Prabuty () is a town in Kwidzyn County within the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland. It is the seat of Gmina Prabuty.

Geographical location

Prabuty is located between the Liwieniec and Sowica lakes, approximately 18 kilometers east of Kwidzyn, 100 kilometers southeast of Gdańsk, 100 kilometers west of Olsztyn, and 133 kilometers southwest of Kaliningrad.

Prabuty is a rail junction on the Warsaw–Gdynia railway.

History

thumb|left|upright|Kwidzyn Gate (Brama Kwidzyńska)

In 1236, the Teutonic Knights under Henry III, Margrave of Meissen, destroyed an Old Prussian fortress between the lakes Dzierzgoń and Liwieniec. The settlement was first mentioned in 1250 as Riesenburg. Albert, the Bishop of Pomesania, founded the castle and town in 1270 and moved his seat there. It would remain the primary seat of the Bishop of Pomesania until the diocese dissolved in 1587. from bishop Rudolf of Pomerania (1322–1332). The town suffered a fire in August 1375. The Lithuanian dukes Švitrigaila and Vaidutis visited the town in 1379 and 1381 respectively. Since its establishment, part of the population wanted the town to join the organization. and the Thirteen Years' War broke out. The Bishop and canons of Pomesania also pledged allegiance to the Polish King. Around that time, the town was mentioned in documents as Prabuth. After the Battle of Chojnice, in which Polish forces were defeated, the town was forced to side with the Order again. and Pomesanian bishops retained their rule over the area. In 1523, the diocese of Pomesania became Lutheran. In 1525 the town became part of Ducal Prussia, a vassal state of Poland. In 1556, a synod was held in the town. In 1587, with the secularization of the diocese of Pomesania, In 1871, the town became part of the German Empire in the framework of the Prussian-led unification of Germany. Until 1919, Riesenburg belonged to the administrative district of Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder in the Province of West Prussia.

After World War I, a referendum was held concerning the future nationality of the town, which remained part of Weimar Germany. From 1920 to 1939, Riesenburg belonged to the administrative district of Regierungsbezirk Westpreußen in the Province of East Prussia and from 1939 until 1945 to the district of Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder in the province of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia.

During World War II Germany operated a prisoner-of-war camp in the town. The town was captured by the Soviet Red Army in 1945 in the final months of the war. It then became again part of Poland. Most of the German inhabitants were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement and the pre-war Polish population was joined by Poles displaced from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union.

Heinz Heydrich (1905–44), brother of Reinhard Heydrich, is buried in the local military cemetery, according to the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt).

Number of inhabitants by year

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Year

! Number

|-

| 1777 || align="right" | 1,797

|-

| 1782 || align="right" | 1,878

|-

| 1831 || align="right" | 2,722

|-

| 1875 || align="right" | 3,542

|-

| 1880 || align="right" | 3,718

|-

| 1890 || align="right" | 4,586

|-

| 1900 || align="right" | 5,032

|-

| 1905 || align="right" | 4,826

|-

| 1925 || align="right" | 5,340

|-

| 1933 || align="right" | 6,116

|-

| 1939 || align="right" | 8,093

|-

| 2006 || align="right" | 8,488

|}

Sports

The local football club is Pogoń Prabuty. It competes in the lower leagues.

Notable residents

  • Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg (1755–1829) the Regent of the Duchy of Oldenburg for his incapacitated cousin William I from 1785 to 1823 and then served himself as Duke from 1823 to 1829.
  • Adolf Treichel (1869–1926), German politician, President of the Volkstag (Free City of Danzig)
  • (1886–1962), Polish activist
  • Charlotte Wolff (1897–1986) a German-British physician who worked as a psychotherapist and wrote on sexology and hand analysis. Her writings on lesbianism and bisexuality were influential early works in the field.
  • (1936–2010), Polish sculptor
  • (born 1940), Polish jurist, former member of the State Tribunal of Poland

References

  • Municipal website
  • Independent Municipal Website
  • History and Forum City
  • Futbol Team Website