Barlinek (german: Berlinchen) is a town in Myślibórz County, in

West Pomeranian Voivodeship The West Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as the West Pomerania Province, is a voivodeship (province) in northwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin. Its area equals 22 892.48 km² (8,838.84 sq mi), and in 2021, it was ...

, in northwestern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Barlinek. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 13,491.

Geography

Barlinek is located in the northwestern part of the historical

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest cit ...

, later forming part of the historical New March region on the Płonia River, about north of

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (; german: Landsberg an der Warthe) often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów, is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the second largest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 120,087 inhabitants (Decem ...

History

A gord settlement existed in present-day Barlinek in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The area formed part of Poland after the creation of the Polish state in the 10th century. It was part of the province of

, before being annexed by the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out ...

in the late 13th century. The settlement of ''Nova Berlyn'' was first mentioned in a 1278 deed, when it was founded by the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schlos ...

margraves of Brandenburg. It was meant as a stronghold in the newly acquired Neumark region, bordering on the Pomeranian estates around nearby

Pełczyce Pełczyce (german: Bernstein, Kashubian language: Bersztén) is a town in Choszczno County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administr ...

, which the margraves nevertheless conquered soon afterwards. In the 14th century, the town gained its first fortified walls (still partly visible). In 1373 the town became part of the Lands of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown, ruled by the Luxembourg dynasty. In 1402, the Luxembourgs reached an agreement with

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

. Poland was to buy and re-incorporate the region, but eventually the Luxembourgs sold it to the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. In 1454 the Teutonic Knights sold the town to the Margraviate of Brandenburg in order to raise funds for war with Poland. From 1701 it belonged to the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

and between 1871 and 1945 it was part of Germany. As a part of Germany, Barlinek was called Berlinchen. From the 18th century onwards the town prospered as a centre of

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...

and

cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

manufacturing. After the defeat of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the town was transferred to the

Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and renamed Barlinek. The remaining German population was expelled and the town was repopulated by

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in ...

, many of whom were also expelled from former Eastern Poland annexed by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. Between 1975 and 1998, the town belonged to Gorzów Wielkopolski Voivodeship.

Notable people

Karl Wilhelm Posselt Karl/Carl Wilhelm Posselt (20 June 1815 Diekow, Berlinchen, Neumark, Prussia – 12 May 1885 Christianenburg, Natal, South Africa), was a German missionary from the Berlin Missionary Society and was active in South Africa where he became known a ...

(1815–1885), German missionary active in South Africa *

Berthold Lasker Berthold Lasker (also, per birth registry Jonathan Berthold Barnett)per birth registry (Archiwum Państwowe Gorzów Wielkopolski, Sąd Obwodowy w Barlinku, Duplikaty księg metrykalnych gminy żydowskiej, signature 66/886/0/3/4, item 105 on the ...

(1860-1928), German physician, writer and chess master. *

Emanuel Lasker Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Cham ...

(1868-1941), German chess player, mathematician and philosopher; World Chess Champion from 1894 to 1921 * Józef Pilarz (1956–2008), Polish politician, elected to the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

in 2005 * Dariusz Jarecki (born 1981), Polish footballer, over 260 pro games *

Marcin Matkowski Marcin Matkowski (; born 15 January 1981) is a Polish former professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. He played college tennis at UCLA, where Jean-Julien Rojer was one of his teammates. Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg won t ...

(born 1981), Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles *

Adam Hrycaniuk Adam Hrycaniuk (born March 15, 1984) is a Polish professional basketball player for Arka Gdynia of the Polish Basketball League. College career After spending two years in community college, Hrycaniuk spent the 2007–08 season with the Cincinna ...

(born 1984), Polish basketball player

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

Barlinek is twinned with: *

Gryfino Gryfino (german: Greifenhagen; nds, Gripenhagen; Kashubian: ''Gripiewò'') is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 21,393 inhabitants (2017). It is also the capital of Gryfino County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previ ...

, Poland *

Courrières Courrières () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography An ex-coalmining commune, now a light industrial and farming town, situated some northeast of Lens, at the junction of the D46 and D ...

, France *

Prenzlau Prenzlau (, formerly also Prenzlow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region. Geography The town is located on the Ucker river, about north of Be ...

, Germany * Schneverdingen, Germany

Gallery

Jezioro Barlineckie (2).JPG, Barlinek Lake Barlinek Kosciol Niepokalanego Serca NMP (2).jpg,

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Barlinek mury kolb2082.JPG, Medieval town walls BARLINEK - panoramio (11).jpg, Local museum BARLINEK - panoramio (14).jpg, Town hall BARLINEK - panoramio (16).jpg, Saint Boniface church

References

External links

Official website

Jewish Community of Barlinek
on

Virtual Shtetl The Virtual Shtetl ( pl, Wirtualny Sztetl) is a bilingual Polish-English portal of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, devoted to the Jewish history of Poland. History The Virtual Shtetl website was officially launched on June ...

{{Authority control Cities and towns in West Pomeranian Voivodeship Myślibórz County History of Brandenburg Former states and territories of Brandenburg