Kożuchów (; ) 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 ...

Lubusz Voivodeship Lubusz Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in western Poland with a population of 972,140. Its regional capitals are Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra. The region is characterized by a landscape of forests, lake ...

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 ...

History

The town was founded in the 12th century, when it was part of 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 ...

. It was granted town rights in 1273 in the process of Ostsiedlung. As a result of the fragmentation of Poland, it became part of the

Duchy of Głogów The Duchy of Głogów (, ) or Duchy of Glogau () was one of the Duchies of Silesia, formed in course of the medieval fragmentation of Poland into smaller provincial duchies. Its capital was Głogów in Lower Silesia. It existed in 1177–1185 an ...

, ruled by the Piasts and Jagiellons until its dissolution in 1506. While it was still a part of Austrian Silesia, the town became highly significant to

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

during the

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 ...

era. 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 European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

in 1632,

war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

Andreas Gryphius witnessed the pillaging and burning of Freystadt by the Protestant army of King

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 t ...

. Gryphius immortalized the sack of the city in a detailed account entitled ''Fewrige Freystadt'', which made him many enemies. In the

Silesian Wars The Silesian Wars () were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia (under King Frederick the Great) and Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg Austria (under Empress Maria Theresa) for control of the Central European ...

of the 18th century the town was annexed by

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

to 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, from 1871, was 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 ...

. Three annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

s were held in the town in the late 19th century. After the defeat of

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 ...

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 ...

, the town became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the Fall of Communism in the 1980s. It was renamed to its historic Polish name Kożuchów. The town's Silesian German-speaking population was 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 ...

and replaced by an ethnic Polish population similarly expelled from former eastern Poland annexed by the

USSR 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 ...

Defensive walls

At the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries Kożuchow was surrounded by fieldstone walls. The walls were up to 8 metres high and up to 2 metres thick. The fortifications of Kożuchow are among the best preserved in Poland. The walls and moat have survived for almost the entire medieval length.https://kozuchow.pl/gmina-urzad/historia

Demographics

Gallery

Kożuchów.jpg, Kożuchów Castle Kożuchów - Późnogotycki kościół Oczyszczenia NMP 29.jpg, Church of the Purification of Saint Mary Kożuchów. Ratusz 1.jpg, Town hall Kozuchow-figury-Piotra-i-Pawla.jpg, Sculptures of Saints

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and Paul on the facade of an 18th-century townhouse Kozuchow chalupska.jpg, Defensive walls

Notable people

* Andreas Gryphius (1616-1664), important figure in German poetry during and after the

. *

Margarete Kupfer Margarete Kupfer (born Margarete Kupferschmid; 10 April 1881 – 11 May 1953) was a German actress. Partial filmography * '' The Canned Bride'' (1915) * '' Frau Eva'' (1916) * '' The Queen's Secretary'' (1916) * '' When Four Do the Same'' (1917 ...

(1881–1953), German actress * Karl-Ernst Schroeter (1912–1943), U-boat commander * Paul Tschackert (1848–1911), German Protestant theologian and historian * Julius von Verdy du Vernois (1832–1910), German general * Artur Pawlowski (born 1973) Polish-Canadian Protestant street preacher

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Kożuchów.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship Nowa Sól County