Brodnica - History

History

Brodnica – the capital of the district, whose present quarter Michałowo, a settlement mentioned as early as in 1138 and then in 1240 as castrum Michałowo, hides relics from Neolithic era. As it is confirmed in old documents Michałowo was the capital of the Masovian Castellany. The town was chosen owing to its good position on the Drwęca (on the trade route leading from Masovia to Prussia) and a customs house between Dobrzyń and Chełmno Land (mentioned in 1252).

The first reference to the town of Brodnica dates from 1263. Brodnica received German town law in 1298. Although the Teutonic rule ended here with the Treaty of Toruń 1466 (as on the entire Chełmno Land), Brodnica remained in the hands of Teutonic Knights until 1479. A favourable location on the intersection of important routes used for transportation of different goods (wood, fish, furs, animal skin, grain, wool) accelerated the development of the town, making it an important trading centre, the status still reflected in the number of well-preserved granaries along the Drwęca. In the Teutonic state Brodnica was the seat of the Commander: in the Polish Republic it was the capital of the district starosty, and the former Commander's lands were then royal property. Between 1486 and 1604 the town belonged to the Działyński family, then between 1604 and 1625 to Anna Vasa of Sweden who was the royal sister of Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland, Lithuania, and Sweden. In later years it was the property Queen Cecily Renata, Chancellor Jerzy Ossoliński, Queen Maria Casimira, and Marshal Franciszek Bieliński.

After a period of stagnation instigated by the wars of the 17th and 18th cc., the city's fortunes improved rapidly.

Brodnica was incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia in 1772, during the First Partition of Poland, but in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, Brodnica became part of the Duchy of Warsaw. Between 1815–1920 Brodnica was again under a Prussian administration as part of the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871.

The 19th century saw 20 thousand Polish soldiers interned after the failure of the November Uprising (1830–1831) and many townspeople and noblemen involved in the January Uprising (1863). It is in Brodnica region too that Masovian insurgents sought refuge from Russian persecution after the failure of the January Uprising.

Between 1886 and 1910 Brodnica received railway connections with Działdowo, Grudziądz, Iława, Sierpc and Jabłonowo Pomorskie, which made it an important railway junction and triggered the industrial progress. In 19th c. the Chełmno Land (and Brodnica in particular) was a refuge of Polish patriots who contributed greatly to social, cultural and economic life of the region, like Ignacy Łyskowski.

In 1920, after the end of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles was established, the town of Brodnica became part of Poland.

During World War II approximately 1,000 Polish inhabitants were murdered by the SS and the Selbstschutz, and, after the war ended, an unknown number of German inhabitants were expelled or killed by the Red Army during the expulsion of the Germans.