Trzciano (Pomeranian Voivodeship)

Trzciano (German "Hönigfelde" or "Königfelde", IPAudio|Trzciano_pronounciation.ogg| [tʂ'ʨanɔ] ) is a village located in northern Poland, in the Pomeranian Voivodship, Kwidzyn County and Ryjewo Commune. It is located about 10 km north-east of Kwidzyn. It has a population of 440 people.

History

Trzciano was created by the Teutonic Order in the mid-14th century. Between 1327 and 1366, the Teutons created many new villages and encouraged Polish peasantry to move to them by giving them aristocrat names. The first documentary evidence of Trzciano is found in medieval books where it is referred to as "Hönigfelde" (German, "field of honey"). Later, the name was unintentionally transcribed as "Königfelde" (German, "field of kings"). Trzciano appears on many old maps of Pomerania under these names, as well as in double-barrelled forms such as "Hönig feldt".

At the end of the Thirteen Years' War in 1466 Trzciano became a part of Polish province Royal Prussia. At the beginning of the 16th century it became a possession of Brandt family.

In the 17th century, during the Swedish occupation known as The Deluge, Trzciano was witness to many important Polish and Swedish military engagements. In 1629 the Battle of Trzciana between these two countries ended in the victory of Polish hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski over Gustavus Adolphus. This defeat finally compelled the Swedish army to leave Poland and to retreat over the Baltic sea. A small shrine was built to commemorate Koniecpolski's victory, and there is also a memorial stone.

The battle in Trzciano is mentioned in Polish chronicles as "bitwa pod Trzcianką" ("the battle in Trzcianka"), "Trzcianka" being the name of Trzciano in use during the 17th and 18th centuries. That name evolved from the Polish word "trzcina", which means reed. Later, the name of the village changed to "Trzciana" and finally, in the 19th century, to its current form, Trzciano.

In 1772 during the first partition Poland lost Trzciano together with the rest of Royal Prussia to the Kingdom of Prussia in the newly created province of West Prussia.

After Poland's recovery of independence in 1918, Trzciano ended up in the German exclave called East Prussia. In 1945, shortly after World War II, it returned to Poland.

Curiosities

*A local legend tells that as the vanquished King Gustavus of Sweden fled in despair across one of Trzciano's lakes, he dropped his mace into the water, symbolically ending his reign. According to the legend, the mace remains to this day at the bottom of the lake.
*Trzciano has its own football club, called Rodło Trzciano.