Brześć Kujawski (<small>Polish pronunciation:</small> ; ) is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in central Poland. Once a royal seat of Kuyavia, the town has been the seat of one of two small duchies into which Kuyavia had been temporarily divided. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 4,527.

History

thumb|left|[[Gothic architecture|Gothic Saint Stanislaus church]]

The earliest traces of Brześć Kujawski date back to Neolithic settlements, but it wasn't until the thirteenth century that the area became of significant importance as it was the site of a stronghold that was the seat of the Dukes of Kuyavia. Brześć was a part of fragmented Piast-ruled Poland, initially located in the Duchy of Masovia, then the Duchy of Kuyavia from 1236, and from 1267 it was the capital of a small eponymous duchy and the seat of its duke, Władysław I the Elbow-high, who later reunited most Polish duchies and was crowned King of Poland in 1320.

The earliest written mention of the town dates back to 23 April 1228, when a ceremony took place in Brześć granting the land to the Teutonic Order by Konrad I of Masovia. It was a temporary deal, which included four villages and the Dybów Castle. However, the relationship quickly deteriorated, leaving a significant impact on the people of Brześć as well as the surrounding lands. On 10 February 1321, a Papal verdict was announced in Brześć, which ordered the Teutonic Knights to return the coastal region of Gdańsk Pomerania to Poland, which they annexed and occupied since 1308. The Teutonic Knights rejected the verdict and in 1332, during the next Polish–Teutonic War, also invaded and occupied Brześć, which was restored to Poland in the Treaty of Kalisz (1343). Despite this, Brześć remained under the threat of raids for nearly 100 years, which occurred several times, even after the Polish victory at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. The last time the Crusaders laid siege to Brześć was in 1431 without winning it this time.

Throughout the period of Polish–Teutonic wars, Polish kings often visited the city either during fights of peace talks. The Polish–Teutonic War of 1431–1435 was ended with the signing of the Peace of Brześć Kujawski. The Thirteen Years' War, the longest of Polish–Teutonic wars, was not fought in the region, however King Casimir IV Jagiellon often stayed in the town at that time.

The city was annexed by Prussia in the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, followed by rule of the short-lived Polish Duchy of Warsaw from 1807, and in 1815 it became part of so-called Congress Poland, soon forcibly integrated into the Russian Empire. It was restored to Poland after the country regained independence in 1918. According to the 1921 census, the population of the town with the adjacent industrial settlement was 84.4% Polish and 15.5% Jewish.

During the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II, in September 1939, the town was quickly overrun by the Wehrmacht, and then under German occupation it was renamed Brest-Kujawien (1939–1942). Local Polish parish priest Stefan Kuliński was arrested by the Germans in 1941, deported to the Dachau concentration camp, and then murdered in a gas chamber in the Hartheim Euthanasia Centre in 1942. Nevertheless, the Polish underground resistance movement was active in the town.

Sports

Łokietek Brześć Kujawski sports club, named after King Władysław I the Elbow-high (), is based in the town, with football, athletics, volleyball and boxing sections.

Transport

Brześć Kujawski lies on national road 62. National road 62 connects it to Włocławek to the east and to Radziejów to the west.

The nearest railway station is in Włocławek.

References

  • Official website of Brześć Kujawski