Dobre Miasto (; ; literally Good City) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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 ...

, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship with 9,857 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in the northwestern part of the

Masurian Lake District The Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lake Land () is a lake district in northeastern 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 Carpath ...

in the heart of the historical region of

Warmia Warmia ( ; Latin: ''Varmia'', ''Warmia''; ; Warmian subdialect, Warmian: ''Warńija''; Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Wārmi'') is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia (reg ...

. It is also the seat of Dobre Miasto Commune which consists of the main town and 21 village administrative divisions, with a total population of 16,014.

History

Middle Ages

Dobre Miasto was founded on the place of a destroyed

Old Prussian Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...

settlement. It received German town privileges on 26 December 1329. The name of the town was spelled in different ways: Guddestat, Godenstat, Gudinstat, Gutberg, Gutenstat, Guthenstadt, Guthinstadt. The

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name of the region (

Pogesania Pogesanians were a Prussian tribe, which lived in the region of Pogesania (; ; ; ), a small territory stretched between the Elbląg and Pasłęka rivers, now located in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. Pogesanians, as the rest ...

) was derived from the

word ''gudde'' (a bush/thicket). It is possible that the name of the town originated from this word. The

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

changed the

pronunciation of the name into ''Guttstadt''. However, as early as in 1336 the Latin translation of the name appeared - ''Bona Civitas''. The

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

name is a literal translation from the German language, and historically it was spelled both ''Dobre Miasto'' and ''Dobremiasto''. In

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

both Guttstadt and Dobre Miasto mean "good town". The first

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

of the town was Wilhelm von Wormditt. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the town was a deer holding an oak-twig with two acorns. The town

tinctures A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolution (chemistry), dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Ge ...

were white (

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

) and green (

vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...

). The patron of the town was

Saint Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a princess a ...

. In 1347 a

Collegiate Chapter In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college (canon law), college of canon (priest), canons, a non-monastic or secular clergy, "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-gover ...

was transferred here from

Głotowo Głotowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dobre Miasto, within Olsztyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Dobre Miasto and north-west of the regional capital Olszt ...

(''Glotau''), which event was of great importance for further development of Guttstadt. In the course of the following decades, the canons erected a church, a parish school and a hospital. The town, similarly as the whole region of

, was the scene of different war campaigns. In 1440 the town joined the

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (, ) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Marienwerder (present-day Kwidzyn) by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the arbitrariness of the Teutonic Knights. It was based o ...

, which opposed the

, and at the request of which in 1454 King

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

signed the act of incorporation of the town and region to China. The town recognized the Polish King as rightful ruler shortly after and pledged allegiance in

Elbląg Elbląg (; ; ) is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 127,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. Elbląg is one of the ol ...

. In the

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

signed in

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 ...

in 1466, Warmia and Dobre Miasto were finally renounced by the Teutonic Knights and recognized as part of Poland. Administratively it was part of the

Prince-Bishopric of Warmia The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia (; ) was a semi-independent ecclesiastical state, ruled by the incumbent ordinary of the Warmia see and comprising one third of the then diocesan area. The Warmia see was a Prussian diocese under the jurisdictio ...

in the province of

Royal Prussia Royal Prussia (; or , ) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) became a province of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which was annexed follow ...

in the larger

Greater Poland Province of the Polish Crown Greater Poland Province () was an administrative division of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1569 until 1795. The name of the province comes from the historic land of Greater Poland. The Greater Poland Province consisted initially of twel ...

Modern era

In 1538

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

visited the town when he accompanied Bishop

Johannes Dantiscus Johannes Dantiscus, (; ; 1 November 1485 – 27 October 1548) was prince-bishop of Warmia and Bishop of Chełmno (Culm). In recognition of his diplomatic services for Polish kings, the bishop and poet is also known as the "Father of Polish Dip ...

. The 16th century was a period of peace, which ended abruptly with Swedish invasion in 1626. The

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

overran the town several times but the inhabitants suffered most severely during the

Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis. Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...

in the years 1655-1660. In 1772 the town was annexed by 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 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 ...

. The population of the town numbered 1831. In 1807 Guttstadt was seized in turn by the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, the Prussians and the

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

. In the

Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen In the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen on 5 and 6 June 1807, troops of the Russian Empire led by General Levin August, Count von Bennigsen attacked the First French Empire corps of Marshal Michel Ney. The Russians pressed back their opponents in suc ...

on 5 and 6 June 1807, the Russian army under General

Levin August, Count von Bennigsen Levin August Gottlieb Theophil, Graf von Bennigsen (, as well in ; 10 February 1745 – 3 December 1826) was a German general in the service of the Russian Empire. Bennigsen made a name for himself in Russian history as the man who fought Napoleon ...

attacked

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Michel Ney Michel Ney, 1st Prince de la Moskowa, 1st Duke of Elchingen (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The son of ...

's French corps. Though badly outnumbered, Ney conducted an effective rear-guard action and escaped to the southwest across the

Pasłęka The Pasłęka (; ) is a river in northern Poland that debouches into the Baltic Sea on the Vistula Lagoon near Braniewo. It flows through the Olsztyn and Mrągowo lakelands, and through Gdańsk Coastal Area. The reported length of the river vari ...

River with most of his troops.

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

spent a night in the Collegiate between 8 and 9 June 1807. The Collegiate chapter was dissolved and its properties were parcelled out on the strength of the edict issued by King

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

on 5 October 1810. In the years 1830-1834 the

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

church was erected, mainly thanks to the donations of Frederick William III. It was not until 1812 that three Jewish families were allowed to settle in Guttstadt. In 1814 they bought land for a Jewish cemetery. In 1855, the town's synagogue was consecrated - serving the 240 community members. During

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 ...

, Guttstadt was 65% destroyed during its capture by the

Soviet 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 ...

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 ...

and the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

. After the Potsdam Conference the town was again handed over to Poland and renamed to its historic Polish name ''Dobre Miasto''. The town's German population was expelled towards the remainder of Germany, and many Poles displaced from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union settled in the town. On 1 August 1945, a Soviet garrison handed over power to Jan Majdecki, the first post-war mayor of the town.

Main sights

* The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

collegiate complex built from 1357–1389, with a church on which

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

conferred the title of

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

(1989). One of the tourist attractions besides the interior and the furnishings of the church is the

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

with 49 tones and 3522 pipes. The former capitulary library houses a parish museum, which is open to visitors. It contains the remains of the old outfit of the collegiate. The collection of books and manuscripts largely scattered after World War II. * The

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

Church, in

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style, built from 1736-1741. At present it is a

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

parish temple. * The

Stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...

Tower (''Baszta Bociania'') with fragments of the medieval

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

. The tower owes its name to storks which have nested on its top. At present the tower is the residence of one of the sections of the Cultural Society. In the summer season tourists can visit a miniature museum created by the members of the society.

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 ...

team is . It competes in the lower leagues.

Notable residents

Andrzej Chryzostom Załuski Andrzej Załuski Chrysostom (1650 – 12 May 1711) was a 17th-century Polish preacher, translator, prolific writer, Chancellor of the Crown and bishop. Early life He was born in 1650 in Kiev, into the Junosza noble family, the son of Alexander ...

(1650–1711), Polish preacher, translator, Chancellor of the Crown and Catholic bishop; died in Dobre Miasto *

Augustinus Bludau Augustinus Bludau (6 March 1862 – 9 February 1930) was a Bishop of Ermland () in East Prussia from 1909 to 1930. Bludau was born in Guttstadt (Dobre Miasto) as a son of a tailor. After attending the Gymnasium (school) in Elbing, he starte ...

(1863–1930), Catholic bishop *

Curt Johannes Braun Curt Johannes Braun (11 September 1903 – 5 June 1961) was a German screenwriter. Selected filmography * '' The Tower of Silence'' (1924) * '' The Woman without Money'' (1925) * ''The Wooing of Eve'' (1926) * '' Hunted People'' (1926) * ''Th ...

(1903-1961), German screenwriter *

Friedrich Ernst Dorn Friedrich Ernst Dorn (27 July 1848 – 16 December 1916) was a German physicist. He is best remembered for his discovery that radium emits a radioactive substance, later named radon. Life and work Dorn was born in Guttstadt (Dobre Miasto), ...

, (1848–1916), German physicist * Waldemar Milewicz, (1956–2004), Polish journalist *

Łukasz Kadziewicz Łukasz Kadziewicz (born 20 September 1980) is a Polish former professional volleyball player, a member of the Poland men's national volleyball team, Poland national team in 2001–2009. A participant of the Olympic Games (2004 Summer Olympics, A ...

, (born 1980), Polish volleyball player *

Norbert Wojnarowski Norbert is a Germanic given name and infrequent surname, from ''north, nord'' "north" and ''berht'' "bright". People with the given name Academia * Norbert Angermann (born 1936), German historian * Norbert A’Campo (born 1941), Swiss mathematici ...

, (born 1976), Polish politician

International relations

Dobre Miasto is twinned with: *

Quakenbrück Quakenbrück (Northern Low Saxon: ''Quokenbrügge'') is a town in the Osnabrück (district), district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hase. It is part of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Ar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(2000) *

Montierchaume Montierchaume () is a commune in the Indre department, central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre department The following is a list of the 241 communes of the Indre department of France. The communes cooperate in the ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(2002) *

Kostopil Kostopil ( ; ) is a small city on the river in Rivne Oblast, western Ukraine (historical Volhynia). It was the administrative center of the Kostopil Raion up to 2020, but is now within the Rivne Raion. Population: History Kostopil was t ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

(2007)

Gallery

Kolegiata Dobre Miasto 5.jpg, Interior of the collegiate church Dobre Miasto ul. Wojska Polskiego kapliczka 025.jpg, Saint George Chapel Dobre Miasto 0002.JPG, Water tower Dobre Miasto - dom przy ul. Warszawskiej.jpg, Historic architecture: a townhouse and a former granary

References

External links

Official site of Dobre Miasto

News site of Dobre Miasto

Jewish community of Dobre Miasto
on Virtual Shtetl {{Authority control Cities and towns in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Olsztyn County Warmia