Pasłęk (pronounced ; formerly known in Polish as Holąd Pruski, ,

Old Prussian Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...

: ''Pāistlauks'') is a historic town in northern

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 ...

, within Elbląg County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. In 2017, the town had 12,298 registered inhabitants.

History

The oldest record of the name of the Pasłęk territory appears as ''Pozolucensis provincia'' in a petition of Polish

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...

from 1231. Later in the 13th and 14th century the settlement was mentioned in documents as ''Pazluch'', ''Pazlok'', ''Paslok''. In 1393 it was mentioned by a ''frater Heinricus de Castro alias Pasloci''. Pasłęk is one of two historic Polish names of the town and it derives from the

place name ''Passis Lukis''. The second name is Holąd Pruski. The town in the place of the old settlement was founded by settlers imported from

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

by 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 ...

in the late 13th century — hence the name ''Hollant'' or ''Holland'', later changed to ''Preußisch Holland'', by adding the

adjective An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...

''Preußisch'' meaning "Prussian". It is the oldest former Dutch settlement in present-day Poland. It is located in the Prussian historical region of Pogesania. After the Polish victory at 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, the castle was plundered by the retreating

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 ...

. Then it was taken over by Poles without a fight. In 1440 the town joined the Prussian Confederation, at 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 ...

signed the act of incorporation of the region 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 ...

in 1454. The town joined Poland and recognized Polish rule. During the subsequent Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466) it was briefly captured by the Teutonic Knights, but in 1456 it returned to Poland. The town was successfully defended against the Teutonic Knights in 1463 and 1466. After the

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

signed in

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

in 1466, the town became part of Poland as a

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 ...

held by the Teutonic Order's state. During the last Polish–Teutonic War, which broke out after the newly chosen Grand Master of the Teutonic Order refused to submit to the Crown of Poland, the town was captured and held by the Poles from 1520 until the dissolution of the Teutonic state in 1525. Afterwards it became part of the secular

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

, a Polish fief until 1657. In 1526 a Lutheran parish was founded. In 1534 a town school was established. In 1627 the town was captured by the Swedes and the next year it was captured by the Poles. In 1635, peace negotiations between

and

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 ...

took place in the town. In 1655 it was captured again by the Swedes. In 1659 it was besieged by Sweden again, but this time without success. It was the location of " The Great Sleigh Drive", a military operation in 1678. In 1688 a horse post service connecting

Malbork Malbork (German: ''Marienburg'') is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It is the seat of Malbork County and has a population of 36,709 people as of 2024. The town is located on the Nogat river, in the historical region of Pomerelia. Fo ...

with Königsberg (

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 ...

) was led through the town. Between 1758 and 1762 it was under Russian occupation.''Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom III'', p. 98 In 1807 it was captured by Napoleonic troops. French troops were stationed in the town in 1807 and 1812. In 1818 Preußisch Holland became 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 district or county (''landkreis'') of the same name. In 1831 the town suffered a flood. In 1831, various Polish artillery units, engineer corps, sappers, honor guards and general staff of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

stopped in the town on the way to their internment places. MapPaslenk1897-1024

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 ...

since 1701, it 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. Following the defeat of Germany in the

First World War 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

Versailles Treaty 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 Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactl ...

the town remained the seat of Landkreis Preußisch Holland within Weimar Germany's exclave

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. With the arrival of 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 ...

on 23 January 1945, and the end of the war, the town became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the 1980s. It was handed over to Polish administration on 1 June 1945 and renamed to the historic name ''Pasłęk'' on 7 May 1946. The remaining ethnic Germans were 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 ...

in several transports within the following year, e.g. 149 people on 4 September and 89 on 4 October 1947. A transport of 80 children from an orphanage, many of them survivors of the Grünhagen railway accident or wartime evacuees, left in May 1947. As of 1950, 373 pre-war inhabitants lived in the area, a number reduced to 20 in 1958. The town was repopulated by

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

, many of whom displaced from the former eastern territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. In 1969, the "Pasłęczanka" Housing Cooperative was founded, which built the "Osiedle Ogrodowa" district. In 1975 an economic and technical school was opened.

Sights

Among the historic heritage of Pasłęk are: *medieval town walls with the Stone Gate (''Brama Kamienna'') and Mill Gate (''Brama Młyńska'') * Gothic town hall (''Ratusz'') *Gothic St. Bartholomew Church *Pasłęk Castle *

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 ...

Saint George church *Water tower *

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, 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 ...

Church of the Nativity of Mary *Old townhouses SM Pasłek Brama Młyńska (1) ID 645082.jpg, Mill Gate (''Brama Młyńska'') SM Pasłęk Ratusz (3) ID 645083.jpg, Gothic town hall (''Ratusz'') Pasłęk kościół św. bartłomieja.JPG, St. Bartholomew Church SM Pasłek Zamek (0) ID 645081.jpg, Pasłęk Castle Wieża wodociągowa w Pasleku.JPG, Water tower Cerkiew paslek.JPG, Church of the Nativity of Mary

Transport

The Polish S7 expressway (highway), which is part of

European route E77 European route E 77 is a part of the International E-road network, inter-European road system. This Class A intermediate north–south route is long and it connects the Baltic Sea with the central part of the continent. History In the ...

, runs through the town, connecting it with

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 ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and the border with

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Chyżne Chyżne is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Jabłonka, within Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately south of Jabłonka, west of Nowy Targ, and ...

. Also the

Voivodeship road According to classes and categories of public roads in Poland, a voivodeship A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed sinc ...

s (roads of regional importance) 505, 513, 526 and 527 run through the town. Also, a railway station is located in Pasłęk.

Sports

The town's main sports club is Polonia Pasłęk with

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

and

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

sections.

Twin towns

Pasłęk is twinned with: *

Itzehoe Itzehoe (; ) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24 km (14.9&nb ...

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 ...

''(since 1990)'' *

La Couronne Fourteen ships of the French Navy or the Galley Corps (which was separate from the Navy) of the Ancien Régime or Empire have borne the name ''Couronne'' ("crown"): * , the first major warship to be built in France – actually launched in 1632/33 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

''(since 1994)''

Notable residents

* Joachim Friedrich Henckel (1712–1779), Prussian surgeon * Victor Valois (1841-1924), German naval officer, Vice Admiral * Hugo Erdmann (1862–1910), German chemist * Max Liedtke (1894–1955), German journalist and

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

* Lotte Laserstein (1898–1993), German-Swedish painter and portraitist * Dietmar Damerau (1935–2011), German artist *

Hans Grodotzki Hans Grodotzki (born 4 April 1936 in Preußisch Holland) is an East German long-distance runner who competed mainly in track events. He competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy in the 10,000 metr ...

(born 1936), East German long-distance runner * Bolesław Szymański (born 1950), Polish computer scientist *

Katarzyna Ankudowicz Katarzyna Ankudowicz (born 3 June 1981) is a Polish actress. She graduated from the Aleksander Zelwerowicz State Theatre Academy in 2004. Filmography *2004-2006: '' Bulionerzy'' *2004: '' Mało upalne lato'' *2005: '' Szaleńcy'' *2006-2007 ...

(born 1981), Polish actress

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Elbląg County