Strzelce Krajeńskie () is a town in 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 ...

, in the

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 ...

. It is the capital of the

Strzelce-Drezdenko County __NOTOC__ Strzelce-Drezdenko County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in ...

. The town's population is 9,950 (2019).

History

The territory formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century under the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

. Following the fragmentation of Poland it was part of the

Duchy of Greater Poland The Duchy of Greater Poland was a district principality in Greater Poland that was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland. It was formed in 1138 from the territories of the Kingdom of Poland, following its fragmentation started by the testament of ...

. In 1254, Margrave Conrad of Brandenburg-Stendal received the Santok castellany from Duke Przemysł I of Greater Poland as a dowry when he married his daughter. In a strategically favorable location, east of the town of Landsberg (

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 ...

), Conrad built a castle in the just acquired Polish village. In 1269, the village came under German municipal law. The castle was destroyed by Przemysł I in 1272. The event was mentioned in the 13th-century Wielkopolska Chronicle, with Strzelce spelled ''Strzelci'' in Old Polish. Before 1286, the Margrave gave the newly created town

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...

under the name ''Friedeberg'', probably derived from the Friedeberg family from the Saalkreis, who were part of his entourage. Friedeberg was laid out within a circular fortification with a chessboard-like plan and settled with immigrants from the area of the lower

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

and the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

foreland in Germany. In 1319, the town passed to 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 ...

, and several years later it fell back to the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...

. In the 14th century, the town gained importance when it received navigation rights for the

Noteć The Noteć (; , ) is a river in central Poland with a length of (7th longest) and a basin area of .Warta rivers in 1345. In 1373 the town became part of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown, ruled by the Luxembourg dynasty. In 1402, the Luxembourgs reached an agreement with

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 ...

, under which Poland was to buy and reincorporate the town and surrounding region, but eventually the Luxembourgs sold the town to 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 ...

. The Teutonic Order did little to develop it, and during the Polish–Teutonic War of 1431–1435, the Hussites destroyed the town in 1433. 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 ...

in 1637, imperial troops burned it down. At the end of the war, the population had fallen to a fifth of the pre-war level. In 1717, Friedeberg became a Prussian garrison town, which resulted in an economic boom. In the 18th century, it benefited directly from the drainage program for the

Noteć The Noteć (; , ) is a river in central Poland with a length of (7th longest) and a basin area of .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 ...

in 1770. The location of Friedeberg on a military road led to a prolonged occupation by the

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. Marching armies also ravaged the area during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. With the Prussian administrative reorganization, Friedeberg became the capital of the Friedeberg district in Regierungsbezirk Frankfurt in the Province of Brandenburg in 1816. One of the main escape routes for surviving insurgents of the Polish

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. ...

from partitioned Poland to the

Great Emigration The Great Emigration () was the emigration of thousands of Poles and Lithuanians, particularly from the political and cultural élites, from 1831 to 1870, after the failure of the November Uprising of 1830–1831 and of other uprisings such as ...

led through the town. The town initially benefitted from the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

–

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

state road, which it touched directly. The equally important route of the Prussian Eastern Railway however, ran south, and it was not until 1897 that the connection to the main railway network could be completed with the construction of the Friedeberger Kleinbahn. The town belonged to

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 1871. When the province of Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia was dissolved in 1938, the Friedeberg district became part of the Province of Pomerania. 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 operated three

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

subcamps of the Stalag II-D

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

for Allied POWs in the town. Towards the end of the war, 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 ...

took Friedeberg almost without a fight on January 29, 1945, and deliberately burned around 80% of the town. In spring 1945, the town became again part of Poland under its historic Polish name Strzelce, and in 1946 the adjective ''Krajeńskie'' was added to distinguish it from other settlement of the same name.

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

and

Lemkos Lemkos (; ; ; ) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region (; ) of Carpathian Rus', an ethnographic region in the Carpathian Mountains and foothills spanning Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland. Lemkos are often considered to be a sub-group of ...

from the

Beskids The Beskids or Beskid Mountains (, , , (), ()) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west along the border of Poland with Slovakia up to Ukraine in the east. The highest mountain in the Be ...

were also forcibly resettled in the region in 1947 as part of Operation Vistula.

Sights

Among the preserved historic architecture of the city are: *the medieval town walls with the Gothic Mill Gate (''Brama Młyńska'') and Prison Tower (''Baszta Więzienna'') *the late Gothic Our Lady of the Rosary church *an old granary from 1764 *old townhouses, including timber-framed houses Strzelce Krajeńskie, mury obronne (17).jpg, Medieval town walls MOs810 WG 2015 22 (Notecka III) (baszta Strzelce Kraj.).JPG, Mill Gate (''Brama Młyńska'') Strzelce Krajeńskie, spichrz przy Bramie Wschodniej (01).jpg, Old granary from 1764

Demographics

Sports

The local

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 ...

club is . It competes in the lower leagues. The Polish

Cyclo-cross Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...

Championships were held in Strzelce Krajeńskie in 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2019.

Notable people

Bruno Schulz Bruno Schulz (12 July 1892 – 19 November 1942) was a History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jewish writer, fine artist, Literary criticism, literary critic and Art education, art teacher. He is regarded as one of the great Polish (language), Po ...

(1865–1932), German architect * Wilhelm Uhde (1874–1947), German art collector

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Strzelce Krajeńskie.

References

External links

Official town websiteJewish Community in Strzelce Krajeńskie
on Virtual Shtetl {{Authority control Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship Strzelce-Drezdenko County