Świecie (; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in northern Poland with 24,841 inhabitants (2023), capital of

Świecie County __NOTOC__ Świecie County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms p ...

in the

Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship * Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) in Poland. * Kuyavian-Pomeranian is one of 13 Polish constituency of the European Parliament. * Kuyavian-Pomeranian Regional Assembly is the regional legislature of t ...

. It is located within the ethnocultural region of

Kociewie Kociewie is an ethnocultural region in the eastern part of Tuchola Forest, in northern Poland, Pomerania, that is inhabited by the Kociewians. Its cultural capital is Starogard Gdański, the biggest town is Tczew, while other major towns include ...

in the historic region of

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. Founded in the Middle Ages, Świecie prospered as a trade center due to its location at the intersection of important trade routes. The town features heritage sites in a variety of styles, including Gothic,

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

and

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

, a preserved

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

, and the region's sole Museum of Firefighting. Świecie is home to one of the oldest psychiatric hospitals in Poland.

Location

Świecie is located on the west bank of river

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

at the mouth of river Wda, approximately north-east of

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

, 105 kilometers south of

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

and 190 kilometers south-west of

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

Etymology

The name of the town comes from the Polish word ''świecić'', which means "to shine".

History

A fishermen's village existed at the site of the present-day town in the

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

. The area became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. During the period of the fragmentation of Poland, Świecie became the residence of Pomeranian Duke Grzymisław. Grzymisław's duchy included part of

Gdańsk Pomerania Gdańsk Pomerania (; ; ) is the main geographical region within Pomerelia (also known as Vistula Pomerania, Eastern Pomerania, and previously Polish Pomerania) in northern Poland, covering the bulk of Pomeranian Voivodeship. In contrast to ''Pome ...

with prominent towns of

Starogard Gdański Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; formerly ) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. Founded in the Middle Ages, Starogard is a city with ...

and Lubiszewo, as well as

Skarszewy Skarszewy () is a town in Starogard Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It is located within the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in the historic region of Pomerania, south of Gdańsk. Population: 6 809 (30 June 2005). In ...

. The

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

conquered Gdańsk in 1309 and in 1310 bought the region in Soldin from the Margraves of Brandenburg, who claimed the region, which however legally formed part of Poland. By then, the settlement already had the status of ''Civitas'', just as Gdańsk and

Tczew Tczew (, formerly ) is a city on the Vistula River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, with 59,111 inhabitants (December 2021). It is the capital of Tczew County and the largest city of the ethnocultural region of Kociewie within th ...

did. Świecie was granted a municipal form of government by the Teutonic Order, when it was still located on the high west bank of the Vistula. Probably because of destruction by fire, during the period 1338–1375 the town was relocated down into the valley at the Vistula. The town was briefly recaptured by the Poles after their victory in the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...

in 1410. In 1454, in the beginning stages of the Thirteen Years' War, it was captured by the

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (, ) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Marienwerder (present-day Kwidzyn) by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the arbitrariness of the Teutonic Knights. It was based o ...

, which opposed Teutonic rule, and upon the request of which King

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

re-incorporated the territory to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

that same year. The Teutonic Knights renounced any claims to the town, and recognized it as part of Poland in 1466. It was a royal town of Poland, administratively located in the

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship ( ; ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk Voivo ...

in the province of

Royal Prussia Royal Prussia (; or , ) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) became a province of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which was annexed follow ...

in the Greater Poland Province. The town prospered due to its location at the intersection of the

Amber Road The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade. ...

and the trade route connecting

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (; ), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania, located mostly in north-eastern Germany, with a small portion in no ...

with

Warmia Warmia ( ; Latin: ''Varmia'', ''Warmia''; ; Warmian subdialect, Warmian: ''Warńija''; Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Wārmi'') is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia (reg ...

Masuria Masuria ( ; ; ) is an ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship (ad ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. In the 17th century, Świecie suffered as a result of the

Swedish invasion of Poland The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense, it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Pol ...

and an epidemic. In 1772, during the

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

, the town was annexed by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, and as ''Schwetz'' was integrated into the newly formed

Province of West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...

. In 1871, it also became part of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The economic development was decisively improved by the connection to the railway network in 1888. In 1905, the town had a Protestant church, two Catholic churches and a synagogue. In 1910, Schwetz had a population of 8,042, of which 4,206 (52.3%) were

German-speaking German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

, 3,605 (44.8%) were Polish-speaking and 166 (2.1%) were bilingual in German and another language. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the restoration of independent Poland, Świecie was restored by

to Poland in 1920 according to the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

and became part of the

of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. In 1920, Stanisław Kostka, a distinguished Polish activist who was active in

Grudziądz Grudziądz (, ) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its province. Grudziądz is one of the oldest citie ...

and Świecie under Prussian rule, became the mayor of the town. Stanisław Kostka built new

flood embankment A flood embankment is traditionally an earth wall used to shore up flood waters. Most flood embankments are between 1 metre and 3 metres high. A flood embankment is rare. Modern improvements to this design include constructing an internal centra ...

s that protect Świecie from floods to this day, and under his administration the town developed economically and culturally. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

occupied Świecie and annexed it on 8 October 1939, making it the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

of the ''Kreis'' county of Schwetz. It was administered as part of the

Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia () was an Reichsgau, administrative division of Nazi Germany created on 8 October 1939 from annexed territory of the Free City of Danzig, the Greater Pomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor), and the Marienwerder (regi ...

. Prominent Poles were arrested using secret politically targeted hit list and murdered using the ''

Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz The ''Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz'' was an Selbstschutz, ethnic-German self-protection militia, a paramilitary organization comprising ethnic Germans (''Volksdeutsche'') mobilized from among the German minority in Poland. The ''Volksdeutsche ...

'' paramilitaries. Local Poles were murdered in large massacres in Świecie, Grupa and Mniszek. The Germans also murdered the staff and 1,350 patients of the local

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

in large massacres in the Szpęgawski and

Luszkówko Luszkówko is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Pruszcz, within Świecie County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. History Luszkówko was a private village owned by various Polish nobles, incl. the Wulkows ...

forests. Local Poles were also subjected to expulsions. The town was captured by combined Polish and Soviet forces on February 10, 1945, and restored to Poland, where it became part of the

Bydgoszcz Voivodeship Bydgoszcz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Statistics Capital city: Bydgoszcz Area: 10,359 Statistics (1998): P ...

formed in 1946 in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

. An internment camp was operation for Germans of the region, who could be selected for forced labor each morning by the Polish; many Germans died. The camp was dissolved in March, some Germans were sent to Germany, some were sent to the Central Labour Camp in Potulice. The town grew rapidly with population reaching 13,500 by 1961. Sugar refinery was expanded, meat, cattle feed plants, and mills were built, including the paper factory launched in 1968, with 4,600 employees.Urząd Miejski w Świeciu
Historia Świecia (Świecie history).
Official website. In 1988 Świecie was awarded with the Officer's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

, one of Poland's highest state orders.

Demographics

Culture

There is a Museum of Firefighting () in Świecie.

Major corporations

* Mondi Świecie SA (before, known as Mondi Packaging Paper Świecie SA, and Frantschach Świecie SA as well as Celuloza Świecie SA) – paper products and packaging

Education

* Wyższa Szkoła Menedżerska (Higher School of Management) * I LO im. Floriana Ceynowy * II LO w Świeciu * Zespół Szkół Ponadgimnazjalnych

Sport

* Wda Świecie football club * Polpak Świecie basketball team

Notable residents

Heinrich von Plauen Heinrich von Plauen (the Elder) ( – 1429) was the 27th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from November 1410 to October 1413. Having becoming grandmaster in the wake of the Battle of Grunwald, he was a stern proponent of prolonging ...

(the Elder) (ca. 1370–1429), 27th grand master of the

* Oskar Cassel (1849–1923), German liberal politician *

Nikolaus von Halem Nikolaus Christoph von Halem (15 March 1905 – 9 October 1944) was a German lawyer, businessman, and resistance fighter against Nazism. Early life Halem was born in Schwetz in West Prussia (present-day Świecie, Poland). He was the fourth ...

(1905–1944), German lawyer and

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

Rolf Stein Rolf Alfred Stein (13 June 1911 – 9 October 1999) was a German-born French Sinologist and Tibetologist. He contributed in particular to the study of the ''Epic of King Gesar'', on which he wrote two books, and the use of Chinese sources in Tib ...

(1911–1999), German-French

Sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

and

Tibetologist Tibetology () refers to the study of things related to Tibet, including its history, religion, language, culture, politics and the collection of Tibetan articles of historical, cultural and religious significance. The last may mean a collection of ...

* Günther Radusch (1912-1988), Luftwaffe pilot * (born 1932), Polish legal historian, professor, academic lecturer * (1937–2007), Polish writer and publicist *

Janusz Józefowicz Janusz Józefowicz (born 3 July 1959, Świecie) is a Polish people, Polish director, choreographer, actor and dancer. He is the director and choreographer of the musical ''Metro (musical), Metro''. Education Józefowicz is a graduate of the ...

(born 1959), Polish director, choreographer, creator of Metro (musical) *

Jacek Bobrowicz Jacek Bobrowicz (born 14 December 1962) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, ...

(born 1962), retired Polish football player * (born 1967), Polish painter *

Aleksy Kuziemski Aleksy Kuziemski (born 9 May 1977) is a Polish professional boxer and light heavyweight world title challenger. Amateur career As an amateur, Kuziemski for Astoria Bydgoszcz won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in t ...

(born 1977), Polish professional boxer *

Dawid Konarski Dawid Andrzej Konarski (born 31 August 1989) is a Polish professional volleyball player who plays as an opposite spiker for Al Nassr. He is a former member of the Poland national team, a participant in the Olympic Games Rio 2016, and a two–tim ...

(born 1989), Polish volleyball player, member of the

Poland men's national volleyball team The Poland men's national volleyball team (Polish language, Polish: ''Reprezentacja Polski w piłce siatkowej mężczyzn'') represents Poland in international volleyball competition. The team is directed by the Polish Volleyball Federation (''Pol ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

World Champion * Paweł Paczkowski (born 1993), Polish handball player, member of the

Poland men's national handball team The Poland men's national handball team is controlled by the Polish Handball Association (''Związek Piłki Ręcznej w Polsce''), and represents Poland in international matches. Honours Competitive record Olympic Games World Champio ...

Katarzyna Wenerska Katarzyna Wenerska (born 9 March 1993 in Świecie) is a Polish volleyball player, representing her country as a setter. Career She is a product of Joker Świecie. With this club, she won a bronze medal at the 2005 Polish Mini Volleyball Champio ...

(born 1993), volleyball player

Footnotes

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Populated places on the Vistula Świecie County Sites of Nazi war crimes in Poland Towns in Kociewie Capitals of former nations