Torzym () is a small

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 ...

Sulęcin County __NOTOC__ Sulęcin 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 1998. Its ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. It is the administrative seat of the urban-rural

Gmina Torzym __NOTOC__ Gmina Torzym is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Sulęcin County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea i ...

Geography

Torzym is situated on the Ilanka creek, a right tributary of the

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

, in the historic

Lubusz Land Lubusz Land (; ) is a historical region and cultural landscape in Poland and Germany on both sides of the Oder river. Originally the settlement area of the Lechites, the swampy area was located east of Margraviate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and ...

. The town centre is located about east of the border with

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 ...

at Słubice. Torzym station is a stop on the Warsaw–Kunowice railway line. The town also has access to the parallel A2 autostrada, part of the major

European route E30 European route E30 is an A-Class European route from the port of Cork (city), Cork in Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the west to the Russian city of Omsk, near the border with Kazakhstan in the east. For much of the Russian stretch, it follow ...

, at the Torzym junction.

History

The region of

formed part of Poland since the creation of the state in the 10th century. The settlement arose sometime after 1249, when

was sold by the

High Duke of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

Bolesław II Rogatka to the Archbishops of Magdeburg. Located on the trade route from

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...

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 ...

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 ...

, a fortress at the site was probably named after Konrad von Sternberg, Prince-Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1266 until 1277. In 1287, the Magdeburg archbishop Eric of Brandenburg gave the estates in pawn to his elder brothers, the Ascanian margraves of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. Under Brandenburg rule, the whole area east of the

river from about 1300 was called "Sternberg Land" (''Sternberger Land''). After a war broke out over control of the region in 1319, the town came under Polish control again, as 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 ...

, but by 1326 it fell to Brandenburg again. Between 1373 and 1415 the town was part of the Lands of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown. In 1375 it was granted

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

. Several manors arose in the surrounding area, held by local nobles; the citizens mainly relied on cattle trade, brewing, and distilleries. The castle probably was slighted during a 1506 expedition of the Hohenzollern elector Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg against several robber barons devastating his country. After the Napoleonic Wars, Sternberg Land was incorporated into the Prussian

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...

and recalled in an 1816-founded '' Landkreis'' with its administrative seat in Zielenzig (

Sulęcin Sulęcin (; ) is a town in western Poland with 10,117 inhabitants (2019), the capital of Sulecin County, since 1999 in Lubusz Voivodeship. Geography Sulęcin is located in the center of Lubusz Voivodeship (Lubuskie province), by the river Postomi ...

), and from 1852 in Drossen ( Ośno Lubuskie). Part of the larger '' Regierungsbezirk Frankfurt'', in 1873 the district was divided in two, ''Weststernberg'' (Drossen) and '' Oststernberg'' (Zielenzig) with Sternberg proper. The

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

parish church was rebuilt between 1831 and 1834 in a Neoclassical style according to plans designed by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...

. From 1871 to 1945 the town was part of Germany. 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 ...

, from 1940 to 1942,

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 ...

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 ...

camp for

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

men in the town. During the final stages of the war, in early 1945, a German-perpetrated

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

of prisoners of various nationalities from the dissolved camp in Żabikowo to the

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...

passed through the town. The town was heavily damaged during the Vistula–Oder Offensive 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 ...

in the last weeks of

. After

's defeat in the war, Torzym once again became part of Poland after the implementation of the Oder-Neisse line in 1945. It was known as ''Toruń Lubuski'' between 1945 and 1946. Torzym regained the status of a town in 1994.

Demographics

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Torzym.

References

External links

*International Jewish Cemetery Project
"TORZYM: Lubuskie"
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship Populated riverside places in Poland Sulęcin County