Darłowo (in full
The Royal City of Darłowo: , ) is a town at the south coast of the
Baltic Sea in
Middle Pomerania, north-western
Poland, with 14,931 inhabitants (2006). Located in
Sławno County in
West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously a town in
Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1998).
thumb|left|The town's market place with town hall and St. Mary's Church in the background.History
Numerous archeological findings reveal that, after the ice which had covered North-Eastern Europe had molten and the
Ice-age had ended at about 8.000 B.C., settlers of the
Stone Age first populated the region.
Remainders of Celtic culture and Germanic culture, as well as of Baltic culture, influenced by contacts with Rome's merchants, were found in the area. Several Roman coins with portraits of Roman Emperors were found around
Rügenwalde, today Darłowo.
On
Ptolemy's chart of
Germania Magna a settlement of the
Rugians called
Rugium is listed in the vicinity of a river which probably is identical with River Grabow flowing into River Wipper.
Middle Ages
Already in the 11th century a fortress named Dirlow, also called Dirlovo, existed in the immediate vicinity of the place where
River Wipper (Polish:
Wieprza) enters the Baltic Sea, probably within the mouth delta formed by River Wipper and its side arm
Lütow. From this fortress, the fortress district of Dirlow was administered, which itself belonged to the castelany of Schlawe. The town of Rügenwalde was later founded in the fortress district of Dirlow, but not at the location of the fortress itself.
The town of Rügenwalde was probably founded in 1270 by
Wizlaw II of the
Danish Principality of Rügen, at that time also ruler of the
Lands of Schlawe and Stolp. The first mention of Rügenwalde is in a document of February 5, 1271. The settlement decayed.
.
In 1277, Wizlaw II had sold his rights concerning the lands of Rügenwalde and Schlawe to the
margraves of Brandenburg, who thereafter ruled these lands from Buckow up to the year of 1283.
According to a Polish encyclopedia, the town of Rügenwalde has been destroyed in 1283 during fights between Wizlaw II and
Mestwin II (Polish: Mszczuj or Mściwój). In a chronic of 1652, M. Merian stated that it had been destroyed on purpose by Bogislaw of Pomerania, when after Mestwin's II death in December 1294 duke Przemysŀ had claimed the town for Pomeralia, as he had done already five years before, and could not be persuaded to peacefully give up his claim and to withdraw from there. In a decisive battle of 1296, the Polish invasion troups were beaten near the village of Buckow by a Pomeranian contingent led by duke Wizlaw of Rügen and count Adolph from Holstein. The retreating Polish troups devastated the castle of Dirlow and the town once more.
Rügenwalde was built new and in May 21, 1312, the town was granted
Lübeck law under the administration of the noble brothers John, Peter, and Lawrence of the
Swenzones , vassals of the
Brandenburg margraves since 1307. The
Ascanians had already been prior to 1307 under control of the Lands of Schlawe and Stolp. In Rügenwalde they had been already in 1305. They undertook in 1308 a campaign against Gdansk.
[Werner Buchholz: Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp.77-80, ISBN 3886802728].
The town passed to the
Duchy of Pomerania in 1347, at that time ruled by the brothers
Bogislaw V,
Wartislaw V, and
Barnim IV of the
House of Pomerania dynasty. Bogislaw, son-in-law of king
Casimir III of Poland, would become ruler of the area after the partition of Pomerania-Wolgast in 1368. This part duchy was known as
Pomerania-Stolp.
Transition to Modern Times
In 1352 the construction of the castle began, and cooperation with the
Hanseatic League (
Hanse) was initiated, with the town becoming a full member of the Hanse in 1412. In 1382
Eric of Pomerania, later the king of
Norway,
Denmark and
Sweden, was born in the town. After losing his thrones, he returned to his birthplace and began to expand his duchy. After his death in 1459 he was buried in St. Mary's Church.
After Eric's death the town was ruled by duke
Eric II of Pomerania-Wolgast.
Another significant ruler was
Bogislaw X (1454-1523). Under his administration the trade and prosperity in the area of Darłowo grew, as international trade relations were extended, also with Poland.
In 1497 and 1552 the harbour of the town, known in German as Rügenwaldermünde, and parts of the town were hit by great storms. Ships which had got out of control were seen drifting in the vicinity of the town and of the neighbouring village of Suckow. In 1589, 1624, 1648, 1679 and 1722 fires damaged the town. The first lighthouse was built around the year 1715.
After the death of the last
Pomeranian Duke Bogislaw XIV in 1637, the end of the contemporary
Thirty Years' War in 1648 and the subsequent partition of the
Duchy of Pomerania between the
Swedish Empire and
Brandenburg-Prussia in the
Peace of Westphalia and the
Treaty of Stettin (1653), Brandenburg included
Farther Pomerania with Rügenwalde in
her Pomeranian province. The harbour of Rügenwaldermünde was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War by
imperial troops, and was reconstructed by order of King
Frederick II of Prussia not before 1772.
19th and 20th Century
During the
Napoleonic Wars some of its inhabitants, in particular ship owners and businessmen, profited from smuggling British goods to the continent. In 1871 the town, along with
Prussia, became a part of the newly constituted
German Empire. A railway reached the town in 1878. 289 inhabitants died throughout
World War I.
In last democratic elections March 5, 1933, 58.13% (Germany 44%) valid votes for
NSDAP (data for the county) .
Before the outbreak of World War I the town had about 6,000 inhabitants, before the outbreak of World War II about 8000. As a town in the middle of Farther Pomerania, it had a population of German native language, with a negligible number of exceptions..
In 1935 the important
Firing Test Range Rügenwalde-Bad (German:
Schießplatz Rügenwalde-Bad), designed for testing heavy guns, including long-range railway type of cannons such as
Krupp K5, was built between Rügenwalde's habour Rügenwaldermünde and the village of Suckow. During World War II some of the largest guns in military history were tested here:
Schwerer Gustav and
Mörser Karl. Gun barrels with a length of up to 47 meters were tested. For long distance tests, target areas within the Baltic Sea North of Großmöllendorf and Henkenhagen (about 80 kilometers away from Rügenwaldermünde) and North of Dievenow and Swinemünde (120 to 130 kilometers away) were used. The test camp was currently visited by officers of the commanding staff of Germany's army, air force and marine, including Admiral of the Fleet
Erich Raeder and marshals
von Rundstedt,
Wilhelm Keitel and
Hermann Göring. Once the resort hade been visited also by
Adolf Hitler accompanied by
Benito Mussolini. Their trains, however, had not stopped at Rügenwalde's train station.
After the End of World War II
During
World War II families from the bombarded German towns of Hagen und Bochum in the Ruhr district had been evacuated to Rügenwalde.
Short before the end of World War II numerous refugees from
East Prussia and
West Prussia arrived in the region. In early 1945, about 5.600 persons could escape by ships in the framework of the
Operation Hannibal before
Soviet Troops reached the town on March 7, 1945. About 3.500 citizens had remained in the town or returned again after their escape had failed.
Following the
post-war boundary changes, Rügenwalde became
Polish. Its
thorough German population was expelled and the town was populated with
Poles and
Ukrainians in 1946/47, who mostly came from regions East of the
Curzon Line . The first expulsion of the residual German inhabitants took place on 17 October 1945, followed by a series of further expulsions beginning on 17 August 1946. In 1949 only about 70 Germans were left in the town.
The town was given the Polish name Dyrłów, and later Darłów, before changing to the current name.
Today the city is well known in Poland as a summer resort. Has the only on Polish coast aquapark with desalted sea water.
Main Sights
The whole area of the Old Town in Darłowo is under preservation. Darłowo has maintained the unique medieval urban planning with the main square in the middle of the town. During medieval times the town was surrounded by walls and had four gates; only one gate has survived in a fairly original shape.
- Castle of Dukes of House of Pomerania - today a Regional Museum. The castle is built in gothic style on a base plan resembling a square; its tower is 24 meters high. This is the only castle of such characteristic on the Polish seacoast.
- Blessed Virgin Mary Church (original German name: Marienkirche) - basilica built in gothic style in 1321, with sarcophagues of Dukes of Pomerania: Erik I, Elisabeth (wife of last Duke of Pomerania Bogislaw XIV, died in 1653).
- Saint Gertrude Church (original German name: Gertrudkirche) - built in Scandinavian style, first mentioned in 1497, built in Scandinavian Style on the little hill Kopfberg outside of the city walls.
- Saint George Church (original German name: Georgskapelle) - built in Gothic style outside of the city walls.
- The town hall re-built in 1657 and in 1725 after damages by fire, with its inscriptions in Latin stating the years of devastation (1589, 1624, 1648, 1679 and 1722).
- The Hanse fountain (German: Hansabrunnen) in front of the town hall, a creation of the German artist Wilhelm Groß (*1883, †1974), donated to the town of Rügenwalde as a present by the local shipping company Hemptenmacher.
- High Gate - also known as Stone Gate (original German names: Hohes Tor or Steintor) - built in the XIV century, a remainder of the city walls.
- Lighthouse - built in the XIX century, 20 meters high
thumb|220px| Lighthouse at Darłowo's habour of Darłowko (German: Rügenwaldermünde)thumb|220px|Castle of Dukesthumb|220px| Darłówko Port by nightTrivia
The German name
Rügenwalde was best known in Germany for the production of the
Rügenwalder Teewurst in the town; after
World War II the production was restarted in
West Germany under the old name.
Population
1782: 2 255
1812: 3 136
1852: 5 060
1875: 5 174
1890: 5 296 (including 27 Catholics, 102 Jews)
1910: 5 978
1939: 8 392
1960: 9 200
1970: 11 300
1975: 12 900
1980: 13 400
2000: 15 600
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Darłowo is
twinned with:
See also
