Złotów (, ) is a town in northwestern Poland, with a population of 18,303 inhabitants (2011), seat of the Złotów County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship.

The town is located on the river Głomia and is surrounded by five lakes. It is part of the historic Greater Poland region. A railway line connects it to Piła and Chojnice, with buses operating locally. The local Metaplast windows fitting factory is the biggest industrial employer. The Euro Eco Meeting is organized regularly there each July.

History

Złotów is the historical centre of the northern part of Krajna. Human activity in the region goes as far back as the 8th century BC. Around 700 AD, a hill fort on the shore of the Baba lake was the residence of a Pomeranian tribal chief. The land belonged to the dukes of Gdańsk Pomerania from the house of the Samborides within partitioned Poland and after the last duke Mestwin II died in 1294 it passed under direct rule of the Piast dynasty. In the early 14th century it was occupied by the Teutonic Knights. Złotów was mentioned in 1370 in the chronicle of Jan of Czarnków. In 1370, Złotów was granted Magdeburg rights while under Polish rule. According to the last will of Polish king Casimir III the Great after his death in 1370 his grandson, Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania, was to inherit the lands of Dobrzyń, Bydgoszcz, Kruszwica, Złotów and Wałcz as fiefs.

thumb|left|[[Baroque architecture|Baroque Church of the Assumption]]

Złotów was destroyed by the Teutonic Knights in 1455 during the Thirteen Years' War. According to the 1910 census, the population of the town was 4,282, of whom 3,190 (74%) reported German as their sole mother tongue, while 917 (21%) reported Polish; the Jewish population was 203 (4.7%).

thumb|left|[[Interwar period|Interwar headquarters of various Polish organizations]]

In 1918, local residents disarmed stationed German troops. In 1919, it was decided that the eastern part of the Flatow district would be ceded to Poland and the western part of the district, including the town of Flatow would remain in Germany. This caused protests from the large Polish minority of the town and the surrounding rural lands, where Polish-speakers comprised between 20-25% of the population. From 1922 until 1938, Flatow was part of the newly formed Province of Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia inside Germany. When this province was dissolved on 1 October 1938, Flatow was integrated into the Province of Pomerania. Despite this, the town became the seat of local branches of the Union of Poles in Germany and the Polish-Catholic School Society. In the last months of the war, the town was captured by Polish troops in the on 31 January 1945 and was finally reintegrated with Poland. In 1957, the only monument in Poland to Piast the Wheelwright, the semi-legendary founder of the Piast dynasty, was unveiled in Złotów. In 1961 the Regional Museum was established.

Notable residents

  • Agnieszka Bednarek-Kasza (born 1986), Polish volleyball player
  • Paweł Buzała (born 1985), Polish football player
  • Wojciech Golla (born 1992), Polish football player
  • Walter Krueger (1881–1967), a United States army general
  • Eberhard Schöler (born 1940), German table tennis competitor

Sport

The local women's volleyball team, Sparta Złotów, plays in the third national league.

International relations

thumb|Twin towns of Złotów on a signpost in the town center

Twin towns — Sister cities

Złotów is twinned with:

  • Rathenow, Germany
  • Eggesin, Germany
  • Gifhorn, Germany

There has also been some cooperation with:

  • Goole, United Kingdom
  • Nieśwież, Belarus
  • La Flèche, France

Footnotes

References

  • Official website
  • County website with some information on the town