Tuchola
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Tuchola (german: Tuchel; csb, Tëchòlô) is a town in the
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...
in northern
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 ...
. The
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 ...
n town, which is the seat of
Tuchola County __NOTOC__ Tuchola County ( pl, powiat tucholski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local ...
, had a population of 13,418 .


Geographical location

Tuchola lies about north of
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
, close to the Tuchola Forests. Forest areas to the east and north of the town form the protected area of
Tuchola Landscape Park Tuchola Landscape Park (''Tucholski Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in north-central Poland, established in 1985, covering an area of in the Tuchola Forests close to the town of Tuchola. The Park is shared between two ...
.


History

Settlement around Tuchola dates from 980, while the town was first mentioned in 1287, when the local church was consecrated by the archbishop of Gniezno
Jakub Świnka Jakub Świnka (died 4 March 1314) was a Polish Catholic priest, the Archbishop of Gniezno and a notable politician, supporter of the idea of unification of all Polish lands under the rule of Władysław I the Elbow-high ("the Short"). His coat of ...
. It was part of medieval
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 ...
since the establishment of the state in the 10th century, and during its fragmentation it was ruled by the dukes of
Gdańsk Pomerania Gdańsk Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze Gdańskie), csb, Gduńsczim Pòmòrzã, german: Danziger Pommern) is a geographical region within Pomerelia in northern and northwestern Poland, covering the bulk of Pomeranian Voivodeship. It forms a part and ...
. The place was one of the strongholds of the count of Nowe Peter Swienca, who owned a fortified domicile in the area. In 1330 Tuchola came into possession of 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 ...
. It received
Chełmno law Kulm law, Culm law or Chełmno Law (german: Kulmer Recht; lat, Jus Culmense vetus; pl, Prawo chełmińskie) was a legal constitution for a municipal form of government used in several Central European cities during the Middle Ages. It was initia ...
in 1346 from Heinrich Dusemer, the
Grand Master of the Teutonic Order The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (german: Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens; la, Magister generalis Ordo Teutonicus) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the grand master of other military orders and the superi ...
, although it probably received
town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
before, when it was still part of the Kingdom of Poland. At that time, the town already had defensive walls, a castle, a town hall and the
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 St. Bartholomew. After the Order's defeat in the
Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...
on July 14, 1410, a Polish-Lithuanian army recaptured the town on November 5, 1410, but the Order regained the town in the
First Peace of Thorn The (First) Peace of Thorn was a peace treaty formally ending the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War between allied Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania on one side, and the Teutonic Knights on the other. It was signed on 1 February 1 ...
in 1411. In 1440 the town joined the
Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (german: Preußischer Bund, pl, Związek Pruski) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Kwidzyn (then officially ''Marienwerder'') by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia (region), Prussi ...
, which opposed Teutonic rule, and at the request of which King
Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the m ...
signed the act of re-incorporation of the town and region to the
Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...
in 1454. The town became again part of Poland and Poles manned the castle. Tuchola became the seat of the local starosts, the first of which was . During the subsequent Thirteen Years' War, in 1464, a Polish-Teutonic battle was fought there, ending in a Polish victory. The Teutonic Order renounced claims to the town in the
Second Peace of Thorn The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń ( pl, drugi pokój toruński; german: Zweiter Friede von Thorn), was a peace treaty signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 betwe ...
in 1466. Tuchola was a royal town of the Polish Crown, administratively part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in the province of
Royal Prussia Royal Prussia ( pl, Prusy Królewskie; german: Königlich-Preußen or , csb, Królewsczé Prësë) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) was a ...
in the larger Greater Poland Province. During the Swedish invasion of Poland (1655–1660), the town and the castle were besieged by the Swedes five times, but to no avail. Under the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Tuchola, renamed ''Tuchel'', was annexed by 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''. ...
. On May 17, 1781, the Church of St. Bartholomew and vast parts of the town burned down. Around 1785 there existed 148 households inside Tuchel, and the town owned both the village of Kiełpin (then ''Kelpin'') and the small estate Wymysłowo (then named ''Wymislawe''). During the reign of Prussian King
Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...
(1740-1786), the town was built up again, and German Protestants obtained a church in the town hall. In the early 19th century, during the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
and Polish national liberation fights, French, Polish, Prussian and Russian troops were stationed in the town. With the unification of Germany under Prussian hegemony in 1871, it became part of the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
. The Polish population was subject to Germanisation policies, which intensified after 1871, however, various Polish organizations were founded in Tuchola in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, a
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...
was established near the town, mostly for Romanians and Russians, but also Poles, Italians, French and British. On November 24, 1918, almost two weeks after Poland's declaration of independence, a Polish rally was held in Tuchola. In December, local German settlers protested against the creation of independent Poland. Another Polish rally was held on January 12, 1919. The next Polish rallies took place in 1919, and after the Poles celebrated the anniversary of the
Constitution of 3 May 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791,; lt, Gegužės trečiosios konstitucija titled the Governance Act, was a constitution adopted by the Great Sejm ("Four-Year Sejm", meeting in 1788–1792) for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a dual mo ...
, the Germans introduced
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
in Tuchola, and searches were carried out in many Polish homes. Following the 1919
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
, the town was finally reintegrated with the Second Polish Republic in January 1920. The former German POW camp became known as Camp No. 7. Beginning in the autumn of 1920 during Polish-Soviet war, thousands of captured
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 ...
men were placed in the camp of Tuchola. These
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
(POWs) lived in crude dugouts, and hunger, cold, and infectious diseases killed many. According to historians
Zbigniew Karpus Zbigniew Klemens Karpus (born 1954) is a Polish historian. Professor of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, where he is the director of Institute of International Relations, he is the author of several books and dozens of articles. He special ...
and Waldemar Rezmer, up to 2,000 prisoners died in the camp before it was closed in 1923. These events tend to be used by some Russian historians, publicists and politicians, who falsely claim that 22,000 POWs died in the camp, also as a result of alleged executions, as part of Russian negationist
Anti-Katyn Anti-Katyn ( pl, Anty-Katyń, russian: Анти-Катынь) is a denialism campaign intended to reduce and obscure the significance of the Katyn massacre of 1940 — where approximately 22,000 Polish officers were murdered by the Soviet NKVD ...
propaganda. During the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
, which marked the beginning of
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Tuchola was captured by the Germans on September 2, 1939. Along with the rest of the region, was
occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...
by
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 ...
. The
Einsatzkommando 16 During World War II, the Nazi German ' were a sub-group of the ' (mobile killing squads) – up to 3,000 men total – usually composed of 500–1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo, whose mission was to exterminate Jews, Polish intelle ...
entered the town to commit various crimes against Poles. From mid-September 1939, Germans carried out mass arrests of Poles from the town and county, who were initially imprisoned in the local courthouse, and after its overcrowding, they were deported to a temporary camp established in the nearby village of Radzim. Some Poles were executed in Radzim, but more were murdered in
Rudzki Most Rudzki Most (, german: Rudabrück/Raudenbrück) is a district of Tuchola, Poland, located in the south-eastern part of the town, along the west bank of the Brda River. It is on the edge of the Tuchola Landscape Park, and was incorporated into th ...
(present-day district of Tuchola), where Germans carried out large massacres of Poles in October and November 1939, killing several hundreds people. Among Poles massacred in Rudzki Most were teachers, school principals, merchants, craftsmen and local officials from Tuchola, including mayor Stanisław Saganowski, as well as farmers, priests, foresters, postmen, railwaymen, merchants, craftsmen and policemen from nearby villages. After the German defeat, the town reverted to Poland.


Number of inhabitants by year

August Eduard Preuß: ''Preußische Landes- und Volkskunde'', Königsberg 1835,
p. 383–384, no. 16
''Meyers Großes Konversatins-Lexikon'', 6th edition, Vol. 19, Leipzig and Vienna 1909, pp. 791-792.Michael Rademacher:

' (2006) (in German).
''Topographisch-statistisches Handbuch für den Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder'', Danzig 1868; se
''III. Kreis Konitz'', pp. 50-51, entry no. 349
(in German).


Education

*Higher School of Environmental Management ( pl, Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania Środowiskiem)


Famous residents

*
Louis Lewin Louis Lewin (9 November 1850 - 1 December 1929) was a German pharmacologist. In 1887 he received his first sample of the Peyote cactus from Dallas, Texas-based physician John Raleigh Briggs (1851-1907), and later published the first methodical ...
(1850–1929), physician, pharmacologist, toxicologist in Berlin *
Max Liebermann von Sonnenberg Max Liebermann von Sonnenberg (21 August 1848 – 17 November 1911) was a German officer who became noted as an anti-Semitic politician and publisher. He was part of a wider campaign against German Jews that became a central feature of national ...
(1848–1911), German politician * Johannes Holzmann (Senna Hoy) (1882–1914), anarchist author *
Wilhelm Ambrosius German submarine ''U-43'' was a Type IXA U-boat of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The keel for ''U-43'' was laid down in August 1938 at Bremen; she was launched in May 1939 and commissioned in August. Between Novemb ...
(1903–1955), Kriegsmarine officer *
Marcin Jędrzejewski Marcin Jędrzejewski (born 10 April 1987 in Tuchola, Poland) is a motorcycle speedway rider from Poland. Career Jędrzejewski has ridden for the Polish national junior team. He started riding in 2003. Results World Championships * Individua ...
-
speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...
rider and current member of Polish national junior team. *
Tadeusz Zwiefka Tadeusz Antoni Zwiefka (; born 28 December 1954 in Tuchola) is a Polish journalist and politician. Since 2004, member of the European Parliament. Biography Tadeusz Zwiefka comes from Tuchola in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship, he worked in Sz ...
- popular TV journalist, and a Civic Platform Member of
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
.


External links


Municipal website


Footnotes


References

*


See also

*
Camps for Russian prisoners and internees in Poland (1919-1924) Camps may refer to: People *Ramón Camps (1927–1994), Argentine general *Gabriel Camps (1927–2002), French historian *Luís Espinal Camps (1932–1980), Spanish missionary to Bolivia *Victoria Camps (b. 1941), Spanish philosopher and professor ...

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Tuchola County Pomeranian Voivodeship (1919–1939)