Barwice
Encyclopedia
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...
, in West Pomeranian Voivodship, in Szczecinek County
Szczecinek County
Szczecinek 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 and largest town is Szczecinek,...
.
Geographics
The town is located on the Baltic UplandsBaltic Uplands
The Baltic Uplands is a chain of morainic hills about 200 km wide that border the southern Baltic Sea from Jutland to Estonia.- Geography :The uplands, which reach a height of at Wieżyca , form the western part of the East European Plain. To the north they descend steadily into the Gulf of Finland...
in Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania, Further Pomerania, Transpomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...
at an altitude of about 150 to 180 meters above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
within the upper region of the river Persante. 20 kilometers further south the Lakeland of Dramburg begins. The next larger city is Szczecinek
Szczecinek
Szczecinek [] is a city in Middle Pomerania, northwestern Poland with some 39,777 inhabitants . Previously in Koszalin Voivodeship , it has been the capital of Szczecinek County in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999...
(German Neustettin).
Since in 1999 the rail road between Grzmiąca
Grzmiaca
Grzmiąca may refer to the following places in Poland:*Grzmiąca, Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Grzmiąca, Pomeranian Voivodeship *Grzmiąca, Łódź Voivodeship...
(Gramenz) and Kostrzyn
Kostrzyn
Kostrzyn is a town in Poland, in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 8,398 inhabitants . Katarzyna Tomicka was born nearby in Iwno....
(Küstrin) had been closed down, a rail connection to Barwice does no longer exist.
History
The settlement is first mentioned as civitas Barwitz in historical records from 1286, but since it is located in the vicinity of a pre-historical salt road leading to the saltworks of Kolberg, it probably had been founded much earlier. The town and its neighbouring villages became in 1477 under duke Bogislaw XBogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw X of Pomerania, the Great, was Duke of Pomerania from 1474 until his death in 1523.Bogislaw was born in Rügenwalde into the House of Pomerania . His father was Eric II, Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast, his mother was the duchess Sophia of Pomerania, both distant relatives of the House of...
(1454–1523) part of the Duchy of Pomerania
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....
. In the 16th century the town and the surrounding lands of Bärwalde were in the possession of four noble families: von Glasenapp, von Wolde, von Zastrow and von Münchow. The oldest town seal of Bärwalde is from 1564 and carries the inscription Sigillum civitatis Berwoldie. During the second half of the 16th century, duke John Frederick (1542–1600) granted to the town the right to hold trade fairs three times a year.
In 1626 a blaze destroyed parts of the town, including both the town hall and the church. Because of this, the town was freed from tax paying for the next five years. 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 town was occupied in 1630 by Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
military of Gustav II Adolph
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
(1534–1632) and suffered heavy damages. During the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n troups devastated the town's archives within the town hall, so that all older historical documents went lost.
Since 1766 five fairs per year were allowed to be arranged.
Before 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 town had been the site of a county court and of a customs office, and it had a secondary school. The local industry manufactured machinery and produced building materials made from sandstone. There existed both sawmills and grain mills. The town was a centre of agricultural trade, the main trade products being grain, potatoes and cattle.
In March 1945, short before the end of 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...
, Bärwalde was occupied by the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
. After the end of the war the town was put under Polish
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...
administration. During subsequent months the German inhabitants were expelled.
Demographics
Before World War II the (then German) inhabitants of Bärwalde were predominantly protestanticProtestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
.
Number of inhabitats in years
- 1740: 472
- 1783: 533; incl. six JewsJewsThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. - 1794: 663; incl. seven Jews.
- 1812: 804; incl. six Catholics and 34 Jews.
- 1816: 854; incl. five Catholics and 59 Jews.
- 1831: 1,180; incl. six Catholics and 85 Jews.
- 1843: 1,571; incl. three Catholics and 129 Jews.
- 1852: 1,741; incl. four Catholics and 143 Jews.
- 1861: 1,964; incl. eight Catholics and 180 Jews.
- 1900: 2,338
- 1925: 2,530
- 2004: 3,876