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Chełmno Land

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Chełmno land ( Polish : ziemia chełmińska , German : Culmer Land or Kulmerland, reconstructed Old Prussian : Kulma ) is a part of the historical region of Pomerelia , located in central-northern Poland .

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39-698: Chełmno land is named after the city of Chełmno (historically also known as Culm). The largest city in the region is Toruń ; another bigger city is Grudziądz . It is located on the right bank of the Vistula river, from the mouth of the Drwęca (southern boundary) to the Osa (northern). Its eastern frontier is Lubawa Land . The region, depending on the period and interpretation, may be included in other larger regions: Mazovia , Pomerania or Prussia . Currently in Poland it

78-547: A large crowd of residents and Chełmno was reintegrated with Poland, which regained independence after World War I . When World War II broke out in 1939, Nazi German authorities murdered 5,000 Polish civilians upon taking control of the territory. The atrocities took place in Klamry , Małe Czyste , Podwiesk , Płutowo , Dąbrowa Chełmińska , and Wielkie Łunawy , while many other Poles were executed in forests. A number of Chelmno citizens are interviewed about these events in

117-612: A municipal form of government for cities and towns around Poland, including the current capital city of Warsaw . The city's name Chełmno comes from chelm , the old Polish word for hill. After the area was granted to the Teutonic Knights as a Polish fief in 1232, the Germanized name Culm/Kulm was used in official documents regarding the town, as the city was a member of the Hanseatic League and part of

156-514: A part of the Duchy of Masovia governed by his son Bolesław IV the Curly and his descendants during the feudal fragmentation of Poland . By the 13th century the territory was subject to raids by pagan Old Prussians , who sacked Chełmno , the province's main town, in 1216. In 1220 Conrad I of Masovia , with the participation of the other dukes of Poland, led a partial reconquest of the province, but

195-808: A significance in Polish legal and social history. Nieszawa was granted town rights in 1460, and in the following centuries it was a royal town of the Polish Crown , administratively located in the Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province . Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland , which started World War II in September 1939, the town was invaded and then occupied by Germany . The Germans immediately carried mass arrests of Poles as part of

234-745: Is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship . Due to its regional importance in the Middle Ages , the town gave its name to the entire area, Chełmno Land (and later an administrative unit of the Kingdom of Poland, the Chełmno Voivodeship ), the local Catholic diocese and Kulm law ,

273-713: Is classified as part of Pomerania, due to strong connections with Gdańsk Pomerania in recent centuries, with which it is collectively called the Vistula Pomerania ( Pomorze Nadwiślańskie ), although it also has close ties with neighboring Kuyavia . As a result it forms part of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship , although a small part of the Chełmno Land is located in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship . Initially it

312-535: The Intelligenzaktion , a planned mass murder of the local Polish elites. Major sites of massacres of Poles in the region included Klamry , Łopatki , Barbarka , Brzezinki , Małe Czyste , Płutowo and Nawra . Already in autumn of 1939, about 23,000 Poles of the pre-war Pomeranian Voivodeship were murdered. Nevertheless, the Polish resistance movement was still organized in the region, with Toruń being

351-596: The Intelligenzaktion . Nieszawa was one of the sites of executions of Poles carried out by Germany in 1939 as part of the Intelligenzaktion . In December 1939, the Germans also expelled around 1,000 Poles from the town. Further expulsions of Poles were carried out in 1940. Houses, offices, shops and workshops of expelled Poles were handed over to Germans as part of the Lebensraum policy. In 1945

390-649: The Archdiocese of Gniezno . Chełmno diocese was enlarged on that occasion ( Górzno , Krajna and Działdowo ). In 1692, the local gymnasium was transformed into the Chełmno Academy ( Akademia Chełmińska ), which in 1756 became a branch of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków , the oldest and leading Polish university. Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki , one of the greatest Polish Baroque composers,

429-711: The Polans , came to be populated by the Lechitic Kuyavians and tribes from Greater Poland. The Masovians were led by Masos, who left the Polish duke Boleslaw I and sought refuge with the Prussians . When this area was subdued by the rulers of the Polans Chełmno became a local centre of castellany (kasztelania). Chełmno Land was Christianised in the 11th century. According to the will of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth , Chełmno Land, after his death in 1138 became

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468-695: The State of the Teutonic Order . Chełmno was annexed by Prussia in the First Partition of Poland in 1772 and, as part of a larger Germanization effort, it was officially renamed Kulm . During the German occupation in World War II , the town was again renamed from Chełmno to Kulm . The first written mention of Chełmno is known from a document allegedly issued in 1065 by Duke Bolesław II

507-802: The Teutonic Knights' state until 1454. In 1440, the town was one of the founding members of the Prussian Confederation , which opposed Teutonic rule, and upon the request of which King Casimir IV Jagiellon reincorporated the territory to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454. In May 1454 the town pledged allegiance to the Polish King in Toruń . After the end of the Thirteen Years' War , the Teutonic Knights renounced claims to

546-490: The archbishop of Riga , with the town becoming the nominal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełmno (however, the cathedral and the residence of the bishop were located actually in the adjacent Chełmża ). The Teutonic Knights occupied the region, despite papal verdicts to restore the region to Poland. The region witnessed strong opposition to Teutonic wars of 1414 and 1431–1435 against Poland, with

585-689: The interwar period it formed the southern part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship with the capital in Toruń . Following the invasion of Poland , which started World War II in September 1939, it was occupied by Nazi Germany and unilaterally annexed in October, however, lacking any international recognition. During the occupation , the Polish population was subjected to various crimes , incl. mass arrests, imprisonment, slave labor , kidnapping of children , deportations to Nazi concentration camps and extermination. The Germans carried out

624-425: The papal legate William of Modena in 1243 (however, the cathedral and the residence of the bishop were located actually in the adjacent Chełmża ). The town grew prosperous as a member of the mercantile Hanseatic League . In the 14th century, papal verdicts ordered the restoration of the town and region to Poland, however, the Teutonic Knights did not comply and continued to occupy it. The town remained part of

663-529: The protected area called Chełmno Landscape Park , which stretches along the right bank of the Vistula. Nieszawa Nieszawa ( Polish pronunciation: [ɲɛˈʂava] ; German : Nessau ) is a town and a commune in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship , in north-central Poland . As of June 30, 2014, the town has a population of 1,985 people. It is located in the historic region of Kuyavia . The Statutes of Nieszawa , enacted in this town at 1454, have

702-495: The seat of the district/county ( kreis ) of Kulm. On 25 January 1945 German forces set fire to several buildings in the city, including a hospital, a railway terminal, and a brewery, while retreating (see scorched earth ). The town was administratively part of the Toruń Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. Since its founding, the city had a mixed population of Poles and Germans , with the former making up ⅔ of its population in

741-590: The Generous of Poland for the Benedictine monastery in Mogilno . In 1226 Duke Konrad I of Masovia invited the Teutonic Knights to Chełmno Land . In 1233 Kulm was granted city rights known as " Kulm law " (renewed in 1251), the model system for over 200 currently Polish, Lithuanian and Russian towns. The town was made the nominal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełmno under the archbishop of Riga by

780-578: The German occupation ended and the town was restored to Poland, although with a Soviet -installed communist regime, which remained in power until the Fall of Communism in the 1980s. The most important historic landmarks and sights of the town are the Gothic Church of Saint Hedwig (High Duchess consort of Poland), built in the 15th century, which possesses rich Gothic- Renaissance - Baroque interior,

819-606: The Old Town of Chełmno and the Grudziądz Granaries , both listed alongside Toruń as Historic Monuments of Poland , the most important cultural heritage monuments in the country. In 1772 as a result of the First Partition of Poland , Chełmno Land (with the exception of Toruń , annexed in 1793) was seized by the Kingdom of Prussia . Between 1807 and 1815 Chełmno Land was a part of the Polish Duchy of Warsaw and Toruń

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858-593: The Polish King and the Kingdom of Poland in an official ceremony held in Toruń in 1454. The war ended in a Polish victory and by the Second Peace of Toruń in 1466, the return of Chełmno Land to the Polish Crown was confirmed. It administratively formed the Chełmno Voivodeship , located in the Royal Prussia province, later also in the larger Greater Poland Province . Its capital was Chełmno, while

897-459: The Prussians alone, Conrad needed to safeguard and establish borders against the heathen Old Prussians , because his territory of Masovia was also in danger after the Prussians besieged Płock . Conrad awarded the already devastated Chełmno Land to the Teutonic Knights , giving them Nieszawa at first. He also brought in German settlers to Płock . In 1226 Duke Conrad I of Masovia enlisted

936-592: The aid of the Teutonic Order to protect Masovia and help convert the Prussians to Christianity. In return, the knights were to keep Chełmno Land as a fief . The land constituted the base of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights , and its later conquest of Prussia . The Teutonic Order obtained an Imperial bull from Emperor Frederick II before entering Prussia. In 1243 the papal legate William of Modena divided Prussia into four dioceses under

975-507: The documentary film Shoah (1985). The rest of the Polish population was expelled to the General Government in the more eastern part of German-occupied Poland in line with the German policy of Lebensraum . Polish Secret State resistance groups such as Polska Żyje ("Poland Lives"), Rota, Grunwald, and Szare Szeregi were also active in the area. The area was administered as part of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia and served as

1014-473: The knights of Chełmno Land were the official representatives of the confederation. In 1454 the confederation started an uprising against the Teutonic Order and turned to Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon with a request to reunite the region with Poland. The king agreed and signed the incorporation act, after which the Thirteen Years' War broke out. The representatives from the region, incl. nobility, knights, mayors and local officials, solemnly swore allegiance to

1053-464: The largest city was Toruń, which as a royal city became one of the largest and wealthiest cities of Poland, and was the site of numerous significant events in the history of Poland . In 1997 the Medieval Town of Toruń was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and in 2007 Toruń's historic center was added to the list of Seven Wonders of Poland . Other most valuable heritage sites include

1092-488: The nobility refusing to serve in the Teutonic army, some Polish nobles fighting on the side of Poland, and the city of Toruń refusing to pay taxes to the Teutonic Knights, not wanting to finance their war. In 1440 the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation was founded, and among its founders were cities of the Chełmno Land, including Toruń , Chełmno , Grudziądz and Brodnica . The city councils of Chełmno and Toruń, and

1131-403: The north, Masuria in the north-east, Dobrzyń Land in the south-east, and Kuyavia in the west. The first historical account of Chełmno and Chełmno Land dates back to 1065 when Bolesław II of Poland granted a tax privilege to an abbey in a nearby Mogilno . The document lists Chełmno ("Culmine") along with other towns which then belonged to the province of Masovia. The area, being closest to

1170-449: The project of establishing a Polish defense of the province failed due to conflicts between the dukes. He brought the crusading Knights of Dobrzyń to Masovia, where they built a castle at Dobrzyń in 1224 as a base for attacks against the Prussians. As a result, the territory was again sacked and devastated by Prussian raids, which led to depopulation of the province. Being involved in dynastic struggles elsewhere and too weak to deal with

1209-593: The region include motorcycle speedway teams KS Toruń and GKM Grudziądz , ice hockey team TKH Toruń and basketball teams Twarde Pierniki Toruń (men) and Energa Toruń (women). The Speedway Grand Prix of Poland , part of the Speedway Grand Prix , is held annually at the MotoArena Toruń in Toruń . Che%C5%82mno Chełmno ( [ˈxɛu̯mnɔ] ; older English: Culm ; German : Kulm , formerly also Culm )

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1248-520: The seat of one of the six main commands of the Union of Armed Struggle in all of occupied Poland. In January 1945 it was captured by the Red Army and the German occupation of this part of Poland ended. The region is currently inhabited by around 650,000 people. There are 14 cities and towns in the region. The largest are Toruń and Grudziądz . The most successful and popular sports clubs in

1287-475: The second half of the 19th century. Chełmno has a well-preserved medieval center, with five Gothic churches and a beautiful Renaissance town hall in the middle of the market square. The Old Town is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments ( Pomnik historii ), as designated 20 April 2005, and tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland . Chełmno gives its name to

1326-496: The town in 1878, where he conducted pioneering surgical operations, including the first in Poland and second in the world surgical removal of the pylorus in a patient suffering from stomach cancer in 1880 and the first in the world peptic ulcer resection in 1881. Rydygier sold the clinic to one of his employees, Leon Polewski, in 1887, due to harassment from the Prussian authorities. On 22 January 1920 Polish troops were greeted by

1365-511: The town, and recognized it as part of Poland. It was made the capital of Chełmno Voivodeship . After dissolution of the Archdiocese of Riga in 1566, the bishops of Chełmno attended the councils of the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan of Gniezno. This practice was recognised by the Holy See by the Bull De salute animarum in 1821, when Chełmno diocese became de jure a suffragan of

1404-574: Was a lecturer at the Academy in the 1690s. In 1772, following the First Partition of Poland , the town was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia . Between 1807 and 1815 Chełmno was part of the short-lived Polish Duchy of Warsaw , being re-annexed by Prussia at the end of the Napoleonic Wars . As Kulm , it had been a garrison town. In 1776 Frederick the Great founded here a cadet school which

1443-720: Was even the duchy's temporary capital in April and May 1809. In 1815 it was annexed by Prussia again, first it became part of the Grand Duchy of Posen , but in 1817 was incorporated into the province of West Prussia . Following the Treaty of Versailles , Chełmno Land was returned to Poland in January 1920, after the Poles regained independence in 1918. In August 1920, Poland repulsed a Soviet invasion at Brodnica  [ pl ] . In

1482-496: Was the westernmost part of Mazovia within medieval Poland, especially after the fragmentation of Poland . According to German historiography, it is classified as part of Prussia, although it did not form part of pre-Christian Prussia and was not inhabited by the Old Prussians , but by Slavic Lechites , who in the 10th century became part of the emerging Polish state. Chełmno Land borders Gdańsk Pomerania and Powiśle in

1521-711: Was to serve in Germanising Polish areas and nobility. In 1890 the garrison included 561 military staff. On 1 October 1890 the cadet school was moved to Koszalin (then Köslin ) in Pomerania . Also as part of anti-Polish policies, the Prussians expelled the Kraków professors from Chełmno, abolished the local Polish academy, and closed down Catholic monasteries. Poles were subjected to various repressions, local Polish newspapers were confiscated. Renown Polish surgeon Ludwik Rydygier opened his private clinic in

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