Rumia
Encyclopedia
Rumia ' is a city in the Eastern Pomerania
region of north-western Poland
, with some 45,000 inhabitants. It is a part of the Kashubian Tricity
(Rumia, Reda
, Wejherowo
) and a suburb part of the metropolitan area of the Tricity
. It has been situated in the Wejherowo County
in Pomeranian Voivodeship
since 1999; previously it was in Gdańsk Voivodeship
(1975–1998). Traditionally, Rumia is related to Kashubia
. It is connected by well-developed railway and highway connections to the Tricity, an urban agglomeration of over 1 million inhabitants on the coast of Gdańsk Bay
.
to the Cistercian convent in Oliwa
(today part of Gdańsk
). The name of Rumia was applied also to the neighbourhoods of Janowo (John's Place) and Biała Rzeka (White River). In 1285 Mestwin II, duke of Pomerania
stopped here to issue official documents. Rumia was part of Polish Crown from 1466 until the first partition of Poland
in 1772, when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia
. It belonged to the province of West Prussia
inside the Kingdom of Prussia until 1871 when it also became part of the unified German Empire
.
At the end of World War I
, Rumia became a part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship
of the newly re-established Polish state. In the late 1920s, the nearby village of Gdynia
was developed into a city and one of the biggest seaports in the region - especially due to its strategic location in the Polish Corridor
, to which Rumia also belonged. Rapid growth of the city of Gdynia prompted the price of land to increase. Labour migrants from other parts of Poland began to settle in the region including village of Rumia and its vicinity. Zagórze, Kazimierz and Łężyce, which are today parts of Rumia, were originally separate villages, and were joined with Rumia in 1934 to form the Rumia Rural Commune. By 1934, Rumia had become a suburb
of Gdynia
(population of 12,000 in 1939), located approximately 10 km from the city centre and well-connected with it through a railway link. A small military airfield, home of two squadrons of the Coast Defence Escadrille (based in Puck
) was opened to civilian planes on 1 May 1936. The airport serviced international route Gdynia
-Copenhagen
and domestic route Gdynia
-Warszawa and by 1 January 1939, the number of passengers using it rose to over 3000 a year. The airfield was also the main base of the Gdynia
-based glider
club.
During the German Invasion of Poland
in 1939, Rumia was a site of heavy fighting. It was a flanking position of the main Polish defence line at Kępa Oksywska
. Two military cemeteries are located in the area. During World War II
, the town was occupied by Nazi Germany
, which annexed it to province of Danzig-West Prussia and renamed to its former German name (Rahmel). In September and October 1939, SS and SD
terrorized ethnic Polish and Jewish population. Most of the victims were either executed at a nearby mass execution site in Piaśnica
or sent to Stutthof
concentration camp. Approximately half of the pre-war inhabitants of the town were expelled in 1940 and 1941, mostly to the General Government
. The town was also a place of internment for several thousand POWs, mostly from the United Kingdom
, France
and Italy
. A forced labour camp and an aircraft assembly plant were located in the town's vicinity. In 1945, shortly before the town's liberation by the Red Army
, the local airfield was destroyed by an RAF
bombing raid.
In 1942, here in Biała Rzeka (White River) was born Jerzy Treder - Kashubian
philologist.
In 1945, the town was transferred back to the Pomeranian Voivodeship
. Rumia became a city in 1954 when a few other villages (Zagórze, Biała Rzeka, Szmelta and Janowo) were joined in. In 2001, nearby village of Kazimierz was also included into city of Rumia.
to Gdynia
and from there by Circular Highway to Gdańsk
. There is a plan to extend the Circular from Gdynia to beyond Wejherowo.
The Szybka Kolej Miejska (Urban Fast Train) makes two stops in the city, connecting it to Wejherowo, Gdynia, and beyond. The stops are Rumia and Rumia Janowo
. There is also network of city buses that also offers connections to Wejherowo
and Gdynia
.
with: Hultsfreds, Sweden
Le Creusot
, France
Eastern Pomerania
Eastern Pomerania can refer to distinct parts of Pomerania:*the historical region of Farther Pomerania, which was the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania...
region of north-western 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...
, with some 45,000 inhabitants. It is a part of the Kashubian Tricity
Kashubian Tricity
Kashubian Tricity is a name used for three towns in Poland jointly: Rumia, Reda and Wejherowo located in Wejherowo County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, north of Tricity. Population: 105 226 , area: 88 km².- External links :*...
(Rumia, Reda
Reda
Reda may refer to:* Reda, Poland, a town in Poland* Reda , a river in Poland* Reda railway station, a railway station in Reda, Poland* Reza , can be spelled Reda*Gino Reda, sports journalist*Francesco Reda, Italian cyclist...
, Wejherowo
Wejherowo
Wejherowo is a town in Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 47,435 inhabitants . It has been the capital of Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999; previously, it was a town in Gdańsk Voivodeship .-History:...
) and a suburb part of the metropolitan area of the Tricity
Tricity
Tricity is an urban area consisting of three Polish cities: Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot. They are situated adjacent to one other, in a row, on the coast of the Gdańsk Bay, Baltic Sea, in Pomerelia , northern Poland...
. It has been situated in the Wejherowo County
Wejherowo County
Wejherowo County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the Baltic coast. 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...
in Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
since 1999; previously it was in Gdańsk Voivodeship
Gdansk Voivodeship
The name Gdańsk Voivodeship has been used twice to designate local governments in Poland.----Gdańsk Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–98, superseded by Pomeranian Voivodeship...
(1975–1998). Traditionally, Rumia is related to Kashubia
Kashubia
Kashubia or Cassubia - is a language area in the historic Eastern Pomerania region of northwestern Poland. Located west of Gdańsk and the mouth of the Vistula river, it is inhabited by members of the Kashubian ethnic group....
. It is connected by well-developed railway and highway connections to the Tricity, an urban agglomeration of over 1 million inhabitants on the coast of Gdańsk Bay
Gdansk Bay
Gdańsk Bay or the Bay of Gdańsk or Danzig Bay is a southeastern bay of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the adjacent port city of Gdańsk in Poland and is sometimes referred to as a gulf.-Geography:...
.
History
The village of Rumia (then Rumina) was first mentioned in 1224 when it was awarded by Swantopolk II, later duke of Eastern PomeraniaEastern Pomerania
Eastern Pomerania can refer to distinct parts of Pomerania:*the historical region of Farther Pomerania, which was the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania...
to the Cistercian convent in Oliwa
Oliwa
Oliwa, also Oliva is one of the quarters of Gdańsk. From east it borders Przymorze and Żabianka, from the north Sopot and from the south with the districts of Strzyża, VII Dwór and Brętowo, while from the west with Matarnia and Osowa...
(today part of Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
). The name of Rumia was applied also to the neighbourhoods of Janowo (John's Place) and Biała Rzeka (White River). In 1285 Mestwin II, duke of Pomerania
Dukes of Pomerania
- 10th and 11th century – Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes :* 1046 mention of Zemuzil * 1113 Gallus Anonymus mentions several dukes of Pomerania: Swantibor, Gniewomir, and an unnamed duke besieged in Kołobrzeg.-Duchy of Pomerania:*1121–1135 Wartislaw I*1135–1155 Ratibor I, ancestor of the...
stopped here to issue official documents. Rumia was part of Polish Crown from 1466 until 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...
in 1772, when it was annexed by 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...
. It belonged to the province of West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
inside the Kingdom of Prussia until 1871 when it also became part of the unified German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
.
At the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Rumia became a part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
of the newly re-established Polish state. In the late 1920s, the nearby village of Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
was developed into a city and one of the biggest seaports in the region - especially due to its strategic location in the Polish Corridor
Polish Corridor
The Polish Corridor , also known as Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia , which provided the Second Republic of Poland with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from the province of East...
, to which Rumia also belonged. Rapid growth of the city of Gdynia prompted the price of land to increase. Labour migrants from other parts of Poland began to settle in the region including village of Rumia and its vicinity. Zagórze, Kazimierz and Łężyce, which are today parts of Rumia, were originally separate villages, and were joined with Rumia in 1934 to form the Rumia Rural Commune. By 1934, Rumia had become a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
(population of 12,000 in 1939), located approximately 10 km from the city centre and well-connected with it through a railway link. A small military airfield, home of two squadrons of the Coast Defence Escadrille (based in Puck
Puck, Poland
Puck is a town in northwestern Poland with 11,350 inhabitants. It is in Gdańsk Pomerania on the south coast of the Baltic Sea . Previously in the Gdańsk Voivodeship , Puck has been the capital of Puck County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999.-History:The settlement became a marketplace...
) was opened to civilian planes on 1 May 1936. The airport serviced international route Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
-Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and domestic route Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
-Warszawa and by 1 January 1939, the number of passengers using it rose to over 3000 a year. The airfield was also the main base of the Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
-based glider
Glider aircraft
Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...
club.
During the German Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
in 1939, Rumia was a site of heavy fighting. It was a flanking position of the main Polish defence line at Kępa Oksywska
Battle of Kepa Oksywska
The Battle of Kępa Oksywska took place in the Oksywie Heights outside of the city of Gdynia between September 10 and September 19, 1939. The battle, fought by the Polish Army and the German Wehrmacht, was part of the Polish September Campaign during World War II...
. Two military cemeteries are located in the area. 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...
, the town was occupied by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, which annexed it to province of Danzig-West Prussia and renamed to its former German name (Rahmel). In September and October 1939, SS and SD
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
terrorized ethnic Polish and Jewish population. Most of the victims were either executed at a nearby mass execution site in Piaśnica
Piasnica
Wielka Piaśnica is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Puck, within Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Puck and north-west of the regional capital Gdańsk...
or sent to Stutthof
Stutthof
Stutthof can refer to:*Sztutowo in Poland*Stutthof concentration camp built near Sztutowo...
concentration camp. Approximately half of the pre-war inhabitants of the town were expelled in 1940 and 1941, mostly to the General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
. The town was also a place of internment for several thousand POWs, mostly from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. A forced labour camp and an aircraft assembly plant were located in the town's vicinity. In 1945, shortly before the town's liberation by the 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...
, the local airfield was destroyed by an RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
bombing raid.
In 1942, here in Biała Rzeka (White River) was born Jerzy Treder - Kashubian
Kashubian
Kashubian can refer to:* Pertaining to Kashubia, a region of north-central Poland* Kashubians, an ethnic group of north-central Poland* Kashubian language-See also:*Kashubian alphabet*Kashubian Landscape Park*Kashubian studies...
philologist.
In 1945, the town was transferred back to the Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
. Rumia became a city in 1954 when a few other villages (Zagórze, Biała Rzeka, Szmelta and Janowo) were joined in. In 2001, nearby village of Kazimierz was also included into city of Rumia.
Transportation
Rumia is well connected through a 2-lane highway that leads from WejherowoWejherowo
Wejherowo is a town in Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 47,435 inhabitants . It has been the capital of Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999; previously, it was a town in Gdańsk Voivodeship .-History:...
to Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
and from there by Circular Highway to Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
. There is a plan to extend the Circular from Gdynia to beyond Wejherowo.
The Szybka Kolej Miejska (Urban Fast Train) makes two stops in the city, connecting it to Wejherowo, Gdynia, and beyond. The stops are Rumia and Rumia Janowo
Rumia Janowo (SKM stop)
Rumia Janowo is an SKM stop in Rumia, Poland. It is the first stop of this urban train in Rumia arriving when from the south. The stop is not connected with any railway station, although a local bus service is synchronised with the schedule of the trains....
. There is also network of city buses that also offers connections to Wejherowo
Wejherowo
Wejherowo is a town in Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 47,435 inhabitants . It has been the capital of Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999; previously, it was a town in Gdańsk Voivodeship .-History:...
and Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
.
Population
- 1960: 15,100 inhabitants
- 1970: 23,300 inhabitants
- 1975: 26,000 inhabitants
- 1980: 26,700 inhabitants
- 1990: 37,500 inhabitants
- 1995: 40,000 inhabitants
- 1998: 40,200 inhabitants
- 2003: 43,000 inhabitants
- 2004: 43,700 inhabitants
- 2005: 44,900 inhabitants
Twin towns — Sister cities
Rumia is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Hultsfreds, Sweden
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....
Le Creusot
Le Creusot
Le Creusot is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.The inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerly a mining town, its economy is now dominated by metallurgical companies such as ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric, and Alstom.Since the 1990s, the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
See also
- Polish areas annexed by Nazi GermanyPolish areas annexed by Nazi GermanyAt the beginning of World War II, nearly a quarter of the pre-war Polish areas were annexed by Nazi Germany and placed directly under German civil administration, while the rest of Nazi occupied Poland was named as General Government...
- Territorial changes of PolandTerritorial changes of PolandPoland 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...
- Treatment of the Polish citizens by the occupiers
- World War II atrocities in PolandWorld War II atrocities in PolandApproximately six million Polish citizens, divided nearly equally between non-Jewish and Jewish, perished during World War II. Most were civilians killed by the actions of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and their allies. At the Nuremberg Tribunal, three categories were established. These categories...
