Torzym (german: Sternberg in der Neumark) is a small

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

in Sulęcin County,

Lubusz Voivodeship Lubusz Voivodeship, or Lubuskie Province ( pl, województwo lubuskie ), is a voivodeship (province) in western Poland. It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra Voivodeships, pursuant to the Po ...

, in western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. It is the administrative seat of the urban-rural Gmina Torzym. It was known as ''Toruń Lubuski'' between 1945 and 1946.

Geography

Torzym is situated on the Ilanka creek, a right tributary of the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows th ...

, in the historic

Lubusz Land Lubusz Land ( pl, Ziemia lubuska; german: Land Lebus) is a historical region and cultural landscape in Poland and Germany on both sides of the Oder river. Originally the settlement area of the Lechites, the swampy area was located east of Brand ...

. The town centre is located about east of the border with Germany at

Słubice Słubice is a border town in the Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. Located on the Oder river, it lies directly opposite the city of Frankfurt (Oder) in Germany, which it was a part of as ''Dammvorstadt'' until 1945. As of 2019, the town ...

. Torzym station is a stop on the Warsaw–Kunowice railway line. The town also has access to the parallel A2 autostrada, part of the major

European route E30 European route E30 is an A-Class European route from the port of Cork in Ireland in the west to the Russian city of Omsk, near the border with Kazakhstan in the east. For much of the Russian stretch, it follows the Trans-Siberian Highway an ...

, at the Torzym junction.

History

The region of

formed part of Poland since the creation of the state in the 10th century. The settlement arose sometime after 1249, when

was sold by the

High Duke of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

Bolesław II Rogatka Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, ...

to the

Archbishops of Magdeburg The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River. Planned since 955 and established in 968, the Roman ...

. Located on the trade route from

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city ...

, a fortress at the site was probably named after Konrad von Sternberg, Prince-Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1266 until 1277. In 1287, the Magdeburg archbishop Eric of Brandenburg gave the estates in pawn to his elder brothers, the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

margraves of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

. Under Brandenburg rule, the whole area east of the

river from about 1300 was called "Sternberg Land" (''Sternberger Land''). After a war broke out over control of the region in 1319, the town came under Polish control again, as part of the

Duchy of Głogów The Duchy of Głogów ( pl, Księstwo głogowskie, cs, Hlohovské knížectví) or Duchy of Glogau (german: Herzogtum Glogau) was one of the Duchies of Silesia ruled by the Silesian Piasts. Its capital was Głogów in Lower Silesia. History In ...

, but by 1326 it fell to Brandenburg again.Edward Rymar, ''Rywalizacja o ziemię lubuską i kasztelanię międzyrzecką'', "Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka", No. 4/1979, p. 489, 494 (in Polish) Between 1373 and 1415 the town was part of the Lands of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown. In 1375 it was granted

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

. Several manors arose in the surrounding area, held by local nobles; the citizens mainly relied on cattle trade, brewing, and distilleries. Sternberg Castle probably was slighted during a 1506 expedition of the

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Branden ...

elector Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg against several robber barons devastating his country. After the Napoleonic Wars, Sternberg Land was incorporated into the Prussian

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg (german: Provinz Brandenburg) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg ...

and recalled in an 1816-founded ''

Landkreis In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

'' with its administrative seat in Zielenzig (from 1852 in Drossen). Part of the larger '' Regierungsbezirk Frankfurt'', in 1873 the district was divided in two, ''Weststernberg'' (Drossen) and ''Oststernberg'' (Zielenzig) with Sternberg proper. The

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

parish church was rebuilt between 1831 and 1834 in a Neoclassical style according to plans designed by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassic ...

. From 1871 to 1945 the town was part of Germany. The town was heavily damaged during the Vistula–Oder Offensive of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

in the last weeks of World War II. After

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's defeat in the war, Torzym once again became part of Poland after the implementation of the Oder-Neisse line in 1945. Torzym regained the status of a town in 1994.

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Torzym.

References

External links

*International Jewish Cemetery Project
"TORZYM: Lubuskie"
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship Sulęcin County