PiłaPiła (ˈpiwa; Schneidemühl) is a city in northwestern Poland and the capital of Piła County, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Its population was 71,846, making it the city in the voivodeship after Poznań and Kalisz and the largest city in the northern part of Greater Poland. The city is located on the Gwda river and is famous for its green areas, parks and dense forests nearby. It is an important road and railway hub, located at the intersection of two main lines: Poznań–Szczecin and Bydgoszcz–Krzyż Wielkopolski.
Territorial changes of Poland immediately after World War IIAt the end of World War II, Poland underwent major changes to the location of its international border. In 1945, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Oder–Neisse line became its western border, resulting in gaining the Recovered Territories from Germany. The Curzon Line became its eastern border, resulting in the loss of the Eastern Borderlands to the Soviet Union. These decisions were in accordance with the decisions made first by the Allies at the Tehran Conference of 1943 where the Soviet Union demanded the recognition of the line proposed by British Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon in 1920.
Drang nach OstenDrang nach Osten (ˈdʁaŋ nax ˈʔɔstn̩; 'Drive to the East', or 'push eastward', 'desire to push east') was the name for a 19th-century German nationalist intent to expand Germany into Slavic territories of Central and Eastern Europe. In some historical discourse, Drang nach Osten combines historical German settlement in Central and Eastern Europe, medieval (12th to 13th century) military expeditions such as those of the Teutonic Knights (the Northern Crusades), and Germanisation policies and warfare of modern German states such as those that implemented Nazism's concept of Lebensraum.
MasuriansThe Masurians or Mazurs (Mazurzy; Masuren; Masurian: Mazurÿ), historically also known as Prussian Masurians (Polish: Mazurzy pruscy), are an ethnic group originating from the region of Masuria, within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland. They number around 5,000–15,000 people. In the 2011 Polish census, 1,376 individuals declared themselves to be Masurian as either a first or a secondary identification.
DziałdowoDziałdowo d͡ʑau̯ˈdɔvɔ (Soldau) (Old Prussian: Saldawa) is a town in northern Poland with 20,935 inhabitants as of December 2021, the capital of Działdowo County. As part of Masuria, it is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), Działdowo belonged previously to Ciechanów Voivodeship (1975–1998). The town is a major railroad junction connecting the capital city of Warsaw with Gdańsk and Olsztyn to the north. The first settlement in the vicinity, known as Sasinowie in Polish and Sassen in German, was established by the Old Prussians, an indigenous Baltic tribe.
NidzicaNidzica ńi'dźica (former Nibork; Neidenburg ˈnaɪ̯dn̩bʊrk) (Old Prussian: Nīdaspils) is a town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship of Poland, lying between Olsztyn and Mława, in Masuria. The capital of Nidzica County, its population in 2017 was 13,872. The settlement was originally founded by Old Prussians who established a small fortified fort and were subsequently invaded by Teutonic Knights in 1355, who then erected a small castle around 1376 and implemented German Town Law in the settlement after 1381.
PomesaniansPomesanians were a Prussian clan. They lived in Pomesania (Pomezania; Pamedė; Pomesanien), a historical region in modern northern Poland, located between the Nogat and Vistula Rivers to the west and the Elbląg River to the east. It is located around the modern towns of Elbląg and Malbork. As the westernmost clan, the Pomesanians were the first of the Prussians to be conquered by the Teutonic Knights, a German military crusading order brought to the Chełmno Land to convert the pagans to Christianity.
ChełmnoChełmno (AUDPl-Chełmno.ogg'heUmno; older Culm; formerly ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional importance in the Middle Ages, the city gave its name to the entire area, Chełmno Land (and later an administrative unit of the Kingdom of Poland, the Chełmno Voivodeship), the local Catholic diocese and Kulm law, which was used to found cities and towns around Poland, including the current capital city of Warsaw.
SantokSantok 'santok (Zantoch) is a village in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Santok. It is located at the confluence of the Noteć and Warta rivers, approximately east of Gorzów Wielkopolski. The village now has a population of 780. Contemporary Santok is a large village street, over long. The village is situated at the mouth of Noteci to Warta, on a narrow terrace Pradolina Toruńsko-Eberswaldzka.
History of PomeraniaThe history of Pomerania starts shortly before 1000 AD, with ongoing conquests by newly arrived Polans rulers. Before that, the area was recorded nearly 2000 years ago as Germania, and in modern times Pomerania is split between Germany and Poland. Its name comes from the Slavic po more, which means "land at the sea". Settlement in the area started by the end of the Vistula Glacial Stage, about 13,000 years ago. Archeological traces have been found of various cultures during the Stone and Bronze Age, of Veneti and Germanic peoples during the Iron Age and, in the Middle Ages, Slavic tribes and Vikings.
