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Kwidzyn
Photos of Kwidzyn
FlagCoat of arms
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Pomeranian
County	Kwidzyn County
Gmina	Kwidzyn (urban gmina)
Established	11th century
Town rights	1233
Government
• Mayor	Andrzej Krzysztof Krzysztofiak
Area
• Total	21.82 km (8.42 sq mi)
Elevation	42 m (138 ft)
Population
• Total	37,814
• Density	1,700/km (4,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	82-500
Area code	+48 55
Car plates	GKW
Website	http://www.kwidzyn.pl

Kwidzyn (Template:Lang-de, Prussian: Kwēdina) is a town in northern Poland on the Liwa river, with 40,008 inhabitants (2004). It has been a part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously in the Elbląg Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Kwidzyn County.

Geograhical location

Kwidzyn is located on the east bank of river Vistula, approximately 70 kilometers south of Danzig and 145 kilometers south-east of Kaliningrad (Königsberg)

History

The Teutonic Knights founded an Ordensburg castle in 1232 and a town the following year. In 1243 the Bishopric of Pomesania received both the town and the castle of Marienwerder (German for "Mary's ait") from the Teutonic Order as fiefs, and the settlement became the seat of the Bishops of Pomesania within Prussia. The town was populated with Masurian settlers. Werner von Orseln, who died in Marienburg (Malbork) in 1330, was buried in the cathedral of Marienwerder. St. Dorothea of Montau lived in Marienwerder from 1391 until her death in 1394; pilgrims would later come to pray in the town at her shrine. The rebellious Prussian Confederation was founded in Marienwerder on March 14, 1440. In 1466, the town became a Polish fief together with the remainder of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights after their defeat in the Thirteen Years' War.

Marienwerder became part of the Duchy of Prussia, a fief of Poland, upon its creation in 1525. The duchy was inherited by the House of Hohenzollern in 1618 and was elevated to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. The town became the capital of the District of Marienwerder. When after the First Partition of Poland, resulting in the re-unification of Prussia, the new Prussian Province of West Prussia was founded, Marienwerder was taken out of the Province of East Prussia and integrated into West Prussia of which it became the administrative seat. The town and district were included within the government region of Marienwerder after the Napoleonic Wars.

In 1885 Marienwerder had 8,079 mostly Lutheran inhabitants, many of whose trades were connected with the manufacturing of sugar, vinegar, and machines. Other trades were brewing, dairy farming, and fruit-growing. According to official statistics, ca. 1910 35.7% of the county's population was Polish.

On November 10, 1937, when the Nazi regime was already in power in Germany, a Polish private high school was opened in Marienwerder, which was closed down by force on August 25, 1939.

After World War I, when the Treaty of Versailles became effective in January 1920 and the Polish Corridor was installed on German territory, most of West Prussia was incorporated into the Polish Second Republic. The treaty permitted the East Prussian plebiscite in a few areas. To determine if Marienwerder would remain in Germany as part of East Prussia or join Poland; 93,73% of the inhabitants of the town voted on 11 July 1920 for East Prussia, to which the town was joined.

In 1945 during World War II, Marienwerder was plundered by the Soviet Red Army. Red Army established war hospital in the town for 20,000 people. The town's old center was burned by Soviet soldiers. The post-war Potsdam Conference placed it under Polish administration in 1945. Since then it remains as part of Poland. Burned parts of the town's old center were dismantled to provide material for the rebuilding of Warsaw after its destruction in the Warsaw Uprising.

Number of inhabitants by year

The castle

Kwidzyn contains the partially ruined 14th century Brick Gothic Ordensburg castle of the Teutonic Order, namely the Bishops of Pomesania within the Order. Connected to the castle to the east is a large cathedral (built 1343-1384) containing the tombs of the bishops as well those of three Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights.

The literally outstanding feature of the castle is a sewer tower which is connected to it by a bridge. The tower used to be placed at the river which has changed its course since, leaving it on dry land.

Modern town

The town also has a Catholic church and a cathedral-castle presently used for the museum of Lower Powiśle.

Other sights include the appellate court for Kwidzyn County, a new town hall, and government buildings.

A branch of the company International Paper is located in Kwidzyn, as is the Kwidzyn School of Management. The second biggest employer is Jabil which is one of world leading EMS (Electronics manufacturing services) companies. The city has a lower than national average crime and unemployment rates when compared to the average rate in Poland average. Success in this field was gained through high level of sport programs for youths. Programs such as MMTS Kwidzyn (handball) or MTS Basket Kwidzyn are the best examples of this.

People

• Johannes Marienwerder (1343–1417), theologian
• Dorothea of Montau (1347–1394), saint
• Rudolf von Auerswald (1795–1866), Prime Minister of Prussia
• Hermann von Dechend (1814–1890), first President of the Reichsbank
• Ernst Kossak (1814–1880), journalist
• Rudolf Heidenhain (1834–1897), physiologist
• Gustav Cohn (1840–1919), economist
• Kurt Rosenfeld (1877–1943), politician
• Józef Krasnowolski (1879–1939), artist
• Thuro Balzer (1882–1967), painter
• Fritz Goerdeler (1886–1945), mayor in 1920-33
• Kurt-Jürgen Freiherr von Lützow (1892–1961), general
• Joachim Witthöft (1887 – 1966) general
• Rolf Lahr (1908–1985), diplomat
• Hardy Rodenstock (born 1941), music publisher and manager
• Wojciech Belon (1952–1985), poet, songwriter and folksinger
• Tomasz Piotr Nowak (born 1956), politician
• Jacek Borcuch (born 1970), actor and film director
• Marek Szulen (born 1975), composer of electronic music
• Maciej Silski (born 1976), singer

Burials

• Otto Friedrich von der Groeben (1657–1728)
• Werner von Orseln

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Kwidzyn is twinned with:

• Celle, Germany
• Bar, Ukraine
• Olofström, Sweden

References

Bibliography

• Stephen Turnbull: Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights: The Red-Brick Castles of Prussia 1230-1466, October 2003 (eBook, PDF)

External links

• Municipal website Template:Pl icon
• Kwidzyn School of Management
• Kwidzyn City Portal Template:En icon

Footnotes

1. ^ August Eduard Preuß: Preußische Landes- und Volkskunde. Königsberg 1835, pp. 441–444.
2. Jürgen Sarnowsky: Der Deutsche Orden. Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-53628-1, p. 100 ff. (restricted preview).
3. Andreas Lawaty, Wiesław Mincer and Anna Domańska: Deutsch-polnische Beziehungen in Geschichte und Gegenwart – Bibliographie. Vol 2: Religion, Buch, Presse, Wissenschaft, Bildung, Philosophie, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, ISBN 3-447-04243-5, p. 879 (restricted preview)
4. ^ Udo Arnold, ed.: Handbuch der historischen Stätten: Ost und Westpreußen, Kröner, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-520-31701-X, pp. 133–136. ||
5. ^ Johann Friedrich Goldbeck: Volständige Topographie des Königreichs Preussen. Part II: Topographie von West-Preussen, Marienwerder 1789, pp. 3–6.
6. ^ Michael Rademacher: Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Provinz Westpreußen, Kreis Marienwerder (2006)
7. Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, 6th edition, Vol. 13, Leipzig and Vienna 1908, p. 299.
8. Der Große Brockhaus, 15th edition, Vol. 12, Leipzig 1932, p. 143.
9. "Stadt Celle". www.celle.de. Retrieved 2010-01-05.

53°44′9″N 18°55′51″E / 53.73583°N 18.93083°E / 53.73583; 18.93083

v t e Gminas of Kwidzyn County
Seat	Kwidzyn (urban gmina)
Urban-rural gmina	Gmina Prabuty
Rural gminas	Gmina Gardeja Gmina Kwidzyn Gmina Ryjewo Gmina Sadlinki

v t e Gmina Kwidzyn
Seat (not part of the gmina)	Kwidzyn
Villages	Baldram Brachlewo Brokowo Bronno Bursztych Bystrzec Dankowo Dubiel Gilwa Mała Gniewskie Pole Górki Grabówko Gurcz Janowo Jurandowo Kamionka Korzeniewo Kramrowo Licze Lipianki Mały Baldram Mareza Nowa Wieś Kwidzyńska Nowe Lignowy Nowy Dwór Obory Ośno Paczkowo Pastwa Pawlice Piekarniak Podzamcze Pole Rakowieckie Pólko Małe Rakowice Rakowiec Rozpędziny Stary Dwór Szadowo Szadowski Młyn Szałwinek Szopowo Tychnowy Wola-Sosenka

• Castles of the Teutonic Knights
• Cities and towns in Pomeranian Voivodeship
• Kwidzyn County