(document from 1365) The area was a site of a border fort of the medieval Polish state. During the reign of
Bolesław III Wrymouth it was raised to the rank of a
castellany. During the period of
feudal fragmentation of Poland it was initially part of the
Duchy of Greater Poland and then subject of fighting between the Duchy and the
Margraviate of Brandenburg, which took control of it after 1296. It was sold by the Brandenburgians to the
Monastic Order of the Teutonic Knights in 1317, under the authority of the knights Burkhard and Heinrich von der Osten. However, in 1365 it became part of the
Kingdom of Poland, during the rule of King
Casimir III the Great, to be lost again to the Teutonic Knights in 1408. The town was neglected by the Teutonic Knights, the castle burned down, and parts of the town walls collapsed. In 1455, after the
Thirteen Years' War broke out, the Knights sold it back to Brandenburg in order to raise funds for war against Poland. Polish King
Casimir IV Jagiellon still made peaceful efforts to regain the city, but to no avail. In 1662 the town suffered a fire. In 1701 it became part of
Prussia. During the
Seven Years' War, from 1758 to 1762, the town was occupied by the Russians, who imposed high contributions on the inhabitants. As a result, some of the residents escaped, some were executed, and the Russians burned some of the buildings. A typhus epidemic also broke out. After the war, the destroyed parts of the fortifications were dismantled and the town was repopulated by settlers from
Poland, the
Dutch Republic and German states. After repopulation and the arrival of merchants from
Poznań and
Hamburg, the town prospered as a trade center. In 1775 the town received a
privilege from the
Polish Crown, allowing the sale of foreign
silk fabrics to Poland. Other goods were also sold there, including
oxen from Poland,
Hungarian wine and colonial products. During the
Napoleonic Wars French troops were stationed in the town. In 1831, several columns of Polish officers and soldiers marched through the town, fleeing the
Russian Partition of Poland after the failed
November Uprising. From 1871 to 1945 the town was part of Germany. After Poland regained independence after
World War I, the Polish-German border ran nearby, leaving the town on the German side. In the
interwar period, the local economy weakened, many residents emigrated to work in western Germany. In addition, attempts to
Germanize the
Polish population intensified, as a result of which some left for
Poland. Economic growth occurred in connection with the militarization of Germany by the
Nazis in the 1930s, and during
World War II many
forced laborers, mostly Poles, were brought to the town. After the war the town became again part of Poland, in accordance to the
Potsdam Conference. ==Notable people==