Bytów (; ; ) is a town in the

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 ...

region of northern Poland with 16,730 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of

Bytów County Bytów County (, ) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its admi ...

in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. In the early

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

a fortified stronghold stood near the town. In 1346 as ''Bütow'' it obtained

Kulm law Kulm law, Culm law or Chełmno Law (; ; ) was a legal constitution for a municipal form of government used in several Central European cities in the Middle Ages and early modern period. It was initiated on 28 December 1233 in the Monastic State o ...

rights from 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 ...

, which controlled it since 1329. During the Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466), the town was the site of heavy fighting and changed hands over time. Eventually, 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 ...

granted the town to Eric II, Duke of Pomerania, as a perpetual

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

. After the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

, Bytów became part of 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 later also Germany, within which it remained until the end of

World War II 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 ...

. In the final stages of the war Bytów heavily shelled by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, and more than 55% of the buildings were destroyed.

History

According to the city's official webpage the name Bytów comes from the founder of the settlement named "Byt".
Bytów Official Site A settlement was first mentioned by the name of ''Butow'' in 1321. The territory became part of the emerging Polish state under its first historic ruler

Mieszko I Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...

in the 10th century. Bytów passed to the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

in 1329. From 1335 comes the oldest mention of a Catholic parish, which, however, could have existed since the 12th or 13th century. In 1346 it was granted

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

. The castle seen today was built by the Knights between 1399 and 1405 at the site of the older castle, to protect their western border. It has been the seat of an administrator of the State of the Teutonic Knights. This castle was captured by Poland after 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 ...

(1410), and king

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...

of Poland gave it to Bogislaw VIII, Duke of Pomerania, for all of his lifetime as payment for support obtained from him against the Teutonic Knights. In the

Peace of Thorn (1411) The (First) Peace of Thorn was a peace treaty formally ending the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War between allied Poland during the Jagiellon dynasty, Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania on one side, and the Teutonic Knights on the ...

Bogislaw had to return the castle to the Knights. The town did not join the Prussian Confederation's revolt against the Teutonic Knights. The town alternated between Poland and the monastic state during the Polish-Teutonic Wars, and returned to Polish control after the

Second Peace of Thorn (1466) The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń (; ), was a peace treaty signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 between the Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon and the Teutonic K ...

. Poland gave Bytów as lien to the

Dukes of Pomerania This is a list of the duchies and dukes of Pomerania. Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes (All Pomerania) The lands of Pomerania were firstly ruled by local tribes, who settled in Pomerania around the 10th and 11th centuries. Non-dynastic ...

. Since 1526 the Pomerania dukes held it as an inheritable lien. In 1627 during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, the town was rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire. When the Pomeranian dukes died out in 1637 Bytów ceased to be a Polish fief and became directly ruled by Poland, administratively part of 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 ...

. Then the local nobility obtained equal rights with the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

of the entire

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. Bytów was overshadowed by

Lębork Lębork (; ; ) is a town on the Łeba River, Łeba and Okalica rivers in the Gdańsk Pomerania region in northern Poland. It is the capital of Lębork County in Pomeranian Voivodeship. Its population is 37,000. History Middle Ages The region fo ...

, which developed faster and became the seat of local

starost Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

s. In 1651 there was a dispute between the city authorities and the starost Jakub Wejher, regarding overdue taxes. To gain an ally against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

during the Deluge, in 1657 King John II Casimir of Poland gave the

Lauenburg and Bütow Land Lauenburg and Bütow Land ( or , , ) formed a historical region in the western part of Pomerelia (Polish and papal historiography) or in the eastern part of Farther Pomerania (German historiography). It was composed of two districts centered on th ...

Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia as a hereditary

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

in the Treaty of Bydgoszcz. Although Poland still retained sovereignty, the town was administered by Brandenburg and, after 1701, by the

. Brandenburg imposed higher taxes to pay off its debts after the

. During the 18th century, the town suffered from fires and plague. In 1773 in 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 wholly incorporated in the Prussian Province of Pomerania. In the 18th century attempts began at

Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people, and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In l ...

of the indigenous Polish-Kashubian population by introducing

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

into schools. It remained a center of Polish resistance against Germanisation and was a Polish-Kashubian printing center. From 1846 to 1945, Bütow was the seat of the Landkreis Bütow district in Prussia. The town became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

in 1871 during the Prussian-led

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...

. Polish minority remained active in the city, and in 1910 a Polish Bank Ludowy was founded here. After the end of

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 re-establishment of independent Poland, 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 ...

kept the town in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

in 1919. There was an economic decline, many Germans emigrated to western Germany, and the population was slowly decreasing. In the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

numerous Polish organizations, including the

Union of Poles in Germany Union of Poles in Germany (, ) is an organisation of the Poland, Polish minority in Germany, founded in 1922. In 1924, the union initiated collaboration between other minorities, including Sorbs, Danish minority in Southern Schleswig, Danes, Fris ...

, operated in the town. Poles were subjected to repressions. The hero of the local Polish population was a local Polish teacher, Jan Bauer, who was arrested by the Germans in 1929. Months before

, in 1939, the Germans carried out arrests of notable local Poles, incl. activists and the head of the local Polish bank. During

the Polish population was subject to deportations and executions, two of its leaders, and were imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

s, however, the town remained a local center of the Polish resistance movement ( Kashubian Griffin). In January 1945, a German-perpetrated

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

of Allied prisoners-of-war from the Stalag XX-B

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

passed through the town. It was captured by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

on 8 March 1945. Some inhabitants had fled before the Soviet advance. In April 1945, it was put under Polish administration, confirmed after the end of the war by the Potsdam Conference and the Polish name ''Bytów'' was restored. Those German inhabitants, which had remained in the town or had returned to it short after the war, were later on expelled in accordance with the

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...

. The indigenous Polish-Kashubian population was joined by Poles displaced from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union and from the rest of

Kashubia Kashubia or Cassubia ( or ; ; or ) is an ethnocultural region in the historic Eastern Pomerania (Pomerelia) region of northern Poland. It is inhabited by the Kashubian people, and many in the region have historically spoken the Kashubian langua ...

. Bytów became the seat of a

powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...

(1946–1975, 1999-) within Poland. From 1975 to 1998 it was administratively part of the Słupsk Voivodeship.

Kashubian Emigration to America

Many families from Bytów such as the Brezas and the Pehlers emigrated to the area of

Winona, Minnesota Winona ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota), Sugar Loaf. The population was 2 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, beginning in 1859. The Prussian policy was to force the Kashubians out to make room for German settlers. Some Kashubians moved across the Mississippi River to Pine Creek, Wisconsin in the early 1860s. Many found jobs in the lumber mills during the lumber boom of the late 1800s occurring in the region.

Demographics

Following the medieval Christianization of the region, most inhabitants of the town were Catholics, and after the Reformation until the end of World War II most inhabitants were Protestants. ;Number of inhabitants by year The above table is based on primary, possibly biased, sources.Kratz (1865)
p. 52
/ref>

Sights

* Bytów Castle, housing the West Kashubian Museum (''Muzeum Zachodniokaszubskie'') Bytow zamek panorama

Sports

Polish football club Bytovia Bytów is based in Bytów.

Notable residents

* Szimón Krofey (1545–1589), Polish-Kashubian pastor, teacher and publisher * Adolph Ferdinand Gehlen (1775–1815) German chemist, died from arsenic poisoning in Munich age 39 * Georg Warsow (1877-??) a German road racing cyclist who competed in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

* Wilhelm Abel (1904–1985), German economist, particularly agricultural economics and economic history. * Hansjoachim Walther (1939–2005), politician, became member of the Third Kohl cabinet * Natalia Szroeder (born 1995) a Polish singer, songwriter and TV presenter * Kamil Małecki (born 1996) a Polish professional racing cyclist

Twin cities

Bytów is twinned with: One regular activity is the exchange of high school students between Bytów and Winona.

Municipality of Bytów

Sołectwo A sołectwo ( Polish plural: ''sołectwa'') is an administrative unit in Poland, an optional subdivision of a gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. ...

s in the urban-rural commune (

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...

) of Bytów include: Dąbie, Gostkowo, Grzmiąca, Mądrzechowo, Mokrzyn, Niezabyszewo, Płotowo, Pomysk Mały Pomysk Wielki, Rekowo, Rzepnica, Sierżno, Świątkowo, Udorpie, Ząbinowice.

Gallery

File:Saints Catherine and John the Baptist church in Bytów.jpg, Saints Catherine and John the Baptist Church File:Bytow(pischmak).JPG, Tower of St. Catherine Church File:Bytów (Bëtowò) - fotopolska.eu (123370).jpg, Town centre File:Old bridge in Bytów.JPG, Railway bridge in Bytów File:Bytów (Bëtowò), Sąd Rejonowy - fotopolska.eu (123050).jpg, District court

References

;Footnotes

External links

Official website

Photo gallery
{{Authority control Populated places established in the 12th century Cities and towns in Pomeranian Voivodeship Bytów County Kashubian-American history Populated riverside places in Poland