Wałcz (pronounced ; german: Deutsch Krone) is a

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

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

of the

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 northwestern

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 populous ...

. During the years 1975 to 1998, the city was administratively part of the

Piła Voivodeship Piła Voivodeship () was a voivodeship (unit of administrative division and local government) in Poland from 1975 to 1998. It was superseded by the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The Voivodeship's capital city was Piła. Major cities and towns (pop ...

. Granted city rights in 1303, Wałcz has become the administrative, industrial and cultural center of the Wałcz Lake District with the city itself situated on the banks of the Raduń and Zamkowe lakes. Wałcz is located in the southwestern portion of

. The closest cities are

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 ...

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

Piła Piła (german: Schneidemühl) is a city in northwestern Poland and the capital of Piła County, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Its population as of 2021 was 71,846, making it the third-largest city in the voivodeship after Poznań ...

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 ...

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (; german: Landsberg an der Warthe) often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów, is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the second largest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 120,087 inhabitants (Decemb ...

and

Koszalin Koszalin (pronounced ; csb, Kòszalëno; formerly german: Köslin, ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-sta ...

. Historically, the town belonged to the province of

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

and formed part of Poland until the

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 12 ...

. Afterwards, from 1772 to 1945 it was part of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

and, from 1871 to 1945, 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 ...

, before being reintegrated with Poland.

Land use

According to a report from 2002, Wałcz has an area of of which 41% is used for agriculture and 17% is forest. The city occupies 2.17% of the total area of Wałcz county.

History

In the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

the region of modern Wałcz lied in a boundary territory 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 ...

and

. It was included within the emerging Polish state in the late 10th century, and was integrated with

again in the early 12th century, afterwards as a result of the

fragmentation of Poland The period of rule by the Piast dynasty between the 10th and 14th centuries is the first major stage of the history of the Polish state. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gall Anonymous in the early 12th cen ...

, it became part of the

Duchy of Greater Poland The Duchy of Greater Poland was a district principality in Greater Poland that was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland. It was formed in 1138 from the territories of the Kingdom of Poland, following its fragmentation started by the testament of ...

. Except a brief period of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, 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 ar ...

rule (in the 14th century), it remained as part of Poland until the first partition in 1772. After the town was recovered by King

Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He w ...

in 1368, it formed part of the

Poznań Voivodeship Poznań Voivodeship was the name of several former administrative regions (''województwo'', rendered as ''voivodeship'' and usually translated as "province") in Poland, centered on the city of Poznań, although the exact boundaries changed over t ...

of the

Greater Poland Province of the Polish Crown , subdivision = Province , nation = Poland , year_start = , event_end = Third Partition of Poland , year_end = , image_map = Prowincje I RP.svg , image_map_capt ...

. In 1618 Jan Gostomski, starost of Wałcz, brought the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

to the town, who founded the Jesuit College, nicknamed the "Wałcz

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

", in the 1660s, which as today's ''I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Kazimierza Wielkiego'', is one of the oldest

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s in northwestern Poland. During Prussian and German rule, Wałcz under the newly given name ''Deutsch Krone'' was part of the province of

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

created in 1773. In 1781, the Jesuit College was transformed into a ''Royal Gymnasium'', whose director was Józef Dalski. Lessons in Polish were held until 1831, then the school, similar to the town, was subjected to

Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, German people, people and German culture, culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationa ...

, however, its director from 1866 to 1890 was a Pole, Antoni Łowiński. At that time, Polish lessons were restored as an optional, additional course for students, and a secret Polish youth

philomath A philomath () is a lover of learning and studying. The term is from Greek (; "beloved", "loving", as in philosophy or philanthropy) and , (, ; "to learn", as in polymath). Philomathy is similar to, but distinguished from, philosophy in that ...

organization ''Ul'' operated in the school. Łowiński's gravestone at the local cemetery is the only one facing away from the main cemetery alley, because the German administration opposed using

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

inscriptions, instead of German. walcz bunkier

After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it was one of the few towns of historical

that were not included in the borders of Poland after regaining independence in 1918. Deutsch Krone, having a predominantly German population, remained part of

Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...

and was part of the

Posen-West Prussia The Frontier March of Posen-West Prussia (german: Grenzmark Posen-Westpreußen, pl, Marchia Graniczna Poznańsko-Zachodniopruska) was a province of Prussia from 1922 to 1938. Posen-West Prussia was established in 1922 as a province of the Free ...

province until 1938 when it was assigned to

. During

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 ...

, the Germans operated a

labor camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...

for French and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

prisoners of war from the

Stalag II-B Stalag II-B was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp situated west of the town of Hammerstein, Pomerania (now Czarne, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland) on the north side of the railway line. It housed Polish, French, Belgian, Serbian, Dutch ...

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

in the town. The town was occupied by the

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 ...

on 12 February 1945. After the end of

, the town was put under Polish administration according to the

Potsdam Conference The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris Pe ...

and renamed to its historic name ''Wałcz''. Also in accordance to the

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...

, its German inhabitants were expropriated and expelled. The town was repopulated by Poles, most of whom were themselves expelled from the former eastern territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. Numerous pre-war ruins of German fortifications and bunkers are found in woods surrounding Wałcz, especially in proximity to the lakes. Most of them however are inaccessible – blown up or filled with soil, to prevent accidents with careless tourists. The lack of heavy industry in Wałcz and the surrounding areas has helped the city to maintain relative ecological cleanliness and is an excellent location for rest and relaxation. It has a post office that was built during the reign of Napoleon.

Sport

There are two large lakes within city limits: Raduń (area - , length - , shoreline - over , maximum depth - , average depth - ) and Zamkowe (area - , length - , shoreline - over , maximum depth - , average depth - ). Lake Raduń is spanned by a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

. Next to the bridge in a beechwood forest is an Olympic Training Facility, the 'Bukowina'. Immediately after

, Winand Osiński and Olympic coach Jan Mulak founded the training centre and began training with the Polish track and field teams who represented Poland during the 50s and 60s. Poland's Olympic

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

team trains here to this day. On this lake is also the City Centre for Sport and Recreation (MOSiR - Miejski Ośrodek Sportu i Rekreacji) which makes a wide range of sporting equipment available, including motor boats, kayaks, water bikes and the leisure boat ''Delfin''. The centre also serves as a starting point for numerous walking and biking trails as well as kayak excursions. The so-called ''Pętla Wałecka'', a kayaking route that traverses six lakes begins here and ends at Lake Bytyń Wielki. Situated on the shores of the lakes are numerous beaches, swimming areas, camping spots and sporting equipment rentals. Within a short distance of the city are several equally attractive lakes including Chmiel Duży, Chmiel Mały, Raduń Mały, Ostrowiec Wielki, Łubianka, Łabędzie.

Architecture

Among the more important architectural sites in Wałcz: * From the Middle Ages: market center, town hall in neo-Renaissance style. * Court in classical style from the early 19th century next to the Wałcz Regional Museum (Muzeum Ziemi Wałeckiej) * Saint Nicholas church (''Kościół św. Mikołaja''),

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

* Saint Anthony church (''Kościół św. Antoniego''), Gothic Revival * Main Post Office, Gothic Revival * Former Jesuit College

Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb". (Marine West Coast Climate/

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

Demographics

Demographics Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...

of Wałcz as of 2020 according to

Statistics Poland Statistics Poland (formerly known in English as the Central Statistical Office ( pl, Główny Urząd Statystyczny, popularly called GUS)) is Poland's chief government executive agency charged with collecting and publishing statistics related to th ...

: In 2002, the average income per person was

PZL PZL (''Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze'' - State Aviation Works) was the main Polish aerospace manufacturer of the interwar period, and a brand of their aircraft. Based in Warsaw between 1928 and 1939, PZL introduced a variety of well-regarded air ...

1,268.39.

Transportation

One national road goes through Wałcz: 22 from

Kostrzyn nad Odrą Kostrzyn nad Odrą (literally Kostrzyn upon Oder) (; german: Küstrin ) is a town in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, close to the border with Germany. Geography The town is situated within the historic Lubusz Land (''Ziemia ...

Braniewo Braniewo () (german: Braunsberg in Ostpreußen, la, Brunsberga, Old Prussian: ''Brus'', lt, Prūsa), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of ...

. Regional roads 163 from

Kołobrzeg Kołobrzeg ( ; csb, Kòlbrzég; german: Kolberg, ), ; csb, Kòlbrzég , is a port city in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in north-western Poland with about 47,000 inhabitants (). Kołobrzeg is located on the Parsęta River on the south coast o ...

and 178 to

Oborniki Oborniki (german: Obornik) is a town in Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship, about 30 km north of Poznań. It is the capital of Oborniki County and of Gmina Oborniki. Its population is 18,176 (2005). History Oborniki was granted town ri ...

also pass through. Rail service from

was renewed in 2007, while 3 other rail lines previously serving Wałcz have been discontinued. Bus service in the Wałcz region is provided by PKS Wałcz which also provides connections to

and

. Express bus services, KomfortBus, KSK Poznań, PKS Piła, PKS Szczecin, PKS Kołobrzeg and others also stop in Wałcz.

Local bus service

Local bus services are provided by ZKM (Zakład Komunikacji Miejskiej). There are 14 ZKM bus routes serving the city as well as several nearby towns and villages. Some of the bus lines are school-related and only run on school days.

Notable residents

Volleyball Nations League Poland - France (28628996908)

* Antoni Perzyński (born 1767), Polish priest and director of the Wałcz gymnasium *

Ludwig Riess Ludwig Riess (1 December 1861 – 27 December 1928) was a Germany, German-born historian and educator, noted for his work in late 19th century Japan. Biography Riess was born in Wałcz, Deutsch-Krone, Province of Prussia, Prussia (present-day W ...

(1861–1928), German-born historian and educator, noted for his work in late 19th century Japan * Friedrich-Carl von Steinkeller (1896–1981),

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

general *

Josef Rudnick Josef Rudnick (25 May 1917 – 14 July 2009) was a German businessman and politician of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. Biography Rudnick was born in Żychce, Sichts (today Żychce, Kashubia, Poland) in the Prussian Province of West Pr ...

(1917–2009), German businessman and CDU politician * Marian Matłoka (1918–1986), Polish sprint canoer, competed in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

* Godela Habel (born 1929), German painter and artist * Anna Bukis (born 1953), former Polish female athlete, competed in the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

* Grzegorz Kołtan (born 1955), Polish sprint canoer who competed the

* Robert Strąk (born 1967), Polish politician, elected to the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

in 2005 *

Mirosław Czech Mirosław Czech ( uk, Мирослав Чех, pl, Mirosław Czech; 16 December 1962, Wałcz) — Polish politician and journalist of Ukrainian origin, the deputy of the Sejm II and III convocations. In 1987 he graduated from the Faculty of Histo ...

(born 1968), Polish politician and journalist, deputy of the

II and III *

Tomasz Goliasz Tomasz Goliasz (born July 6, 1968) is a Polish sprint canoer who competed from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. He won two medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with a silver (C-2 500 m: 1989) and a bronze (1994). Goliasz also ...

(born 1968), Polish sprint canoer, competed at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Tadeusz Drzazga Tadeusz Drzazga (born August 7, 1975 in Wałcz, Zachodniopomorskie) is a retired male Olympic weightlifting, weightlifter from Poland. He competed for his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, finishing in 13th plac ...

(born 1975), retired male weightlifter, competed the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

* Joanna Piwowarska (born 1983), Polish pole vaulter, competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

* Łukasz Woszczyński (born 1983), Polish sprint canoer, competed at the

Krzysztof Głowacki Krzysztof Głowacki (born 31 July 1986) is a Polish professional boxer who has held the WBO cruiserweight title twice; from 2015 to 2016 and again in 2019 (elevated from interim champion). As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the super-heav ...

(born 1986), Polish professional boxer *

Michał Kubiak Michał Jarosław Kubiak (born 23 February 1988) is a Polish professional volleyball player. He was a member of the Poland national team from 2011 to 2021. A participant in the Olympic Games (London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020), two–time World ...

(born 1988), Polish volleyball player, a member of Polish national team and World Champion

Twin towns and sister cities

Wałcz is twinned with:

References

External links

Dane o powiatach i gminach (Regioset)Oficjalna strona Urzędu MiastaOficjalna strona Liceum Ogólnoksztącego im. Kazimierza Wielkiego w WałczuOficjalana strona Kolarskiego Klubu Krossiaki WałczStrona Zespołu Szkół Miejskich nr1 w WałczuWebsite of School nr2 in Wałcz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walcz Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship Wałcz County