Dobre Miasto
Encyclopedia
Dobre Miasto ' is a town
in Poland
, in Olsztyn County
in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
. It has 10,579 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the northwestern part of the Masurian Lake District in the heart of the historical region Warmia
. It is the seat of Dobre Miasto Commune
which consists of the town of Dobre Miasto and 21 village administrative divisions, with 16,014 total inhabitants.
settlement. It received town privileges
on 26 December 1329. The name of the town was spelled in different ways: Guddestat, Godenstat, Gudinstat, Gutberg, Gutenstat, Guthenstadt, Guthinstadt.
The Latin
name of the region (Pogesania
) was derived from the Old Prussian word gudde (a bush/thicket). It is possible that the name of the town originated from this word. The Teutonic Order changed the Old Prussian
pronunciation of the name into Guttstadt. However, as early as in 1336 the Latin translation of the name appeared - Bona Civitas. The present-day Polish
name is a literal translation from the German language; in English
both Guttstadt and Dobre Miasto mean "good town".
The first burgomaster
of the town was William of Orneta
(Wilhelm von Wormditt).
The coat of arms
of the town was a deer holding an oak-wig with two acorns. The town tinctures were white (argent
) and green (vert
). The patron of the town was Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
In 1347 a Collegiate Chapter
was transferred here from Glotau, which event was of great importance for further development of Guttstadt. In the course of the following decades the canons erected a church, a parish school and a hospital. The town, similarly as the whole region of Warmia
, was the scene of different war campaigns. As the result of one of them Guttstadt was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland in 1466.
The 16th century was a period of peace, which ended abrubtly with Swedish
invasion in 1626. The Swedes
overran the town several times but the inhabitants suffered most severely in the years 1655-1660.
In 1772 the town was incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia
in the First Partition of Poland
. The population of the town numbered 1831.
In 1807 Guttstadt was seized in turn by the French
, the Prussians and the Russians
. In the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen
on 5 and 6 June 1807, the Russian army under General Levin August, Count von Bennigsen
attacked Marshal
Michel Ney
's French corps. Though badly outnumbered, Ney conducted an effective rear guard action and escaped to the southwest across the Pasłęka River with most of his troops. Napoleon Bonaparte
spent a night in the Collegiate between 8 and 9 June 1807. The Collegiate chapter was dissolved and its properties were parcelled out on the strength of the edict issued by King Frederick William III of Prussia
on 5 October 1810. In the years 1830-1834 the evangelical
church was erected, mainly thanks to the donations of Frederick William III.
During World War II
, Guttstadt was 65% destroyed during its capture of by the Soviet
Red Army
and the NKVD
. After the Potsdam Conference
the town was placed under Polish administration and renamed Dobre Miasto. On 1 August 1945 a Soviet garrison handed over power to Jan Majdecki, the first post-war mayor of the town.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in Poland
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 Olsztyn County
Olsztyn County
Olsztyn County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Olsztyn, although the city...
in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, or Warmia-Masuria Province , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn...
. It has 10,579 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the northwestern part of the Masurian Lake District in the heart of the historical region Warmia
Warmia
Warmia or Ermland is a region between Pomerelia and Masuria in northeastern Poland. Together with Masuria, it forms the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship....
. It is the seat of Dobre Miasto Commune
Gmina Dobre Miasto
Gmina Dobre Miasto is an urban-rural gmina in Olsztyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the town of Dobre Miasto, which lies approximately north of the regional capital Olsztyn....
which consists of the town of Dobre Miasto and 21 village administrative divisions, with 16,014 total inhabitants.
History
Dobre Miasto was founded on the place of a destroyed Old PrussianOld Prussians
The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
settlement. It received town privileges
German town law
German town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
on 26 December 1329. The name of the town was spelled in different ways: Guddestat, Godenstat, Gudinstat, Gutberg, Gutenstat, Guthenstadt, Guthinstadt.
The Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
name of the region (Pogesania
Pogesania
Pogesanians were one of the eleven Prussian clans mentioned by Peter von Dusburg. The clan lived in Pogesania , a small territory stretched between the Elbląg and Pasłęka rivers. It is now located in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. Pogesanians, as the rest of the Prussians, were...
) was derived from the Old Prussian word gudde (a bush/thicket). It is possible that the name of the town originated from this word. The Teutonic Order changed the Old Prussian
Old Prussian language
Prussian is an extinct Baltic language, once spoken by the inhabitants of the original territory of Prussia in an area of what later became East Prussia and eastern parts of...
pronunciation of the name into Guttstadt. However, as early as in 1336 the Latin translation of the name appeared - Bona Civitas. The present-day Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
name is a literal translation from the German language; in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
both Guttstadt and Dobre Miasto mean "good town".
The first burgomaster
Burgomaster
Burgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
of the town was William of Orneta
Orneta
Orneta is a town in northern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 9,859 .- History :Wormditt, a village of Old Prussians, was first mentioned in 1308...
(Wilhelm von Wormditt).
The coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the town was a deer holding an oak-wig with two acorns. The town tinctures were white (argent
Argent
In heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...
) and green (vert
Vert
The colour green is commonly found in modern flags and coat of arms, and to a lesser extent also in the classical heraldry of the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period....
). The patron of the town was Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
In 1347 a Collegiate Chapter
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
was transferred here from Glotau, which event was of great importance for further development of Guttstadt. In the course of the following decades the canons erected a church, a parish school and a hospital. The town, similarly as the whole region of Warmia
Warmia
Warmia or Ermland is a region between Pomerelia and Masuria in northeastern Poland. Together with Masuria, it forms the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship....
, was the scene of different war campaigns. As the result of one of them Guttstadt was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland in 1466.
The 16th century was a period of peace, which ended abrubtly with Swedish
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
invasion in 1626. The Swedes
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....
overran the town several times but the inhabitants suffered most severely in the years 1655-1660.
In 1772 the town was incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
in the First Partition of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
. The population of the town numbered 1831.
In 1807 Guttstadt was seized in turn by the French
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, the Prussians and the Russians
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. In the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen
Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen
In the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen on 5 and 6 June 1807, troops of the Russian Empire led by General Levin August, Count von Bennigsen attacked the First French Empire corps of Marshal Michel Ney. The Russians pressed back their opponents in an action that saw Ney fight a brilliant rear guard action...
on 5 and 6 June 1807, the Russian army under General Levin August, Count von Bennigsen
Levin August, Count von Bennigsen
Levin August Gottlieb Theophil , Count von Bennigsen was a German general in the service of the Russian Empire....
attacked Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Michel Ney
Michel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
's French corps. Though badly outnumbered, Ney conducted an effective rear guard action and escaped to the southwest across the Pasłęka River with most of his troops. Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
spent a night in the Collegiate between 8 and 9 June 1807. The Collegiate chapter was dissolved and its properties were parcelled out on the strength of the edict issued by King Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
on 5 October 1810. In the years 1830-1834 the evangelical
Protestantism
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...
church was erected, mainly thanks to the donations of Frederick William III.
During 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...
, Guttstadt was 65% destroyed during its capture of by the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
. After the Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
the town was placed under Polish administration and renamed Dobre Miasto. On 1 August 1945 a Soviet garrison handed over power to Jan Majdecki, the first post-war mayor of the town.
Places to see
- The GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
collegiate complex built from 1357-1389, with a splendid church, on which Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul IIBlessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
conferred the title of minor basilicaMinor basilicaMinor basilica is a title given to some Roman Catholic churches. By canon law no Catholic church can be honoured with the title of basilica unless by apostolic grant or from immemorial custom....
(1989). Undoubtedly, one of the biggest tourist attractions beside the magnificent interior and furnishings of the church is the organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
with 49 tones and 3522 pipes. The former capitulary library houses a parish museum, which is open to visitors. It contains the remains of the old outfit of the collegiate. Unfortunately, the rich vault as well as the collection of books and manuscripts largely scattered after World War II. - The St Nicholas Church, in BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
style, built from 1736-1741. At present it is a Ukrainian CatholicUkrainian Greek Catholic ChurchThe Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
parish temple. - The StorkWhite StorkThe White Stork is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to end of tail, with a wingspan...
Tower with fragments of the medieval city wallsDefensive wallA defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
. The tower owes its name to storks which have nested on its top. At present the tower is the residence of one of the sections of the Cultural Society. In the summer season tourists can visit a miniature museum created by the members of the society.
Notable residents
- Augustinus BludauAugustinus BludauAugustinus Bludau was a Bishop of Ermland in East Prussia from 1909–1930.Bludau was born in Guttstadt as a son of a tailor. After attending the Gymnasium in Elbing, he started to study Catholic divinity at the Collegium Hosianum in Braunsberg...
, (1863-1930) Catholic bishop - Friedrich Ernst DornFriedrich Ernst DornFriedrich Ernst Dorn was a German physicist who was the first to discover that a radioactive substance, later named radon, is emitted from radium.-Life and work:...
, (1848-1916) German physicist - Waldemar MilewiczWaldemar MilewiczWaldemar Milewicz was a Polish journalist and war correspondent.-Life and career:...
, (1956-2004) journalist