Sławianowo is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Złotów __NOTOC__ Gmina Złotów is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Złotów County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. Its seat is the town of Złotów, although the town is not part of the territory of the gmina. The gmina c ...

, within

Złotów County __NOTOC__ Złotów County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. Its administrative seat and largest town is Złotów, which lies north of the regional capital ...

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland (''Wielkopolska'' ). The modern province includes most of this historic re ...

, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately south-east of

Złotów Złotów is a town in northwestern Poland, with a population of 18,303 inhabitants (2011), seat of the Złotów County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The town is located on the river Głomia and is surrounded by five lakes. It is part of the ...

and north of the regional capital

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. It is situated on the northern shore of Lake Sławianowskie Wielkie in the ethnocultural region of

Krajna Krajna is a forested historical region in the north of Greater Poland in Poland, situated in the border area between the Greater Poland, Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Pomeranian Voivodeships. The region consists of parts of Złotów, Piła, Sęp� ...

in the historic region of

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

History

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

in the 10th century. Sławianowo was a private village of

Polish nobility The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

, including the

Działyński The House of Działyński was a Polish noble family whose name comes from their original place of settlement, Działyń in Dobrzyń Land. Members of the family held the tile of Count and used the Ogończyk coat of arms. History The original head ...

family, administratively located in the Nakło County in the

Kalisz Voivodeship Kalisz Voivodeship may also refer to: *Kalisz Voivodeship (1314–1793) * Kalisz Voivodeship (1816–1837) *Kalisz Voivodeship (1975–1998) The Kalisz Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, an ...

in the Greater Poland Province. In 1704, the Brotherhood of Saint Barbara was founded in Sławianowo. In 1885, it had a population of 140. In 1939, the Germans arrested the local Polish parish priest, and murdered a local Polish teacher in

Okalewo Okalewo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Skrwilno, within Rypin County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately north of Skrwilno, east of Rypin, and east of Toruń. History In 1827, ...

(see: ''

Nazi crimes against the Polish nation War crime, Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with Schutzmannschaft#Police battalions, auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occu ...

''), and the village was renamed to ''Steinmark'' in attempt to erase traces of Polish origin. 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 a

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 ...

subcamp of the

Stalag II-B Stalag II-B was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp situated west of the town of Hammerstein, Pomerania (now Czarne, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland) on the north side of the railway line. It housed Polish, French, Belgian, Serbian, Du ...

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 village. Following Germany's defeat in

, in 1945, the village became again part of Poland and its historic name was restored.

References

{{Gmina Złotów Populated lakeshore places in Poland Villages in Złotów County