Brodnica Grób Wybicki

Brodnica () is a town in northern Poland with 28,574 inhabitants . It is the seat of Brodnica County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. The nearby Brodnica Landscape Park, a protected area, gets its name from Brodnica.

History

The first reference to the town of Brodnica dates from 1263. In 1285–1370 the construction of the Gothic Church of St. Catherine took place. Brodnica received town privileges in 1298. In 1414, a Polish–Teutonic truce was signed there, ending the Hunger War. In 1440, the town was one of the founding members of the Prussian Confederation, which opposed Teutonic rule, and upon the request of which King Casimir IV Jagiellon reincorporated the territory to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454. In May 1454 the town pledged allegiance to the Polish King in Toruń. After the end of the Thirteen Years' War, the Teutonic Knights renounced claims to the town, and recognized it as part of Poland. It became a royal town of the Polish Crown, administratively located in the Chełmno Voivodeship. In the Teutonic state Brodnica was the seat of the Commander, in the Polish Kingdom it was the capital of the district starosty, and the former Commander's lands were then royal property.

A favourable location on the intersection of important routes used for transportation of different goods (wood, fish, furs, animal skin, grain, wool) accelerated the development of the town, making it an important trading centre, the status still reflected in the number of well-preserved granaries along the Drwęca. Between 1486 and 1604 the town belonged to the Działyński family, then between 1604 and 1625 to Anna Vasa of Sweden who was the royal sister of Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland, Lithuania, and Sweden. In later years it was the property Queen Cecily Renata, Chancellor Jerzy Ossoliński, Queen Maria Casimira, and Marshal Franciszek Bieliński.

Brodnica was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1772, during the First Partition of Poland, but in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, Brodnica became part of the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw. In 1815, Brodnica, known as ''Strasburg'' in German, was again annexed by Prussia. In 1871, it also became part of the German Empire. After 1785, the Prussians dismantled the Brodnica Castle, preserving only the tower, which is currently the highest Gothic tower in Poland east of the Vistula, and serves as a museum and a watchtower. The town had a Protestant church, a Catholic church, a synagogue, a grammar school, a district court, a main customs office and several commercial operations.

The 19th century saw 20 thousand Polish soldiers interned after the failure of the November Uprising (1830–1831) and many townspeople and noblemen involved in the January Uprising (1863). It is in the Brodnica region too that Masovian insurgents sought refuge from Russian persecution after the failure of the January Uprising. Bank Spółdzielczy w Brodnicy, which is the oldest continuously operating Polish bank, was established in 1862. In 1873 a Polish philomath organization was founded in the local gymnasium, whose activity ended in 1901 due to Germany's anti-Polish policies.

Between 1886 and 1910, Brodnica received railway connections with Działdowo, Grudziądz, Iława, Sierpc and Jabłonowo Pomorskie, which made it an important railway junction and triggered industrial progress. In the 19th century, the Chełmno Land (and Brodnica in particular) was a refuge for Polish patriots who contributed greatly to social, cultural and economic life of the region, like Ignacy Łyskowski.

In January 1920, after the end of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, Brodnica was reintegrated with Poland, which had recently regained independence. On 18 August 1920, the town was the site of a Polish victory over the invading Soviets in the during the Polish–Soviet War. In the 1920s the town was visited by highest Polish dignitaries: Prime Minister Wincenty Witos, Marshal Józef Piłsudski and President Stanisław Wojciechowski.

During the occupation of Poland (World War II), in 1939, Germans carried out mass arrests of local Poles, who were later murdered in the area or deported to Nazi concentration camps. Some of these Poles were murdered in Skrwilno between 15 October and 15 November 1939 and in Brzezinki in October 1939. The interwar principal of the local high school, Klemens Malicki, was among the Polish principals and teachers murdered in the Oranienburg concentration camp as part of the ''Intelligenzaktion Pommern''. In 1940–1941, the Germans carried out expulsions of Poles, whose homes, shops and workshops were then handed over to German colonists as part of the ''Lebensraum'' policy. An Einsatzgruppen penal camp was operated in the town during the occupation, and in 1944, the Germans also established a subcamp of the Stutthof concentration camp, intended for female prisoners. The German occupation ended in January 1945.

In 1975–1998, it was administratively located in the Toruń Voivodeship.

Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb". (Marine West Coast Climate).

Location

Brodnica is located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship on an important route transit over the small river Drwęca, about south-east of Grudziądz.

Sports

The sports teams in the city include the football club Sparta Brodnica.Sparta official website.

Museum

The Museum of Brodnica (''Muzeum w Brodnicy'') consists of three branches, focusing on history, archeology and contemporary art. It is located in the Renaissance granary, the Brodnica Castle tower and the Gothic Chełmińska Gate.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Brodnica is twinned with:
* Strasburg, Germany
* Brørup, Lithuania
* Kristinehamn, Sweden
* Chamalières, France
* Koprivnica, Croatia
* Hummelo en Keppel, Netherlands
* Sevan, Armenia

Notable people

* Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen – Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
* Anna Vasa of Sweden – Swedish princess made starosta of Brodnica in 1605 by Sigismund III Vasa
* Robert Garrison – German film actor
* Łukasz Fabiański – Polish footballer
* Jakub Wawrzyniak – Polish footballer
* Robert Kłos
* Jakub Zabłocki – Polish footballer
* Daniel Trojanowski – Polish rower
* Patryk Kuchczyński – Polish team handball player
* Mateusz Łęgowski – Polish footballer

Gallery

Brodnica, Polska . Widok miasta z wieży zamkowej. - panoramio (30).jpg, Old Town
File:Brodnica, Duży Rynek (2).JPG, Market Square (''Duży Rynek'') filled with colourful historic townhouses
File:Brodnica kosciol Matki Boskiej Krolowej Polski (01).jpg, Our Lady Queen of Poland church and historic townhouses
File:Brodnica kościół pw św Katarzyny.jpg, Gothic Church of St. Catherine
File:Brodnica kościół pw św Katarzyny - wnetrze.jpg, Interior of the Church of St. Catherine
File:Kościół Niepokalanego Poczęcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Brodnicy.jpg, Franciscan Monastery
File:Brodnica, mury obronne 4.JPG, Medieval town walls
File:Brama Chelmińska w Brodnicy.jpg, Chełmińska Gate, now a museum
File:Brodnica, Wieża Mazurska 1.jpg, Mazurska Tower
File:Brodnica, spichrz, ul. Wodna 3.jpg, Granary
File:Magistrat Brodnica.JPG, Town Hall
File:Brodnica, cmentarz wojskowy 7.jpg, Memorial at the site of German executions of Poles in 1939
File:Brodnica, pomnik Anny Wazówny.JPG, Monument of Anna Vasa
File:Brodnica lądowisko.jpg, Medical helicopter landing pad
File:Brodnica.jpg, Drwęca river
File:Niskie Brodno panorama.jpg, ''Niskie Brodno'' lake

Notes

External links

Visit Brodnica

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{{Authority control

Cities and towns in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
Brodnica County
Holocaust locations in Poland