Pyrzyce | |||
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Saint Otto Church
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Coordinates: 53°8′N 14°53′E / 53.133°N 14.883°E | |||
Country | Poland | ||
Voivodeship | West Pomeranian | ||
County | Pyrzyce County | ||
Gmina | Gmina Pyrzyce | ||
Government | |||
• Mayor | Jerzy Marek Olech | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 39 km2 (15 sq mi) | ||
Population (2007) | |||
• Total | 13,331 | ||
• Density | 340/km2 (890/sq mi) | ||
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
Postal code | 74-200 | ||
Car plates | ZPY | ||
Website | http://www.pyrzyce.um.gov.pl |
Pyrzyce [pɨˈʐɨt͡sɛ] (German: Pyritz, Kashubian: Përzëca), is a town in Pomerania, north-western Poland, with 13,331 inhabitants (2007).
Capital of the Pyrzyce County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Szczecin Voivodeship (1975–1998).
An anonymous medieval document of about 850, called Bavarian Geographer, mentions the tribe of Prissani having 70 strongholds (Prissani civitates LXX). In the early 12th century, the town was part of the realm of Wartislaw I, Duke of Pomerania, which evolved into the Duchy of Pomerania.
The settlement was first mentioned in 1124 by bishop Otto von Bamberg, who baptized the first Pomeranians here. Throughout the German Ostsiedlung the oldest church was built in 1250, an Augustinian cloister in 1256 and a monastery of the Franciscan order in 1281.
In 1263 the town received Magdeburg law. By the Contract of Pyritz of March 26, 1493 the Dukes of Pomerania recognized the right of succession of the House of Brandenburg. A large fire destroyed almost the whole town in 1496. Pyritz was the first town in Pomerania to implement the Lutheran Reformation in 1524.