Połczyn-Zdrój (; ) is a town in

Świdwin County __NOTOC__ Świdwin County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms pass ...

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 ...

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 ...

, with 8,372 inhabitants (2010). It is situated on the Wogra River in the historic region of

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

History

Połczyn-Zdrój dates back to an

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...

Pomeranian settlement. The territory became part of the emerging Polish state under

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. Following the fragmentation of Poland, it formed part of the

Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (; ; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country existed in the Middle Ages between years 1121–11 ...

. Połczyn was a defensive stronghold located in the

Białogard Białogard (; ; Pomeranian language, Pomeranian: ''Biôłogard'') is a historic town in Middle Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 23,614 inhabitants as of December 2021. The capital of Białogard County in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Bi ...

castellany A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

. The town and its castle are mentioned in historical records from 1321 and 1331, respectively, which state that they belonged to a fief that the powerful noble Wedel family had obtained from the Pomeranian dukes. In the 15th century other families were in possession of the town. It had three mineral springs of enhanced iron content and with a temperature between , which were exploited in sanatoriums in order to cure

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...

. In 1905 the town had a population of 5,046 which in the year of 1925 had grown to 5,960 persons. Before World War I, the town was known as ''Polzin.'' It acquired the name ''Bad Polzin'' (i. e., "Bath Polzin", or "Polzin

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

") between the two World Wars. 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 ...

the Germans established a camp for kidnapped Polish children intended for

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 ...

. On 5 March 1945, the town was captured by the

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 ...

and after the end of the war it became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet-installed

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

. In the summer of 1945, the communist authorities announced that the population has to leave their home after harvest. However, after the Potsdam Conference evictions were officially postponed to spring 1946. In-officially, the administration was mandated to continue expulsions. According to German witness reports, starting end of October 1945, each night 100-150 Germans to be expelled were forced out of their homes, plundered and sometimes raped. The town's first post-war mayor was Benedykt Polak, former prisoner of the Oflag II-C German prisoner-of-war camp. In July 1996, after heavy rainfall, the town suffered a flood, after which a new retention

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

was built between 2000 and 2003.

Gallery

660629 Połczyn Zdrój E. Skórska.JPG, Park Zdrojowy (Spa Park) Połczyn Zdrój - panoramio (13).jpg, Sanatorium Gryf Połczyn Zdrój - panoramio (18).jpg, Sanatorium Podhale Połczyn-Zdrój. Widok na kościół z skrzyżowania ul. Grunwaldzkiej i ul. 5-go Marca.jpg, Our Lady of Perpetual Help church

Notable residents

* Anton von Krockow (1714–1778) a Prussian lieutenant general. * Karl Schröder (1884–1950) a German communist politician and writer *

Friedl Behn-Grund Friedl Behn-Grund (26 August 1906 – 2 August 1989) was a German cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, mus ...

(1906–1989) a German cinematographer * Volker Vogeler (1930–2005) a German film director and screenwriter *

Bernd Heinrich Bernd Heinrich (born April 19, 1940 in Bad Polzin, Germany (now Połczyn-Zdrój, Poland)), is a professor emeritus in the biology department at the University of Vermont and is the author of a number of books about nature and biology. Heinrich ha ...

(born 1940) a biologist and long distance runner * Susan Denberg (born 1944) a German-Austrian model and actress * Rosemarie Zens (born 1944) a German writer and photographer * Robert Atzorn (born 1945) a German television actor IMDb Database
retrieved 19 October 2018 * Stanisław Wziątek (born 1959) a Polish politician, elected to Sejm in 2005 * Janusz Janowski (born 1965) a Polish painter, jazz drummer and art theorist * Olgierd Moskalewicz (born 1974) a Polish footballer, over 420 pro appearances *

Sławomir Nitras Sławomir Witold Nitras (born 26 April 1973) is a Polish politician, political scientist, member of Civic Platform (PO) and a member of the Sejm since 2015. He currently serves as Minister of Sport and Tourism. Biography He was educated at ...

(born 1973) a Polish politician and political scientist, elected to the Sejm in 2015. * Piotr Kosiorowski (born 1981), Polish footballer, over 200 pro appearances * Szymon Pawłowski (born 1986), Polish footballer, over 275 pro appearances and 17 for Poland * Joanna Zachoszcz (born 1993) a Polish swimmer, competed in the women's 10 km at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

* Leo Levy (1881–1938) a German merchant from the Jewish Levy family, a doctor of chemistry, and a soldier in

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

's Imperial Army during

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 ...

References

External links

Official town webpage
{{Authority control Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship Populated riverside places in Poland Świdwin County Spa towns in Poland