Pszczew

Pszczew
Village
Saint Mary Magdalene Church
Saint Mary Magdalene Church
Coat of arms of Pszczew
Coat of arms
Pszczew is located in Poland
Pszczew
Pszczew
Coordinates: 52°28′N 15°46′E / 52.467°N 15.767°E / 52.467; 15.767
Country Poland
VoivodeshipLubusz
CountyMiędzyrzecz
GminaPszczew
Population
 • Total
1,826
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registrationFMI
Websitehttp://www.pszczew.pl

Pszczew [pʂˈt͡ʂɛf] is a village in Międzyrzecz County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Pszczew.[1] It lies approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) east of Międzyrzecz, 46 km (29 mi) south-east of Gorzów Wielkopolski, and 62 km (39 mi) north of Zielona Góra. It is situated between the Kochle and Szarcz lakes.

The village gives its name to the protected area known as the Pszczew Landscape Park.

History

18th-century rectory

As part of the region of Greater Poland, i.e. the cradle of the Polish state, the area formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century. Pszczew was a private church town, administratively located in the Poznań County in the Poznań Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province.[2]

As a result of the Second Partition of Poland, in 1793, Pszczew came under Prussian rule. It was temporarily recovered by the Poles from 1807 to 1815, when it belonged to the Duchy of Warsaw, but became part of Prussia once again in 1815, within the Grand Duchy of Posen and after 1848, the Province of Posen.

In 1871, it became part of the German Empire. In 1887, it gained a railway connection with Międzyrzecz (then: Meseritz) and Międzychód (then: Birnbaum). Pszczew, despite being located in the heavily Germanized western borderlands of Greater Poland, had a majority Polish population. In 1890, only 19.5% of the 1,964 inhabitants were Protestants. The Polish People's Bank also operated in Pszczew. However, after Poland regained independence in the aftermath of World War I, the Treaty of Versailles left the town within the borders of Germany. From 1922 to 1938, it was part of the Frontier March of Posen-West Prussia and from 1938 to 1945, it was part of the Province of Brandenburg.

In 1939, during World War II, the Germans carried out arrests of local Polish leaders and activists (see Nazi crimes against the Polish nation).[3] After the war, Pszczew was returned to Poland and the remaining German inhabitants were expelled[citation needed] in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
18711,809—    
18801,921+6.2%
18901,942+1.1%
19001,983+2.1%
19101,863−6.1%
19251,793−3.8%
19391,739−3.0%
Source: [4]

Cuisine

The officially protected traditional food of Pszczew, as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, is the Magdaleński linden honey (Miód lipowy magdaleński).[5]

References

  1. ^ "Central Statistical Office (GUS) - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
  2. ^ Atlas historyczny Polski. Wielkopolska w drugiej połowie XVI wieku. Część I. Mapy, plany (in Polish). Warsaw: Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences. 2017. p. 1a.
  3. ^ Cygański, Mirosław (1984). "Hitlerowskie prześladowania przywódców i aktywu Związków Polaków w Niemczech w latach 1939-1945". Przegląd Zachodni (in Polish) (4): 49.
  4. ^ Dokumentacja Geograficzna (in Polish). Vol. 3/4. Warszawa: Instytut Geografii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 1967. p. 40.
  5. ^ "Miód lipowy magdaleński". Ministerstwo Rolnictwa i Rozwoju Wsi - Portal Gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 11 November 2023.