Gniewkowo

Gniewkowo [gɲefˈkɔvɔ] (Argenau in German) is a town in northern Poland with a population of 7, 301 (2005). The town is part of the inowroclawski powiat (county) and is the administrative seat of a gmina (commune) named Gniewskowo as well.

1 Location
2 History
3 Economy
4 References

[edit] Location

Gniewkowo is located to the south of the Bydgoszcz forest on route 52, 15 km northeast of Inowrocław and 23 km southwest of Toruń.

[edit] History

Archaeological digs have shown that the site was already populated by the Bronze Age. The first historical mention of the town dates from 1185. In 1268 the town was granted city rights. In 1314 Siemomysł of Inowrocław’s duchy was divided among his three sons; Casimir inherited the Gniewkowo region which became a small autonomous duchy. The Teutonic Knights laid siege to Gniewkowo in 1332 during their war with Poland. To avoid capture Casimir set fire to his chateau and abandoned the town. He would not regain control of the duchy until the Treaty of Kalisz in 1343.

In 1364/1365, Władysław (Ladislas) the White mortgaged Gniewkowo to Casimir III the Great. In 1408 the city hosted a meeting between Jogaila and the Teutonic Knights over the disputed Dobrzyń territory. From 1409 to 1411 Gniewkowo played an important role in the conflict between Poland and the Teutonic Order.

Gniewkowo was ravaged by several fires during the XVI century, limiting its development. During the XVII century, war with Sweden and outbreaks of disease laid waste to the town.

Gniewkowo was annexed by Prussia in 1772 after the first partition of Poland (from 1807 to 1815 Gniewkowo was part of the Duchy of Warsaw), during which time the economy began to develop. Starting in 1843, a road linked the city to Inowrocław and Toruń. Jews and Germans became more and more prominent, while the local Polish population suffered from an official policy of discrimination. A general strike broke out after German became the required official language for religious classes. Electricity became available city-wide in 1908.

On January 17, 1920, after a year of fighting, Gniewkowo rejoined a newly independent Poland. The town suffered greatly during the Polish economic crisis that followed World War I. On the eve of World War II the unemployment rate was 70%.

During World War II 4,000 civilians taken from Gniewkowo and the nearby towns of Inowrocław, Bydgoszcz and Toruń were executed by the Nazis in the woods surrounding the town. Gniewkowo was liberated by the Red Army on January 21, 1945.