Srokowo

Srokowo
Village
Baroque Town hall and granary
Baroque Town hall and granary
Srokowo is located in Poland
Srokowo
Srokowo
Coordinates: 54°12′49″N 21°31′14″E / 54.21361°N 21.52056°E / 54.21361; 21.52056
Country Poland
VoivodeshipWarmian-Masurian
CountyKętrzyn
GminaSrokowo
Population
 • Total
1,400
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registrationNKE
Voivodeship roads

Srokowo [srɔˈkɔvɔ] (until 1950 Dryfort, German: Drengfurth) is a village in Kętrzyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Srokowo.[1] It lies approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) north-east of Kętrzyn and 83 km (52 mi) north-east of the regional capital Olsztyn. It is located in Masuria.

History

Gothic Church of the Holy Cross

The settlement was founded sometime before 1397 with a grid plan. In 1405 it received town privileges modeled on the city law of Chełmno by the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Konrad von Jungingen. During the Middle Ages the town defences consisted of palisades, a dry moat and three gates. In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation.[2] After the subsequent Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466), it became a part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Knights.[3] Construction of the church was finished in 1409 and renovated in 1577. A school was founded in the town in 1592.

A privilege of protection was proclaimed for the town in 1618 by Elector John Sigismund, whose coat of arms can still be seen on the facade of the town hall. The town was severely damaged in 1635 during the Thirty Years' War and almost completely destroyed by Tatar troops in 1657 during the Deluge. Because of its location, the town never grew to become very large and continued to be populated mainly by farmers and artisans also during the 18th and 19th centuries.[4] From the 18th century it was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, and from 1871 it was also part of Germany. Eight annual fairs were held in the town in the late 19th century.[5]

After Germany's defeat in World War II, the town became again part of Poland under its historic Polish name[5] Dryfort. It was renamed Srokowo in 1950, after Stanisław Srokowski, the head of the Polish Committee for Settling of Place Names.[6] There is an abandoned Bismarck tower that can be visited on the hill just outside of the village.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
18431,743—    
18711,971+13.1%
18801,842−6.5%
18901,693−8.1%
19001,511−10.8%
19101,521+0.7%
19251,571+3.3%
19331,588+1.1%
Source: [7]

References

  1. ^ "Central Statistical Office (GUS) - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
  2. ^ Górski, Karol (1949). Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych (in Polish). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. p. 54.
  3. ^ Górski, pp. 96–97, 214–215
  4. ^ Weise, Erich, ed. (1981) [1966]. Handbuch der historischen Stätten. Ost- und Westpreussen (in German). Stuttgart: Kröner. p. 42. ISBN 3-520-31701-X.
  5. ^ a b Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom II (in Polish). Warsaw. 1881. p. 178.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ mazury.info
  7. ^ Dokumentacja Geograficzna (in Polish). Vol. 3/4. Warszawa: Instytut Geografii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 1967. p. 48.
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