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'Braniewo' (IPA: ; ; former ) is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 18,068 (2004). It is the capital of Braniewo County. Located on the Pasłęka River, about five km from the Vistula Lagoon, Braniewo lies about halfway between Gdańsk and the Russian city of Kaliningrad.

Contents

History

Military events

Notable residents

External links

History

During the conquest and Christianization of Prussia, the Teutonic Knights conquered an Old Prussian settlement named ''Brusebergue'' in 1240 and built a new town atop it on the Passarge (Pasłęka) River. The German name of this new town was ''Braunsberg'' (literally "Brown's Mountain"). It was probably derived from a Germanization (''Brus-berg'' and ''Brunsberg'') of the older Prussian name, or possibly named after Saint Bruno of Querfurt, who had been martyred nearby.
In 1243 the town, together with the surrounding region of Warmia, was given by the Order to the newly created Bishopric of Warmia, whose bishop built his cathedral in the town and made it his chief residence. Braunsberg was granted town privileges based on those of Lübeck in 1254, but was destroyed and depopulated in the second uprising of native Prussians in 1261. It was rebuilt in a new location in 1273 and settled by newcomers from Lübeck. In 1284 Braunsberg was given a new town charter, again based on the laws of Lübeck. However, the next bishop, Heinrich I Fleming (1278-1300) transferred the chapter from Braunsberg to Frauenburg (Frombork) where it remained until the 20th century.
In 1296 a Franciscan abbey was built in Braunsberg, and in 1342 a "new town" (still called ''Neustadt'' now ''Nowe Miasto'') was added. Braunsberg became a prosperous member of the Hanseatic League. The town remained a part of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights until 1466, when as a consequence of the Second Peace of Toruń ending the Thirteen Years' War, it passed to the Kingdom of Poland as part of the new (autonomous till 1569) province of Royal Prussia. In 1487 it withstood a siege by Polish troops during the War of the Priests.
During the reign of Duke Albert in the neighboring Duchy of Prussia, a large part of Braunsberg's populace converted to Lutheran Protestantism. Albert sought to unite Warmia with Ducal Prussia, causing the Catholics of the town to swear allegiance to the king of Poland in return for aid against Protestant Prussia. In 1526 a Polish royal commission released Braunsberg's burghers from the oath to the Polish king and handed the town back to Prince-Bishop Mauritius Ferber. Braunsberg swore allegiance to the Prince-Bishops of Warmia, but had to denounce all Lutheran teachings and hand over Lutheran writings.
The town suffered from warfare and the church tower was not rebuilt until 1544, when Prince-Bishop Johannes Dantiscus ordered 20 zentner copper from Anton Fugger in Augsburg. It could only be paid off slowly with yearly payments of 100 marks. For many years Braunsberg was not able to directly attend Hanseatic meetings; it was not until 1557 that representatives attended session in Lübeck again.
The town was occupied by Sweden for several years during the Livonian War.
During Prince-Bishop Stanislaus Hosius' government, Lutheran teachings again became popular in Braunsberg. They were suppressed when Hosius brought in the Jesuits and founded the Collegium Hosianum gymnasium. The Jesuit theologian Antonius Possevinus was instrumental in enlarging the Collegium Hosianum to receive Swedes. A priest seminary was added in 1564. Pope Gregory XIII later added a papal mission seminary for northern and eastern European countries. Regina Protmann, a native of Braunsberg, founded the Saint Catherine Order of Sisters in the town, recognized by the church in 1583.
The ethnically German Prussian, and primarily Catholic town was annexed by the mostly Protestant Kingdom of Prussia in 1772 during the First Partition of Poland and made part of the province of East Prussia the following year. Braunsberg obtained its first railway connection in 1852. In 1871 it became part of the newly established German Empire during the Prussian-led unification of Germany.
Next to Königsberg, Braunsberg was the leading academic center of the Prussian region. In 1912 the Jesuit college became the State Academy of Braunsberg ().
During World War II, Braunsberg was captured by the Soviet Red Army in 1945 and suffered heavy destruction due to fighting and subsequent looting. The German inhabitants of the town were either evacuated before the Soviet army arrived, killed during the fighting, or expelled westward after the war. It was placed under Polish administration according to the Potsdam Conference in 1945.
In 2001 the St. Catherine Church, built in 1346, destroyed in 1945, and rebuilt after 1979, was declared a Basilica Minor (''Bazylika Mniejsza''). This Gothic Hall church was built on a site, which held a previous wooden Church of St. Catherine since 1280. Prince-Bishop Lucas Watzenrode of Warmia had added extensively to the building.

Military events

The town has been subject to several sieges throughout its history:

★ 1455 Teutonic Knights (Thirteen Years' War)

★ 1478 Kingdom of Poland (War of the Priests)

★ 1520 Teutonic Knights

★ 1626–1635 Kingdom of Sweden (Polish–Swedish wars)

★ 1655–1663 Brandenburg-Prussia (The Deluge)

★ 1703 Kingdom of Sweden (Great Northern War)

★ 1713 Electorate of Saxony (Great Northern War)

★ 1734–1736 Russian Empire (War of the Polish Succession)

★ 1807 First French Empire (War of the Fourth Coalition)

★ 1815 Russian Empire / Congress Poland

★ 1919 Poland

★ 1945 occupation by Soviet Union (World War II)

Notable residents

★ Stanislaus Hosius (1504-1579), prince-bishop

★ Regina Protmann (1522-1613), charity pioneer

★ Karl Weierstrass (1815-1897), mathematician

★ Rainer Barzel (1924-2006), politician

External links

★ Municipal website

★ City business page

★ History of Braniewo (including modern and pre-1945 photographs)

★ Map of Braniewo

★ Street plan

★ Braunsberg/Ostpreussen Kreisgemeinschaft

★ ''Braunsberg im Wandel der Jahrhunderte''