Strzelce Krajeńskie

Strzelce Krajeńskie (german: Friedeberg in der Neumark) is a town in western Poland, in the Lubusz Voivodeship. It is the capital of the Strzelce-Drezdenko County. The town's population is 9,950 (2019).

History

In 1254, Margrave Conrad of Brandenburg-Stendal received the Santok castellan from Duke Przemysł I of Greater Poland as a dowry when he married his daughter. In a strategically favorable location, east of the town of Landsberg, Konrad built a castle in a Slavic village of unknown name. In 1269, the village came under German municipal law. The castle was destroyed by Przemysł I in 1272. Before 1286, the Margrave gave the newly created town Magdeburg rights under the name ''Friedeberg'', probably derived from the Friedeberg family from the Saalkreis, who were part of his entourage. Friedeberg was laid out within a circular fortification with a chessboard-like plan and settled with immigrants from the area of the lower Saale and the Harz foreland in Germany.

In the 14th century, the town gained importance when it received navigation rights for the Noteć (Netze) and Warta (Warthe) rivers in 1345. However, in the 15th century, the electors of Brandenburg had lost interest in the Neumark, and the Teutonic Order, which acquired the land in 1402, did little to develop it. Polish and Hussite armies used the power vacuum to plunder the region. The Hussites destroyed the town in 1433. During the Thirty Years' War in 1637, imperial troops burned it down. At the end of the war, the population had fallen to a fifth of the pre-war level. In 1717, Friedeberg became a Prussian garrison town, which resulted in an economic boom. In the 18th century, it benefited directly from the drainage program for the Netze river, which was initiated by Frederick the Great in 1770. The location of Friedeberg on a military road led to a prolonged occupation by the Russians during the Seven Years' War. Marching armies also ravaged the area during the Napoleonic Wars.

With the Prussian administrative reorganization, Friedeberg became the capital of the Friedeberg district in Regierungsbezirk Frankfurt in the Province of Brandenburg in 1816. The town initially benefitted from the Berlin – Königsberg state road, which it touched directly. The equally important route of the Prussian Eastern Railway however, ran 7 km south, and it was not until 1897 that the connection to the main railway network could be completed with the construction of the Friedeberger Kleinbahn. The town belonged to Germany since 1871. When the province of Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia was dissolved in 1938, the Friedeberg district became part of the Province of Pomerania.

Towards the end of World War II, the Red Army took Friedeberg almost without a fight on January 29, 1945, and deliberately burned around 80% of the town. In spring 1945, the town was placed under Polish administration.

Friedberg was renamed ''Strzelce Krajeńskie'' in 1946. Ukrainians and Lemkos from the Beskids were also forcibly resettled in the region in 1947 as part of Operation Vistula.

Sights

Among the preserved historic architecture of the city are:
*the medieval town walls with the Gothic Mill Gate (''Brama Młyńska'') and Prison Tower (''Baszta Więzienna'')
*the late Gothic Our Lady of the Rosary church
*an old granary from 1764
*old townhouses, including timber-framed houses

Strzelce Krajeńskie, mury obronne (17).jpg, Medieval town walls
MOs810 WG 2015 22 (Notecka III) (baszta Strzelce Kraj.).JPG, Mill Gate (''Brama Młyńska'')
Strzelce Krajeńskie, spichrz przy Bramie Wschodniej (01).jpg, Old granary from 1764

Notable people

* Bruno Schulz (1865–1932), German architect
* Wilhelm Uhde (1874–1947), German art collector

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Strzelce Krajeńskie.

References

External links

Official town websiteJewish Community in Strzelce Krajeńskie
on Virtual Shtetl

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strzelce Krajenskie
Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship
Strzelce-Drezdenko County