Frombork

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Template:Infobox Poland Image:Katedra we Fromborku.JPG Frombork (Template:Lang-de (Template:Audio)) is a town in northern Poland, on the Vistula Lagoon in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodship, in Braniewo County, with a population of 2,528 in 2005.

The former residence of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, the town and its 700-year old cathedral were badly damaged in World War II. After the war Frombork was meticulously reconstructed and is a popular tourist attraction again.

1 History
2 Political Timeline of Frombork
3 Monuments
4 External links

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History

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Early history

Image:Poland Frombork - Cathedral Hill.jpg

The town was founded as a defensive stronghold on an Old Prussian site. In 1224 at Catania Emperor Frederick II declared Prussia as directly subordinate to the church and the empire only and later in 1224 the pope assigned bishop William of Modena as papal legate to Prussia. According to local legend, its inhabitants were baptised by Anselm of Meißen, a priest of the Teutonic Order and the first Bishop of the Bishopric of Warmia which was created in 1242 by William of Modena after the area was conquered by Teutonic Knights, who had received possession of Prussia by the imperial Golden Bull of Rimini.

Supposedly when the stronghold's lord died, his widow Gertruda offered the settlement to the bishop, and in her honor it was named Frauenburg ("woman's or women's castle" in German). This name is not unique in German, but it usually originates in the construction of a fortified chapel, church, or monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary or inhabited by nuns. Several places were thus named Marienburg, like the nearby castle and city (now Malbork).

The village was first mentioned in a 1278 document signed by Bishop Heinrich I Fleming. On 8 July 1310, bishop Eberhard von Neiße granted the town Lübeck city rights, as used by many member cities of the Hanseatic League. It was described, still rather unspecifically, as Civitas Warmiensis (Warmian city).

In 1329-1388, the magnificent Gothic cathedral was built, and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, or "Our Lady" (in Latin, Domina Nostra; in German, Unsere Frau, hence Frauenburg, Frawenburg, Fromborg, finally Frombork).

Over the centuries, the cathedral has been expanded and rebuilt repeatedly. There are also several other historic churches, dedicated to St. Nicolas, St. George, and St. Anne, all built in the 13th century.

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Copernican era

Image:Jan Matejko-Astronomer Copernicus-Conversation with God.jpg

In 1414 the city was plundered and burned during a war between Poland and the Teutonic Order. In 1454, during the Thirteen Years' War, the hill and its cathedral were occupied by Jan Skalski. From the 1466 Second Peace of Toruń, Frombork was an important city of the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia and part of the province of Royal Prussia.

In the Middle Ages, Frombork's inhabitants were mainly merchants, farmers and fishermen. The most famous resident was the astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus, who lived and worked as canon (priest) here from 1512-16 and 1522-43. Copernicus is said to have jokingly called Frauenburg also "Weiberstadt" (wives town) or "Ginnepolis" (Ginne meaning woman in Old Prussian). As an astronomer, he wrote his De revolutionibus orbium cœlestium at Frauenburg. Shortly after finally publishing his work in 1543, Copernicus died in the city and was buried in the cathedral, where his tomb may have been found recently by archaeologists at the town since 1945 called Frombork.

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Modern history

After the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1772), the was taken over by the Kingdom of Prussia, and thus in 1871 became part of of the German Empire. The Preußische Ostbahn railway line was opened in 1899 connecting Elbing (Elbląg) and Braunsberg (Braniewo) via Frauenburg, leading further to the Russian border at Eydtkuhnen (Chernyshevskoye).

Towards and after the end of World War II, the German inhabitants were either evacuated or expelled like most of the German population of East Prussia. At the end of World War II, the town, along with the rest of southern East Prussia, became part of Poland under territorial changes promulgated by the Potsdam Conference. Frombork was resettled by Poles, many of them expellees from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union.

In 1959 Frombork regained its city rights. Having been heavily (70%) damaged in World War II, it was rebuilt by Polish Boy Scouts in 1966-1973, in time for the 500th anniversary of Copernicus' birth.

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Political Timeline of Frombork

Image:Poland Frombork - cathedral.jpg

1278 first mentioned
1310 Lübeck law rights granted for Civitas Warmiensis
1388 cathedral completed and dedicated to the Virgin Mary
1466 Second Peace of Toruń: now part of the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia and Royal Prussia
1772 First partition of Poland: now part of the Kingdom of Prussia
1871 German Empire founded: now automatically a part of it
1945 The Potsdam Conference places Frombork under administration of Poland pending a final peace conference, but since one never takes place, the decision effectively makes Frombork a part of Poland. The new borders are recognized by East Germany in 1950, accepted by West Germany in 1970, and confirmed by newly reunified Germany in 1990 ([1]).

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Monuments

Several monuments are on display in Frombork (see external links):

monument to Nicolaus Copernicus, was replaced in the mid-1950s as the monument erected by Imperial Germany's Wilhelm II was destroyed in WW II
monument honoring Red Army soldiers, inscribed: "Glory to the Red Army heroes fallen in liberating Frombork"
monument to people of East Prussia who drowned in the Vistula Lagoon during the 1945 exodus, made from a glacial erratic rock found in the water
memorial honoring the Boy Scouts and others who took part in "Operation 1001" 1966-73, the rebuilding of the town from its devastation in World War II
Copernicus' astronomical observatory, work room, instruments and planetarium are on display at Frombork's Copernicus Museum