Frombork

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Frombork

	(Coat of arms)


Basic Information
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Warmia-Masuria
Population	2,528
Founded	ca. 1277
City rights	1310
Area	7.59 km²
Density	331.1/km²
Economy and Traffic
Administration
Mayor	Krystyna Ryszarda Lewańska
Municipal Website

1 History
2 Political timeline
3 Monuments
4 Reference
5 External links

Frombork (German: Frauenburg (help·info)) is a town in northern Poland, on the Vistula Lagoon, in Braniewo County, Warmia-Masuria Province. It had a population of 2,528 as of 2005.

The former residence of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, the town and its 700-year-old cathedral were badly damaged in World War II. After the war, Frombork was meticulously reconstructed and is again a popular tourist destination.

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

The town was founded as a defensive stronghold on an Old Prussian site. In 1224 at Catania, Emperor Frederick II declared Prussia directly subordinate to the church and Holy Roman Empire. Later in the same year the pope assigned Bishop William of Modena as the papal legate to Prussia. With the imperial Golden Bull of Rimini, the Teutonic Knights were granted control of the region, which they subsequently conquered. According to local legend, the Old Prussian inhabitants were baptised by Anselm of Meißen, a priest of the Teutonic Knights and the first Bishop of the Bishopric of Warmia which was created in 1242 by William of Modena.

Supposedly when the stronghold's lord died, his widow Gertruda offered the settlement to the bishop, and in her honor it was named Frauenburg ("woman's or women's castle" in German). This name is not unique in German, but it usually originates in the construction of a fortified chapel, church, or monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary or inhabited by nuns. Several places were thus named Marienburg, like the nearby castle and city (now Malbork).

The village was first mentioned in a 1278 document signed by Bishop Heinrich I Fleming. On 8 July 1310, Bishop Eberhard von Neiße granted the town Lübeck city rights, as used by many member cities of the Hanseatic League. It was described, still rather unspecifically, as Civitas Warmiensis (Warmian city).

In 1329-1388, the magnificent Gothic cathedral was built, and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, or "Our Lady" (in Latin, Domina Nostra; in German, Unsere Frau, hence Frauenburg, Frawenburg, Fromborg, finally Frombork).

Over the centuries, the cathedral has been expanded and rebuilt repeatedly. There are also several other historic churches, dedicated to St. Nicholas, St. George, and St. Anne, all built in the 13th century.

[edit] Copernican era

Frombork Cathedral, with Vistula Lagoon in background.

"Astronomer Copernicus: Conversation with God." Painting by Jan Matejko.

Frombork's Cathedral Hill, with statue of Copernicus.

In 1414 the city was plundered and burned during a war between Poland and the Teutonic Knights. In 1454, during the Thirteen Years' War, the hill and its cathedral were occupied by Jan Skalski. From the Second Peace of Toruń (1466), Frombork was an important city of the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia and part of the province of Royal Prussia.

In the Middle Ages, Frauenburg's (Frombork's) inhabitants were mainly merchants, farmers and fishermen. The most famous resident was the astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus, who lived and worked here as a canon (1512-16 and 1522-43). Copernicus is said to have jokingly called Frauenburg "Weiberstadt" ("Wives' Town") and "Ginnepolis" ("Ginne" meaning "woman" in Old Prussian). It was at Frauenburg that the astronomer wrote his epochal work, De revolutionibus orbium cœlestium. Shortly after its 1543 publication, Copernicus died there and was buried in the cathedral, where his grave seems to have been found by archaeologists in 2006.

Since 1945, the town has been called by the Polish version of its name, "Frombork."

In the northwest corner of the cathedral grounds is Copernicus' tower, and in the southwest corner an octagonal building with a square bell tower and a small planetarium and a Foucault's pendulum. From atop the tower one can survey the town, the tiny harbor, the great panorama of the Baltic Sea, and much of Warmia's countryside.

[edit] Modern history

After the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1772), the town was taken over by the Kingdom of Prussia, and thus in 1871 became part of the German Empire. The Preußische Ostbahn railway line was opened in 1899 connecting Elbing (Elbląg) and Braunsberg (Braniewo) via Frauenburg, leading further to the Russian border at Eydtkuhnen (Chernyshevskoye). Passenger services on the railway line through Frombork ceased in early 2006.

Towards and after the end of World War II, the German inhabitants were either evacuated or expelled like most of the German population of East Prussia. At the end of World War II, Frauenburg along with the rest of southern East Prussia, became part of Poland under territorial changes promulgated by the Potsdam Conference. The town, renamed Frombork in 1946, was resettled by Poles, many of whom were expellees from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union.

In 1959 Frombork regained its city rights. Having been heavily (70%) damaged in World War II, it was rebuilt by Polish Boy Scouts in 1966-1973, in time for the 500th anniversary of Copernicus' birth.

Today, Frombork is regaining its importance as a tourist destination, abetted by its key location just south of the frontier with the Russian district of Kaliningrad. Although the railway through Frombork closed in 2006, the port has seasonal ferry connections with Elblag, Krynica Morska and Kaliningrad.

[edit] Political timeline

1278 first mentioned
1310 Lübeck law rights granted for Civitas Warmiensis
1388 cathedral completed and dedicated to the Virgin Mary
1466 Second Peace of Toruń: now part of the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia and Royal Prussia
1772 First partition of Poland: now part of the Kingdom of Prussia
1871 German Empire founded: now automatically a part of it
1945 The Potsdam Conference places Frombork under administration of Poland pending a final peace conference, but since one never takes place, the decision effectively makes Frombork a part of Poland. The new borders are recognized by East Germany in 1950, accepted by West Germany in 1970, and confirmed by newly reunified Germany in 1990 ([1]).

[edit] Monuments

Several monuments are on display in Frombork (see external links):

monument to Nicolaus Copernicus, was replaced in the mid-1950s as the monument erected by Imperial Germany's Wilhelm II was destroyed in WW II
monument honoring Red Army soldiers, inscribed: "Glory to the Red Army heroes fallen in liberating Frombork"
monument to people of East Prussia who drowned in the Vistula Lagoon during the 1945 exodus, made from a glacial erratic rock found in the water
memorial honoring the Boy Scouts and others who took part in "Operation 1001" 1966-73, the rebuilding of the town from its devastation in World War II
Copernicus' astronomical observatory, work room, instruments and planetarium are on display at Frombork's Copernicus Museum