Czerwieńsk () is a town in
Zielona Góra County
__NOTOC__
Zielona Góra County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. ...
,
Lubusz Voivodeship
Lubusz Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in western Poland with a population of 972,140. Its regional capitals are Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra. The region is characterized by a landscape of forests, lake ...
, in western
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 ...
, with 3,900 inhabitants as of December 2021.
Czerwieńsk is a railroad junction, where the
Wrocław
Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...
–
Zielona Góra
Zielona Góra (; ''Green Mountain''; ) is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (). The region is closely associated with vineyards and holds an annual Zielona Góra Wine Fest, Wine Fest. Zie ...
–
Szczecin
Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...
connection meets the line to
Poznań
Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
.
History
In 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 ...
the area was settled by
Slavs
The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...
.
It formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century and after the
fragmentation of Poland
The period of rule by the Piast dynasty between the 10th and 14th centuries is the first major stage of the history of Poland, history of the Polish state. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gall Anonymous in t ...
it was part of various duchies ruled by the Polish
Piast dynasty
The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...
, the last being the
Duchy of Głogów
The Duchy of Głogów (, ) or Duchy of Glogau () was one of the Duchies of Silesia, formed in course of the medieval fragmentation of Poland into smaller provincial duchies. Its capital was Głogów in Lower Silesia. It existed in 1177–1185 an ...
[ until 1476. By 1538 the area was part of the ]Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...
. Until 1476 it was part of the historic region of Silesia
Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
.
Around 1550 the von Rothenburg family from Nettkowe (Nietków
Nietków is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czerwieńsk, within Zielona Góra County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It lies approximately north of Czerwieńsk, north of Zielona Góra, and south of Gorzów Wielkopolsk ...
) built a small hunting manor some 5 kilometres from their ancestral home.[*] Soon a small village arose around the manor, known as Neu Netkau - "New Netkau". The settlement was part of the region of Brandenburg's Neumark
The Neumark (), also known as the New March () or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945 except some villages o ...
region and lay directly at the border with Silesia
Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
. While conveniently located at the crossing of important trading routes, the village's growth was halted by the devastating Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
. In 1654 a Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
church was built there. It served both local residents and the Protestant inhabitants of the nearby city of Zielona Góra
Zielona Góra (; ''Green Mountain''; ) is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (). The region is closely associated with vineyards and holds an annual Zielona Góra Wine Fest, Wine Fest. Zie ...
, then part of the Bohemian (Czech) Kingdom ruled by the Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...
. The first priest of the new church was Christoph Reiche.
On 24 January 1690 a new town of ''Rothenburg an der Oder'' ("Rothenburg on the Oder
The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...
") was started right next to the village of Neu Netkau. The town received town rights from Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg and grew rapidly in the 17th century, thanks to numerous draper shops founded there, mostly by Protestant refugees from Silesia. In 1701 the town, as part of Brandenburg-Prussia, became part of the Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
. In 1707 priest Johannes Reiche, the descendant of Christoph Reiche, started the construction of a new, larger church. In 1736 Alexander Rudolf von Rothenburg was knighted by king Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I (; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the Soldier King (), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuchâtel.
Born in Berlin, he was raised by the Hugu ...
and received the title of a Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
. His son, Friedrich Rudolf von Rothenburg, was among the closest friends of King Frederick the Great
Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...
.
In 1788 the town was bought by Peter von Biron
Peter von Biron (15 February 1724 – 13 January 1800) was the last duke of Courland and Semigallia from 1769 to 1795, when it was annexed by the Russian Empire.
Life and reign
Peter was born in Jelgava () as the oldest son of Ernst Johann ...
, the last Duke of Courland
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was a duchy in the Baltic region, then known as Livonia, that existed from 1561 to 1569 as a nominal vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently made part of the Crown of the Polish Kingdo ...
, a vassal state of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
, who owned also the nearby town of Żagań
Żagań (French language, French and , ) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019), capital of Żagań County in the Lubusz Voivodeship, located in the historic region of Lower Silesia.
Founded in the 12th ce ...
. The town became the dowry of his daughter Pauline, who married into the Swabian line of the Hohenzollerns
The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...
. The family retained control of large parts of the town and its surrounding even after the abolition of feudal ownership in Prussia.
In 1811 the first city plan was prepared. The 1816 administration reform of Prussia officially detached the town from the Province of Brandenburg
The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...
and attached it to the Province of Silesia
The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...
, reuniting it with Silesia after 340 years. In mid-19th century another Protestant church was built not far from the town square by a Protestant dissenter Martin Gottfried Julius Schöne Martin may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Europe
* Martin, Croatia, a village
* Martin, Slovakia, a city
* MartÃn del RÃo, Aragón, Spain
* Mart ...
. In 1870 the town was connected to the Guben
Guben (Polish language, Polish and Sorbian languages, Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the States of Germany, state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße Districts of German ...
-Zbąszyń
Zbąszyń is a town in western Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship, in Nowy Tomyśl County. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Zbąszyń.
Geography
The town is situated on the Obra (river), Obra river in the Greater Poland historic region, ...
railway and a train station was constructed. From 1871 to 1945 the town was part of Germany. In 1877 the old Protestant church was demolished and replaced with a new one, built in then-popular Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, 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 ...
style. In 1900 the town had 632 inhabitants. By 1908 the village of "Polnisch Nettkow" was incorporated into Rothenburg. The number of inhabitants grew and by 1933 reached 1430 people.
The town survived World War II
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 ...
relatively undamaged, but the manor was destroyed by the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
. In 1945, in the aftermath of the war, the town was granted to Poland in accordance to the Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...
. The German population of the area was expelled and the town was repopulated with Poles
Pole or poles may refer to:
People
*Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland
* Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist
...
, mainly railwaymen from Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland.
The bound ...
, refugees from eastern Polish areas annexed by the USSR (notably from Tarnopol
Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret (river), Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia (Central Europe ...
and Monasterzyska), and repatriates from the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.[ Renamed initially to Rozborg and then to its modern name, the town was stripped of the town rights, which it received again in 1969.] In 1949 a public library was founded in Czerwieńsk.
Demographics
International relations
Czerwieńsk is twinned with:
* Drebkau
Drebkau (, ; ) is a town in the district of Spree-Neiße, in Lower Lusatia, in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. It is situated southwest of Cottbus.
History
It was first mentioned in 1353. The town was at various times ruled by Bohemian, Hungar ...
, Germany
* Rotenburg an der Fulda
Rotenburg an der Fulda (, ; officially ''Rotenburg a.d. Fulda'') is a town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, in central Germany, situated, as the name says, on the river Fulda (river), Fulda.
Geography
Location
The town ...
, Germany
* Rotenburg an der Wümme
Rotenburg an der Wümme (also known as ''Rotenburg (Wümme)''; ''Rotenburg in Hannover'' until May 1969; Northern Low Saxon: ''Rodenborg'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Rotenburg (district), Rotenburg ...
, Germany
* Rothenburg, Saxony-Anhalt
Rothenburg () is a village and a former municipality in the Saalekreis district, Saxony-Anhalt, in east-central Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Wettin-Löbejün. The Rothenburg Ferry, a cable ferry, crosses the Saale river at ...
, Germany
* Rothenburg/Oberlausitz, Germany
* Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town located in the district of Ansbach (district), Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved Middle Ages, medieval old town, a d ...
, Germany
* Rothenburg, Lucerne, Switzerland
References
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship
Zielona Góra County