Jastrowie (german: Jastrow) is a town in northwestern Poland of approximately 9,000 inhabitants in

Złotów County __NOTOC__ Złotów County ( pl, powiat złotowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. Its administrative seat and largest town is Złotów, which lies north of ...

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wielkopolskie; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 ...

. It has 8,900 inhabitants (1998) and lies on the edge of the

Gwda The Gwda (; german: Küddow) is a river in Poland, a tributary of the Noteć. It has a length of and a basin area of . It begins at Lake Studnica, northeast of Szczecinek. Its upper course flows through many lakes. It runs through the town of ...

river valley. The town is located on the Oska stream.

History

Jastrowie was one of the southernmost centres of the Pomeranians. In the beginning of the 14th century it belonged to the

Ujście Ujście (german: Usch) is a town in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, northwestern Poland, with 8,134 inhabitants (2011). Although there was already a stronghold here in the 7th century, Ujście was founded in the 12th century. From t ...

castellany. On May 5, 1602, the town received the German city rights granted by Piotr Potulicki and confirmed by King

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

was introduced in the mayority

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

speaking town 1587 when the Catholic pastor converted, and in 1600 the old church was demolished and replaced by a new building. However, the Protestants could only keep the former Catholic parish church until 1619, because that year the preacher Martin Goldbach converted to Catholicism, after which the church was returned to the Catholics. In the 17th century the town developed quickly. New inhabitants arrived, mostly more

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

from

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

, but also settlers from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, and

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

s. The religious struggle in Jastrow reached its climax in 1768 when soldiers belonging to the Polish nobleman Roskowski killed the lutheran preacher Willich. After the Partitions of Poland the town was incorporated into

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

. For the time being, the

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

went to the church services in the neighboring Pomeranian villages of Zamborst and Flederborn, but later - after 1773 - got religious freedom and as a result their own church with the support of the Prussian government. In the 19th century Jastrow became one of the most important centres of horse trade. During World War II, Jastrow was an important point of Pommernstellung (''Wał Pomorski''), one of the most important lines of fortification in the East of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The town was eventually captured by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

on 2 February 1945, the German population fled or was expelled after the annexation and

expropriation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

by Poland and replaced with Polish settlers. The town was renamed Jastrowie. Currently Jastrowie is the site of several wood and bicycle factories. It was part of the

Piła Voivodeship Piła Voivodeship () was a voivodeship (unit of administrative division and local government) in Poland from 1975 to 1998. It was superseded by the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The Voivodeship's capital city was Piła. Major cities and towns (pop ...

from 1975 until 1998, when the administrative region was superseded by the

. Jastrowie's most important cultural event is its International Folk Festival "Bukowińskie Spotkania".

Sites of interest

* Town Market (18th century) * City House (16th century) * St. Mary's Queen of Poland Church (1882), til 1945 the Lutheran church * Michael's Archangel Church (1913). Cities and towns in Greater Poland Voivodeship Złotów County {{GreaterPoland-geo-stub