Tychowo
{{other places}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Tychowo
| settlement_type = Town
| image_skyline = Tychowo kz02.jpg
| image_caption = Aerial view of Tychowo
| image_flag =
| image_shield = POL gmina Tychowo COA.svg
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship
| subdivision_name1 = West Pomeranian
| subdivision_type2 = County
| subdivision_name2 = Białogard
| subdivision_type3 = Gmina
| subdivision_name3 = Tychowo
| established_title = First mentioned
| established_date = 1250
| established_title2 = Town rights
| established_date2 = 2010
| coordinates = {{coord|53|55|49|N|16|15|39|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}}
| pushpin_map = Poland
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| elevation_m =
| population_total = 2500
| timezone = CET
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = CEST
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| website = http://www.tychowo.pl
}}
Tychowo {{IPAc-pl|t|y|'|h|o|w|o}} ({{Langx|csb|Tëchòwò}}; {{langx|de|Groß Tychow}}) is a town in Białogard County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Tychowo.{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.pl/broker/access/prefile/listPreFiles.jspa |title=Central Statistical Office (GUS) - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal) |date=2008-06-01 |language=pl}} The town has an approximate population of 2,500.
Tychowo is a place with early medieval origins. It is known as the location of Trygław, the largest glacial erratic in Poland and one of the largest in Europe, and the location of a German-operated prisoner-of-war camp for Allied airmen of various nationalities during World War II.
Geography
History
File:Our Lady of Perpetual Help church in Tychowo (2).jpg Our Lady of Perpetual Help church]]
Tychowo dates back to an early medieval Slavic settlement.{{cite web|url=http://tychowo.pl/cms/18137/historia|title=Historia|website=Urząd Miejski w Tychowie|access-date=1 February 2020|language=pl}} The territory became part of the emerging Polish state under its first ruler Mieszko I around 967.{{cite magazine|last=Labuda|first=Gerard|year=1993|title=Chrystianizacja Pomorza (X–XIII stulecie)|magazine=Studia Gdańskie|language=pl|location=Gdańsk-Oliwa|volume=IX|page=47}} From the 12th century it was part of the Duchy of Pomerania, which split off from Poland as a result of the fragmentation of Poland into smaller duchies. The oldest known mention of the village comes from 1250. In the 15th century, the timber-framed church was built.
From 1701 the village was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, and from 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany. During World War II the Germans established the Stalag Luft IV prisoner-of-war camp. The prisoners were mainly Americans, but also the British, Canadians, Russians, Poles, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Czechs, French and one Norwegian.{{cite web|url=http://www.stalagluft4.org/luft%204%20reports.html|title=Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross Visit of Oct. 5 & 6, 1944 by Mr. Biner|website=stalagluft4.org|access-date=1 February 2020}} In February 1945, a German-perpetrated death march of Allied prisoners-of-war from the Stalag XX-B POW camp passed through the settlement.{{cite book|last=Kaszuba|first=Sylwia|editor-last=Grudziecka|editor-first=Beata|title=Stalag XX B: historia nieopowiedziana|language=pl|location=Malbork|publisher=Muzeum Miasta Malborka|pages=102, 109|chapter=Marsz 1945|isbn=978-83-950992-2-9}} After the war the region became part of Poland again according to the post-war Potsdam Agreement.
Tychowo was granted town rights in 2010.
Sights
Among the town's sights are the 15th-century timber-framed church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a manor park, dating back to the 18th century, Trygław, i.e. the largest glacial erratic in Poland and one of the largest in Europe, listed as a natural monument, and the memorial to Allied prisoners-of-war of the Stalag Luft IV German World War II POW camp.
Notable people
- Darius Kaiser (born 1961), Polish-born German racing cyclist
References
{{Commons category|Tychowo}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Gmina Tychowo}}
{{Authority control}}