Kartuzy

Kartuzy [karˈtuzɨ] ) (Kashubian Kartuzë, Kartëzë, Kartuzé,[1] German: Karthaus) is a town in northern Poland, located in the historic Eastern Pomerania (Pomerelia) region. Previously in Gdańsk Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998, Kartuzy since 1999 is the capital of Kartuzy County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999.

Kartuzy
Kartuzy from a bird's-eye view
Flag
Coat of arms
Kartuzy
Coordinates: 54°20′N 18°12′E
Country Poland
Voivodeship Pomeranian
CountyKartuzy County
GminaGmina Kartuzy
Established1381
Town rights1923
Government
 • MayorMieczysław Gołuński
Area
 • Total6.23 km2 (2.41 sq mi)
Elevation
42 m (138 ft)
Population
 (2006)
 • Total15,263
 • Density2,400/km2 (6,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
83-300
Area code(s)+48 58
Car platesGKA
Websitehttp://www.kartuzy.pl

Geographical location

Kartuzy is located about 32 kilometres (20 miles) west of Gdańsk and 35 km (22 miles) south-east of the town of Lębork on a plateau at an altitude of approximately 200 metres (656 feet) above sea level in the average. The plateau, which is divided by the Radaune lake, comprises the highest parts of the Baltic Sea Plate. In the west of this lake are the highest points of the headwaters of rivers Łeba, Słupia and Bukowina at an altitude of up to 271 metres (889 feet). A hill in the south of the lake is 331 metres (1,086 feet) high.[2]

History
Carthusian Church

Kartuzy was established about 1380 as a monastery for Carthusian monks descending from Prague in the Kingdom of Bohemia, after whom it received its name. The charterhouse was vested with large estates by the State of the Teutonic Order. According to the Second Peace of Thorn the area passed to the Polish Crown in 1466, within which it was administratively part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in the provinces of Royal Prussia and Greater Poland.

The Carthusian monks had the nearby woodlands cleared out, and peasants from the neighbouring Duchy of Pomerania were encouraged to settle and farm in the newly cleared areas. During the course of the Protestant Reformation Kartuzy and its surrounding area were incorporated into the possessions of Cistercian Oliwa Abbey in 1565. The area was annexed by Prussia in the First Partition of Poland in 1772.

The Prussian government finally dissolved the monastery in 1826. Around that time the settlement was fairly insignificant. It began to play a greater economic role after 1841 when the lands of the monastery were parcelled out.

From 1871 to 1919 part of the German Empire, it belonged to the Karthaus district in the Province of West Prussia in the administrative district of Regierungsbezirk Danzig. At the turn from the 19th to the 20th century the town had a Protestantic church, a Catholic church and a synagogue. The town was appreciated as a climatic type of health resort. Many pensioners and other retired persons settled down here.

When after World War I the regulations of the Treaty of Versailles became effective in 1920, Kartuzy was reintegrated into the re-established Polish Republic where it was the seat of the Kartuzy County within the Pomeranian Voivodeship and in 1923 it was granted town rights.

After the invasion of Poland, which started World War II, Kartuzy was occupied by Germany, where it was administered as part of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, Regierungsbezirk Danzig. In mid-September 1939 the SS Wachsturmbann "Eimann" and Einsatzkommando 16 entered the town to carry out mass arrests and massacres of local Poles as part of the Intelligenzaktion Pommern.[3] Around 4,000 Poles from Kartuzy and the county were arrested in September 1939.[4] That same month, many local pre-war Polish activists, as well as railway, post and court employees, were murdered in massacres in the forests in Gmina Somonino and at the Wzgórze Wolności, while 10 Polish priests were murdered in the forest near Kartuzy.[4] Dozens of Poles from Kartuzy, including local officials, teachers, merchants, postmen, restaurateurs, policemen were murdered in October and November 1939 in the nearby forest and in Piaśnica.[5] Poles from the village of Egiertowo were also murdered in the Kartuzy forest.[6] At the end of World War II Karthaus was captured by the Red Army and afterwards it was restored to Poland.

Kartuzy has long been a cultural center of the Kashubians. Since 1947 a Kashubian Museum has featured numerous exhibits connected to Kashubia and its inhabitants. The town has also set up a bust to honor Dr. Aleksander Majkowski, author of The Life and Adventures of Remus, who practiced medicine in Kartuzy for a time and is buried here. In 2010, the Kashubian Unity Day was held here. On March 28, 2010, after the Holy Mass in the fourteenth-century collegiate church, Kashubes in colorful regional costumes with black-and-yellow flags passed through the streets to the Team of Schools No. 2 for Wybicki's Estate where the main celebrations were held.

Coat of arms
Selected sights of Kartuzy
Market square and St. Casimir's Church
Refectory of the Carthusian monastery
Kashubian Museum
Home of Aleksander Majkowski
Klasztorne Małe Lake
Klasztorne Duże Lake

A coat of arms for Kartuzy was designed by Dr. Aleksander Majkowski and accepted by the city council on January 31, 1923. The coat of arms depicts a black Kashubian Griffin and seven silver stars on a blue background.

Population by year
Year Number Remarks
1831more than 400
18691,765
18751,975
18802,179
18852,300
18902,351
18952,377
19002,642
19213,800
19436,024
19607,900
197010,600
197511,600
198012,000
199816,100
200415,472
200914,951
  • Note that the above table is based on primary, possibly inaccurate or biased sources.[2][7][8][9]

Sports

The local football club is Cartusia Kartuzy, founded in 1923.

Notable people
Andrzej Wronski
Gdańsk Street

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Kartuzy is twinned with:

References
  1. "Lista gmin wpisanych na podstawie art. 12 ustawy z dnia 6 stycznia 2005 r. o mniejszościach narodowych i etnicznych oraz o języku regionalnym (Dz. U. z 2015 r. poz. 573) do Rejestru gmin, na których obszarze używane są nazwy w języku mniejszości" (PDF). mswia.gov.pl. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  2. Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 6th edition, Vol. 10, Leipzig and Vienna 1907, p. 688.
  3. Maria Wardzyńska, Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion, IPN, Warszawa, 2009, p. 106-107 (in Polish)
  4. Wardzyńska, p. 107
  5. Wardzyńska, p. 146-147, 154
  6. Wardzyńska, p. 155
  7. August Eduard Preuß: Preußische Landes- und Volkskunde, Königsberg 1835, p. 391.
  8. Der Große Brockhaus, 15th edition, Vol. 9, Leipzig 1931, p. 755.
  9. Michael Rademacher: Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Westpreußen, Kreis Karthaus (2006)
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