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Bytów Lakeland
Bytów (; csb, Bëtowò; formerly german: Bütow ) is a town in the Gdańsk Pomerania region of northern Poland with 16,730 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bytów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. The origins of Bytów can be traced back to the early Middle Ages when a fortified stronghold once stood near the town. In 1346 as ''Bütow'' it obtained Chełmno town rights from the Teutonic Order, which controlled it since 1329. During the Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466), the town was the site of heavy fighting and changed hands over time. Eventually, King Casimir IV Jagiellon granted the town to Eric II, Duke of Pomerania, as a perpetual fiefdom. After the Partitions of Poland, Bytów became part of the Kingdom of Prussia and later also Germany, within which it remained until the end of World War II. At the final stages of the war, Bytów was the center of heavy artillery shelling initiated by the Red Army, resulting in more than 55% of the buildings de ...
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Bytów Castle
Bytów Castle is a gothic Teutonic castle and a former stronghold for Pomeranian dukes. History Teutonic Castle The Teutonic Knights began building the castle in 1390 on a hill in southeast Bytów. Mikołaj Fellenstein directed the castle's construction works in 1398–1406. The castle was raised on the plan of a rectangle out of stone and brick with dimensions 49 metres by 70 metres. In the corners of the castle, three cylindrical and one square tower was built. The northwestern castle wing was a three-floor building that served as living quarters. The most important rooms were in this building, including the refectory, the chapel and the prosecutor's office. Warehouse space was located on the third floor. The castle's southwest wing housed a kitchen and food storage, and nearby stood a water well. The gate was raised from the northeastern side of the castle. Near the gate, were a moat and drawbridge that served as the entranceway. The four towers in each corner of the cas ...
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Gdańsk Pomerania
Gdańsk Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze Gdańskie), csb, Gduńsczim Pòmòrzã, german: Danziger Pommern) is a geographical region within Pomerelia in northern and northwestern Poland, covering the bulk of Pomeranian Voivodeship. It forms a part and the bulk of Pomerelia, also known as Vistula Pomerania, Eastern Pomerania, and previously Polish Pomerania; however, in contrast to the latter terms, it does not cover the historical areas of Chełmno Land and Michałów Land, sometimes with the addition of Lubawa Land. It has traditionally been divided into Kashubia, Kociewie and Tuchola Forest regions. The Lauenburg and Bütow Land is considered by the Polish historiography a part of Kashubia (and thus Gdansk Pomerania), while German historiography tends to treat it as a part of Farther Pomerania. Gdansk Pomerania has been inhabited by ethnic Kashubians, Kociewians and Borowians, respectively. Name In Polish language, the area was called ('Pomerania') since the Middle Ages. In the ear ...
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Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The army was established in January 1918. The Bolsheviks raised an army to oppose the military confederations (especially the various groups collectively known as the White Army) of their adversaries during the Russian Civil War. Starting in February 1946, the Red Army, along with the Soviet Navy, embodied the main component of the Soviet Armed Forces; taking the official name of "Soviet Army", until its dissolution in 1991. The Red Army provided the largest land force in the Allied victory in the European theatre of World War II, and its invasion of Manchuria assisted the unconditional surrender of Imperial Japan. During operations on the Eastern Front, it accounted for 75–80% of casual ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ...
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Kingdom Of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Its capital was Berlin. The kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Brandenburg-Prussia, predecessor of the kingdom, became a military power under Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, known as "The Great Elector". As a kingdom, Prussia continued its rise to power, especially during the reign of Frederick II, more commonly known as Frederick the Great, who was the third son of Frederick William I.Horn, D. B. "The Youth of Frederick ...
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Partitions Of Poland
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years. The partitions were conducted by the Habsburg monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire, which divided up the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively in the process of territorial seizures and annexations. The First Partition was decided on August 5, 1772 after the Bar Confederation lost the war with Russia. The Second Partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 and the Targowica Confederation of 1792 when Russian and Prussian troops entered the Commonwealth and the partition treaty was signed during the Grodno Sejm on January 23, 1793 (without Austria). The Third Partition took place on October 24, 1795, in reaction to the unsuccessful Polish Kościuszko Uprising the previ ...
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Fiefdom
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal allegiance, services and/or payments. The fees were often lands, land revenue or revenue-producing real property like a watermill, held in feudal land tenure: these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms. However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including governmental office, rights of exploitation such as hunting, fishing or felling trees, monopolies in trade, money rents and tax farms. There never did exist one feudal system, nor did there exist one type of fief. Over the ages, depending on the region, there was a broad variety of customs using the same basic legal principles in many variations. Terminology In ancient Rome, a " benefice" (from the Latin noun , meaning "benefit") was a gift of land ...
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Eric II, Duke Of Pomerania
Eric II or Erich II (between 1418 and 1425 – 5 July 1474) was a member of the House of Pomerania (also known as the House of Griffins) and was the ruling Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1457 to 1474. He was the son of Wartislaw IX of Pomerania-Wolgast and Sophia, daughter of Eric IV of Saxe-Lauenburg. Life In 1451, Wartislaw IX arranged his son's marriage to Sophia, daughter of Bogislaw IX of Pomerania-Stolp and heiress of Eric I of Pomerania-Stolp, who had also been king of the Kalmar Union. The marriage of these distant relatives granted Eric II access to Eric I's lands in Farther Pomerania. Also, Eric I arranged the Lauenburg-Bütow Land at the Pomerelian border to be granted by the Polish king to Eric II on 3 January 1455 as a reward for aiding Poland in her struggles with the Teutonic Knights. In 1456, Eric took over Maszewo Land in Farther Pomerania, despite Wassow being not included in his share of Pomerania. This led to conflicts with Otto III, Duke of Pomera ...
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Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers, under whom Poland, by defeating the Teutonic Knights in the Thirteen Years' War recovered Pomerania, and the Jagiellonian dynasty became one of the leading royal houses in Europe. The great triumph of his reign was bringing Prussia under Polish rule. The rule of Casimir corresponded to the age of "new monarchies" in western Europe. By the 15th century, Poland had narrowed the distance separating it from western Europe and become a significant factor in international relations. The demand for raw materials and semi-finished goods stimulated trade, producing a positive balance, and contributed to the growth of crafts and mining in the entire country. He was a recipient of the English Order of the Gart ...
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Thirteen Years' War (1454–66)
Thirteen Years' War may refer to: *the Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) between the Prussian Confederation and Poland versus the Teutonic Order state *the Long Turkish War (1593–1606) between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire *the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) The Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667, also called the Thirteen Years' War and the First Northern War, was a major conflict between the Tsardom of Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Between 1655 and 1660, the Swedish invasion was a ... between Russia, the Cossacks and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth See also * Fifteen Years War (other) {{dab ...
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Teutonic Order
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. Its members have commonly been known as the Teutonic Knights, having a small voluntary and mercenary military membership, serving as a crusading military order for the protection of Christians in the Holy Land and the Baltics during the Middle Ages. Purely religious since 1810, the Teutonic Order still confers limited honorary knighthoods. The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order, a Protestant chivalric order, is descended from the same medieval military order and also continues to award knighthoods and perform charitable work. Name The name of the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem is in german: Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus der He ...
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Chełmno Law
Kulm law, Culm law or Chełmno Law (german: Kulmer Recht; lat, Jus Culmense vetus; pl, Prawo chełmińskie) was a legal constitution for a municipal form of government used in several Central European cities during the Middle Ages. It was initiated on 28 December 1233 in the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights by Hochmeister Hermann von Salza and Hermann Balk when the towns of Thorn (Toruń) and Chełmno (Kulm) received German town law, in particular as a modification of Magdeburg rights. Named after the town it was signed in, the original document (''Kulmer Handfeste'') was lost in 1244 when the town hall burned due to an attack by Swantopolk II, Duke of Pomerania. The renewed charter of 1 October 1251 was based on a copy in Thorn, but the rights were reduced. This type of law was mostly granted by the Teutonic Order to cities within their monastic state, but also adopted by cities elsewhere, mainly in the neighboring independent Duchy of Masovia. In addition, the Kulm law w ...
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