Krajna is a forested historical region in the north of

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 ...

in Poland, situated in the border area between the

, Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Pomeranian Voivodeships. The region consists of parts of

Złotów Złotów is a town in northwestern Poland, with a population of 18,303 inhabitants (2011), seat of the Złotów County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The town is located on the river Głomia and is surrounded by five lakes. It is part of the ...

Piła Piła (; ) is a city in northwestern Poland and the capital of Piła County, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Its population was 71,846, making it the city in the voivodeship after Poznań and Kalisz and the largest city in the north ...

, Sępólno, Nakło,

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

Człuchów Człuchów (, ''Człochòwo'', or ''Człëchòwò''; ) is a town in the region of Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 13,350 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Człuchów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Location ...

counties, namely the urban

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...

, the rural gmina of

and the urban-rural gminas of

Krajenka Krajenka () is a town in the Greater Poland Voivodeship of Poland. It has 3,804 inhabitants (2005) and lies in Złotów County. Geographical location Krajenka is located approximately 15 kilometers south of Złotów, 50 kilometers south-east of ...

Wysoka Wysoka is a town in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,736 inhabitants (2010). History The oldest known mention Wysoka comes from 1260, when it was granted by Duke Bolesław the Pious from the Piast dynasty to Mikołaj ...

Wyrzysk Wyrzysk is a town in Poland with 5,263 (2004) inhabitants, situated in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship. Geographic location Wyrzysk is located in the ethnocultural region of Krajna in northern Greater Poland, administratively it is p ...

Łobżenica Łobżenica (, ) is a town in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,172 inhabitants (2010). History Łobżenica dates back to the 11th century. It prospered due to its location between Gdańsk Pomerania and central Poland. It ...

Kamień Krajeński Kamień Krajeński (; ''Kamień Pomorski'' between 1920–1945; ) is a town in Sępólno County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, with 2,344 inhabitants (2010). It is located within the ethnocultural region of Krajna. History ...

Sępólno Krajeńskie Sępólno Krajeńskie () is a town in northern Poland, in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is the capital of Sępólno County (Powiat Sępoleński'') and Gmina Sępólno Krajeńskie. Zempelburg was part of Greater Poland until 1772. From ...

Więcbork Więcbork (; ) is a town in northern Poland, located in the Sępólno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 2019 it had a population of 5,965. It is located on the shores of Więcborskie Lake within the ethnocultural region of Krajna. ...

Nakło nad Notecią Nakło nad Notecią (Polish pronunciation: ) is a town in north-central Poland on the river Noteć with 23,687 inhabitants (2007). It is the seat of Nakło County, and also of Gmina Nakło nad Notecią, situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivod ...

Koronowo Koronowo (Polish pronunciation: ; , archaic ''Polnisch Krone'') is a town on the Brda River in Poland, located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, 25 km from Bydgoszcz, with 11,029 inhabitants (2010). It is located in the historic region ...

and Debzno. The name of Krajna is derived from the

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

word for borderland (between

and

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

), cf.

Krajina Krajina () is a Slavic languages, Slavic toponym, meaning 'country' or 'march (territory), march'. The term is related to ''kraj'' or ''krai'', originally meanings ''land'', ''country'' or ''edge''Rick Derksen (2008), ''Etymological Dictionary of t ...

. The main towns in the region are

and

. Since 1932, Krajna has own

regional anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short s ...

, composed by Paweł "Krajnomir" Jasiek Part of the region forms a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

called Krajna Landscape Park.

History

Krajna formed part of the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1655, it was invaded by Sweden, and the Battle of Ujście was fought there. During the

German occupation of Poland 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 ...

(

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 ...

), the population was subjected to various crimes, including deportations to

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

and

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

, expulsions and executions. Concentration camps for Poles from the region were operated in Radzim and Karolewo, and many were either deported to other concentration camps or massacres at nearby

Rudzki Most Rudzki Most () 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 the town limits and jurisdiction of ...

. Other major sites of massacres of local Poles committed by the SS and ''

Selbstschutz ''Selbstschutz'' (German for "self-protection") is the name given to different iterations of ethnic-German self-protection units formed both after the First World War and in the lead-up to the Second World War. The first incarnation of the ''Sel ...

'' included Paterek,

Górka Klasztorna Górka may refer to the following places: * Górka, Lesser Poland Voivodeship (south Poland) * Górka, Lubartów County in Lublin Voivodeship (east Poland) * Górka, Podlaskie Voivodeship (north-east Poland) * Górka, Tomaszów Lubelski County in Lu ...

and Sadki. The Polish resistance movement was active in the region. The Germans also operated numerous forced labour camps in the region, including several subcamps of the

Stalag II-B Stalag II-B was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp situated west of the town of Hammerstein, Pomerania (now Czarne, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland) on the north side of the railway line. It housed Polish, French, Belgian, Serbian, Du ...

and

Stalag XX-A Stalag XX-A was a German World War II German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war camp located in Toruń in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland. It was not a single camp and contained as many as 20,000 men ...

prisoner-of-war camps A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held 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 prisoners of war for a ...

for

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

POWs. One of the prisoners was future British actor

Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British actor. Most of his film roles were very small but he appeared in more than 290 films, more than any other British actor, including 119 between 1946 and 1952. His best-known ro ...

, who, as he wrote in his memoir, even learned various Polish phrases through contact with the local Polish population.

Towns

* Kaczory *

Miasteczko Krajeńskie Miasteczko Krajeńskie is a town in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Miasteczko Krajeńskie. It lies approximately south-east of Piła and north ...

Mrocza Mrocza (Polish pronunciation: ; , 1939-1942: ''Schönhausen'', 1942-1945: ''Immenheim'') is a town in Nakło County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland, with 4,368 inhabitants (2010). It is located in the ethnocultural region of Krajn ...

Ujście Ujście () is a town in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, northwestern Poland, with 8,134 inhabitants (2011). It is situated at the confluence of the Gwda and Noteć rivers in the ethnocultural region of Krajna. History Although ther ...

Sites

https://krajna.com.pl/

References

{{coord, 53, 10, N, 17, 35, E, display=title, region:PL_type:landmark_source:dewiki Forests of Poland Regions of Poland Geography of Greater Poland Voivodeship