Pyrzyce
Pyrzyce [pɨˈʐɨt͡sɛ] (German: Pyritz, Kashubian: Përzëca), is a town in Pomerania, north-western Poland, with 13,331 inhabitants (2007).
Pyrzyce | |
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![]() ![]() Pyrzyce ![]() ![]() Pyrzyce | |
Coordinates: 53°8′N 14°53′E | |
Country | ![]() |
Voivodeship | ![]() |
County | Pyrzyce County |
Gmina | Gmina Pyrzyce |
Government | |
• Mayor | Marzena Podzińska |
Area | |
• Total | 39 km2 (15 sq mi) |
Population (2007) | |
• Total | 13,331 |
• Density | 340/km2 (890/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 74-200 |
Car plates | ZPY |
Website | http://www.pyrzyce.um.gov.pl |
Capital of the Pyrzyce County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Szczecin Voivodeship (1975–1998).
History
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An anonymous medieval document of about 850, called Bavarian Geographer, mentions the tribe of Prissani having 70 strongholds (Prissani civitates LXX). In the early 12th century, the town was part of Poland, then, as a result of the fragmentation of Poland, it was part of the Duchy of Pomerania.
The settlement was first mentioned in 1124 by bishop Otto von Bamberg, who baptized the first Pomeranians here.[1] Throughout the German Ostsiedlung the oldest church was built in 1250, an Augustinian cloister in 1256 and a monastery of the Franciscan order in 1281.
In 1263 the town received Magdeburg law. By the Contract of Pyritz of March 26, 1493 the Dukes of Pomerania recognized the right of succession of the House of Brandenburg. A large fire destroyed almost the whole town in 1496. Pyritz was the first town in Pomerania to implement the Lutheran Reformation in 1524.[2]
In 1634, during the Thirty Years' War, it was again largely destroyed by a conflagration. After the death of the last Pomeranian Duke in 1637, the Swedes took over the town. In 1653 the town became part of the Brandenburg-Prussian province of Pomerania following the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Treaty of Stettin (1653), along within the rest of Farther Pomerania.
In 1818, the town became the seat of the district administration (Kreis Pyritz) and was connected to the railway system in 1882. As part of Prussia the town was located in unified Germany of 1871.
At the end of World War II the Soviet Red Army conquered the town during the Pomeranian Offensive. Bombardment of Pyritz by Soviet artillery began on February 1, 1945, and achieved maximum intensity on February 27, when attacks by heavy artillery destroyed the old town.[3] Following the post-war boundary changes, Pyrzyce became part of Poland.
Number of inhabitants by year
Year | Number[2][4][5][6][7] |
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1740 | 2,095 |
1782 | 2,122 |
1791 | 2,323 |
1794 | 2,325 |
1812 | 2,855 |
1816 | 3,126 |
1831 | 4,151 |
1843 | 4,704 |
1852 | 5,795 |
1861 | 6,501 |
1875 | 7,442 |
1880 | 8,123 |
1890 | 8,247 |
1905 | 8,600 |
1925 | 9,085 |
1933 | 10,084 |
1936 | approx. 10,800 |
1939 | 11,287 |
1960 | 5,500 |
1970 | 8,800 |
1980 | 11,600 |
2000 | 13,200 |
2007 | 13,331 |
Famous people
- Sir Trevor Corry (1724–1780), British diplomat, died in Pyritz
- Karl Gützlaff (1803–1851), a German Lutheran missionary to the Far East
- Salomon Neumann (1819–1908), surgeon and founder of "Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums" (Berlin)
- August Munckel (1837–1903), German politician
- Gustav Jacobsthal (1845–1912), composer and full-time professor of historical musicology
- Gustav Hirschfeld (1847–1895), a German classical archaeologist.
- Otto Hintze (1861–1940), a German historian of public administration
- Margarete Neumann (1917–2002), a German writer and lyrical poet
- Danuta Bartoszek (born 1961), a former long-distance runner; competed for Canada at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Paweł Januszewski (born 1972), a retired hurdler, represented Poland in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics
- Magda Toeters (born 1986), a Dutch swimmer, won silver at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Twin towns
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External links
References
- Jan M. Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, pp. 36 ff., ISBN 83-906184-8-6 OCLC 43087092
- Michael Rademacher: Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Provinz Pommern, Kreis Pyritz (2006).
- Helge Bei der Wieden and Roderich Schmidt, Handbuch der historischen Stätten Deutschlands, Vol. 12: Mecklenburg/Pommern (= Kröners Taschenausgabe, Vol. 315), Kröner, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-520-31501-7, pp. 254–256
- Gustav Kratz: Die Städte der Provinz Pommern - Abriß ihrer Geschichte, zumeist nach Urkunden. Berlin 1865, p. 317.
- Gunthard Stübs und Pommersche Forschungsgemeinschaft: Die Stadt Pyritz im ehemaligen Kreis Pyritz in Pommern (2011).
- Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 6th edition, Vol. 16, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig and Vienna 1909, p. 481
- Christian Friedrich Wutstrack: Kurze historisch-geographisch-statistische Beschreibung des königlich-preußischen Herzogtums Vor- und Hinterpommern. Stettin 1793, see table on p. 736.
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