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Revision as of 19:28, 17 May 2015 by Volunteer Marek (talk | contribs) (History)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Place in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland
Braniewo
Collegium Hosianum - defensive wallsCollegium Hosianum - defensive walls
Coat of arms of BraniewoCoat of arms
Country Poland
VoivodeshipWarmian-Masurian
CountyBraniewo County
GminaBraniewo (urban gmina)
Established13th century
Town rights1284
Government
 • MayorHenryk Mroziński
Area
 • Total12.36 km (4.77 sq mi)
Population
 • Total17,875
 • Density1,400/km (3,700/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code14-500
Area code+48 55
Car platesNBR
Websitehttp://www.braniewo.pl/

Braniewo (former German name: Braunsberg) is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 18,068 (2004). It is the capital of Braniewo County.

Location

Braniewo lies on the Pasłęka River about 5 km from the Vistula Lagoon, about 35 km northeast of Elbląg and 55 km (34 mi) southwest of Kaliningrad . The Polish border with Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast lies 6 km north, and may be reached from Braniewo via National Highway (Droga Krajowa) 54.

History

Braunsberg on the Passarge (now Pasłęka) River, 1684.
(From Altes und neues Preussen, Christoph Hartknoch)

According to the Gernan geographer Johann Friedrich Goldbeck (1748-1812), the town originally was named Brunsberg after Bruno von Schauenburg (1205–1281), bishop of Olmütz (Olomouc) in Moravia, who accompanied King Ottokar II of Bohemia in 1254 and 1267 when the latter participated in the crusade of the Teutonic Knights against the Old Prussians. It has also been suggested that the name Braunsberg might stem from Brusebergue ("camp of the Prussians"), but this notion is not documented.

In 1243 the settlement and the surrounding region of Warmia was given by the Teutonic Order to the newly created Diocese of Ermland (Bishopric of Warmia), whose bishop built his cathedral in the town and made it his chief residence. The city was granted town privileges based on those of Lübeck in 1254, but in 1261 was destroyed and depopulated during the second of the Prussian Uprisings. It was rebuilt in a new location in 1273 and settled by newcomers from Lübeck. In 1284 it was given a new town charter, again based on that of Lübeck. However, the next bishop, Heinrich Fleming (1278–1300), transferred the chapter from Braunsberg to Frombork.

In 1296 a Franciscan abbey was built, and in 1342 a "new town" was added. As the most important trading and harbor city in Warmia, the town prospered as member of the Hanseatic League, which it remained until 1608. It remained a part of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights until 1466, when as a consequence of the Second Peace of Thorn ending the Thirteen Years' War, it came under jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Poland as part of the new autonomous province of Royal Prussia.

After the secularization of the Teutonic Order in 1525, a large part of it's residents converted to Lutheran Protestantism. Duke Albert, who had been grand master of the Order, sought to unite Warmia with Ducal Prussia, causing the Catholics of the town to swear allegiance to the king of Poland in return for aid against Protestant Prussia. In 1526 a Polish royal commission released Braniewo's burghers from the oath to the Polish king and handed the town back to Prince-Bishop Mauritius Ferber. Braniewo swore allegiance to the Prince-Bishops of Warmia, but had to denounce all Lutheran teachings and hand over Lutheran writings. Thereafter Warmia, though inhabited mainly by ethnic Germans, remained predominantly Roman Catholic (even after it became part of Brandenburg-Prussia in 1772).

Braniewo was occupied by Sweden for several years during the Livonian War in the 16th century. In Warmia, Lutheran teachings again were suppressed when Prince-Bishop Stanislaus Hosius (1504-1579) brought in the Jesuits and founded the Collegium Hosianum school in Braniewo. A priestly seminary was added in 1564. Pope Gregory XIII later added a papal mission seminary for northern and eastern European countries. Regina Protmann (1552-1613), a native of Braniewo, founded the Saint Catherine Order of Sisters in the town, recognized by the church in 1583. The Jesuit theologian Antonius Possevinus was instrumental in enlarging the Collegium Hosianum in the 1580s to counter the growing Protestant movement.

The ethnically German, politically Polish, and mainly Catholic town was annexed by the mostly Protestant Kingdom of Prussia in 1772 during the First Partition of Poland and made part of the province of East Prussia the following year. Braunsberg obtained its first railway connection with the rest of the kingdom via the Prussian Eastern Railway (German: Preußische Ostbahn) in 1852. Two decades later, Braunsberg as a Prussian town became part of the newly established German Empire following the Prussian-led unification of Germany in 1871. In the early 20th century, Braunsberg was the leading academic center of East Prussia next to Königsberg. In 1912 the Jesuit college became the State Academy of Braunsberg (German: Staatliche Akademie Braunsberg).

During World War II, Braunsberg was occupied by the Soviet Red Army following the Braunsberg Offensive Operation (13 March 1945 - 22 March 1945) following the elimination of the German Heiligenbeil Pocket, and suffered heavy destruction due to fighting and subsequent looting. The German inhabitants of the town were either evacuated before the Red Army arrived, killed during the fighting, or expelled westward after the war. It was placed under administration of the People's Republic of Poland according to the Potsdam Conference in 1945. The town of Braunsberg is henceforth known under its historical Polish name Braniewo.

In 2001 the St. Catherine Church, built in 1346, destroyed in 1945, and rebuilt after 1979, was declared a Basilica Minor (Bazylika Mniejsza). This Gothic Hall church was built on a site, which held a previous wooden Church of St. Catherine since 1280. Prince-Bishop Lucas Watzenrode of Warmia had added extensively to the building.

Number of inhabitants by year

Year Number
1782 4,370
1831 7,144
1900 12,497
1925 13,900
1939 21,142
2004 18,068

Political timeline

Church of St. Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Notable residents

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Twin towns — sister cities

Braniewo is twinned with:

References

  1. Cite error: The named reference JFG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. Bruno von Schauenburg is also known as the founder of the village of Brušperk in Bohemia, the German name of which also is Braunsberg.

External links

54°23′N 19°49′E / 54.383°N 19.817°E / 54.383; 19.817

Gminas of Braniewo County
Seat
Urban-rural gminas
Rural gminas
Gmina Braniewo
Seat (not part of the gmina)
Villages
Categories: