 Until 1961 Kórnik was separate from Bnin, situated just 1 km apart.Both towns were founded in the Middle Ages (Bnin gained town rights in 1395, and Kórnik in 1426), but Bnin lost its town rights in 1934, and in 1961 it became part of Kórnik.The enlarged town also includes the former settlement of Prowent, birthplace of the Nobel Prize-winning poet Wisława Szymborska.