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72-541: Choszczno is the administrative centre of Choszczno County . The town was badly affected by the Second World War : 80% of its buildings were damaged or destroyed. The town was rebuilt and is now a center for local government of the Choszczno commune ( Polish : gmina ). Due to its microclimate the town has become a rehabilitation center for convalescing patients. The close proximity of the lakes has made it

144-413: A tourist destination for water sports. It has also become a popular destination for golf, as it is home to Modry Las, a top ranked European golf course. Other tourist attractions are 'Wodny Raj' aqua park and Drawieński National Park , located 20 km (12 mi) to the east near the town of Drawno . Choszczno has a strong military tradition and is the home base for the 2nd Artillery Regiment, which

216-456: A center of opposition against the order's rule, and after the council paid tribute to the Polish king in 1433, the city was in political dependence to Poland until 1437. After receiving a guarantee of impunity for siding with Poland, the town fell again under the rule of Teutonic Knights, who, however, did not respect the agreement and carried out executions among the local populace. In 1443, during

288-468: A rebellion against the order, the order erected a castle in the town that served as the seat of a local administrator. The castle was levelled when the order's rule ended in 1454, when the Teutonic Knights sold it to Brandenburg in order to raise funds for war against Poland . During the war, the town was mentioned in the chronicles of Jan Długosz as Harnsswald alias Choschczno . Since 1472,

360-529: A ring of the city walls and other defensive structures and the surrounding area (154 Hufen by 1455). In a 1307 document, the Order of St. John received the patronage over the church from the margraves, which is the first written record of the church. A regional center of trade and craftsmanship, Arnswalde became one of the larger cities in the New March. The town is documented as Choszczno in Polish sources from

432-719: A river-crossing and as a staging-point for further expansion eastward. Through land purchases, marriage pacts, and services to Poland's Piast dynasty , the Ascanians extended their territory eastward to the Drawa River and northward to the Parsęta River. For instance, the Polish castellany of Santok , an important base and crossing point over the Warta near its junction with the Noteć, was sought by Pomerania. To relieve himself of

504-569: A small section around Chojna in Szczecin Voivodeship . Since the reorganization of Polish voivodeships on 1 January 1999, almost all of the former Neumark region lies within the Lubusz Voivodeship . During the Polish post-war census of December 1950, data about the pre-war places of residence of the inhabitants as of August 1939 was collected. In case of children born between September 1939 and December 1950, their origin

576-429: A trading settlement was at the site of modern Choszczno. In the years 963–967 the Polish ruler Mieszko I incorporated the area into Piast Poland, though because it was on the border of Poland, towards the end of the 11th century the ties with the central authority of the Polish dukes became looser. Control of the Polish rulers over the Choszczno area was reestablished in 1122 by Bolesław III Wrymouth . After his death and

648-836: A unit of territorial administration and local government ( powiat ) in West Pomeranian Voivodeship , north-western Poland . It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Choszczno , which lies 62 kilometres (39 mi) south-east of the regional capital Szczecin . The county contains three other towns: Recz , 15 km (9 mi) north-east of Choszczno, Pełczyce , 16 km (10 mi) south-west of Choszczno, and Drawno , 24 km (15 mi) east of Choszczno. The county covers an area of 1,327.95 square kilometres (512.7 sq mi). As of 2006 its total population

720-570: Is 50,066, out of which the population of Choszczno is 15,753, that of Recz is 2,995, that of Pełczyce is 2,698, that of Drawno is 2,399, and the rural population is 26,221. The county includes the lake districts of Pojezierze Choszczeńskie , Pojezierze Myśliborskie , Pojezierze Ińskie and Równina Drawska . Within Gmina Drawno is a large forest ( Puszcza Drawska ) which is part of the Drawno National Park . Choszczno County

792-425: Is bordered by Drawsko County to the north, Wałcz County to the east, Strzelce-Drezdenko County to the south, Myślibórz County to the south-west and Stargard County to the north-west. The county is subdivided into six gminas (four urban-rural and two rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population. New March The Neumark ( listen ), also known as

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864-465: Is part of the 12th Mechanised Division headquartered in Szczecin. The town's industries include: machinery, and the manufacture of clothing, animal feeds and starch. The area of modern Choszczno County was inhabited going back to at least the 5th century BC; Germanic peoples lived in the area around 1 AD, and no later than the 7th century it was settled by Slavs . A defensive gród and most likely

936-695: The Bavarian Geographer 's description, the Miloxi inhabited the future Neumark region: they had 47 settlements between the Oder and Poznań . The region came under the sovereignty of the first Polish state during the 10th-century rule of Mieszko I (died 992) and Bolesław I (ruled 992–1025), Dukes of the Polans . Polish rulers incorporated the future Neumark territory as the Lubusz Land and by

1008-631: The Congress of Vienna in 1815 – changed the political makeup of the Neumark. The districts of Dramburg  [ de ] and Schivelbein  [ de ] and the northern part of the Arnswalde district  [ de ] with the town of Nörenberg became part of the Province of Pomerania . The Neumark's remaining territory was incorporated into the newly created Frankfurt Region of

1080-520: The Grand Duchy of Posen ( Province of Posen from 1848). The Warta and Noteć Rivers and their swamp regions dominated the landscape of the region. At the time of the Neumark's greatest territorial extent (at the end of the 17th century), the region included the following later Kreise (districts) and towns: In the Bronze Age the area which became the Neumark fell within the area of

1152-644: The Lusatian culture . In the Iron Age the Jastorf culture operated in this region, identified sometimes with Germanic and sometimes with Celtic tribes. As its inhabitants moved westward, the region became depopulated during the Migration Period . After AD 500 West Slavic tribes gradually repopulated the area, which became a forest borderland between Pomerania and Greater Poland . According to

1224-661: The New March ( Polish : Nowa Marchia ) or as East Brandenburg ( German : Ostbrandenburg ), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945 except some villages of former districts of Königsberg in the New March and Weststenberg remained in Germany. Called the Lubusz Land while part of medieval Poland ,

1296-533: The Potsdam Conference assigned the majority of the Neumark to Polish administration, and since 1945 has remained part of Poland. Polish settlers largely replaced the expelled German population . Most of the Polish territory became part of the Lubusz Voivodeship , while the northern towns Choszczno (Arnswalde) , Myślibórz (Soldin) , and Chojna (Königsberg in der Neumark) belong to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship . Some territory near Cottbus , which

1368-708: The Province of Brandenburg . With the formation of the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871 the Neumark — along with the rest of Brandenburg — became part of a unified German state. In the Weimar Republic 's National Assembly of 1 November 1919, the majority of the region voted for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The Neumark populace mostly voted for the German National People's Party in

1440-574: The Ruhr , Saxony , or Upper Silesia . Near the end of World War II , the Soviet Red Army reached the Neumark at the end of January 1945. Because the Red Army had advanced so quickly, the civilian population of the region suffered greatly from warfare and occupying troops because they had not prepared to flee in time. More than 40,000 New Marchers were killed in action as soldiers. Under

1512-720: The Schmalkaldic War of 1546–47.) In 1548 John's administration moved from Soldin to Küstrin . With the death of both brothers within ten days of each other in 1571, the Neumark became reunited with the Kurmark under Joachim II's son, John George . In 1618, East Brandenburg became part of Brandenburg-Prussia after the electors' inheritance of the Duchy of Prussia . During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) both Swedish and Imperial troops plundered, ravaged and burnt

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1584-724: The 15th century. In 1373 along with the New March the town became part of the Czech Crown Lands under the Luxembourg dynasty . In 1402, the Luxembourgs reached an agreement with Poland in Kraków , according to which Poland was to purchase and re-incorporate the region, but eventually the Luxembourgs pawned it to the Teutonic Order , as a result it was under Teutonic rule from 1402 to 1454/1455. Arnswalde became

1656-602: The 19th century. With the construction of modern roadways, of the Fernverkehrstraße 1 (an arterial road from Berlin to Königsberg ), and of the Prussian Eastern Railway , the Neumark also began to develop industrially. Such development was primarily geared toward agricultural needs and was concentrated near the cities of Landsberg and Küstrin, and the Neumark did not become nearly as industrialized or densely populated as other German areas such as

1728-589: The Brandenburgian margraves, who had taken from him a large area between the Warta-Noteć line and the lower Ina rivers by 1269. Despite Barnim being married to margrave Otto III 's daughter in 1267, Barnim went to war with the margraves over the Arnswalde area between 1273 and 1275. When the dispute was settled in 1278, Barnim recovered the area northwest of Arnswalde, while the town's surroundings and

1800-808: The Frankfurt Region to include the districts of Schwerin and of Meseritz , although the New Marcher districts of Arnswalde  [ de ] and of Friedeberg were reassigned to Pomerania. According to the 1939 census, the Neumark had a population of 645,000 residents, including 3,000 non-Germans. The dialect spoken in much of the territory was the East Low German Brandenburgisch dialect . The Neumark region long featured agriculture and forestry . The medium-sized towns were mostly Ackerbürgerstädte , or farmer-citizen-towns. The textile industry became prominent in

1872-633: The German tongue". After the death of Elector Joachim I Nestor in 1535, Brandenburg's territory west of the Oder (the Kurmark ) went to his older son Joachim II Hector , while the Neumark went to his younger son John , who began ruling the Neumark as an independent margraviate and consolidated the land. An enthusiastic supporter of the Protestant Reformation , John succeeded in converting

1944-587: The Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw , while the northern part of the Netze District was merged into the Province of West Prussia ; the Neumark shared borders with both. After 1815 ( Congress of Vienna ) the Neumark was dissolved, largely becoming part of Regierungsbezirk Frankfurt of the Province of Brandenburg . Most of the eastern border of the Neumark became that of Brandenburg/Frankfurt with West Prussia ( Province of Prussia 1829–1878) and

2016-493: The Neumark to Lutheranism and in confiscating church property. He lived frugally and acquired wealth for his treasury through usury and hiring out mercenary companies. The division of Brandenburg resulted in trade wars between the brothers, as Crossen and Landsberg competed with the Kurmark's Frankfurt for mercantile primacy. The two margraves eventually compromised – at the economic expense of Stettin . (The brothers also reconciled out of concern for their territories during

2088-439: The Neumark. The Seven Years' War caused the region to regress in its development, as high contributions were exacted from the population for the war effort and the Neumark was the setting for battles such as at Kunersdorf . Under Frederick II , increased land reclamation and economic consolidation resulted from the drainage of the Warta and Notec areas. The reorganization of Prussia after the territorial changes – resulting from

2160-563: The New March  [ de ] , Neuküstrinchen (a locality of Oderaue), Neulietzegöricke  [ de ] , Neuranft , Neurüdnitz , Neutornow  [ de ; pl ] , Neuwustrow  [ de ] , Schaumburg in the Oderbruch (a locality of Bleyen), Schiffmühle  [ de ] , Zäckericker Loose  [ de ] and Zelliner Loose (a locality of Letschin ). The villages of Aurith  [ de ] and Kunitz-Loose (a locality of Wiesenau ) formed part of

2232-853: The New Marcher villages west of the Oder, now the German-Polish border, remained with post-World War II Germany. Formerly located within the District of Königsberg in the New March were the villages Adlig Reetz  [ de ] , Alt and Neu Bleyen  [ de ] , Altglietzen  [ de ] , Altreetz  [ de ] , Altwustrow  [ de ] , Bralitz  [ de ] , Croustillier  [ de ] , Drewitz Ausbau (a locality of Bleyen), Gabow  [ de ] , Güstebieser Loose  [ de ] , Hohenwutzen , Karlsbiese  [ de ] , Karlshof  [ de ] , Königlich Reetz (a locality of Oderaue ), Küstrin-Kietz , Neuenhagen in

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2304-600: The Oder", formed an extension of the Margraviate of Brandenburg , it became known as the Neumark ("New March") after the middle of the 15th century. With the extinction of the Ascanian line in 1320, Brandenburg's interest in the Neumark decreased. Neither the margraves of the Wittelsbach (1323–1373) nor those of the Luxembourg dynasties concerned themselves with developing their easternmost territory further. The political vacuum allowed Poland to reassert its influence in

2376-1322: The Polish state, and its history departed from that of Western Pomerania which it bordered. The castellans of Drzeń and Santok however exerted direct control only in the core areas of their castellanies, i.e., the area around the Warta and Noteć rivers, while the areas in the north were administered by a local Pomeranian tributary nobility. Quote: "Seit den Eroberungen Boleslaw Krzywoustys in der ersten Hälfte des 12. Jahrhunderts gehörte das Land zwischen Oder und Drage zum großpolnischen Herrschaftsgebiet, und zwar zu den Kastellaneien Zantoch (Santok) und Driesen (Drzen bzw. Drezdenko). Diese unterteilten sich jeweils in ein Kerngebiet um die Kastellaneiburg, das vom Kastellan selbst verwaltet und beherrscht wurde, und in weiter entfernt gelegene, aber von ihr abhängige Landschaften, die einheimischen, pomoranischen Stammes- oder Landesfürsten unterstanden, die den großpolnischen Herzögen gegenüber tributpflichtig waren. Die Bewohner des Landes waren überwiegend pomoranischer Abstammung. Die Kastellanei Zantoch umfaßte damals hauptsächlich das Warthebruch von der Burg flußabwärts bis zur Einmündung des Vietzer Fließes und in ihrer nördlichen Hälfte die beiden Landsberger Grundmoränenplatten, soweit diese schon besiedelt waren. " Through

2448-629: The Weststernberg district. The Oder-Neisse line delimiting Germany and Poland split several localities of the region into divided cities : To replace the expelled indigenous German population, Soviet authorities re-settled Neumark with Poles and Ukrainians from territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union . From 1975 to 1998 the former Neumark territory was divided between the Voivodeships of Gorzów and Zielona Góra with

2520-547: The area between around 1263 and 1269. The margraves' intervention was triggered by a dispute between Barnim and the Order of Saint John : Barnim, unable to pay his debts to the order, refused to hand over territories around Sovin which Albertus Magnus , at the behest of the pope, had selected for compensation. Among those who would have been affected by the transition of these territories was Ludwig von Wedel , an influential magnate who had just changed his allegiance from Barnim toward

2592-540: The area, the Kołbacz monks asked for recognition by the Pomeranian duke Barnim I , which was granted in 1237. The Kołbacz monks then started settlement and amelioration of the grant ( Ostsiedlung ), including the construction of the town of Treben northwest of Sovin, which however was abandoned soon after. The Brandenburgian margraves, who had established the core of the later New March at the lower Warta, took control of

2664-607: The area, while robber barons terrorized the populace. Brandenburg pawned the Neumark to the Teutonic Knights in 1402, and it passed completely under their control in 1429, although the Order neglected the region as well. After the Teutonic Knights' defeat in the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) in 1410, the future Grand Master Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg used the Neumark as a staging ground for an army of German and Hungarian mercenaries which he later used against

2736-510: The areas to the south and east remained with the margraves: Arnswalde henceforth was a frontier town near the border between the duchy of Pomerania and Brandenburg's New March . After a war broke out over control of the region in 1319, the town came under control of the Duchy of Pomerania and Duke Wartislaw IV vested it with new privileges , however, by 1326 it fell to Brandenburg again. Medieval Arnswalde consisted of four districts enclosed by

2808-678: The beginning of the 13th century the previously depopulated region had a thinly-spread population of Poles . Beginning in the 1230s, Low-German –speaking colonists from the Holy Roman Empire began settling north and south of the Warta and Noteć Rivers upon the initiative of Pomeranian and Polish lords (see Ostsiedlung ). The lords invited members of the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller to establish monasteries , near which settlements began to develop. To fortify

2880-636: The borderland Pomeranian and Polish dukes built castles in the north, around which settlements also grew. The Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg, starting with Albert the Bear (ruled 1157–1170), aspired to extend their dominion east of the Oder. They had gained a foothold east of the river by 1242 and in 1252 the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Archbishopric of Magdeburg purchased the Lubusz Land. In 1253 they founded Frankfurt an der Oder as

2952-541: The colonists who settled in Brandenburg's new eastern territory came from Magdeburg or the Altmark ("Old March"). Unlike in the rest of Brandenburg (where the Ascanians settled knights in open villages) the margraves began constructing castles in their land east of the Oder to guard against Poland. The Slavic inhabitants of the region gradually became Germanized . Because the new Terra trans Oderam , or "land across

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3024-420: The district surrounding the town was administered by a Brandenburgian land vogt residing in Arnswalde. Throughout the 16th and early 17th centuries, Arnswalde prospered. By population, it was the second-largest town in the New March during the late 16th century. In the early 17th century, four markets were regularly held for craft products and an additional one for horses. However, during the Thirty Years' War ,

3096-751: The elections for the German Reichstag on 20 May 1928, with a small island of SPD voters. In the Reichstag vote of December 1924 1,900 votes were cast for the Polish People's Party out of a population of 570,000. In 1925 the Neumark had 3,500 Polish speakers. In the Reichstag vote of 6 November 1932, the Nazi Party won the election in the region. When the Nazi authorities dissolved the province of Posen-West Prussia in 1938, they expanded

3168-608: The forces of King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland. This allowed the Order to retain much of its territory in the First Peace of Thorn in 1411. In 1454/1455 the Knights' mismanagement led to their pawning of the Neumark back to Brandenburg, by then led by Elector Frederick II of the Hohenzollern dynasty ( Treaties of Cölln and Mewe ). After Frederick completed the re-acquisition of Neumark in 1463 for 40,000 guilders ,

3240-610: The land, while plague epidemics in 1626 and 1631 killed much of the populace. While occupied by Swedish troops the region had to contribute 60,000 thalers and 10,000 Wispel of rye . After the declaration of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, the situation in the Neumark began to improve. King Frederick I initiated new waves of colonization. Many French Huguenots , forced to flee from religious persecution in France , arrived as settlers. The textile industry also began to develop in

3312-420: The late 18th century. From the 1772 First Partition of Poland it bordered the Prussian Netze District in the east, which had largely been carved out of the northern part of Greater Poland. After the 1793 Second Partition of Poland the remainder of Greater Poland became part of the Province of South Prussia . In 1807 South Prussia and the southern part of the Netze District (among other areas) became part of

3384-450: The later 12th and early 13th centuries, Greater Poland had lost control over the northern areas of the Drzeń and Santok castellanies, and the Pomeranians had stopped paying tribute. In the mid-13th century, the area was contested again, when the Silesian dukes took the Santok castellany from Greater Poland (peace with Greater Poland's Władysław Odonic in 1234) and expanded north of the Warta into Pomerania, then ruled by Barnim I who in turn

3456-401: The local government has been active in fostering foreign co-operation and the creation of links with different sister cities. In 1984 Choszczno celebrated 700 years since its foundation. The traditional annual Days of Choszczno festival is held during the first weekend of June. Choszczno is twinned with: Choszczno County Choszczno County ( Polish : powiat choszczeński ) is

3528-405: The margrave's nephew and Joachim I Nestor's grandson. With the rest of the Electorate of Brandenburg, it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 and part of the German Empire in 1871 when each of those states first formed. After World War I the entirely ethnic German Neumark remained within the Free State of Prussia , itself part of the Weimar Republic (Germany). After World War II

3600-425: The margraves founded the town of Arnswalde east of Sovin, at the site of the modern city center. The name derives from "Arn", a contracted genitive form of German Aar , an antiquated word for eagle (the margravians' heraldic beast); and "Wald(e)", also "Wold(e)", meaning woods or forest. This town, built between 1269 and 1289, and in the beginning populated with people from Angermünde , was first mentioned in 1269 as

3672-437: The margraves. It was most probably he who called the Brandenburgians for help, since they were able to prevent the hand-over through their veto as Barnim's feudal suzerains, a position, contested again and again, they held since 1231/34. While Barnim was excommunicated for his refusal, the margraves took control of the area and renounced Barnim's claim to it, the Wedel family however was assured their possessions. In this context,

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3744-459: The next years, the margraves expanded their New March northward at the expense of Barnim. The oldest traces of settlement near modern Choszczno are the archaeological remains of a late Slavic settlement 2 km (1.2 mi) west of the modern town, near Lake Stawin, with an adjacent rampart. The rampart had also been interpreted as late Slavic, yet an archaeological survey did not yield late Slavic finds, but early German finds instead. Therefore,

3816-526: The process of rebuilding started properly and investment by the Polish government begun. Due to the population growth the local government invested in new housing, and in 1959 the first newly built housing block was completed. The rebuilding continued and the majority of the architecture is now post 1950s. In the 1990s the local government started investing in sporting facilities (an indoor swimming pool, sports arena, tennis courts) to promote active tourism. Starting with its partnership with Fürstenwalde in 1978,

3888-434: The rampart and the ruins inside are thought to be the remains of the Cistercian grange Sovin. The duke of Greater Poland, Władysław Odonic , donated the Choszczno area to the Cistercian Kołbacz Abbey in 1233. While it was proposed that in this or in a 1234 document, "Hoscno" appears as the oldest written mention of Choszczno, this assertion has been refuted. Since Odonic made the donation without being in actual control of

3960-418: The region belonged to Brandenburg for the following centuries, with the exception of the time between 1535 and 1571. Frederick II wrote for his successors "that the said land, the New Mark, shall belong to German territory and to the worshipful Electorate of the Mark of Brandenburg, with which it was incorporated at the institution of the Electorate, and shall so remain, and shall never pass to those who speak not

4032-404: The region drew in weekend tourists from as far as Berlin and Brandenburg, and the new hospital next to the lake catered for convalescing patients. The railway was also a catalyst for the local manufacturing industry as it provided an affordable transport of goods to the Port of Stettin (Szczecin), because of this a brewery and a textile industry flourished. In 1905 a new hospital was opened and

4104-415: The resulting Feudal fragmentation of Poland among his descendants, the region passed to the Mieszko III the Old of the Duchy of Greater Poland . Under Wrymouth, the region had been included within the Greater Polish castellanies of Drzeń (Drezdenko) and Santok , with the area around modern Choszczno belonging to the northernmost part of the latter. Thus, this area was the northwesternmost portion of

4176-435: The site of the conclusion of the treaty of Arnswalde . The Cistercians were expelled from Sovin, and barred from returning despite multiple respective efforts. The remaining inhabitants of Sovin probably settled in Arnswalde, from where the surrounding area (terra Arnswalde) was henceforth administered. Treben lost its function as a regional central market to Arnswalde. The Arnswalde area remained contested between Barnim I and

4248-414: The terms demanded by the Soviet Union in the Potsdam Agreement , the region was put under Polish administration after the Potsdam Conference and eventually became part of Poland. Germans remaining in the region were expelled . Poles, some of whom had themselves been expelled from the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union settled the region. A small part of the German population, mostly technicians for

4320-405: The territory later known as the Neumark gradually became part of the German Margraviate of Brandenburg from the mid-13th century. As Brandenburg-Küstrin the Neumark formed an independent state of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1535 to 1571; after the death of the margrave John , a younger son of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg , it returned to Elector John George ,

4392-414: The town after the war was the Polish State Railways . In 1946 the first Polish education institution the "Bolesław Krzywousty" high school was opened. Due to the damage sustained by the town, the majority of the burnt-out buildings were dismantled and the reclaimed bricks were sent for the rebuilding of Warsaw , destroyed by the Germans . Only after 1956, when the territory situation seemed to be clarified,

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4464-423: The town experienced a number of tragedies caused by the plague, the worst in 1800 when 65 children died. The 19th century was a great time for the development of Arnswalde. It was linked by railway with Stettin and Posen (Szczecin and Poznań) in 1848 and later with Berlin . Since now mass public transportation could be realized at lower costs, a new tourist industry was established in the town. The microclimate in

4536-478: The town was stricken by plagues and destroyed by fires and warfare. Less than 500 people remained in the ruined town by 1649, and Arnswalde lost its pre-war importance. Stability occurred once Arnswalde became part of the Kingdom of Prussia , and a permanent garrison was stationed in the town from 1719. In this period the town advanced economically and socially with the establishment of a new postal route to Stargard . The 18th century again brought difficulties, and

4608-400: The trouble of maintaining the fortress, Duke Przemysł I of Greater Poland granted the castellany to Margrave Conrad as a dowry for his daughter Konstancja. To safeguard the region Margrave John I founded the town of Landsberg an der Warthe (now Gorzów Wielkopolski ) in 1257. The Templars sold Soldin to the Ascanians in 1261, and the town began to become a center for the region. Most of

4680-442: The water supply companies, were retained and used for compulsory labour; they were allowed to emigrate to Germany in the 1950s. Older estimates indicated that of the pre-war population of 645,000, only 5,000 of the inhabitants from 1939 remained in the province in 1950. After the regulation of the river Oder in the 18th century the western border of the New March was not adapted to the Oder's new partially more eastern course. Thus

4752-399: Was a vassal of the Brandenburgian margraves . This was a period of abundant donations made by all participants (Barnim, Odonic and Henry) to monk orders, whom the donators expected to secure their borderlands and/or claims. By 1250 however, Barnim had retaken most of the areas lost in the Warta and Noteć area before, and held the northern part of the former Santok and Drzeń castellanies. During

4824-410: Was administratively part of the Government Region of Frankfurt (coterminous with the Neumark) after the 1815 Congress of Vienna , became part of East Germany in the 1940s, becoming part of Germany after reunification in 1990. The Oder marked the borders of the Neumark in the west and south; in the north it bordered Pomerania , and in the east Greater Poland until the Partitions of Poland in

4896-418: Was established on the outskirts of the town. At the beginning, the majority of the prisoners were Polish and French . Among the prisoners were officer Henryk Sucharski , writer Leon Kruczkowski and Olympic athlete Zygmunt Weiss . The Poles were used in the town as slave labor by the Germans. With the collapse of the German eastern front during the Red Army 's Vistula–Oder offensive of 1945, Arnswalde

4968-467: Was handed over to the Poles for administration as a part of the Recovered Territories . The town was mainly repopulated by Polish expellees from the Polish territories lost to the Soviet Union , now part of Lithuania , Belarus , and Ukraine —the former Kresy . It was initially renamed as Choczno, later as Choczen in 1945. It was finally renamed to the historic Polish "Choszczno" on 7 May 1946. The first Polish institution to send its representatives to

5040-438: Was on the front line. Because of the town's strategic position of protecting Stargard and Stettin seaport, a strong German garrison had been concentrated in the town to defend it. During the Russian offensive bitter fighting occurred, which resulted in damage to almost 80% of the town's infrastructure. The town's population fled westwards before and during the battle. After the German resistance stopped on 23 February 1945, Arnswalde

5112-711: Was reported based on the pre-war places of residence of their mothers. Thanks to this data it is possible to reconstruct the pre-war geographical origin of the post-war population. The same area corresponding to 1939 East Brandenburg east of the Oder-Neisse line (which became part of Poland in 1945) was inhabited as of December 1950 by: Over 95% of the 1950 population were newcomers to the region, with less than 5% residing in German East Brandenburg already back in August 1939 (so called autochthons, who had German citizenship before World War II and were granted Polish citizenship after 1945). The largest group among new inhabitants were Poles expelled from areas of Eastern Poland annexed by

5184-417: Was situated on the bank of lake Klückensee (since 1945 called Lake Klukom ). The First World War had little effect on Arnswalde, but the post-war German depression damaged the tourist economy. In the framework of the demilitarisation of post-war Germany the garrison was disbanded, but in 1938 it was reinstated. In 1939, soon after the beginning of Second World War , the prisoner of war camp Oflag II B

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