Chodzież is a town in north-western Poland with 20,400 inhabitants (1995).

Situated in the Greater Poland Voivodship (since 1999), previously in Pila Voivodship (1975-1998). Greater Poland Voivodship (in Polish województwo wielkopolskie) is an administrative region or voivodship of western-central Poland It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Poznan, Kalisz, Konin, Pila and Leszno voivodships as a result of Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998. ... Pila Voivodship ( Polish: Województwo pilske) was a voivodships (unit of administrative division and local government) in Poland from 1975 to 1998. ...

In the German language, it has traditionally been known as Chodziesen, after 1879 Kolmar in Posen. This name may be falling into disuse over time, though it can still be found in current use in Germany in some cases. German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... This article deals with the German language names of towns and cities in Central Europe. ...

Geography

Chodzież is located in the northern part of Greater Poland (western Poland), in the Chodzieskie lakelands. The most important characteristics of this lakeland area are its typical postglacial landforms, forests of pines and mixed woodlands, and lakes. For this reason, the city's surroundings are known as "the Switzerland of Chodzież". Greater Poland (also Great Poland; Polish: Wielkopolska, German: Grosspolen, Latin: Polonia Maior) is one of the historical regions of Poland. ...

Five kilometers west of Chodzież, at the edge of the Chodzieskie lakelands, Mt. Gontyniec (German: Tempel Berg) rises 192 meters above sea level as the highest peak in a chain of moraine hills; at the same time it has the highest elevation in northern Poland. Deep valleys and ridges covered with a 100-year-old beech forest ensure diversified surroundings.

Within the five square miles (13 km²) of city area, there are three lakes: Miejskie, 1 km² (English: Town lake, 0.4 mile²), Karczewnik, 0.25 km² (0.1 mile²), and Strzeleckie, 0.18 km² (0.07 mile²), which make up about 13% of the total town area.

History

A burial mound, estimated to date from 2000 B.C., is located in the area of the town where today's Słoneczna street lies. About 1500 BC, tribes of Łużyce, dominated the area for ten centuries. In 1904–1914 two burial grounds were discovered in the area of old Rzeźnicka street, that date to those times. In the early middle ages (400–700 AD), a little settlement existed on the south part of Lake Miejskie. Chodzież's beginnings go back at least to the 1400s. First written mention is from 1403. The name Chodzies is mentioned with that of the priest of the local Catholic parish. Researchers believe however, that town roots go back to the 1200s, when it already had its first church. (Is this fact or belief?)

March 3, 1434, King Wladyslaw Jagiello issued a privilege that created the town with Magdeburg rights for Trojan of Lekno. For many centuries it was a privately owned city. The LÍkiscy–Granowscy Family were the first owners, then from the mid of the 1400s, Chodzież belonged to the Potuliccy family. From 1648 to 1830 the GrudziÒscy family were the owners of Chodzież. Their crest “Grzymala” has been the town's crest since that time. Wladislaus II on Jan Matejkos painting Wladislaus II Jagiello (Polish Władysław II Jagiełło, Lithuanian Jogaila, and in Belarusian as Jahajla (Ягайла)) (c. ... The Magdeburg Rights (or Magdeburg law) were the laws of the Imperial Free City of Magdeburg during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, and possibly the most important set of Germanic medieval city laws. ... Trojan of Lekno - (Polish Trojan z Łekna), member of the Pałuk family, who owned the site on which Chodziez town was built. ...

St. Florian's church situated at the Market Square, is the oldest monument in Chodzież. Its probable founder was the first owner of the settlement, Trojan from Lekno.

During the 1600s, various parts of Poland were invaded by Swedish troops. The arrival of a group of German clothmakers from Leszno (German: Lissa, which had suffered a fire) around 1656, influenced the development of Chodzież. A new town was erected in the mid 1700s, next to the old medieval site in the city, which contained the Market, as the home of weavers and clothmakers. Today, this part of the city (Koúciuszki road) is marked by the characteristic gables of houses situated on narrow, rectangular plots of land. Each lot formerly had wooden sheds in the rear to store wool and cloth. Postcard image from early 1900s This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Coat of Arms of Leszno Leszno (pronunciation) is a town in central Poland with 63,300 inhabitants (2001). ...

As the result of the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the whole region became a part of the Prussian State as the South Prussia. The Partitions of Poland ( Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... South Prussia ( 1793- 1806) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia, created in Greater Poland after the second partition of Poland ( 1793). ...

In 1805, Chodzież's weavers imported a weaving machine from Berlin. Shortly after, Napolean defeated Prussia (1807) and out of the Treaty of Tilsit, this part of Poland became the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the town of Tilsit in July, 1807. ... Location Official languages Polish Established church Roman Catholic Capital Warsaw Largest City Warsaw Head of state Duke of Warsaw Area about 158,000 km² Population about 3 million Existed 1807 - 1814 The Duchy of Warsaw (Polish: Księstwo Warszawskie, Latin: Ducatus Varsoviae, French: Duche de Varsovie) was a Polish state established...

In 1815, Prussia and its allies defeated Napoleon, and this area became Prussian again as the Grand Duchy of Posen. It was supposed to be Polish province within Prussian Kingdom. In reality, it was essentially a Prussian province. Grand Duchy of Poznań (Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Poznańskie, German: Grossherzogtum Posen) was province of Prussia in the Polish lands commonly known as Great Poland between the years 1815-1849. ...

The local weaving industry declined about 1812–1815, when a frontier customs post between the ?(Duchy of Poznan and the Warsaw Kingdom)? was demarcated. The tariff priced the Posen weavers out of their major eastern markets, so they either migrated to other textile producing areas (e.g. Lodz) or turned to other types of work, like farming.

In 1818 Chodzież became the administrative center of a county-like district (German: Kreis) that was formed from parts of the following these Kreise: Wirsitz, Wongrowitz, Obornik and Czarnikau (Polish: Wyrzysk, Wagrowiec, Oborniki and Czarnkow). Over the years, it gained the character of a local administrative center, which it remained until 1975, when the division of Poland was reorganized into larger units.

In 1849, the Duchy was formalized as the Prussian province of Posen. The Province of Posen (German: Provinz Posen, Polish: Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of Prussia ( 1846- 1918). ...

Chodzież's importance place in the ceramics industry began when two German businessmen, Ludwig Schnorr and Hermann Müller from Frankfurt an der Oder, purchased the ruins of the burned out manor house from Otto Königsmarck in 1855 and built the first faience factory. In 1897 the merchant Hein, a former faience factory owner, built a porcelain factory. Since then, Chodzież has always been an important and significant center of pottery industry. Faience or faïence is the conventional name in English for fine tin-glazed earthenware on a delicate pale buff body. ... A rare Dresden porcelain figurine Porcelain is a type of hard semi-translucent ceramic generally fired at a higher temperature than glazed earthenware, or stoneware pottery. ...

The German Empire was created in 1871, and in October of 1874 a system of civil registration offices were created. Chodziesen was chosen for its area. (See Standesamt Kolmar). Standesamt Kolmar was a civil registration district (Standesamt) located in Kreis Kolmar, province of Posen of the German Empire (1871-1918) and administered the communities of: Kol (S) = Kolmar (town); Kol (L) = Kolmar (rural area); Usc = Usch Population data may be inaccurate (see German census of 1895). ...

In 1879, the railroad line Poznan — Chodzież — Pila was opened and the name of Chodzież was changed to Kolmar in Posen. This name came from District von Colmer — Meyenburg, extremely meritorious in the building of the railway, which was beneficial to the town's economy.

(World War I) Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

At the end of World War I, the Great Poland Uprising spread to Chodzież. After bloody fighting the insurgents captured the town on January 8, 1919. But it was not until the Versailles Treaty in 1919 that Chodzież became Polish again. On 19 January 1920, Polish military and political authorities marched into the city and a Polish administration was established, but unemployment and living conditions deteriorated, leading to a wave of strikes, starting in 1921. In the 1930s, the years of the great world economic crisis, workers from Chodzież porcelain factory started a new series of protests. In the period between the two world wars, Chodzież was considered as an important administrative center in the border area between Poland and Germany. It had a working class character, which was related to the development of the faience factory. Since the city was located near the border, 30% of the population (8,500) was German. Soldiers of Greatpolish Army Greater Poland Uprising of 1918- 1919 (Polish: powstanie wielkopolskie 1918-19 roku) was a military insurrection of the Polish people in the Greater Poland region (also called the Grand Duchy of Poznań) against the German/Prussian forces. ... Woodrow Wilson with the American Peace Commissioners The Treaty of Versailles of 1919 is the peace treaty created as a result of six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 which put an official end to World War I between the Allies and Central Powers. ...

In the 1920s, a tuberculosis sanatorium was established here because of the special climate. It was converted recently into a hospital for railroadmen. In 1921 Stanisław Mańczak bought the porcelain fabric from the Annaburger Steinguttfabrik firm.

The Nazi occupation, both in Chodzież and the whole country, was a period of constant terror directed against Polish citizens. On the 7th of November 1939. 44 Polish men were killed in the execution on Morzewskie Hills. The population of Chodzież within the war years was reduced almost by a half. The liberation came at night on the 22nd—23rd of January 1945, when Russian troops captured the town. The first years after the war were a period of restoration and an intensive development of pottery industry.

The city administration has received prizes and awards on several occasions to recognize the city's cleanliness and aesthetics. In 1974, the city was awarded the title of "the Polish Master of Economics." Later, in 1979, it was awarded the Labor Medal, 1st Class, by the Council of State for the city's achievements in production. The current construction of an urban purification plant will help transform Chodzież into an ecologically clean center for tourism and relaxation. In recent years, the rate of economic development in the city have decreased somewhat, with industry playing a smaller role and the economic development of Chodzież and the region becoming more associated with recreation. Chodzież abounds with natural beauty — attracting tourists.

Sports facilities include an indoor swimming pool, a soccer stadium and tennis courts. Sailing and motorboat contests take place each year on the municipal lakes. The latter have European and world-class rank: in 1993, motorboat contests took place in the class 0..350. In addition, every May, the Grzmylita-Run promotes sport for the masses.

A brass orchestra was founded right after the end of the German occupation. First it was connected to the ceramics factory, but currently it works with the Chodzież cultural institute. In the 1970s, the annual jazz-workshops began, which allowed new talents to be discovered through encounters between young people and artists from Poland and abroad.

The annual National Children's Song Festivals began in 1991. In 1995, Chodzież was the co-organizer of the XIII National Voluntary Fire Department Brass Orchestra Festival.

Chodzież is a sister city of Nottuln, Germany.

External link

• http://www.Chodziez.pl/