Sztum () (formerly ) is a town in northern

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 Powiśle region, located in the

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship ( ; ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk Voivo ...

. It is the capital of Sztum County, with some 10,141 inhabitants (2004).

History

Signs of settlement dating back to the Roman Empire era have been found. In the early Middle Ages, a fortified settlement of the

Old Prussians Old Prussians, Baltic Prussians or simply Prussians were a Balts, Baltic people that inhabited the Prussia (region), region of Prussia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea between the Vistula Lagoon to the west and the Curonian Lagoon ...

existed at the site, conquered by the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

in 1236. The castle was captured by the Poles after the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald 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 respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...

in 1410.

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 ...

were granted to the settlement in 1416 and confirmed by King

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

in 1553.''Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XII'', p. 53 In 1441 both the town and the local Teutonic county official joined the Prussian Confederation, which opposed Teutonic rule, and upon the request of which 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 ...

incorporated the territory 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 ...

in 1454. The castle, which initially remained in the hands of the Teutonic Knights, was captured by Poles after a siege in 1454, but later it was taken over by the Teutonic Knights again. In 1466 by the

Second Peace of Toruń The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń (; ), was a peace treaty signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 between the Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon and the Teutonic ...

the town was finally renounced by the Teutonic Knights and integrated with the Kingdom of Poland. As part of Poland, the town functioned as a seat of the Sztum County in Malbork Voivodeship and a place to hold the voivodeship's

sejmik A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; ) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of Poland (before ...

s (regional court sessions). The Sztum Castle was the seat of the local starosts. In 1506 and 1512 the town was visited by

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 ...

, and in 1552 it was visited by Polish King

In 1772 as a result of 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 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 October–December 1831, some Polish infantry units and intendant troops of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

stopped in the town on the way to their final internment places. In 1871, it became part of the newly created

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. In 1910, the Polish ''Bank Ludowy'' was founded in the town. According to the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

, 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 ...

the inhabitants of the town and its district were asked whether they want to remain in Germany or join the new

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

in the

East Prussian plebiscite The East Prussian plebiscite (), also known as the Allenstein and Marienwerder plebiscite or Warmia, Masuria and Powiśle plebiscite (), was a plebiscite for the self-determination of the regions of southern Warmia (Ermland), Masuria (Mazury, Ma ...

of 1920. Ultimately in Stuhm, 2,079 (73.5%) votes were cast in favor of remaining in

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 ...

and 751 (26.5%) votes were in favor of rejoining Poland. Based on that result, Stuhm was included in the Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder within

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

in Germany. In the interwar period, Sztum remained one of the main centers of the Polish community in the area. The Germans arrested 30 local Polish activists in August 1939, before 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 ...

which started

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 ...

. During the war, the Germans operated a Nazi prison in the town. After World War II, Sztum again became part of Poland, under territorial changes demanded by 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 ...

at the Potsdam Conference. On 14 July 2012 the town and surrounding areas, including Barlewice, were hit by a Low-End F3/T6

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

, resulting in one injury. Buildings saw significant roof damage, some of which were entirely torn off. Other buildings were damaged as well. The tornado was part of an outbreak that produced several tornadoes, one of which killed a person.

Number of inhabitants by year

Transport

The Polish

National road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

55 and

Voivodeship road According to classes and categories of public roads in Poland, a voivodeship A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed sinc ...

517 pass through the town, and there is also a train station.

Sports

Local sports clubs include

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 Olimpia Sztum, which competes in the lower leagues, and athletics club Zantyr Sztum.

Notable residents

* Emil Stumpp (1886–1941) a German painter teacher and artist known for his cartoons and drawings of well-known people including an unfavourable one in 1933 of Adolf Hitler * Goetz Oertel (born 1934) an American physicist and science manager *

Richard Nowakowski Richard Nowakowski (born 27 September 1955 in Sztum, Poland) is a retired boxer from East Germany, who won the silver medal in the men's featherweight division (– 57 kg) at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. There he ...

(born 1955) a retired boxer, competed for East Germany, silver medallist

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

and bronze medallist

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

* Jacek Frąckiewicz (born 1969) a former Polish footballer, 169 pro games * Monika Merl (born 1979) a German 800 meter runner * Wojciech Tyszyński (born 1984) a Polish sprint canoer competed in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

* Wojciech Zyska (born 1994) a Polish footballer * Katarzyna Janiszewska (born 1995) a Polish handball player * Joanna Kozłowska (born 1995) a Polish handball player

International relations

Sztum is twinned with:

References

External links

Official town webpage
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Pomeranian Voivodeship Populated lakeshore places in Poland Sztum County