Dzierzgoń

Dzierzgoń
View of Dzierzgoń
Coat of arms
Dzierzgoń
Coordinates: 53°55′24″N 19°21′5″E / 53.92333°N 19.35139°E / 53.92333; 19.35139
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Pomeranian
County	Sztum
Gmina	Dzierzgoń
Area
– Total	3.88 km2 (1.5 sq mi)
Population (2006)
– Total	5,630
– Density	1,451/km2 (3,758.2/sq mi)
Postal code	82-440
Website	http://www.dzierzgon.pl/

Dzierzgoń [ˈd​͡ʑeʐɡɔɲ] (German: Christburg) is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is located in Sztum County east of Malbork and south of Elbląg on the river Dzierzgoń. Dzierzgoń has a population of 5,800, while the city and its environs have a combined population of 10,000.

History

Christ Burg in 1684
Altes und neues Preussen, Christoph Hartknoch.

In 1247, a castle known as Neu Christburg (German for "New Castle of Christ") was founded overlooking the Sorge River (Dzierzgoń), a few kilometers away from an older fortress known as Alt Christburg (Stary Dzierzgoń). In 1249 a peace treaty was signed at the new castle between the victorious Teutonic Order and defeated local Old Prussians. In 1254, the town which had developed near the castle was first referred to as Christburg. Within the Monastic State of the Teutonic Order, Christburg was an administrative seat for the regional Komtur.

After the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), Christburg became part of the Polish province of Royal Prussia. In 1772 it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia during the First Partition of Poland and was incorporated into the new province of West Prussia. Christburg became part of the German Empire upon its foundation in 1871 during the unification of Germany. After the Polish Corridor was created following World War I, the town was transferred to East Prussia in Weimar Germany.

After World War II ended in 1945, Christburg was placed under Polish administration and renamed Dzierzgoń, based on an Old Prussian Zirgūni name. The German population either evacuated during the war or was subsequently expelled afterward. The town was resettled by Poles from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union and Ukrainians expelled from southeast Poland in 1947. The former Roman Catholic Cloister is now a Ukrainian Eastern Rite Catholic Church.

Notable residents

• Ernst Schirlitz (1893–1978), admiral

International relations

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

Twin towns — sister cities

Dzierzgoń is twinned with:

• Finspång (Sweden)
• Finsterwalde (Germany)
• Nordborg (Denmark)
• Sittensen (Germany)

External links

• Municipal website (Polish)
• Ansichtskarten von Deutschland um 1900 old postcards (German)
• Christburg (German)

Coordinates: 53°56′N 19°21′E / 53.933°N 19.35°E / 53.933; 19.35