Tczew city (Poland)

Tczew county, Pomorskie vojvodship

Last modified: 2009-08-22 by jarig bakker
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• Tczew city flag
• Tczew city Coat of Arms

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Tczew city flag

Tczew was first mentioned as Trsow in a privilege of the Knights Hospitaller in 1198. By 1252 the settlement was known by the names Tczew and Dirschau, and in 1258 Tczew hosted the first city council in Poland. It received Lübeck rights from Duke Sambor II in 1260. Tczew was captured by Heinrich von Plötzke of the Teutonic Knights in 1308, but was rebuilt from 1364–1384 and granted Kulm law. After the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), Tczew was transferred from the Teutonic Order to the newly-created Polish province of Royal Prussia.

During the Protestant Reformation most of Tczew's inhabitants converted to Lutheranism. In 1577 the town was burnt to the ground by troops of King Stefan Batory of Poland after they defeated a rebellion by Gdańsk. A 1630 map by Willem Blaeu of the German Empire shows the city name Dirschau, as well as Kirchenbuecher (churchbooks) starting in 1637 of the mostly Protestant city. Although Tczew was rebuilt, it then suffered during the Polish-Swedish Wars.

The town was annexed from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by the Kingdom of Prussia during the Partitions of Poland. It was occupied by Polish troops of General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski in 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars, but became Prussian again in 1815. It became part of the German Empire in 1871.

Tczew grew rapidly during the 19th century after the opening of the Prussian Eastern Railway line connecting Berlin and Königsberg, with the Vistula bridge near Dirschau being an important part. The Prussian census of 1905 counted 15,144 Polish or Kashubian-speaking citizens and 25,466 German-speaking citizens in the town.

After World War I Treaty of Versailles, Tczew became part of the Second Polish Republic when troops of General Józef Haller entered the town on January 30, 1920. During the Interwar period, Tczew was famous for its maritime academy (later moved to Gdynia).

According to the city's website, Tczew was the location of the start of World War II when German bombers attacked Polish sapper installations to prevent the bridge from been blown up at 04:34 on September 1, 1939 (the shelling of Westerplatte commenced at 04:45). The town was occupied by Nazi Germany during the war and liberated in 1945. (wiki)

Arms and flag adopted on June 26, 2003 (resolution # X/79/2003).
"Arms: on the silver shield red griffin standing to the right - beak and talons gold.
Flag: rectangular piece of the white cloth in the ratio 5:7 with the image of the red griffin from the Coat of Arms, facing to the hoist."
Tczew also has a standard.
Chrystian Kretowicz, 4 Nov 2008

Tczew city Coat of Arms