Chociwel ( csb, Frinwôłd; formerly german: Freienwalde in Pommern) is a town 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 populou ...

, in

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 ...

, in

Stargard County __NOTOC__ Stargard County ( pl, powiat stargardzki) 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 ...

. As of December 2021, it has 3,105 inhabitants.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

it was a Slavic gród. In 967 it became part of Poland under first historic ruler

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and a ...

. The first church was built around 1124. The settlement was mentioned in 1190 and 1321. In 1338 it was granted Magdeburg town rights and was known as ''Freienwalde''. In the 15th century the town's main landmark was built – the Gothic Our Lady of Sorrows church. After the dissolution 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 the mid-17th century it fell 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 ...

, then from 1701 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 ...

, and from 1871 to 1945 it was 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 ...

. It had a population of 3,406 in 1939. In 1945 it was awarded to Poland, along with most of

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

, at the insistence of

Josef Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, and its entire population was expelled. Because of this, the population in 1946 was only 402, all of them Polish newcomers. After the war, the town was given the name Chociwel, which is a modern version of the

Old Polish The Old Polish language ( pl, język staropolski, staropolszczyzna) was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language. The sources for the study of the Ol ...

name of the nearby lake ''Kotzavil'', as it appeared in medieval documents. Among the settlers were Poles displaced from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union, Poles returning from forced labour both from the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and Germany and soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces in the West.

Demographics

Detailed data as of 31 December 2021:

Number of inhabitants by year

Sports

The local football club is Piast Chociwel. It competes in the lower leagues.

Gallery

Chociwel Urzad Miejski.jpg, Municipal office Chociwel pomnik sybirakow.jpg, Memorial to Polish prisoners of Soviet

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

camps and deportees to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

Chociwel pomnik.jpg,

Polish First Army Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

Memorial Chociwel zbor baptystow.jpg, Baptist church

Notable residents

Hugo von Kathen Hugo Karl Gottlieb von Kathen (27 August 1855 – 2 April 1932) was a German infantry general during World War I. Family Kathen was born in Freienwalde, Farther Pomerania to the Prussian Major Karl von Kathen (1803–1876), a landowner from L ...

(1855–1932), general *

Herbert Hoffmann Herbert Hoffmann (December 30, 1919 in Freienwalde in Pomerania - June 30, 2010 in Heiden, Switzerland) was a German tattoo artist and photographer. Hoffmann as photographer From 1961 he produced professional photographic works in his Hambu ...

(1919–2010), artist

References

External links

Official town webpage

Jewish Community in Chociwel
on Virtual Shtetl
{{Authority control Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship Stargard County