Człuchów

St. James' Church

Coat of arms

Człuchów

Coordinates: 53°39′N 17°22′E / 53.650°N 17.367°E

Country

Poland

Człuchów (urban gmina)

Established

12th century

Town rights

1348

Government

• Mayor

Ryszard Szybajło

Area

• Total

12.48 km² (4.82 sq mi)

Elevation

160 m (520 ft)

Population (2006)

• Total

14,597

• Density

1,200/km² (3,000/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

77-300

Area code(s)

+48 59

Car plates

GCZ

Website

http://www.czluchow.eu/

Człuchów [ˈt͡ʂwuxuf] (German: Schlochau ) (Kash. Człëchòwò) is a town in the region of Gdańsk Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with some 14,610 inhabitants (2004).

Człuchów has been the capital of Człuchów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998 it was in Słupsk Voivodeship.

Człuchów lies in a forested area in the southwest of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, at the intersection of Highway 25 from Koszalin to Bydgoszcz and Highway 22 from Gorzów Wielkopolski to Elbląg. The nearest city is Chojnice, 15 kilometres (9 miles) to the east.

By the beginning of the 13th century Człuchów was a Slavic settlement under the overlordship of the Kingdom of Poland located at the intersection of two trade routes. In 1312 the Teutonic Knights purchased the settlement for 250 silver marks from Nicholas of Poniec, a son of the voivod of Kalisz. The Order began constructing a fortress known as Schlochau on a hill east of the settlement; the fortress, the Order's second-largest after Marienburg, was completed in 1367. By 1323 it was used as a komturei (bailiwick) by the crusaders and consisted of three support buildings and the main castle. The fortress was so well-developed that Grand Master Heinrich von Dusemer granted the town Kulm law in 1348. After the defeat of the Order in the Thirteen Years' War, the town was transferred to Poland in the Second Peace of Thorn (1466). Many Jews immigrated to the town afterward, creating an enclosed Jewish quarter in the north of the town.

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Wikipedia