Stębark
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Stębark (1945-46 ''Sztymbark'', german: Tannenberg) is a
village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
in the administrative district of
Gmina Grunwald __NOTOC__ Gmina Grunwald is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Ostróda County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Gmina Grunwald is divided into 19 sołectwos. The villages with the largest population are Gierzwałd, whic ...
, within
Ostróda County __NOTOC__ Ostróda County ( pl, powiat ostródzki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gover ...
,
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship or Warmia-Masuria Province or Warmia-Mazury Province (in pl, Województwo warmińsko-mazurskie, is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn. The voivodeship has an are ...
, in northern Poland. The village is chiefly known for two historic battles which took place there: the 1410 Battle of Grunwald and the (Second) Battle of Tannenberg in World War I.


Geography

It is situated on the western edge of the historic Masuria region, southeast of the
Dylewska Góra Dylewska Góra (german: Kernsdorfer Höhe) is a hill located in northeastern Poland, south of the town of Ostróda, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. With elevation of 312 metres above sea level, it is one of the highest points of northern and ...
range. It lies approximately south-east of
Ostróda Ostróda (; Old Prussian: ''Austrāti'') is a town in northern Poland, in the historic region of Masuria. It is the seat of the Ostróda County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and has approximately 33,191 inhabitants (2009). Ostróda is ...
and south-west of the regional capital Olsztyn. The village has a population of 630. From 1975 to 1998 it belonged to
Olsztyn Voivodeship Olsztyn Voivodeship () was an administrative division and unit of local government in Poland in the years 1945–75, and a new territorial division between 1975–1998, superseded by Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Olsztyn. ...
.


History

The settlement was first mentioned as ''Tannenberge'' about 1335, when the area was part of the State of the Teutonic Order. The Old Polish name ''Sztambark'' was already documented in 1426. On 15 July 1410 a united army of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania led by King Władysław II Jagiełło and Grand Duke Vytautas, with additional mercenary troops from
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, defeated the Teutonic Knights under Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen in the Battle of Grunwald. The site of the cavalry battle, one of the largest in the whole Middle Ages, was actually the heath between the villages of Tannenberg and neighboring Grünfelde (now, Grunwald), mentioned by King Władysław as ''"loco conflictus nostri ... dicto Grunenvelt"''. Adopted as ''Grunwald'' by the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz (1415–1480), the battle was called ''Bitwa pod Grunwaldem'' in Polish, while
German historiography The historiography of Germany deals with the manner in which historians have depicted, analyzed and debated the history of Germany. It also covers the popular memory of critical historical events, ideas and leaders, as well as the depiction of thos ...
named it ''Schlacht bei Tannenberg'', after the deployment area of the Teutonic troops. Upon the 1411 Peace of Thorn, the Teutonic Knights had a lady chapel erected at the site, where Ulrich von Jungingen was killed in the battle. In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation. After the subsequent Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466), it became a part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Knights until 1525, and by secular Ducal Prussia afterwards, following the Prussian Homage. Ravaged by Lipka and Crimean Tatar forces during the Deluge of the
Second Northern War The Second Northern War (1655–60), (also First or Little Northern War) was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1655–60), the Tsardom of Russia (Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658), 1656–58), Brande ...
in 1656, Stębark, along with Masuria, was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the 1772 First Partition of Poland and incorporated into the Province of East Prussia. In 1914 during World War I the
German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
under the command of General Paul von Hindenburg won an important victory over the Russian Imperial forces invading
East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
in the Battle of Tannenberg. The combat lasted from 26 to 30 August and actually included a wide range of battlegrounds centered on
Olsztynek Olsztynek (german: Hohenstein in Ostpreußen) is a town in northern Poland, in Olsztyn County, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Olsztynek. It is part of the historic region of Masuria. Geography Olszty ...
, then known as ''Hohenstein''. It was, however, named after nearby ''Tannenberg'' by the victorious Germans at Hindenburg's request, for
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
purposes and to cast it as a kind of revenge for the medieval defeat. In 1934 von Hindenburg's funeral occurred there. In World War II, the Tannenberg myth lent the name to the German ''
Operation Tannenberg Operation Tannenberg (german: Unternehmen Tannenberg) was a codename for one of the anti-Polish extermination actions by Nazi Germany that were directed at the Poles during the opening stages of World War II in Europe, as part of the ''Generalplan ...
'' extermination actions directed at the Polish people, while the Battle of Tannenberg Line refers to an Eastern Front campaign which took place in Estonia. After the German defeat in 1945, Stębark with Masuria became again part of Poland according to the
Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...
, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the 1980s. The remaining German population was expelled, also in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement.


Sights

The main sights of Stębark are the and the historic Holy Trinity church. The Grunwald Battlefield is located nearby.


References


{{DEFAULTSORT:Stebark Villages in Ostróda County