Sulęcin

For other places with the same name, see Sulęcin (disambiguation).

Sulęcin
School in Sulęcin
Flag Coat of arms
Sulęcin
Coordinates: 52°27′N 15°7′E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lubusz
County	Sulęcin County
Gmina	Gmina Sulęcin
Town rights	1244
Government
• Mayor	Michał Deptuch
Area
• Total	8.56 km2 (3.31 sq mi)
Population  (2008)
• Total	10,638
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	69-200
Area code	+48 95
Car plates	FSU
Website	http://www.sulecin.pl

Sulęcin [suˈlɛnt͡ɕin] (German: Zielenzig) is a town in western Poland with 10,638 inhabitants (2008), the capital of Sulecin County, since 1999 in Lubusz Voivodeship.

Geography

Sulęcin is located in the centre of Lubusz Voivodeship, by the river Postomia, tributary of the Warta River. The surrounding landscape is formed by many hillocks on the plateau of Lubusz. The highest of them is the Bukowiec (227 m). The closest big city is Gorzów Wielkopolski (45 km). Over 50% of the area of the Sulecin Commune is occupied by forests.

History

Excavations have shown that the area around Sulęcin was inhabited already in the 2nd century BC. The city developed from a Slavonian settlement and was mentioned for the first time in documents in 1241. Until the 12th century under dominion of the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty, the town with 10 surrounding villages was handed over by Henry I the Bearded to Mroczko from Pogorzela, who in 1244 gave it to the Knights Templar. In 1249 Sulęcin became a part of March of Brandenburg. In 1269 Otto, the Margrave of Brandenburg ordered to build a castle in the town. After disbanding of the Knights Templar Order by Pope Clement V in 1312 Sulęcin was ruled by the Knights Hospitaller. They leased the city in 1318 to the Brandenburg Margrave Woldemar. Eight years later the city was reclaimed by the Knights Hospitaller Order and stayed under their supremacy until 1810.

In 1419 Sulęcin suffered a severe damage, as the Hussite Wars reached the city. In 1733 Frederick William I, King of Prussia visited the town. As a result of the new Prussian district division of 1818 a new district Landkreis Sternberg was established. Sulęcin was the capital of it until 1852. In 1873 Sternberg was divided into Landkreis Oststernberg with Sulęcin as a capital and Landkreis Weststernberg. At that time the city's industry was based on textile production and mills. In the middle of the 19th century the number of inhabitants reached 4500. After the discovery of lignite in the vicinity of the city a briquette factory was set up in Sulęcin. This led to the development of infrastructure and resulted in an increase of the population to 5769 inhabitants in 1885. After World War I a number of companies involved in timber processing set up in the town. The number of residents in 1939 according to the last German census was 5867.

Main square view on postcard, 1905

On 2 May 1945 Sulęcin was taken by the Red Army. Although there was no resistance, the houses in the city center were plundured by the soldiers and set on fire. As a result, around 50% of Sulęcin was completely destroyed. The ethnic German population was expelled. After World War II Sulęcin became part of Poland. It was initially renamed as "Cielęcin" between 1945 and 1946. In the years 1945 - 1975 it was capital of county at first in Poznan Voivodeship (1946-1950), laterly Zielona Gora Voivodeship (1950-1975). It was demoted as a gmina center in Międzyrzecz powiat of Gorzow Wielkopolski Voivodeship between 1975 and 1999. It has been a county center in Lubusz Voivodeship since 1999.

Education

• Szkoła Podstawowa im. Polskich Olimpijczyków - Primary School Homepage
• Gimnazjum im. Jana Pawła II - Secondary School Homepage
• I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Adama Mickiewicza - High School Homepage
• Zespół szkół licealnych i zawodowych - High School Homepage

Monuments

• St Nikolaus gothic church built by Knights Templar, rebuilt after war damage of 1945
• Old town houses from 18th and 19th century
• Defensive walls with remains of gates and a tower

Notable residents

• Ernst Krause (1839–1903) German biologist
• Ulli Lommel (born 1944), German actor
• Siegfried Schnell (1916–1944), Luftwaffe officer

International relations

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

Twin towns — Sister cities

Sulęcin is twinned with:

• Beeskow, Germany
• Kamen, Germany
• Friedland, Germany
• Nowy Tomyśl, Poland

External links

• Official town website
• Jewish Community in Sulęcin on Virtual Shtetl