History
Wejherowo was founded in 1643 as Wola Wejherowska, by the voivode of the Malbork Voivodeship, Jakub Wejher, with the consent of King Władysław IV Vasa of Poland. Wejher, who was saved during the Smolensk War, built two churches in the new settlement (The Holy Trinity and Saint Ann). He also brought in Franciscan Fathers, built a monastery, and founded the Calvary of Wejherowo, consisting of 26 chapels.
After the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the town was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, administered within the new province of West Prussia, and had its name in German changed from Weihersfrei to Neustadt in Westpreußen ("new town in West Prussia"). Decisive factors which boosted the development of the town in the 19th century were the 1818 establishment of Landkreis Neustadt (Westpr.), an administrative district, and the construction of the Danzig (Gdańsk) – Stettin (Szczecin) railway line. Neustadt became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany. During the second half of the 19th century, a significant number of Jewish families began migrating to Syracuse, New York, including the renowned Shubert theatrical family.
The town became part of the Second Polish Republic in 1920 in the aftermath of World War I. Wejherowo was the capital of Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship, becoming a headquarters of state administration responsible for maritime economy. After the invasion of Poland beginning World War II, Wejherowo was annexed into Nazi Germany as part of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia. Most of the town's Jewish community was murdered by the Nazis during the war, while many local Poles were also victims of the Nazi extermination policy. The nearby village of Piaśnica Wielka was the site of a mass murder where about 12,000 Poles were shot in 1939. Wejherowo was restored to Poland after the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. There is here the Museum of Kashubian and Pomeranian Writing and Music.
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