Ciechocinek (Polish pronunciation: ;

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(1941–1945): ''Hermannsbad'') is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship * Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) in Poland. * Kuyavian-Pomeranian is one of 13 Polish constituency of the European Parliament. * Kuyavian-Pomeranian Regional Assembly is the regional legislature of t ...

, north-central

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, located on the

Vistula River The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra ...

about east of

Aleksandrów Kujawski Aleksandrów Kujawski (until 1879: ''Trojanów'', 1879–1919: ''Aleksandrów Pograniczny'') is a town in north-central Poland, in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Aleksandrów County, as well as of Gmina Aleksandrów Kujawski ( ...

and south-east of the city of

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

. It is located within the historic region of

Kuyavia Kuyavia (; ), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three traditional parts: north-western (with th ...

. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 10,442. Ciechocinek is known for its unique 'saline

graduation tower A graduation tower (occasionally referred to as a thorn house) is a structure, used in the production of salt, that removes water from a saline solution by evaporation, increasing its concentration of mineral salts. The tower consists of a wo ...

s'. Experts have considered the local saline springs to be of extreme value and named the thermal spring no. 14 "a wonder of nature". The therapeutic qualities of these springs are directed toward curing cardiovascular, respiratory, orthopedic, traumatic, rheumatic, nervous system and women's diseases.

History

The history of Ciechocinek dates back to the

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

. It belonged to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

until the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of partitions of Poland, three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition (politics), partition occurred i ...

in 1793, when it was annexed by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. It 1807 it became part of the short-lived Polish

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

, and in 1815 it became part of

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

, initially autonomous within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, from 1844 on as part of the

Warsaw Governorate Warsaw Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire. It was created in 1844 from the Masovia Governorate, Masovia and Kalisz Governorates, and had the capital in Warsaw. In 1867 ter ...

. When

Wieliczka Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of P ...

and

Bochnia Bochnia is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland, administrative seat of Bochnia County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted ...

, towns rich in salt deposits, fell in the

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, the salt resources of Ciechocinek and nearby Słońsk drew the attention of Polish officials. On the initiative of

Stanisław Staszic Stanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic (baptised 6 November 1755 – 20 January 1826) was a leading figure in the Polish Enlightenment: a Catholic priest, philosopher, geologist, writer, poet, translator and statesman. A physiocrat, monist, pan-Sla ...

, a salt extraction project was created. The development of the spa plant and health resort in Ciechocinek dates back to 1836. In 1867 Ciechocinek gained a railway connection with

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

and

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The rapid development and popularity among guests from home and abroad contributed to the granting of

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 ...

in 1916. After Poland regained independence after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1918, the spa was taken over by the Polish Government and subordinated to the Ministry of Health. During this period, healing facilities destroyed during the war were rebuilt, new

pensions A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "defined benefit plan", wher ...

, a post office, school, a residential and commercial complex, the President's Manor House and other facilities were built. The Health Park was also created, consisting of a thermal-saline pool, the Jordan Garden, a sports field and vast green areas surrounding the graduation towers. Following the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

at the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ciechocinek was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

on 12 September 1939 and on 26 September incorporated into the

Reichsgau Wartheland The Reichsgau Wartheland (initially Reichsgau Posen, also Warthegau) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Second Polish Republic, Polish territory Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, annexed in 1939 during World War ...

as part of the district/county (''kreis'') of Hermannsbad (1941–1945). The Polish population was subjected to various crimes including mass arrests, murder and expulsions. During the German invasion, in September 1939, the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

'' and '' Selbstschutz'' murdered some inhabitants of Ciechocinek in the nearby village of Koneck, and from October 1939 to January 1940, the Germans carried out massacres of many Poles from Ciechocinek in the nearby Odolion forest (see ''

Nazi crimes against the Polish nation War crime, Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with Schutzmannschaft#Police battalions, auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occu ...

''). In addition, in 1939 and 1940, Germans expelled approximately 640 Poles, especially the

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

and owners of shops, workshops and offices, which were then handed over to

colonists as part of the ''

Lebensraum (, ) is a German concept of expansionism and Völkisch movement, ''Völkisch'' nationalism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' beca ...

'' policy. During the occupation the town functioned as a military hospital for German troops and also as a health resort, only for German citizens. 80% of the town's Jews fled before or shortly after the German occupation. In 1940, 120 Jews were confined to a ghetto, the young ones were sent to a forced labor camp at

Inowrocław Inowrocław (; , ) is a city in central Poland with a total population of 68,101 (as of December 2022). It is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is one of the largest and most historically significant cities within the historic re ...

in 1941, and the older ones were sent to be murdered at Chelmno on April 19, 1942. The town was liberated from occupation in January 1945. It managed to avoid significant damage. In early 2018, a

Tesla Supercharger The Tesla Supercharger network is an electric vehicle fast charging network built and operated by American vehicle manufacturer Tesla, Inc. The Supercharger network was introduced on September 24, 2012, as the Tesla Tesla Model S, Model S en ...

opened, making it the fourth opened in Poland.

Sports

The local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club is Zdrój Ciechocinek. It competes in the lower leagues.

Notable residents

* Dov Ben-Meir (born Dov Zucker; 1927-2020), Israeli politician

Gallery

File:Ciechocinek Kościół katolicki MZW 2013 437.jpg,

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

Saints Peter and Paul's Church File:Ciechocinek VIII.JPG, Łazienki No.4 (Health Spa Building) File:The public garden in Ciechocinek.JPG, The public garden in Ciechocinek File:Ciechocinek Park Zdrojowy Pijalnia MZW 2013 469.jpg, A historic pump room File:Ciechocinek Villa Ormuz 01.JPG, Ormuz Villa built in 1881 File:Teznie2007.JPG, Saline

in Ciechocinek

References

External links