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==History== {{see also|Timeline of Włocławek}} Włocławek's history dates back to the late [[Iron Age|Bronze Age]] – early Iron Age (1300 BCE – 500 BCE). Archaeological excavations conducted on the current city site uncovered the remains of a [[Human settlement|settlement]] belonging to the [[Lusatian culture]], as well as evidence of a settlement of early [[Pomeranian culture]] which had been established. Traces of additional settlements dating to the [[Roman period]] and the early [[Middle Ages]] have also been excavated in the area.<ref name="lo2.wloclawek.q4.pl">{{cite web|url=http://www.lo2.wloclawek.q4.pl/Comenius/kulturawl.pdf|title=About Włocławek|website=Lo2.wloclawek.q4.pl|access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref> ===Middle Ages=== [[File:Castle of Włocławek.jpg|thumb|left|17th-century drawing of the medieval castle in Włocławek]] {{Historical populations|1950|54536|1960|66820|1970|82599|1980|106771|1990|122144|2000|121833|2010|116914|2020|108561}} The settlement was founded in the 9th century and its early inhabitants were occupied with agriculture and crafts.<ref name=atlas9>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Atlas historyczny miast polskich. Tom II: Kujawy. Zeszyt 4: Włocławek|year=2016|language=pl,en|location=Toruń|publisher=[[The Nicolaus Copernicus University Press|Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika]]|pages=9, 40|isbn=978-83-231-3551-7}}</ref> In the 10th century it became part of the emerging Polish state under the [[Piast dynasty]].<ref name=atlas9/> Already under the rule of [[Bolesław I the Brave]] it was one of Poland's most important administrative centers, as mentioned in the ''[[Gesta principum Polonorum]]'' chronicle from the 1110s, which also happens to be the oldest known mention of the city.<ref name=atlas9/> The name is derived from the Old Polish male name Włodzisław, possibly the founder of Włocławek.<ref name=atlas10>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Atlas historyczny miast polskich. Tom II: Kujawy. Zeszyt 4: Włocławek|pages=10, 41}}</ref> In the mid-10th century, under [[Casimir I the Restorer]], Włocławek was the seat of a [[castellany]] and the administrative center of [[Kuyavia]].<ref name=atlas9/> One of the earliest references to the town came from an assistant to the [[Archbishop of Gniezno]] who was noted as residing in the town in 1123. Later the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Włocławek|Diocese of Włocławek]] ({{langx|la|Vladislaviensis}}) of [[Kuyavia]] in 1148, notates its existence in a [[papal bull|bull]] issued by [[Pope Eugene III]], while mentioning the first bishop of Włocławek as Warner. Warner was followed by an [[Italian people|Italian]], Onoldius; the diocese was recorded as "Włocławek and [[Pomerania]]" (''Vladislaviensis et Pomeraniae''). In the 12th century, there was a mint and a customs chamber, where tolls were collected from ships and boats sailing on the Vistula and [[Zgłowiączka (river)|Zgłowiączka]] rivers.<ref name=atlas10/> A hospital was founded at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries,<ref name=atlas10/> whereas the local school was first mentioned in 1215.<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Atlas historyczny miast polskich. Tom II: Kujawy. Zeszyt 4: Włocławek|pages=19, 50–51}}</ref> Włocławek received its [[town privileges|city rights]] in 1255. During the 14th and 15th centuries, the city was destroyed and captured several times by the [[Teutonic Knights]] and renamed it Leslau.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} The [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)|Treaty of Thorn]], signed in 1411, resulted in short-lived peace for the city, however, it prospered from its involvement in the ransoming of the captured Teutonic Knights which was payable in three instalments and proved to be a hardship on the Prussian faction. Włocławek was located within the [[Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship]] of the [[Greater Poland Province, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Greater Poland Province]]. There is a possibility that [[Nicolaus Copernicus]], the later renowned astronomer, may have attended the local cathedral school in the late 15th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://szlakkopernikowski.pl/pl/wloclawek|title=Włocławek|website=Szlak Kopernikowski|access-date=11 December 2023|language=pl}}</ref> ===Modern era=== [[File:Włocławek-Kopernik Square on photograph by Sztejner.jpg|thumb|left|Włocławek in 1896]] The city's prosperity came from river transport of grain from Kuyavia, the collection of tolls on grain floated from the more southern part of Poland to the country's main port of [[Gdańsk]], transport of timber from the [[Narew]], [[Bug (river)|Bug]] and upper Vistula rivers for export to Western Europe and [[brewing]].<ref name=pipw19>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Przewodnik ilustrowany po Włocławku|year=1922|language=pl|location=Włocławek|publisher=Księgarnia Powszechna i Drukarnia Diecezjalna we Włocławku|pages=19–20}}</ref> This is mentioned in the 1595 poem ''Flis, to jest Spuszczanie statków Wisłą i inszymi rzekami do niej przypadającymi'' by [[Sebastian Klonowic]].<ref name=pipw19/> In 1569, Bishop [[Stanisław Karnkowski]] founded a theological seminary in Włocławek, one of the oldest seminaries in Poland.<ref name=ekai>{{cite web|url=https://ekai.pl/450-lat-temu-powstalo-seminarium-we-wloclawku/|title=450 lat temu powstało seminarium we Włocławku|website=eKAI.pl|author=Artur Niemira|date=12 October 2019 |access-date=27 June 2020|language=pl}}</ref> In 1625, the Reformed Franciscans were brought to Włocławek by Bishop Andrzej Lipski, and soon their [[Baroque in Poland|Baroque]] monastery was built.<ref name=bpo>{{cite web|url=https://zabytek.pl/pl/obiekty/wloclawek-zespol-klasztorny-franciszkanow|title=Zespół klasztorny Franciszkanów|website=Zabytek.pl|author=Bernardeta Popek-Olszowa|accessdate=8 August 2021|language=pl}}</ref> The city was ravaged by the Swedes during the [[Deluge (history)|Swedish invasion of Poland]] in 1657 and by the Russians during the [[Great Northern War]] in 1707.<ref name=pipw19/> In 1790, Polish national hero [[Tadeusz Kościuszko]] stayed in Włocławek.<ref name=pipw21/> After the [[Second Partition of Poland]] of 1793, Włocławek became part of [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]. It was the site of Polish resistance during the [[Kościuszko Uprising]] of 1794, when {{ill|Dionizy Mniewski|pl}} sank Prussian ships with ammunition headed for [[Siege of Warsaw (1794)|besieged Warsaw]].<ref name=pipw21>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Przewodnik ilustrowany po Włocławku|page=21}}</ref> After the [[Treaties of Tilsit]] in 1807 it became part of the Polish short-lived [[Duchy of Warsaw]]. Subsequently, after the [[Congress of Vienna]] it became part of [[Congress Kingdom of Poland]] in the [[Russian Partition]] of Poland in 1815. Polish insurgents operated in the city and in its vicinity during the [[January Uprising]] of 1863–1864. The insurgents clashed with Russian troops in Włocławek on November 8, 1863, and February 17, 1864.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zieliński|first=Stanisław|title=Bitwy i potyczki 1863-1864. Na podstawie materyałów drukowanych i rękopiśmiennych Muzeum Narodowego w Rapperswilu|year=1913|language=pl|publisher=Fundusz Wydawniczy [[Polish Museum, Rapperswil|Muzeum Narodowego w Rapperswilu]]|location=Rapperswil|pages=50, 53}}</ref> The oldest Polish theological journal ''{{interlanguage link|Ateneum Kapłańskie|pl}}'' has been published in Włocławek since 1909.<ref name=ekai/> The city was again destroyed during the battles of [[Eastern Front (World War I)|German offensive]] during the [[First World War]]. When Poland declared independence in 1918, local Poles disarmed the Germans and liberated the city.<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Przewodnik ilustrowany po Włocławku|page=34}}</ref> In 1920, Poles successfully defended the city against the invading Soviets during the [[Polish–Soviet War]].<ref name=wpb>{{cite web|url=https://bydgoszcz.tvp.pl/8267323/wojna-polskobolszewicka-zostawila-trwaly-slad-w-historii-wloclawka|title=Wojna polsko-bolszewicka zostawiła trwały ślad w historii Włocławka|website=TVP3 Bydgoszcz|author=Marta Karpińska|access-date=27 June 2020|language=pl}}</ref> ===World War II=== {{multiple image |align=right |caption_align=center |perrow=2 |total_width=370 |header=Memorials to the victims of the [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|German occupation]] in Włocławek (examples): | image1 = 2008-05-26 Pomnik Pamięci Nauczycieli we Włocławku - zbliżenie.jpg | image2 = Pomnik Kolejarzy Włocławek.JPG | image3 = Plaque in Włocławek commemorating pulp and paper workers killed by the Nazis.jpg | image4 = Włocławek-monument of killed pottery factory workers.jpg | caption1 = Memorial at the site where Germans imprisoned Polish teachers and priests in 1939 | caption2 = Memorial to murdered Polish railwaymen | caption3 = Memorial to murdered paper factory workers | caption4 = Memorial to murdered pottery factory workers }} During [[World War II]], Włocławek was occupied by German troops, which entered the city on 14 September 1939. Under the [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|Nazi German occupation]] Włocławek was again renamed Leslau, annexed by decree to the German Reich on 8 October 1939 and administered from 26 October as a part of Reichsgau Posen (renamed on 29 January 1940 [[Reichsgau Wartheland]]). Already in September 1939, Germans committed a massacre of a group of local Jews<ref>{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2009|title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|page=124}}</ref> and burned both synagogues. The ''[[Einsatzgruppen|Einsatzgruppe III]]'' entered the city between September 23 and October 5, 1939, and afterwards carried out mass arrests of local Poles in October and November as part of the ''[[Intelligenzaktion]]''.<ref>Wardzyńska, Maria, ''Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion'', p. 57, 209</ref> Dozens of Catholic priests from Włocławek, including Auxiliary Bishop of Włocławek [[Michał Kozal]], and lecturers and students of the seminary were arrested, and then deported in January 1940 to the [[Dachau concentration camp]], where most of them were killed.<ref name=ekai/><ref name=mw>Wardzyńska, Maria, ''Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion'', p. 209</ref> [[Rector (academia)|Rector]] of the local seminary Henryk Kaczorowski and two students Bronisław Kostkowski and Tadeusz Dulny are now considered three of the [[108 Martyrs of World War II|108 Blessed Polish Martyrs of World War II]] by the [[Catholic Church]].<ref name=ekai/> Local teachers were arrested in October 1939, and then deported to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]] and murdered.<ref name=mw/> In late 1939, the ''[[SS]]'' and ''[[Selbstschutz]]'' burnt down the Grzywno district and murdered many of its inhabitants in the nearby village of [[Warząchewka Polska]].<ref name=mw2>{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2017|title=Wysiedlenia ludności polskiej z okupowanych ziem polskich włączonych do III Rzeszy w latach 1939-1945|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|page=176|isbn=978-83-8098-174-4}}</ref> Poles from Włocławek were also massacred in the nearby village of [[Pińczata]].<ref name=mw2/><ref>Wardzyńska, Maria, ''Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion'', p. 210</ref> Arrested Polish teachers, landowners and priests from the Włocławek and [[Lipno County|Lipno]] counties were also imprisoned in Włocławek, and some were later also deported to concentration camps and murdered.<ref>Wardzyńska, Maria, ''Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion'', p. 175-176</ref> Families of deported and murdered Poles, as well as the remaining residents of Grzywno were [[Expulsion of Poles by Nazi Germany|expelled]] to the so-called [[General Government]] in late 1939,<ref name=mw2/> and in 1940 also owners of shops, workshops and bigger houses were expelled, so their properties could be handed over to German colonists as part of the ''[[Lebensraum]]'' policy.<ref>Wardzyńska, Maria, ''Wysiedlenia ludności polskiej z okupowanych ziem polskich włączonych do III Rzeszy w latach 1939-1945'', p. 226</ref> The Germans also [[Looting of Poland in World War II|robbed]] the precious historical collections of the Diocese of Włocławek and the Baroque Franciscan monastery<ref name=bpo/> and closed down the cathedral.<ref>Wardzyńska, Maria, ''Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion'', p. 209-210</ref> The city's central square, ''Plac Wolności'' ("Liberty Square"), was renamed ''Adolf-Hitler-Platz'' by the Germans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ddwloclawek.pl/pl/545_historia/739_wloclawek_z_dawnych_lat/32541_tak-plac-wolno-ci-wygl-da-podczas-okupacji-niemieckiej-nosi-w-wczas-imi-adolfa-hitlera.html|title=Tak plac Wolności wyglądał podczas okupacji niemieckiej. Nosił wówczas imię Adolfa Hitlera|website=DDWloclawek.pl|access-date=27 June 2020|language=pl}}</ref> By the time the war ended, nearly the entire Jewish population of more than 10,000 had been murdered. [[File:Włocławek-monument of AK.JPG|thumb|Monument of the [[Home Army]], the leading [[Polish resistance movement in World War II]]]] Włocławek was captured on 20 January 1945 by [[Red Army|Soviet]] troops of the [[1st Belorussian Front]] during the [[Vistula–Oder Offensive]]. From February to April 1945, the Russians [[Looting of Poland in World War II|looted]] local factories and enterprises of grain (over 200 tons), coal (over 50 tons), fuel, machinery, cars, spirits, office equipment, which were taken en masse to the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Golon|first=Mirosław|year=2022|title=Na zapleczu frontów Armii Czerwonej. Sowieckie zbrodnie, represje i grabieże na ziemiach polskich w 1945 r. (na przykładzie wybranych miast)|magazine=Studia Toruńskie|language=pl|volume=17|pages=62–63|issn=2392-1463}}</ref> Mass Soviet requisitions in the county caused food shortages in Włocławek.<ref>Golon, p. 64</ref> One third of the city was destroyed, but its factories and workshops were rebuilt by the [[People's Republic of Poland|Polish government]] in the following decades. ===Recent period=== The most important industries in Włocławek today are [[chemical industry]], production of [[furniture]], and [[food processing]]. The [[dam]] which was constructed in 1969 regulates the water level of the [[Vistula river]], forming [[Włocławek Reservoir]]. From 1975 to 1999, the city was the capital of the [[Włocławek Voivodeship]]. The Catholic [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|priest]] Fr. (now [[Beatification|Blessed]]), [[Jerzy Popiełuszko]], who was associated with the workers' and trade union movement [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]], and who was also a member of the opposition to the Communist regime in Poland, was tortured and murdered by three [[Security Police]] officers, and was thrown into the Włocławek Reservoir, close to the city. His body was recovered from the reservoir on 30 October 1984. From 2012 the city is part of the Special Economic Zone - Włocławek Economic Development Area – Industrial and Technological Park with tax-free areas and incentives for investors.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wloclawek.pl/strefa |title=W這c豉wska Strefa Rozwoju Gospodarczego - Park Przemys這wo-Technologiczny |access-date=17 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529204010/http://www.wloclawek.pl/strefa/ |archive-date=29 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ===The Jewish Community in Włocławek=== [[File:Wloclawek Ghetto memorial.jpg|thumb|Memorial at the site of the former World War II ghetto]] The Jewish population increased from 218 (6.6%) in 1820 to 6,919 in 1910 (20.5%) and 13,500 in 1939. One of the founders of the [[Mizrachi (religious Zionism)|Mizracḥi]] movement, rabbi Leib Kowalski (1895–1925), lived and worked in Włocławek. During the interbellum period, the town had several Jewish schools (primary and high schools), two yeshivas, and three Jewish sports clubs.<ref name="yivo">[http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/W%C5%82oc%C5%82awek Włocławek]. "The YIVO Encyclopedia. Jews in Eastern Europe". Retrieved 12 March 2015</ref> With the beginning of the [[Occupation of Poland (1939–45)|German occupation of Poland]], Włocławek became the first town in Europe in which Jews were required to wear distinctive [[yellow badge]]s.<ref>"[https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10008211 Jewish Badge: During the Nazi Era]". [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]]. ushmm.org. Retrieved 3 May 2017.</ref> Murders of Jews began in 1939 and the Włocławek [[Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Poland|ghetto]] was created in November 1940. The Nazis deported 3,000 of Włocławek's Jews to ghettos and labor camps between December 1939 and June 1941. Some 2,000 Jews were deported to [[Łódź]] and then to the [[Chełmno extermination camp]] between 26 and 30 September 1941. The ghetto was burnt in late April 1942 after the remaining Jews were sent to Chelmno where they were immediately gassed.<ref name="yivo"/> Most of the Jews sent to the [[Łódź Ghetto]] died of starvation or illness, and many were sent to [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]] from Łódź.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Megargee |first1=Geoffrey |title=Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos |date=2012 |publisher=University of Indiana Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=978-0-253-35599-7 |page=Volume II 118–119}}</ref> After the war nearly 1000 Jews returned to Włocławek and re-established their community. However, Jews left after disputes within the community itself, and the desire of most Jews not to live under Communism, installed by the Soviets.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wloclawek |url=https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/W%C5%82oc%C5%82awek |website=YIVO Encyclopedia of Eastern European Jews |publisher=YIVO}}</ref> By the late 1960s, the community had disappeared. Today there is only very little, if any trace at all, of their once rich and lively community. There is a table for victims of Jewish ghetto in Włocławek's Rakutówek neighborhood (Polish Tablica Ofiar Getta we Włocławku) and Jewish Cemetery at Municipal/Communal Cemetery (Polish Cmentarz Komunalny we Włocławku).
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