Dziwnów () is a town in north-western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

situated on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

at the mouth of the river Dziwna which divides it into the right-bank part containing the center of the town, belonging to historical

Farther Pomerania Farther Pomerania, Hinder Pomerania, Rear Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania (; ), is a subregion of the historic region of Pomerania in north-western Poland, mostly within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, while its easternmost parts are within the Po ...

, while the left-bank part is located in

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 both parts connected through a

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

. It is a part and the seat of the eponymous Dziwnów municipality within

Kamień County __NOTOC__ Kamień County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-western Poland, on the Baltic coast. It existed from 1945 to 1975 and was re-established in its current form on ...

West Pomeranian Voivodeship West Pomeranian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in northwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin. Its area equals , and in 2021, it was inhabited by 1,682,003 people. It was established on 1 Janua ...

. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 2,595.

History

The territory became part of the emerging Polish state under its first 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 ...

around 967 and the battle at Julin Bridge took place nearby in 1170. The first mentioning of the village in chronicles dates back to 1243. It remained a small fishing village in a sparsely populated area. This changed when the village came under

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n rule and more people started to settle in the village. Due to its seaside location the village slowly transformed from a fishing village into a holiday resort. At the end of the 19th century, salt springs were discovered, and the first sanatorium was established. As a result the town became a popular spa town in 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 the 1930s, military barracks were built. During

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 June 1944, American army conducted air raids on the

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

garrison in the village. The historic church was destroyed in the final stages of the war. Polish troops entered in the city May 1945 and the German population was expelled or fled. 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 city became part of the

Polish People's Republic 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. ...

. In 1949 and 1950 in the local garrison there was a military hospital for Greeks and Macedonians wounded in the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

. In total, around 2,000 people were treated there. Later on, in the 1950s, the hospital staff co-created the Military Medical Academy in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. In 1958 Dziwnów was granted

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

status and afterwards a port was built. The development of the settlement in the following decades led to the granting of municipal rights in 2004. From 1964 to 1986, the 1st Assault Battalion, which was considered one of the best trained units in the history of the Polish Army, was stationed in Dziwnów. In 2004, Dziwnów received town privileges

International relations

Dziwnów is twinned with: *

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (), often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów (formerly ), is a city in Geography of Poland, western Poland, located on the Warta, Warta River. It is one of the two principal cities and seats of the Lubusz Voivodes ...

(2014) * Sosnowiec, Poland (2013) * Werneuchen,

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 ...

(1993)

Gallery

File:Port Dziwnów.JPG, Fishing Port File:Dziwnów7.JPG, Yacht Quay File:Dziwnów, podniesiony most.jpg, Bascule bridge File:Plaża w Dziwnowie(Aw58).JPG, Beach

References

External links

Official town website

Tourist town website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship Kamień County Populated riverside places in Poland Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Port cities and towns in Poland