Kołbacz (german: Kolbatz) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Stare Czarnowo __NOTOC__ Gmina Stare Czarnowo is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. Its seat is the village of Stare Czarnowo, which lies approximately east of Gryfino and south-east ...

, within

Gryfino County __NOTOC__ Gryfino County ( pl, powiat gryfiński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-western Poland, on the German border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result o ...

West Pomeranian Voivodeship The West Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as the West Pomerania Province, is a voivodeship (province) in northwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin. Its area equals 22 892.48 km² (8,838.84 sq mi), and in 2021, it was i ...

, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately north-east of

Stare Czarnowo Stare Czarnowo (formerly german: Neumark) is a village in Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Stare Czarnowo. It lies approximately east of Gryf ...

, east of

Gryfino Gryfino (german: Greifenhagen; nds, Gripenhagen; Kashubian: ''Gripiewò'') is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 21,393 inhabitants (2017). It is also the capital of Gryfino County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previo ...

, and south-east of the regional capital

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

. It is located on the Pyrzyce-Stargard Plains, on the west bank of the river Płonia, and has roughly 1,400 inhabitants.

History

The area has been inhabited since at least the times of the

Lusatian culture The Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age (1700 BC – 500 BC) in most of what is now Poland and parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern Germany and western Ukraine. It covers the Periods Montelius III (earl ...

. The area became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. Following Poland's fragmentation, it formed part of the

Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country ha ...

. In 1173 it was donated to the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

order (originally of Esrum,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

). Between 1210 and 1347 a large monastery (Kołbacz Abbey) and several farms were built in the area to house the monks. In sources known as ''Colbatz'', ''Kolbatz'', ''Colbas'', sometimes ''Mera Vallis'' which means ''Bright Valley''. After the secularization of

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

n Cistercians in 1555 the area became a private property of the Dukes of Pomerania-Stettin (Szczecin) from the

House of Griffin The House of Griffin or Griffin dynasty (german: Greifen; pl, Gryfici, da, Grif) was a dynasty ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century and had been take ...

, the monastery was converted into a castle and then into a summer residence of the dukes. After the dissolution of the duchy, the rulings of the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

(1648) and the

Treaty of Stettin (1653) The Treaty of Stettin (german: Grenzrezeß von Stettin) of 4 May 1653Heitz (1995), p.232 settled a dispute between Brandenburg and Sweden, who both claimed succession in the Duchy of Pomerania after the extinction of the local House of Pomerania ...

assigned the settlement to the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...

. From the 18th century it was part of the

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''. Re ...

, and from 1871 it was also part of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Since 1815 it was administratively located in the Province of Pomerania. Following Germany's defeat in

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 opposin ...

in 1945, the area became again part of Poland.

Sights

Among the most notable historical attractions are remnants of

Cistercian abbey The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

, which include a Romanesque-Gothic church (1210–1347), one of the oldest brick churches in Pomerania. There are also remnants of the monastery itself, as well as a converts' house, abbot's house, a gothic barn and a fortified tower. The abbey is listed as a Historic Monument of Poland.

Notable residents

* Karl-Ludwig Barths

References

External links

* http://www.stareczarnowo.pl/ * http://www.muryobronne.republika.pl/kolbacz/kolbacz.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20060828141224/http://www.architektura.pomorze.pl/_index.php?link=_katalog_full&id=5&typ=zakon * http://www.stargard.pl/ * http://www.heimatkreis-stargard.de/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolbacz Villages in Gryfino County