Braniewo
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Braniewo (German: Braunsberg) is a city in northeastern Poland, in Warmia-Mazury voivodship, with a population of 17,800 (2000). It is the capital of Braniewo County. Located on the Pasleka river, about 5 km from the Vistula Lagoon, it lies about halfway between Gdansk and Kaliningrad.
History
The city was founded around 1240 by the Teutonic Knights during their conquest of Prussia. It grew around one of the castles built by the Order, on the site of the previous Prussian city called Brusebergue. The German name of the new city was Braunsberg, probably derived from the older Prussian name, but possibly named after Saint Bruno of Querfurt. In 1243 the city was given by the Order, together with the surrounding region of Warmia, to the newly created bishop of Warmia, who build his cathedral in the city and made it his chief residence. Soon after bishop Anselm advised Johannes Fleming, son of a Lübeck councilman (Ratsherr) to give the settlement a city charter, and this was accomplished in 1254 on the basis of the city charter of Lübeck.
In 1261, during the second uprising of native Prussians, the city was destroyed. In 1273 it was rebuild and moved to a new location. The city was settled by newcomers from Lubeck and in 1284 given a new city charter, again based on the city charter of Lübeck. However, the next bishop, Heinrich I (1278-1300) had to transfer the chapter from Braunsberg to Frauenburg (Frombork) where it remained until the 20th century.
In 1296, a Franciscan abbey was built in Braniewo, and in 1342 a 'new city' (still called Nowe Miasto) was added. The city became a prosperous member of the Hanseatic League.
The city was a part of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights until 1466, when as a consequence of the Second Treaty of Thorn ending the Thirteen Years' War it passed to Poland, as part of the new provice of Royal Prussia.
In 1552 Regina Protmann was born in Braniewo. She came from a patrician family and was expected to marry. Instead she was somewhat influenced by newly arrived Jesuits and, against the wishes of her parents and contrary to the customs of the times, moved out on her own. She founded the Saint Catherine Order of Sisters, who were devoted to nursing the sick within the community. Warmia, a part of the Kingdom of Poland, had only schools for boys. Blessed Regina founded schools for girls as well.
In 1564 the Jesuit Collegium Hosianum was founded by Stanislaw Hozjusz.
Next to Königsberg, Braniewo was the leading academic center of the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1912 the Jesuit college became the Staatliche Akademie Braunsberg.
The city was annexed by Prussia in 1772 as a consequence of the First Partition of Poland. In 1871 it became part of the newly established German Empire. During World War II it was captured by the Red Army in 1945 and suffered heavy destruction due to fighting and subsequent looting. The German inhabitans of the city were either evacuated before the Soviet army arrived, killed during the fighting or expelled to Germany after the war. The city again became part of Poland after 1945 and was given the current name Braniewo (previously it was known as Brunsberga in Polish).
External links
- Official city page (in Polish) (http://www.braniewo.pl)
- Business city page (in Polish) (http://www.braniewo.com.pl)
- German page on Braniewo (http://www.braunsberg-ostpreussen.de)
- Historical page about Braniewo (in Polish, galleries of modern and pre-1945 photographs) (http://braniewo.er.pl)
- Braniewo on the map by www.pilot.pl (http://www.pilot.pl/index.php3?Z_CITY_NAME=braniewo&form_t=1&lang=pl)de:Braniewo