Bartoszyce
Bartoszyce | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Lidzbark gate (Heilsberger Tor) | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Country | Poland |
| Voivodeship | Warmian-Masurian |
| Powiat | Bartoszyce County |
| Gmina | Bartoszyce |
| Established | 1240 |
| City Rights | 1326 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Krzysztof Franciszek Nałęcz |
| Area | |
• Total | 11 km2 (4 sq mi) |
| Population (2005) | |
• Total | 24,600 |
| • Density | 2,236.36/km2 (5,792.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 11-200 |
| Area code | +48 89 |
| Car Plates | NBA |
| Website | www.bartoszyce.pl |
Bartoszyce (; Template:Audio-de, Template:Lang-lt) is a town on the Łyna River in northeastern Poland with 25,621 inhabitants (as of 2004). It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.
Etymology
The town's name derives from the Old High German[1] or Middle High German[2] word barta and the Old Polish synonym barta,[1] meaning "axe". An axe is featured in the town's coat of arms. The town was the capital of the Old Prussian region of Bartia (Bartenland, Barthonia), which was populated by the Bartian tribe.[3]
History
n 1241 the Teutonic Knights constructed the castle of Bartenstein on the left shore of the Alle (Łyna) River on the border between the Prussian regions of Natangia and Bartia.[4] The castle was composed of block houses, palisades, and earthworks. Besieged by Old Prussians for four years during a Prussian uprising, the castle was destroyed in 1264. The Order rebuilt the castle shortly afterwards, but this was besieged by Sudovians in 1273. After uprisings ended, the knights built the Ordensburg out of stone from 1274-80.[4] During the 14th and 15th centuries, the castle was administered by the Komtur of Balga.
The settlement of Bartenstein developed on the right shore of the Alle River opposite the castle. First documented in 1326, it received town privileges from Grand Master Luther von Braunschweig in 1332.[4] After the foundation of the town of Bartenstein, the settlement of Rosenthal below the castle on the left shore of the river was relocated, as the left side had become too dangerous from warfare.[4] Komtur Henning Schindekopf of Balga began construction of a wall for Bartenstein in 1353.[4]
Bartenstein sided with the Prussian Confederation during the Thirteen Years' War (1454-66). The Teutonic castle was destroyed by the town's citizens at the beginning of the war and was not rebuilt afterward. The townsfolk reconciled with the Teutonic Knights in 1460. To stabilize the Order's financial situation, it pawned the ruined castle's farmyard and meadows to Wend von Eulenburg in 1469; the entire department of Bartenstein was pawned in 1513 to one of the Heinrich Reuß von Plauen (not the Grand Master) .[4]
With the secularization of the Teutonic Order's Prussian territories in 1525, Bartenstein became part of the Duchy of Prussia. The town converted to Protestantism in the same year during the Protestant Reformation; it then did not have a Catholic church until the 19th century.[4]
Bartenstein became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 and the Prussian Province of East Prussia in 1773. During the Napoleonic Wars, Prussia and the Russian Empire signed a treaty of alliance in the town on 16 April 1807. Administrative reform following the wars placed the town within East Prussia's Landkreis Friedland in 1818.
The Ostpreußische Südbahn ran through Bartenstein in 1868, leading to the establishment of industries, including an iron foundry, a machine factory, and a wagon factory. Bartenstein was also noted for its oak trade. A garrison town for the Prussian Army, Bartenstein was the seat of the district court. Because it had grown to become the largest town in Landkreis Friendland during the 19th century, the town was made the district capital in 1902. Landkreis Friedland was renamed Landkreis Bartenstein in 1927. The foundation of the old castle was used in the construction of the administrative seat; this building was destroyed in 1945.[4]
In January 1945 during World War II, Bartenstein was 60% destroyed during fighting with the Soviet Red Army. After the Potsdam Conference, the town was placed under Polish administration in 1945. The German population was either evacuated or later expelled, and the town was repopulated with Poles and other Slavs.
The town, renamed Bartoszyce, was in Olsztyn Voivodeship from 1975-1998. It became part of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in 1999.
References
- ^ a b Bartoszyce.pl. Geschichte. Accessed 1 April 2007. Template:De icon
- ^ Deutsches Wörterbuch. Barte. Accessed 1 April 2007. Template:De icon
- ^ Meyers Konversationslexikon. Band 2 von Atlantis bis Blatthornkäfer. Accessed 1 April 2007. Template:De icon
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ostpreußen.net. Geschichte der Stadt Bartoszyce - Bartenstein. Accessed 1 April 2007. Template:De icon
External links
