Pisz

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Pisz
Coat of arms of Pisz
Pisz (Poland)
Pisz
Pisz
Basic data
State : Poland
Voivodeship : Warmia-Masuria
Powiat : Pisz
Gmina : Pisz
Area : 10.04  km²
Geographic location : 53 ° 37 '  N , 21 ° 48'  E Coordinates: 53 ° 37 '0 "  N , 21 ° 48' 0"  E
Residents : 19,277 (June 30, 2019)
Postal code : 12-200
Telephone code : (+48) 87
License plate : NPI
Economy and Transport
Street : DK58 : Olsztynek - Szczytno - Ruciane-Nida ↔ Biała Piska - Szczuczyn
DK63 : ( Russia -) Perły - Węgorzewo - Giżycko - Orzysz ↔ Kolno - Łomża - Sławatycze (- Belarus )
Rail route : Olsztyn – Ełk railway line
Lötzen – Johannisburg , closed in 1945
Next international airport : Danzig



town hall

Pisz [ pʲiʃ ] (Polish formerly Jańsbork , German Johannisburg ) is a town and seat of the powiat Piski of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland . It is also the seat of the town-and-country municipality of the same name with 27,720 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2019).

Geographical location

The city is located in the southeast of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in historic East Prussia , 110 kilometers east of the voivodeship capital Olsztyn (Allenstein) in the former Prussian tribal area of Galinden . Here the Pisa rises from the Roś ( Roschsee , formerly Lake Warsaw ), which belongs to the Masurian Lake District . The largest Masurian lake, the Śniardwy (Spirdingsee), can be reached via the six-kilometer-long Kanał Jegliński ( Jeglinner Kanal , also Wagenauer Kanal ) . The forests of the Puszcza Piska (Johannisburger Heide) extend to the south .

history

middle Ages

The starting point for the development of Johannisburg was a fortification of the Teutonic Order , which the Grand Master Heinrich Dusemer had built in 1345 to protect the river crossing and to defend it against the neighboring Lithuanians . These attacked the fortress in 1361 and 1366 and conquered it with their second assault. The wooden facilities were set on fire and the crew evicted. After the Lithuanians withdrew from the area again, the cremated stronghold was replaced by a stone castle, which was completed in 1378.

In the meantime, hunters, booters and fishermen had settled in the area of ​​the castle. In order to further promote the place, in 1367 the commander of Balga , Ulrich Fricke , awarded him the hand festivals of the Teutonic Order. The further settlement of the surrounding area took place later in the first half of the 15th century, in 1450 35 villages were mentioned there. The time had come for the order to grant Johannisburg city ​​rights . It was to be manifested in the certificate issued by Grand Master Ludwig von Erlichshausen on May 15, 1451 and financially secured by the transfer of 200 Hufen land. But since the order was at war with Poland at this time, no one was found who could initiate the enforcement of the city law. Johannisburg was cremated during the Prussian City War in 1455 and the Equestrian War in 1520.

Early modern age

After the religious order was converted into a secular duchy in 1525, Albrecht I of Brandenburg-Ansbach took care of the economic development of the place. The castle was expanded, further fortified and designated as the seat of the governor. How closely the duke was connected to Johannisburg became clear when he stayed there during the plague year of 1549. The spread of the Protestant faith, also promoted by the Duke, was promoted in Johannisburg by the reformer Martin Glossa, who was banished from Poland . The profitable border trade with Poland, whose border ran only a few kilometers to the south, allowed the economic power to grow further, which prompted the residents to try again for city rights. The request made to Margrave Georg Friedrich in 1594 , however, remained unheeded, only the Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm issued the town charter on September 6, 1645. The defensive strength of the city was proven by the attacks of the Tatars in 1656 and 1657. With the help of the electoral troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich von Arnheim, all attempts at conquest were repulsed. Johannisburg was partially destroyed in a town fire in 1687, and the town hall was also a victim of the flames. The plague claimed many victims between 1709 and 1711. Apparently only 14 citizens survived. From 1714 to 1816 Johannisburg was a garrison town of the Prussian army. During the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) the Russian Colonel Selebrikov occupied the city with his troops.

19th century

During the Napoleonic Wars in 1807 and 1812, Johannisburg suffered again from high demands for contributions and looting, both under French and Russian occupation. From January 23 to 26, 1813, the Russian Tsar Alexander I stayed in Johannisburg.

With the Prussian administrative reform of 1815, Johannisburg was named the district town of the district of the same name . Economic life recovered from the damage caused by previous wars, and the timber industry in particular expanded. In addition, the grain trade and linen weaving were the most important sources of income. The new construction of the traffic routes had an advantageous effect. In addition to the road to Ortelsburg and the Polish Grajewo, the connection to the Allenstein – Lyck railway line in 1885 was of considerable importance. The number of inhabitants rose to 3,481 by 1900, while in 1782 only 1,141 people lived in the city.

20th century

The modest prosperity was wiped out again with the First World War . From September 1914 to February 1915 the Russian army occupied Johannisburg, destroyed large parts of the city and deported 1,586 men, women and children to Siberia. During the war, reconstruction began as part of the East Prussian aid initiated by the Reich government , with Leipzig as a sponsor city. In the referendum on membership of Germany or Poland, ordered by the Versailles Treaty in the Allenstein voting area, on July 11, 1920, 2,940 votes were cast in the city of Johannisburg in East Prussia, none in Poland. In the district of Johannisburg , 34,036 votes against 14 were clearly in favor of remaining with East Prussia and thus for Germany. The influx of residents from West Prussia , which was lost to Poland, let the population grow again to 5,186 in 1925.

Towards the end of the Second World War , Johannisburg was bombed by Soviet forces on January 19, 1945 , which led to the destruction of almost two thirds of the buildings. On January 24th, the city was captured by the Red Army without a fight. Soon afterwards Johannisburg was placed under Polish administration together with the southern part of East Prussia . Polish civilians then immigrated to the area. Johannisburg was renamed Pisz . Where German citizens had not fled, they were in the period that followed sold .

The place name Pisz refers to the small river Pisa , a tributary of the Narew , which like two other rivers in East Prussia was also called Pissek in German . The largest part of the Johannisburg district today forms the Powiat Piski.

The railway line from Szczytno (Ortelsburg) to Pisz (Johannisburg) was reopened in 2008.

Population development

year Check-
residents 		Remarks
1782 1,141
1831 2,040 partly Polish, partly German population
1875 2,772
1880 2,973
1890 3,222 117 Catholics and 148 Jews
1900 3,481
1910 4,301
1925 5,186
1933 5,725
1939 6,451
2012 19,600

Religions

Evangelical

Church building

Once Protestant, now Catholic St. John's Church in Pisz (Johannisburg)

Before 1945 the parish church in Johannisburg was considered the largest half-timbered church in Masuria . It was built in 1843 as a successor to a house of worship that fell victim to a fire in 1838. The massive tower still comes from this church. The church is a simple hall building, but with rich furnishings . This can be seen in the baroque altar , in the pulpit rich in figures and in the baptismal angel attributed to Isaak Riga's workshop .

Until 1945 the church was a Protestant church, today it serves as a Roman Catholic parish church .

Parish

Johannspurgk was already a church village in the pre-reformatory period . The Reformation gained a foothold here relatively early. At first the place belonged to the Inspection Lyck ( Polish Ełk ), then the city itself was the seat of a superintendent until 1945 and thus the center of a church district in the church province of East Prussia of the Church of the Old Prussian Union . In 1925 the parish had 12,105 parishioners who lived in a large parish .

After 1945, the evacuation and expulsion of the local population caused the life of the Protestant community to collapse. Today there are only a few Protestant residents here, but they live in the newly formed parish in Pisz, where it has its own parish hall. a. the former baptismal font of the Alt Ukta church , and have found a new home with their branch churches in Biała Piska ( Bialla , 1938 to 1945 Gehlenburg ), Ełk (Lyck) and Wejsuny ((Groß) Weissuhnen) . It belongs to the Masurian Diocese of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland .

Church district Johannisburg

To 1945 were the Kirchenkreis Johannesburg 13 Kirchspiele associated:

Surname Polish name Surname Polish name
Noble cauldron Kociołek Szlachecki Groß Weissuhnen Wejsuny
Arys Orzysz Johannisburg Pisz
Bialla
1938–1945 Gehlenburg 		Biała Piska Kumilsko
1938–1945 mornings 		Kumielsk
Drygallen
1938–1945 Drigelsdorf 		Drygały Kurwien Karwica
Eckersberg Okartowo Skarzinnen
1938–1945 Richtenberg 		Skarżyn
Walking Jeże Turo shells
1938–1945 Mittenweide 		Turośl
Groß Rosinsko 1938–1945 Large
Roses 		Rożyńsk Wielki

Catholic

Church building

Since 1945 the previously Protestant church has been a Catholic parish church, which is named Kościół św. Jana Chrzciciela ( German  Church of St. John the Baptist ) carries. The building has been rebuilt several times or its interior has been adapted to the changed liturgical customs. Much of the former equipment could be taken over.

Parish

Sacred Heart Church in Pisz

Johannisburg has had its own Catholic parish since 1869. It was included in the Deanery of Masuria II with its seat in Johannisburg and belonged to the diocese of Warmia at that time . The number of church members was small. It increased sharply after 1945 when Polish new settlers, almost without exception, of the Catholic denomination, settled here and dared to start again after the war. Today there are four Catholic churches in the city, of which the Church of St. John the Baptist is the oldest. The other three were created in the 1990s. These are the churches:

  • Św. Jana Chrzciciela
  • Św. Józefa Oblubieńca NMP
  • Matki Miłosierdzia Ostrobramskiej
  • Najświętszego Serca Pana Jezusa.

The churches are all incorporated into the Pisz deanery , which belongs to the Ełk diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland .

Deanery Masuria II / Johannisburg

The deanery district Masuria II existed until 1945 and comprised the places from more than nine East Prussian districts, which were divided into twelve parishes, one of which is now on Russian territory:

Surname Polish name Surname Polish name
Angerburg Węgorzewo Elk Ełk
Arys Orzysz Marggrabowa , also: Oletzko
1928–1945 Treuburg 		Olecko
Darkehmen
1938–1945 Angerapp 		Osjorsk Prawdzisken
1834–1945 Reiffenrode 		Prawdziska
Goldap Gołdap Rastenburg Kętrzyn
Johannisburg Pisz Sensburg Mrągowo
Soldering Giżycko Warpoon Warpuny

Deanery Pisz

Eleven parishes belong to the Deanery Pisz in the Diocese of Ełk :

Surname German name Surname German name
Jeże Walking Ruciane-Nida
MB Miłosierdzia Ostrobramskiej 		Rudczanny / Niedersee-Nieden
Kociołek Szlachecki Noble cauldron Ruciane-Nida
Troicy Świętej
Pisz
Św. Jana Chrzciciela		 Johannisburg Szarejki Sareyk / Sareiken
Pisz
Św. Józefa Oblubieńca NMP 		Turośl Turo shells / Mittenheide
Pisz
Matki Miłosierdzia Ostrobramskiej 		Wiartel Wiartel
Pisz
Najświętszego Serca Pana Jezusa

Ordensburg Johannisburg

Remains of the Johannisburg

The starting point for the development of Johannisburg was a fortification of the Teutonic Order , which the Grand Master Heinrich Dusemer had built in 1345 to protect the river crossing and to defend it against the neighboring Lithuanians . These attacked the fortress in 1361 and 1366 and conquered it with their second assault. The wooden facilities were set on fire and the crew evicted. After the Lithuanians withdrew from the area again, the cremated stronghold was replaced by a stone castle, which was completed in 1378. During the Prussian city war in 1455 and the equestrian war in 1520, the city of Johannisburg was cremated (probably also the castle?).

After the religious order was converted into a secular duchy in 1525, Albrecht I of Brandenburg-Ansbach took care of the economic development of the place. The castle was expanded, further fortified and designated as the seat of the governor. How closely the Duke was connected to the city of Johannisburg became clear when he stayed there during the plague year of 1549.

Remnants of the foundation walls have been preserved from the castle of the Teutonic Order.

Attractions

  • City church , new building in 1843 (largest half-timbered church in the region), the 35 m high tower of the old church has been preserved
  • Baptism angel (1704) taken over by Isaak Riga as church decoration in the new building
  • Town hall, relatively simple neo-Gothic building from the late 19th century
  • various town houses
  • Wall and cellar remains of the castle
  • wooded surroundings of the Johannisburger Heide
  • Water tower, built in 1907, converted in 2013

politics

In 1954, the Schleswig-Holstein district of Flensburg-Land (today Schleswig-Flensburg district) took over the sponsorship of the Johannisburg eV district community , an association of the displaced residents of Johannisburg. A partnership has existed between the Schleswig-Flensburg district and the city of Pisz since 1998.

local community

The town itself and 43 villages with school boards belong to the town and country community (gmina miejsko-wiejska) Pisz with an area of ​​634.8 km².

traffic

Street

Pisz is located at the intersection of two major Polish national roads :

The individual localities of the municipality are well networked with one another via secondary roads and country lanes.

rail

The Olsztyn – Ełk railway runs through the urban and rural commune . Up to 1945 there were two more railway lines: the Lötzen – Johannisburg railway and the Johannisburg – Fischborn railway (meanwhile to Kolno ). Both were no longer in operation in 1945 as a result of the war.

water

Pisz is located on the Masurian waterways and can be reached by houseboat. There are numerous marinas and hotels in the area. In the summer months there can be problems with the water level. The Pisa can only be navigated with houseboats with a shallow draft. Otherwise, Pisz is the final destination for houseboats.

air

The Gdansk Airport can be reached after a long journey.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

Sorted by year of birth

Other personalities associated with the city

literature

  • Johann Friedrich Goldbeck : Complete topography of the Kingdom of Prussia. Part I: Topography of East Prussia. Königsberg / Leipzig 1785, p. 39, no. 3).
  • Max Meyhöfer: Johannisburg. In: Erich Weise (Hrsg.): Handbook of historical sites . Volume: East and West Prussia (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 317). Unchanged reprint of the 1st edition 1966. Kröner, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-520-31701-X , pp. 92-93.
  • Ulf HW Wöbcke: Johannisburg in East Prussia. Streets, buildings, landscape and people, with a history and a list of residents, around 1900 to 1945. Developed from information from former Johannisburger… Kreisgemeinschaft Johannisburg, Barmstedt 2008.
  • Max Toeppen : About Prussian Lischken, towns and cities. A contribution to the history of the municipal constitutions in Prussia. In: Old Prussian monthly. Volume 4, Königsberg 1867, pp. 621-646, especially pp. 633-636.

Web links

Commons : Pisz  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Johansburg in the Topographia Electoratus Brandenburgici et Ducatus Pomeraniae (Matthäus Merian)  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christopher Clark : Prussia , p. 114.
  2. ↑ Herbert Marzian , Csaba Kenez : self-determination for East Germany. Documentation on the 50th anniversary of the East and West Prussian referendum on July 11, 1920. Göttinger Arbeitskreis , 1970, p. 74
  3. ^ Johann Friedrich Goldbeck : Complete topography of the Kingdom of Prussia . Part I: Topography of East Prussia , Königsberg / Leipzig 1785, p. 39, No. 3).
  4. ^ August Eduard Preuss: Prussian country and folklore . Königsberg 1835, pp. 457–458, no. 70.
  5. ^ A b c d e Michael Rademacher: German administrative history from the unification of the empire in 1871 to the reunification in 1990. Province of East Prussia, district of Johannisburg. (Online material for the dissertation, Osnabrück 2006).
  6. ^ Uli Schubert, community directory, district Johannisburg
  7. ^ Max Meyhöfer: Johannisburg . In: Erich Weise (Hrsg.): Handbook of historical sites. Volume: East and West Prussia (= Kröner's pocket edition. Volume 317). Unchanged reprint of the 1st edition 1966. Kröner, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-520-31701-X , pp. 92-93.
  8. ^ Church of St. Johannes in Johannisburg at ostpreussen.net
  9. ↑ Walther Hubatsch : History of the Protestant Church in East Prussia. Volume 2: Pictures of East Prussian churches. Göttingen 1968, p. 120, fig. 552–554
  10. ^ Evangelical Lutheran parish in Pisz
  11. ↑ Ukta -Ukta
  12. ↑ Walther Hubatsch: History of the Protestant Church in East Prussia. Volume 3: Documents. Göttingen 1968, pp. 490-491
  13. ^ Catholic parish in Pisz
  14. ^ Deanery Masuren II at GenWiki
  15. ↑ Johannes Petersen honorary citizen of Pisz. In: schleswig-flensburg.de , July 1, 2008