Barczewo

Barczewo

Town hall

Coat of arms
Barczewo
Coordinates: 53°50′N 20°41′E / 53.833°N 20.683°E / 53.833; 20.683
Country  Poland
Voivodeship Warmian-Masurian
County Olsztyn
Gmina Barczewo
Area
 • Total 4.58 km2 (1.77 sq mi)
Population (2006)
 • Total 7,401
 • Density 1,600/km2 (4,200/sq mi)
Postal code 11-010
Website http://www.barczewo.pl

Barczewo [barˈt͡ʂɛvɔ] (German: Wartenburg in Ostpreußen) is a town in Olsztyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland. It is located 20 km NE of Olsztyn. The town dates its beginnings from 1325. Initially inhabited by the Baltic Old Prussians, with the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466 the area became part of the Kingdom of Poland until 1772; 1772-1945 Kingdom of Prussia and Germany (East Prussia).

In the 19th century with the rise of liberalism, nationalism and Otto von Bismarcks Kulturkampf repressions and Germanisation against Poles as well as organised resistance by Polish population followed. After the First World War the town voted to remain in Germany. However, after the defeat of Nazi Germany the town once more became part of a Polish state and the local German population was expelled.

Name

The German name of the town ("Wartenburg") has its origins from the town of Wartenburg (Elbe).[1] In Polish the town was known historically as Wartembork, Wartenberg, Wartenbergk, Wathberg, Bartenburg, Warperc, Wasperc, Wartbór or Wartbórz. The modern name Barczewo is honouring Polish national activist who fought against Prussian oppression of Poles in Warmia Walenty Barczewski (1865–1928) and was given in December 1946 after the area was transferred to Poland.[2] It was briefly named Nowowiejsk, after composer and local son Feliks Nowowiejski, in September 1946.

History

The town was first located in 1325 but was soon after destroyed by Lithuanians. The rebuild town was granted city rights in 1364. In 1466, after the Second Peace of Toruń, the town, then known as "Wartberg",[2] became part of Kingdom of Poland. In 1772, after the First partition of Poland it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia. The local monastery was secularised in 1810, in 1819/1820 Prussian authorities decided to close down the monastery that was stronghold of Polishness led by Tyburcjusz Bojarzynowski. After the death of Bojarzynowski it has been used has a prison since 1834.[1][3] According to W. Zenderowski this was part of Prussian repressions against Poles as the monastery was particularly hated by Prussian authorities for being a center of Polish resistance.[4] A Jewish community started to exist after 1815, a Synagogue was built in 1847, a confessional cemetery existed.[5]

In the East Prussian plebiscite of 1920, which was largely boycotted by ethnic Poles and conducted during mass persecution of Polish activists, going as far as engaging in regular hunts and murder against them to influence the vote, the inhabitants voted to remain in Weimar German East Prussia.[2]

In World War II the small remaining Jewish community was murdered in the Holocaust.[5] The town was occupied by Soviet troops without a fight on 31 January 1945. On 22 May 1945 the town, now destroyed at 60%, was handed over to Polish officials.

Polish share of population

According to German statistics Poles constituted 72% of population in 1825 and 62% in 1861;[6] Gerard Labuda gives the number of 1500 Poles and 590 Germans living in the city in 1825[7] During the January Uprising in Russian Empire, Barczewo was the local centre of supplying medicine, food and even firearms to Polish rebels, with the Polish society in the city becoming active in war effort and led by August Sokołowski[8] In 1885 a mass rally was organised by Poles, demanding among others that Polish children should be allowed to use their language in education[9] In 1886 a bookstore with Polish books and publications was opened in the town and came into conflict with German authorities who wanted it to remove Polish language signs[10] In the interwar era the town was the residence of the fictional Kuba spod Wartemborka, a pseudonym of a figure in Polish press in Warmia created by Severyn Pieniężny which ridiculed Germanisation efforts against Poles in the region.[11][12] Polish organisations continued to thrive in the city, up until Second World War; as Nazi party was elected to power in Germany, repressions intensified, eventually both Poles and Jews were classified as subhuman and targeted for extermination and many Polish activists were either imprisoned or murdered in Nazi concentration camps and prisons.[2]

Historical population

People

Museum of the Polish composer Feliks Nowowiejski (1877-1946) in Barczewo, who was born in the city. The museum is located in the family home of the composer.

Sites of interest

References

  1. 1 2 Jackiewicz-Garniec, Malgorzata; Garniec, Miroslaw (2009). Burgen im Deutschordensstaat Preussen (in German). p. 76.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Barczewo.pl Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. (Polish)
  3. ↑ Na przełomie lat 1819-1920 postanowiono rozwiązać klasztor, który był twierdzą polskości. W 1821 r., dokonano sekularyzacji, zmuszając zakonników do opuszczenia klasztoru. Wraz ze śmiercią ostatniego gwardiana, o. Tyburcjusza Bojarzynowskiego (1830), ostatni zakonnicy opuścili klasztor, który tego samego roku całkowicie opustoszał Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ W. Zenderowski, „Wiadomości Barczewskie”, 1999, 86, s. 11
  5. 1 2 3 "sztetl.org". sztetl.org. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  6. ↑ Zabytkowe ośrodki miejskie Warmii i MazurLucjan Czubiel, Tadeusz Domagała, page 81, 1969
  7. ↑ Historia Pomorza: (1815-1850)gospodarka, społeczeństwo, ustrójGerard Labuda Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk,page 163, 1993
  8. ↑ Dzieje Warmii i Mazur w zarysie, Tomy 1-2, Jerzy Sikorski, Stanisław Szostakowski, Ośrodek Badań Naukowych im. Wojciecha Kętrzyńskiego w Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe,page 300, 1981
  9. ↑ Przebudzenie narodowe Warmii, 1886-1893 Andrzej Wakar, Wydawnictwo Pojezierze, page 23, 19821
  10. ↑ Słownik pracowników książki polskiej, Tom 1, Irena Treichel Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, page 97, 1972
  11. ↑ Słownik biograficzny katolicyzmu społecznego w Polsce: Tom 2 Ryszard Bender, Ośrodek Dokumentacji i Studiów Społecznych, page 187 1994
  12. ↑ Teoretyczne, badawcze i dydaktyczne założenia dialektologii Sławomir Gala, Łódzkie Towarzystwo Naukowe, page 332 - 1998
  13. ↑ verwaltungsgeschichte (German)

External links

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Coordinates: 53°50′N 20°41′E / 53.833°N 20.683°E / 53.833; 20.683

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