Białogard

Białogard (pronounced Bia-wo-gart [bʲaˈwɔɡart] (listen), German: Belgard, [ˈbɛlɡaʁt] (listen); Pomeranian: Biôłogard) is a historic town in Middle Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 24,368 inhabitants (2017). The capital of Białogard County in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, the town was previously in Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1998). It is the most important railroad junction of Middle Pomerania, which links Kołobrzeg with Piła and Gdańsk with Stargard.

Belgard redirects here. Belgard is also an area of Tallaght and the original legal name of County South Dublin
Białogard
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at the town square
Flag
Coat of arms
Białogard
Coordinates: 54°0′N 15°59′E
Country Poland
VoivodeshipWest Pomeranian
CountyBiałogard County
GminaBiałogard (urban gmina)
Town rights1299
Government
 • MayorEmilia Bury
Area
 • Total25.73 km2 (9.93 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)
 • Total24,368[1]
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
78-200
Car platesZBI
Websitehttp://www.bialogard.info/

History
Former town granary made from a timber frame

According to archaeologists the Białogard stronghold was built in the fork of the Parsęta and Leśnica Rivers as early as the 8th century. In the 10th century it was an important centre of long-range international trade at the crossroads of two important trade routes: a north–south "salt route" from Kołobrzeg to Poznań and Greater Poland, and the west-east Pomeranian route from Szczecin to Gdańsk.

Pomerania was inhabited by several tribes collectively known as Pomeranians, and Białogard was probably the centre of one of them. In the 10th century Pomerania was conquered by the Polish dukes Mieszko I and Bolesław the Brave, who established a bishopric in the nearby Kołobrzeg in 1000, but the area was soon lost to Poland and Christianity.

Białogard is first mentioned in the chronicle of Gallus Anonymous as a rich and populous stronghold in the middle of Pomerania, a famous royal city called white (Alba Regia). This city was conquered by Boleslaus III of Poland in 1107. By the invitation of Bolesław III the Wrymouth and his vassal Wartisław I of Pomerania, Bishop Otto of Bamberg came with a mission to Pomerania in 1124; Białogard was one of the places he visited. In the 12th century Białogard was a seat of a regional governor (castellan).

Some of the historical tenements in the Old Town

Kashubia[2] was the name of the region around this town. The town developed quickly as one of the more important economic centres of the Duchy of Pomerania, and this was strengthened by the Lübeck law granted to the city by Duke Bogusław IV in 1299. In 1307 the city was granted staple rights.[3] In 1386 it became a member of the Hanseatic League.[3] In the 15th century there were disputes with the nearby town of Świdwin, and in 1469 even a battle was fought between the towns.[3] On the 500-year anniversary of the battle, on the initiative of Polish writer and publisher Leon Zdanowicz, in post-World War II Poland, a medieval-style competition was organized between the inhabitants of both towns. As a local tradition, these competitions have been organized annually since.[3] As a result of the feudal fragmentation of Pomerania, Białogard was part of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1295 and Pomerania-Stolp (Duchy of Słupsk), a vassal state of the Polish Crown, from 1368. Duke Wartislaw IV chose the town as his main place of residence in 1315.[3] Pomerania was united under Duke Bogislaw X in 1478, after 1569 the town was part of the Pomerania-Stettin, and later was again in the united Duchy of Pomerania under Bogislaw XIV, the last Pomeranian duke.

Preserved town hall dating back hundreds of years

Crafts and trade flourished.[3] In 1534 a bakers' guild was founded, in 1580 also woodcarvers' and clothiers' guilds were established.[3] Following the Protestant Reformation, the town became Protestant in 1534. During the Thirty Years' War the town was plundered by the troops of the Holy Roman Empire and Sweden.[3] After the death of the last Pomeranian Duke in 1637, and as a result of the Thirty Years' War, the Duchy of Pomerania was divided between Sweden and Brandenburg-Prussia. As Belgard, with all of Farther Pomerania, the town became part of Brandenburg in 1653[3] and became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. In 1724 Belgard was made the capital of a county in the Province of Pomerania, and after the administrative reorganization in 1815, the capital of Landkreis Belgard (Belgard county).

The first post office in Belgard was opened in 1825. In 1858 the first railroad connecting Belgard to Köslin (Koszalin) and Schivelbein (Świdwin) was completed; it was extended to Stargard and Neustettin (Szczecinek) in 1878. Belgard became part of the German Empire in 1871.

During World War II, the Red Army occupied the town on March 4, 1945. According to the terms of the Potsdam Conference, after the end of the war the town once again became part of Poland.

Białogard was made a county city in the Szczecin Voivodeship, was later assigned to Koszalin Voivodeship, and is now located in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 1999 the 700th anniversary of receiving town rights was celebrated with the participation of Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, who was born in Białogard.[3]

Sights
Sights of Białogard (examples)
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary
Połczyńska Gate
Medieval town walls
Białogard County office
Municipal Office
White Eagle Monument
  • Old Town (Stare Miasto) with historic townhouses
  • Brick Gothic Połczyńska Gate
  • Gothic Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary
  • Partly preserved medieval town walls
  • Gothic St. George church
  • Białogard County office
  • Old town hall (Stary Ratusz), now housing a local museum and a Wedding Palace
  • Municipal Office
  • Former town granary made from a timber frame
  • White Eagle Park with the White Eagle Monument
  • Music School (Szkoła Muzyczna)
  • Pedagogical Library (Biblioteka Pedagogiczna)
  • A monument commemorating the victims of Soviet and communist repressions and exiles to Siberia
  • Remains of the castle

Demographics

Before the end of World War II the (then German) inhabitants of Belgard were predominantly Protestant, particularly Lutheran. Since the end of the war the majority of the town's population is composed of Catholics, though a solid Lutheran minority remains.

Number of inhabitants in years
Year Inhabitants
17401,447
17821,621
17941,720
18121,983
18161,972
18312,788
18433,327
18523,845
18614,776
18757,081
19008,407
192512,480
193916,455
194016,500
194514,300
195012,700
196017,800
197020,600
197521,800
198022,500
199024,200
199525,100
200025,740
200424,399

Notable residents

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

Białogard is twinned with:

gollark: Even if you don't like potatOS much, the library behind its sandboxing, YAFSS, is *somewhat* decoupled from the rest of it and is useful for stuff like, well, virtualization.
gollark: I'd really like a better way to do sandboxing, though, if you have any ideas.
gollark: Me...
gollark: But I suppose that counts as internals, not user-exposed API.
gollark: There are also times when I've had to tweak a bunch of potatOS things because for... kind of weird reasons... it runs its own BIOS code to do sandboxing... and that's been tweaked a lot recently.

References
  1. https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Bialogard
  2. Gerard Labuda, 1969
  3. "Historia". Miasto Białogard (in Polish). Retrieved 5 February 2020.
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