Człuchów County

Człuchów County (Polish: powiat człuchowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian 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 and largest town is Człuchów, which lies 115 kilometres (71 mi) south-west of the regional capital Gdańsk. The county also contains the towns of Czarne, lying 28 km (17 mi) west of Człuchów, and Debrzno, 16 km (10 mi) south-west of Człuchów.

The county covers an area of 1,574.41 square kilometres (607.9 sq mi). As of 2006 its total population is 56,797, out of which the population of Człuchów is 14,597, that of Czarne is 5,917, that of Debrzno is 5,359, and the rural population is 30,924.

Człuchów County on a map of the counties of Pomeranian Voivodeship

Człuchów County is bordered by Bytów County to the north, Chojnice County to the east, Sępólno County to the south, Złotów County to the south-west and Szczecinek County to the west.

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Człuchów_County

location on Google Map

Człuchów

Człuchów [ˈt͡ʂwuxuf] (German: Schlochau ) (Kash. Człëchòwò) is a town in the region of Gdańsk Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with some 14,610 inhabitants (2004).

Człuchów has been the capital of Człuchów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998 it was in Słupsk Voivodeship.

Location

Człuchów lies in a forested area in the southwest of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, at the intersection of Highway 25 from Koszalin to Bydgoszcz and Highway 22 from Gorzów Wielkopolski to Elbląg. The nearest city is Chojnice, 15 kilometres (9 miles) to the east.

History

By the beginning of the 13th century Człuchów was a Slavic settlement under the overlordship of the Kingdom of Poland located at the intersection of two trade routes. In 1312 the Teutonic Knights purchased the settlement for 250 silver marks from Nicholas of Poniec, a son of the voivod of Kalisz. The Order began constructing a fortress known as Schlochau on a hill east of the settlement; the fortress, the Order's second-largest after Marienburg, was completed in 1367. By 1323 it was used as a komturei (bailiwick) by the crusaders and consisted of three support buildings and the main castle. The fortress was so well-developed that Grand Master Heinrich von Dusemer granted the town Kulm law in 1348. After the defeat of the Order in the Thirteen Years' War, the town was transferred to Poland in the Second Peace of Thorn (1466). Many Jews immigrated to the town afterward, creating an enclosed Jewish quarter in the north of the town.