Brodnica

Gothic Saint Catherine church seen from the Market Square

The first reference to the town of Brodnica dates from 1263. In 1285–1370 the construction of the Gothic Church of St. Catherine took place. Brodnica received town privileges in 1298. In 1440, the town was one of the founding members of the Prussian Confederation, which opposed Teutonic rule,[1] and upon the request of which King Casimir IV Jagiellon reincorporated the territory to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454. In May 1454 the town pledged allegiance to the Polish King in Toruń.[2] After the end of the Thirteen Years' War, the Teutonic Knights renounced claims to the town, and recognized it as part of Poland.[3] It became a royal town of the Polish Crown,[4] administratively located in the Chełmno Voivodeship. In the Teutonic state Brodnica was the seat of the Commander, in the Polish Kingdom it was the capital of the district starosty, and the former Commander's lands were then royal property.

A favourable location on the intersection of important routes used for transportation of different goods (wood, fish, furs, animal skin, grain, wool) accelerated the development of the town, making it an important trading centre, the status still reflected in the number of well-preserved granaries along the Drwęca. Between 1486 and 1604 the town belonged to the Działyński family, then between 1604 and 1625 to Anna Vasa of Sweden who was the royal sister of Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland, Lithuania, and Sweden. In later years it was the property Queen Cecily Renata, Chancellor Jerzy Ossoliński, Queen Maria Casimira, and Marshal Franciszek Bieliński.

Brodnica Castle tower, the highest Gothic tower in Poland east of the Vistula, today a museum

Brodnica was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1772, during the First Partition of Poland, but in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, Brodnica became part of the Duchy of Warsaw. Between 1815–1920 Brodnica was again under a Prussian administration as part of the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871. After 1785, the Prussians dismantled the Brodnica Castle, preserving only the tower, which is currently the highest Gothic tower in Poland east of the Vistula, and serves as a museum and a watchtower.

The 19th century saw 20 thousand Polish soldiers interned after the failure of the November Uprising (1830–1831) and many townspeople and noblemen involved in the January Uprising (1863). It is in Brodnica region too that Masovian insurgents sought refuge from Russian persecution after the failure of the January Uprising. Bank Spółdzielczy w Brodnicy, which is the oldest continuously operating Polish bank, was established in 1862.[4] In 1873 a Polish philomath organization was founded in the local gymnasium, which activity ended in 1901 due to Germany's anti-Polish policies.[4]

Between 1886 and 1910 Brodnica received railway connections with Działdowo, Grudziądz, Iława, Sierpc and Jabłonowo Pomorskie, which made it an important railway junction and triggered the industrial progress. In the 19th century the Chełmno Land (and Brodnica in particular) was a refuge of Polish patriots who contributed greatly to social, cultural and economic life of the region, like Ignacy Łyskowski.

Chapel dedicated the fallen Polish defenders of Brodnica of 1920

In January 1920, after the end of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, Brodnica was reintegrated with Poland, which regained independence.[4] On 18 August 1920 the town was the site of a Polish victory over the invading Soviets in the Battle of Brodnica during the Polish–Soviet War. In the 1920s the town was visited by highest Polish dignitaries: Prime Minister Wincenty Witos, Marshal Józef Piłsudski and President Stanisław Wojciechowski.[4]

During the occupation of Poland (World War II), in 1939, Germans carried out mass arrests of local Poles, who were later murdered in the area or deported to Nazi concentration camps.[4][5] Some of these Poles were murdered in Skrwilno between 15 October and 15 November 1939 and in Brzezinki in October 1939.[6] The interwar principal of the local high school, Klemens Malicki, was among the Polish principals and teachers murdered in the Oranienburg concentration camp as part of the Intelligenzaktion Pommern.[7] In 1940–1941, the Germans carried out expulsions of Poles, whose homes, shops and workshops were then handed over to German colonists as part of the Lebensraum policy.[8] An Einsatzgruppen penal camp was operated in the town during the occupation,[9] and in 1944, the Germans also established a subcamp of the Stutthof concentration camp, intended for female prisoners.[10] The German occupation ended in January 1945.

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb". (Marine West Coast Climate).[11]

Brodnica is located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship on an important route transit over the small river Drwęca, about 48 kilometres (30 miles) south-east of Grudziądz, 90 kilometres (56 miles) south-west of Olsztyn and 98 kilometres (61 miles) south of Elbląg.

Worth noting is the War cemetery in Brodnica established by the Germans during the World War I. 15 November saw a burial of 25 German soldiers killed in the Russian offensive. In 1920 31 Polish soldiers killed during the battle of Brodnica with the Bolsheviks on 18 August were laid to rest here. In 1943 German soldiers who died in the local hospital together with those who lost their lives on 21 January 1945 during the Soviet offensive were put in the ground. A curiosity is that the Red Army soldiers who died on the same day were buried here as well. It is also a burial place for UB people notorious for waging war with Polish anti-communist partisans after 1945.

The sports teams in the city include the football club Sparta Brodnica,[18] the handball MKS Brodnica club,[19] the Karate Shotokan Brodnica club,[20] the Aikido Brodnicka Akademia Aikido club,[21] the boxing Klub Bokserski Gladiator Brodnica,[22] and the MMA Fight Team MMA Brodnica.[23]

Renaissance granary, main seat of the local museum

The Museum of Brodnica (Muzeum w Brodnicy) consists of three branches, focusing on history, archeology and contemporary art. It is located in the Renaissance granary, the Brodnica Castle tower and the Gothic Chełmińska Gate.

Palace of Anna Vasa

• Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen – Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
• Simon Syrenius – Polish botanist and academic
• Anna Vasa of Sweden – Swedish princess made starosta of Brodnica in 1605 by Sigismund III Vasa
• Wojciech Dębołęcki – Polish monk, writer and composer
• Paul von Krause – German jurist and politician
• Robert Garrison – German film actor
• Stanisława Walasiewicz – Polish athlete, who became a women's Olympic champion.
• Jan Zumbach – Polish fighter pilot who became an ace during the Second World War
• Małgorzata Birbach – Polish long-distance runner
• Łukasz Fabiański – Polish footballer
• Jakub Wawrzyniak – Polish footballer
• Robert Kłos – Polish footballer
• Jakub Zabłocki – Polish footballer
• Daniel Trojanowski – Polish rower
• Patryk Kuchczyński – Polish team handball player

• 
  Old Town
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  Market Square (Duży Rynek) filled with colourful historic townhouses
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  Our Lady Queen of Poland church and historic townhouses
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  Gothic Church of St. Catherine
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  Interior of the Church of St. Catherine
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  Franciscan Monastery
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  Medieval town walls
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  Chełmińska Gate, now a museum
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  Mazurska Tower
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  Granary
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  Town Hall
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  Memorial at the site of German executions of Poles in 1939
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  Monument of Anna Vasa
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  Medical helicopter landing pad
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  Drwęca river
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  Niskie Brodno lake

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brodnica.

• Town council Brodnica (EN)
• Visit Brodnica (EN)