Świdwin (german: Schivelbein; csb, Skwilbëno) is a

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

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 ...

of 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 populou ...

. It is the capital of

Świdwin County __NOTOC__ Świdwin County ( pl, powiat świdwiński) 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 ...

established 1999, previously having been in Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1998), and the administrative seat - though not part - of the Gmina Świdwin. Świdwin is situated in the historic

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 ...

region on the left banks of the

Rega The Rega is a river in north-western Poland, flowing into the Baltic Sea. It is the country's 24th longest river, with a total length of 188 km and a catchment area of 2,767 km2.Szczecin and south of the Baltic coast at Kołobrzeg. In 2018 the town had a population of 15,725.

History

In the 12th century there was a gród on the trade route from the coastal city of Kołobrzeg to Greater Poland. In the 13th century the settlement belonged to 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 ...

under the Griffin duke Barnim I. In 1248 the duke ceded the area to the Bishop of Cammin, who shortly afterwards sold it to the Ascanian 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 sq ...

. Schivelbein was incorporated as the northeastern outpost of the

Neumark The Neumark (), also known as the New March ( pl, Nowa Marchia) or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945. Call ...

region. It was granted town rights by 1296. From 1373 it was part of the Lands of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown as one of its northernmost towns, in 1384 it was passed to the

State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Cent ...

, and in 1455 to Brandenburg, which possession it remained until the dissolution of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

in 1806. In 1477 a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...

monastery was established, which was secularized in 1539. Brewing developed at that time. In 1550, around 30% of the population died in an epidemic. In the 17th century the town suffered as a result of two fires and the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

. In 1816 it became part of the

Prussian 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 e ...

province of Pomerania. The ''Battle of Świdwin'' took place south of the town during 6–7 March 1945, in which a German SS corps was encircled and destroyed by two Soviet and one Polish armies.Komorowski, p. 387 After the town was captured, a Soviet general was killed by a member of the Hitler Youth. The reprisals that followed saw the men shot, and the women and girls raped by Soviet troops. After

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 ...

Schivelbein with Farther Pomerania became part of the Republic of Poland and its name changed to Świbowina, which was officially renamed to Świdwin in 1946. The town's populace that had stayed or had fled their home and returned was expelled. The town's first post-war mayor was Jan Górski, and Polish schools, institutions and factories were established, however war damage was removed until the 1950s.

Population

:1960: 10,000 inhabitants :1970: 12,600 inhabitants :1975: 13,500 inhabitants :1980: 14,000 inhabitants :2004: 17,000 inhabitants :2005: 16,240 inhabitants :2008: 15,486 inhabitants :2009: 15,621 inhabitants :2010: 15,503 inhabitants :2018: 15,725 inhabitants

Sights

The main historic landmarks of Świdwin are the Gothic- Baroque castle, the Gothic Stone Gate (''Brama Kamienna'') and the Gothic church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help from the 14th century.

Świdwin's airport

The military airport operated by the Polish Air Force is located about from the city centre. Civilians are not permitted to enter, but this airport is often used for government's aircraft. The runway is length and width. Świdwin-starostwo powiatowe

Notable residents

Rudolf Virchow Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow (; or ; 13 October 18215 September 1902) was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician. He is known as "the father of modern pathology" and as the founder ...

(1821–1902), German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician * Otto Georg Bogislaf von Glasenapp (1853–1928), Vice president of the

Reichsbank The ''Reichsbank'' (; 'Bank of the Reich, Bank of the Realm') was the central bank of the German Reich from 1876 until 1945. History until 1933 The Reichsbank was founded on 1 January 1876, shortly after the establishment of the German Empi ...

* Johannes Poeppel (1921–2007), general in the German Bundeswehr * Władysław Blin (born 1954), Roman Catholic bishop * Grzegorz Halama (born 1970), Polish parodist and cabaret actor.

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Świdwin is twinned with: *

Sanitz Sanitz is a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Geography Sanitz is located approximately 15 km (9 miles) east of Rostock. It is subdivided into the following districts: History Sanitz is mentioned ...

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 ...

References

* ''Werwolf!: The History of the National Socialist Guerrilla Movement, 1944-1946'', Perry Biddiscombe, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998. . * ''Boje Polskie 1939-1945'', Krzysztof Komorowski et al., Warszawa: Bellona, 2009. .

External links

Municipal website

History of town

History photo

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swidwin Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship Świdwin County