Połczyn-Zdrój (; formerly german: Bad Polzin) is a town in

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, with 11,153 inhabitants (2007). It is located in the historic region 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 ...

History

Połczyn-Zdrój dates back to an

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

Pomeranian settlement. The town and its castle are mentioned in historical records from 1321 and 1331, respectively, which state that they belonged to a fief that the powerful noble family '' of Wedell'' had obtained from the Pomeranian dukes. In the 15th century other families were in possession of the town. It had three mineral springs of enhanced iron content and with a temperature between , which were exploited in sanatoriums in order to cure rheumatism. In 1905 the town had a population of 5,046 which in the year of 1925 had grown to 5,960 persons. Before World War I, the town was known as ''Polzin.'' It acquired the name ''Bad Polzin'' (i. e., "Bath Polzin", or "Polzin Spa") between the two World Wars.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 opposing ...

the Germans established a camp for Polish children intended for Germanisation. In March 1945 the region 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, afte ...

, and after the end of the war it became part of

. The town's first post-war mayor was Benedykt Polak, former prisoner of the

Oflag II-C Oflag II-C Woldenburg was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located about from the town of Woldenberg, Brandenburg (now Dobiegniew, western Poland). The camp housed Polish officers and orderlies and had an area of with 25 brick huts fo ...

German

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. ...

. In July 1996, after heavy rainfall, the town suffered a flood, after which a new retention

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

was built between 2000 and 2003.

Gallery

660629 Połczyn Zdrój E. Skórska.JPG, Park Zdrojowy (Spa Park) Połczyn Zdrój - panoramio (13).jpg, Sanatorium Gryf Połczyn Zdrój - panoramio (18).jpg, Sanatorium Podhale Połczyn-Zdrój. Widok na kościół z skrzyżowania ul. Grunwaldzkiej i ul. 5-go Marca.jpg, Our Lady of Perpetual Help church

Notable residents

* Anton von Krockow (1714–1778) a Prussian lieutenant general. * Karl Schröder (1884–1950) a German communist politician and writer * Friedl Behn-Grund (1906–1989) a German cinematographer *

Volker Vogeler Volker Vogeler (27 June 1930 – 16 April 2005) was a German film director and screenwriter. He directed 13 films between 1967 and 2000. His 1971 film '' Jaider, der einsame Jäger'' was entered into the 21st Berlin International Film Fest ...

(1930–2005) a German film director and screenwriter *

Bernd Heinrich Bernd Heinrich (born April 19, 1940 in Bad Polzin, Germany), is a professor emeritus in the biology department at the University of Vermont and is the author of a number of books about nature writing and biology. Heinrich has made major contribut ...

(born 1940) a biologist and long distance runner * Susan Denberg (born 1944) a German-Austrian model and actress * Rosemarie Zens (born 1944) a German writer and photographer *

Robert Atzorn Robert Atzorn (born 2 February 1945) is a German television actor. He was born in Bad Polzin, Pomerania, Germany, now Połczyn-Zdrój, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. Life Robert Atzorn grew up in Oldenburg and Hamburg. He studied grap ...

(born 1945) a German television actor IMDb Database
retrieved 19 October 2018 * Stanisław Wziątek (born 1959) a Polish politician, elected to Sejm in 2005 * Janusz Janowski (born 1965) a Polish painter, jazz drummer and art theorist * Olgierd Moskalewicz (born 1974) a Polish footballer, over 420 pro appearances *

Sławomir Nitras Sławomir Witold Nitras (born 26 April 1973 in Połczyn-Zdrój) is a Polish politician, political scientist, member of Civic Platform (PO), an MP in the lower house of Parliament from 2015 Member of the Sejm. Biography He was educated at th ...

(born 1973) a Polish politician and political scientist, elected to the Sejm in 2015. * Piotr Kosiorowski (born 1981), Polish footballer, over 200 pro appearances * Szymon Pawłowski (born 1986), Polish footballer, over 275 pro appearances and 17 for Poland * Joanna Zachoszcz (born 1993) a Polish swimmer, competed in the women's 10 km at the 2016 Summer Olympics

References

External links

Official town webpage
Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship Polczyn Zdroj Spa towns in Poland {{WestPomeranian-geo-stub