end of the French and Indian War and of the Seven Years' War. The treaty ended the continental...

 in 1763, and the town became known as Hussinetz. From 1813 to 1919, it was administered by the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia

Lower Silesia Province

Lower Silesia Province may refer to:*Lower Silesian Voivodeship, a province in present-day Poland*Lower Silesia Province , a former province of Germany...

 in the political subdivision Regierungsbezirk

Regierungsbezirk

In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...

 Breslau.

In 1937, shortly after Adolph Hitler's rise to power, its name was changed to Friedrichstein. The village and its region were joined to Poland following the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, and its name was changed once again to Gęsiniec.

A monument commemorating residents of Gęsiniec who died in the First World War stands in what was the central part of the village.