Drawsko Pomorskie
Encyclopedia
Drawsko Pomorskie ' is a town
in Drawsko County
in West Pomeranian Voivodeship
in northwestern Poland
, with 17,440 inhabitants. Originally inhabited by Slavs, the settlement was colonized by Germans during the Middle Ages
. In 1945 it became part of Poland.
(since 1999) in the region of the Pomerania
n mountain crest, Drawsko Pomorskie is the capital of Drawsko County
. Drawsko lies near the headwater of the Drawa
, west of an expansive woodland which includes the protected area
called Drawsko Landscape Park
. The city of Szczecin
is 100 km to the west. A large training ground near the town is frequently used in NATO exercises.
fortified settlement existed along the Drawa, a few kilometers north of Lake Lubie
. In the 10th century the region was under the sovereignty of Duke Mieszko I of Poland
and later came under the control of the Dukes of Pomerania
. In the 13th century Drawsko was a fortress of Przemysł I of Greater Poland
, but after his death under questionable circumstances the settlement was inherited by the Ascanian
Margraviate of Brandenburg
. Premonstratensian
monks from Kloster Belbuck, a monastery near Trzebiatów
, were invited to found a monastery
in their new territory of Drawsko. These plans failed, however, as the desired location was too far from Belbuck and the monks saw the wilderness as unsuitable.
The margraves planned to expand upon a settlement already developing near the fortress of Drawsko. Arnold, Konrad, and Johann von Golz, all knights from Prenzlau
, were granted the right by the margraves to develop the settlement into a town known as Drawenborch (Dramburg). It grew after the arrival of German
colonists, allowing the margraves to grant it Magdeburg city rights in 1297. To further develop the new town of Dramburg, Margrave Louis I
released the town from all duties from 1338-1350. In the latter year the town was ceded as a fief to the noble
Wedell family. On February 13, 1368 Dramburg was the setting of a peace treaty between Margrave Otto V
and King Casimir III of Poland
. The influx of colonists began to cease, although by the end of the 14th century the Dramburger Neustadt ("new town") had developed on the southern shore of the Drawa. In 1402 Margrave Sigismund
pawned the town along with the rest of the Neumark
to the Teutonic Knights
, who returned the region in 1455. The red eagle of the town's coat of arms was taken from the coat of arms of Brandenburg
.
In 1537 the former Franciscan
monk Faustinus Schliepe introduced Lutheranism
to Dramburg during the Protestant Reformation
. From 1540 the town was administered by the Order of St. John in Germany (until 1808). A great fire destroyed a wide section of Dramburg in 1620, leaving only five houses unscathed, while five years later numerous citizens died from plague. In 1638 during the Thirty Years' War
, the Swedish
colonel Beer plundered and pillaged Dramburg. Despite that setback, the town's economic advantages allowed it to recuperate quickly. Dramburg had Stapelrecht, giving it the right to force merchants traveling on the Drawa to offer their wares, such as Kolberg salt
, for sale at Dramburg's markets. Wool-weaving and shoe-making were also important craft industries during the Middle Ages.
Dramburg became part of the Kingdom of Prussia
in 1701. With the reorganization of the Prussian provinces
in 1815 following the Napoleonic Wars
, Dramburg left the Neumark and in 1818 became the seat of Landkreis Dramburg in Regierungzbezirk Köslin, Province of Pomerania. Dramburg joined the German Empire
in 1871 during the unification of Germany
.
In 1877 the Pommersche Zentralbahn (Pomeranian Central Railway) became connected to the town, which was also connected in 1896 to the Saatziger Kleinbahnnetz (Saatzig District railroad network). Dramburg's access to the railroads led to the establishment of wood and textile industries. This led the Pommersche Saatzucht Gesellschaft based in Stettin
to use the Dramburg region as a testing area for its plant breeding
experiments.
Parts of the eastern German Empire were granted to the Second Polish Republic
following the Treaty of Versailles
after World War I
. Many Germans subsequently immigrated to Dramburg, expanding settlement in the south of the town. When the province of Posen-West Prussia
was disbanded in 1938, Dramburg became part of Regierungsbezirk Schneidemühl. During World War II
, the SS
established a large training school for motorcyclists and mechanics in Dramburg. On March 4, 1945 Soviet
and Polish troops captured the city, whose center was largely destroyed during the fighting
.
Polish authorities began administering the town on March 6, 1945. The town was granted to Poland according to the Potsdam Conference
and German-speaking citizens were expelled
. The town, renamed Drawsko Pomorskie in 1950, was the administrative seat of a powiat
until 1975. After the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998, Drawsko became a district seat again in 1999.
with: Strasburg (Uckermark), Germany
Bad Bramstedt
, Germany
Złocieniec, Poland
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in Drawsko County
Drawsko County
Drawsko County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the town of Drawsko Pomorskie,...
in West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship, , is a voivodeship in northwestern Poland. It borders on Pomeranian Voivodeship to the east, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the southeast, Lubusz Voivodeship to the south, the German federal-state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the north...
in northwestern Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, with 17,440 inhabitants. Originally inhabited by Slavs, the settlement was colonized by Germans during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. In 1945 it became part of Poland.
Geography
Located in the southeast of the West Pomeranian VoivodeshipWest Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship, , is a voivodeship in northwestern Poland. It borders on Pomeranian Voivodeship to the east, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the southeast, Lubusz Voivodeship to the south, the German federal-state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the north...
(since 1999) in the region of the Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
n mountain crest, Drawsko Pomorskie is the capital of Drawsko County
Drawsko County
Drawsko County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the town of Drawsko Pomorskie,...
. Drawsko lies near the headwater of the Drawa
Drawa
Drawa is a river in north-western Poland, a tributary of the Notec river , with a length of 186 kilometres and the basin area of 3,296 km2.Towns:*Drawsko Pomorskie*Drawno*Krzyz Wielkopolski-See also:...
, west of an expansive woodland which includes the protected area
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
called Drawsko Landscape Park
Drawsko Landscape Park
Drawsko Landscape Park is a protected area in north-western Poland, established in 1979, covering an area of ....
. The city of Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
is 100 km to the west. A large training ground near the town is frequently used in NATO exercises.
History
From the 7th-13th centuries a SlavicSlavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
fortified settlement existed along the Drawa, a few kilometers north of Lake Lubie
Lubie
Łubie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zbrosławice, within Tarnowskie Góry County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately west of Zbrosławice, west of Tarnowskie Góry, and north-west of the regional capital Katowice.The village has a population of...
. In the 10th century the region was under the sovereignty of Duke Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...
and later came under the control of the Dukes of Pomerania
Dukes of Pomerania
- 10th and 11th century – Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes :* 1046 mention of Zemuzil * 1113 Gallus Anonymus mentions several dukes of Pomerania: Swantibor, Gniewomir, and an unnamed duke besieged in Kołobrzeg.-Duchy of Pomerania:*1121–1135 Wartislaw I*1135–1155 Ratibor I, ancestor of the...
. In the 13th century Drawsko was a fortress of Przemysł I of Greater Poland
Greater Poland
Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...
, but after his death under questionable circumstances the settlement was inherited by the Ascanian
Ascanian
The House of Ascania was a dynasty of German rulers. It was also known as the House of Anhalt, after Anhalt, its longest-held possession.The Ascanians are named after Ascania Castle, which is located near and named after Aschersleben...
Margraviate of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
. Premonstratensian
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
monks from Kloster Belbuck, a monastery near Trzebiatów
Trzebiatów
Trzebiatów is a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. As of June 2007, it has 10,196 inhabitants.It was in Pomerania, Germany until 1945.Trzebiatów's Day of the Cereal is a celebration during the first week of August...
, were invited to found a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in their new territory of Drawsko. These plans failed, however, as the desired location was too far from Belbuck and the monks saw the wilderness as unsuitable.
The margraves planned to expand upon a settlement already developing near the fortress of Drawsko. Arnold, Konrad, and Johann von Golz, all knights from Prenzlau
Prenzlau
Prenzlau , a city in the Uckermark District of Brandenburg in Germany, had a population of about 21,000 in 2005.-International relations:Prenzlau is twinned with: Uster, Switzerland Barlinek, Poland Świdwin, Poland...
, were granted the right by the margraves to develop the settlement into a town known as Drawenborch (Dramburg). It grew after the arrival of German
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...
colonists, allowing the margraves to grant it Magdeburg city rights in 1297. To further develop the new town of Dramburg, Margrave Louis I
Louis V, Duke of Bavaria
Louis V, Duke of Bavaria, called the Brandenburger was Duke of Bavaria and as Louis I also Margrave of Brandenburg and Count of Tyrol. Louis V was the eldest son of Emperor Louis IV and his first wife Beatrix of Świdnica...
released the town from all duties from 1338-1350. In the latter year the town was ceded as a fief to the noble
German nobility
The German nobility was the elite hereditary ruling class or aristocratic class from ca. 500 B.C. to the Holy Roman Empire and what is now Germany.-Principles of German nobility:...
Wedell family. On February 13, 1368 Dramburg was the setting of a peace treaty between Margrave Otto V
Otto V, Duke of Bavaria
Otto V, Duke of Bavaria , was a duke of Bavaria and Elector of Brandenburg as Otto VII. Otto was the fourth son of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV by his second wife Margaret II of Avesnes, countess of Hainaut and Holland.-Biography:...
and King Casimir III of Poland
Casimir III of Poland
Casimir III the Great , last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty , was the son of King Władysław I the Elbow-high and Hedwig of Kalisz.-Biography:...
. The influx of colonists began to cease, although by the end of the 14th century the Dramburger Neustadt ("new town") had developed on the southern shore of the Drawa. In 1402 Margrave Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
pawned the town along with the rest of the Neumark
Neumark
Neumark comprised a region of the Prussian province of Brandenburg, Germany.Neumark may also refer to:* Neumark, Thuringia* Neumark, Saxony* Neumark * Nowe Miasto Lubawskie or Neumark, a town in Poland, situated at river Drwęca...
to the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
, who returned the region in 1455. The red eagle of the town's coat of arms was taken from the coat of arms of Brandenburg
Coat of arms of Brandenburg
This article is about the coat of arms of the German state of Brandenburg.- History :According to tradition, the Märkischer Adler , or red eagle of the March of Brandenburg, was adopted by Margrave Gero in the 10th century. Gustav A. Seyler states that the Ascanian Albert the Bear was the originator...
.
In 1537 the former Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monk Faustinus Schliepe introduced Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
to Dramburg during the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. From 1540 the town was administered by the Order of St. John in Germany (until 1808). A great fire destroyed a wide section of Dramburg in 1620, leaving only five houses unscathed, while five years later numerous citizens died from plague. In 1638 during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, the Swedish
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
colonel Beer plundered and pillaged Dramburg. Despite that setback, the town's economic advantages allowed it to recuperate quickly. Dramburg had Stapelrecht, giving it the right to force merchants traveling on the Drawa to offer their wares, such as Kolberg salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
, for sale at Dramburg's markets. Wool-weaving and shoe-making were also important craft industries during the Middle Ages.
Dramburg became part of the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
in 1701. With the reorganization of the Prussian provinces
Provinces of Prussia
The Provinces of Prussia constituted the main administrative divisions of Prussia. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the various princely states in Germany gained their nominal sovereignty, but the reunification process that culminated in...
in 1815 following the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, Dramburg left the Neumark and in 1818 became the seat of Landkreis Dramburg in Regierungzbezirk Köslin, Province of Pomerania. Dramburg joined the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in 1871 during the unification of Germany
Unification of Germany
The formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm of the German...
.
In 1877 the Pommersche Zentralbahn (Pomeranian Central Railway) became connected to the town, which was also connected in 1896 to the Saatziger Kleinbahnnetz (Saatzig District railroad network). Dramburg's access to the railroads led to the establishment of wood and textile industries. This led the Pommersche Saatzucht Gesellschaft based in Stettin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
to use the Dramburg region as a testing area for its plant breeding
Plant breeding
Plant breeding is the art and science of changing the genetics of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. Plant breeding can be accomplished through many different techniques ranging from simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to more complex molecular...
experiments.
Parts of the eastern German Empire were granted to the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
following the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Many Germans subsequently immigrated to Dramburg, expanding settlement in the south of the town. When the province of Posen-West Prussia
Posen-West Prussia
The border province of historical period Posen-West Prussia was a province of the Free State of Prussia. The capital was Schneidemühl . The province had an area of 7,695 km², and was located within present-day Poland....
was disbanded in 1938, Dramburg became part of Regierungsbezirk Schneidemühl. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
established a large training school for motorcyclists and mechanics in Dramburg. On March 4, 1945 Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Polish troops captured the city, whose center was largely destroyed during the fighting
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
.
Polish authorities began administering the town on March 6, 1945. The town was granted to Poland according to the Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
and German-speaking citizens were expelled
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
. The town, renamed Drawsko Pomorskie in 1950, was the administrative seat of a powiat
Powiat
A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...
until 1975. After the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998, Drawsko became a district seat again in 1999.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Drawsko Pomorskie is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Strasburg (Uckermark), Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Bad Bramstedt
Bad Bramstedt
Bad Bramstedt is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 40 km north of Hamburg. It is famous for its statue of Roland and its rheumatism clinic. The current mayor is Hans-Jürgen Kütbach ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Złocieniec, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
External links
- Municipal website
- Portal of Drawsko Pomorskie
- Portal
- Heimatgruppe Dramburg in Pommern
- Dramburg on historical map of Pomerania