Gorzów Wielkopolski
City center
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Miasto wielu możliwości City of many possibilities
Gorzów Wielkopolski
Coordinates: 52°44′N 15°15′E / 52.733, 15.25
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lubusz
County	city county
Established	13th century
Town rights	1257
Government
- Mayor	Tadeusz Jędrzejczak
Area
- Total	86 km² (33. A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Voivodeship The voivodeship or province (województwo has been a high-level Administrative subdivision of Poland since the 14th century Lubusz Voivodeship (also known as Lubusz Province or by its Polish name of województwo lubuskie or simply Lubuskie) is a voivodeship (province A powiat (pronounced; Polish plural powiaty) is the second-level unit of Local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a County Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 2 sq mi)
Elevation	19 m (62 ft)
Population (2006)
- Total	125,204
- Density	1,455. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 9/km² (3,770. 7/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	66-400 to 66-414
Area code(s)	+48 095
Car plates	FG
Website: http://www.gorzow.pl/

This article is about the town "Landsberg an der Warthe". Central European Time ( CET) is one of the names of the Time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. UTC+1 is used in the following locations Central European Time West Africa Time Western European Summer Time Daylight saving time ( DST Central European Summer Time ( CEST) is one of the names of UTC+2 Time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. UTC+2 corresponds to the following Time zones Eastern European Time Egypt Standard Time Central Africa Time A telephone numbering plan is a plan for allocating Telephone number ranges to countries regions areas and exchanges and to non-fixed telephone networks In common with many Countries, Polish car number plates indicate the Region of Registration of the Vehicle encoded in the number plate For other uses see Landsberg.

Gorzów Wielkopolski [ˈgɔʐuv vjɛlkɔˈpɔlski] ( listen) (abbreviated Gorzów Wlkp. ; German: Landsberg an der Warthe) is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river, with 125,780 inhabitants (2005). The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Warta (Warthe Varta is a River in western-central Poland, a tributary of the Oder river Since 1999, it is one of the two capitals of Lubusz Voivodeship (the other is Zielona Góra); previously, it was the capital of the Gorzów Voivodeship (1975-1998). Lubusz Voivodeship (also known as Lubusz Province or by its Polish name of województwo lubuskie or simply Lubuskie) is a voivodeship (province Zielona Góra Łódź Voivodeship Zielona Góra (Grünberg in Schlesien is a City in Lower Silesia, in western Poland, with 118730 inhabitants within Gorzów Wielkopolski Voivodeship (województwo gorzowskie was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975 - 1998, superseded

The biggest oil fields in Poland are located near Gorzów.

Etymology

The original German name Landsberg an der Warthe derives from the German words land or 'state' and berg or 'mountain', together with Warthe, the German name for the river Warta. The Warta (Warthe Varta is a River in western-central Poland, a tributary of the Oder river After 1945, the German name was translated roughly into Polish as Gorzów nad Wartą, or literally 'Gorzów on the Warta'. The name 'Gorzów' eventually stuck, beating the alternative name Kobylagora, or 'Mare Mountain', which survives today as the name of a street in the city. 'Gorzów' is said to be connected to the Polish word góra, or mountain, after the hilly landscape of Gorzów's hinterland. The word Wielkopolski or 'Great Poland', after the voivodeship of that name of which Gorzów was a part from 1946-1950, was added later. Greater Poland or Great Poland, Polish Wielkopolska (Großpolen Latin: Polonia Maior) is a historical region of west-central Poland Greater Poland Voivodeship (also known as Wielkopolska Province or by its Polish name of województwo wielkopolskie or simply Wielkopolskie) is a However, Gorzow itself is not part of historical region of Greater Poland.

History

Up until the mid-13th century, the land where the river Kłodawka meets the Warta was the location of a defensive fort established by Piast Poland^[1]. Piast dynasty is the name used since the 17th century for Polish Royal Dynasty that ruled Poland from its beginnings as Duchy ruled by Mieszko Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland In 1249 the Polish Duke Bolesław Rogatka sold Lubusz Land, including the site of present-day Gorzów, to the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the city of Landisberch Nova was founded on the site in 1257. Lubusz Land, ( Polish: ziemia lubuska, German: Land Lebus, Czech: Lubušsko) is a historical region in Poland The Margraviate of Brandenburg (Markgrafschaft Brandenburg was a major Principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 The city was at that time within the borders of the Neumark region of Brandenburg. The Neumark ( also known as the New March (Nowa Marchia or East Brandenburg ( was a region of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg, In the 16th century the city came under Lutheran control, with St. Mary's Cathedral changing its allegiance in 1537. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther St Mary's Cathedral ( Polish: Bazylika katedralna Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Marii Panny w Gorzowie Wielkopolskim, German: Mariä-Himmelfahrt-Dom

Landsberg became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. The Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918 and from 1871 was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising In 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars, it became part of Prussia's Province of Brandenburg. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions } The Province of Brandenburg (Provinz Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946 The city was included in the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany. The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification The unification of Germany took place on January 18, 1871, when Prussian Chief Minister Otto von Bismarck managed to unify a number of independent Before 1945 it had become thoroughly German in population, although in the early 20th century there were also sizable Jewish and Czech minorities. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Czechs (Češi ˈt͡ʃɛʃɪ archaic Čechové) are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic

In early 1945 during World War II Landsberg was heavily damaged by fighting between the Wehrmacht and the Soviet Red Army. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Red Army arrived in the city on 30 January 1945, approaching from the left bank of the river Warta. Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar The Wehrmacht had already evacuated most of the city, and the advancing forces met very little resistance. Over the course of the next few days, most of the city centre was destroyed, reportedly through the accidental spread of a fire started in order to light the outward march of the Red Army towards Küstrin. Kostrzyn nad Odrą ( Küstrin) is a Town in western Poland, at the confluence of the Oder and Warta rivers on the border with

The city was placed under Polish administration according to the post-war Potsdam Conference, and the remaining German population was expelled to western Germany. The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, Germany, from July 16, The expulsion of Germans after World War II was the Forced migration and Ethnic cleansing of German nationals ( Reichsdeutsche) and ethnic Between February and September 1945, the German population of the city dropped rapidly and was replaced more slowly by Polish settlers. The Polish people, or Poles, (Polacy) are a Western Slavic Ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. Although they mainly came from central Poland, especially Greater Poland, there were also large numbers of migrants from eastern Polish lands annexed by the Soviet Union. Greater Poland or Great Poland, Polish Wielkopolska (Großpolen Latin: Polonia Maior) is a historical region of west-central Poland After the Soviet invasion of Poland following the corresponding German invasion that marked the start of World War II in 1939 the Soviet Union annexed It was at this time that Gorzów's significant Tatar and Romani communities arrived. Tatars ( Tatar: Tatarlar/Татарлар sometimes spelled Tartars, are a Turkic -speaking ethnic group or multiple ethnic groups The last original German inhabitants left in the early 1950s.

Main attractions

Modern additions to the old market square

Although the centre of Gorzów was heavily damaged during the second world war, there are still many notable tourist attractions in the city. The largest of these is the gothic, red-brick Gorzów Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, dating from the end of the 13th century, situated on the old market square. St Mary's Cathedral ( Polish: Bazylika katedralna Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Marii Panny w Gorzowie Wielkopolskim, German: Mariä-Himmelfahrt-Dom The city centre is overwhelmingly comprised of Communist-era buildings, although many have been beautified, most notably those around the old market square. Many of the facades of the buildings in the centre were renovated in anticipation of the visit of Pope John Paul II to Gorzów in 1997.

Due to the large number of parks and green spaces, Gorzów has been termed 'the city of parks and gardens'. In addition to the central Park of Roses (Park Róż), there is also a viewing area on the hilltop of Siemiradzki Park which commands impressive views across the plains and woods to the south of the city. Henryk Siemiradzki (1843-1902 was a Polish Academic painter He was particularly known for his depictions of scenes from the ancient Graeco-Roman world and the

The Spichlerz (City Granary)

The city also contains the museum of Lubusz Voivodeship, which is divided between two sites. Lubusz Voivodeship (also known as Lubusz Province or by its Polish name of województwo lubuskie or simply Lubuskie) is a voivodeship (province The Spichlerz or 'granary' dates from the 18th century and can be found on the left bank of the Warta. The Warta (Warthe Varta is a River in western-central Poland, a tributary of the Oder river The museum, housed inside, frequently plays host to art exhibitions and has a permanent collection of artifacts and photographs relating to the history of the city. The other part of the museum, on Warszawska street, is housed in the secessionist villa of Gustav Schroeder. Secession (derived from the Latin term secessio is the act of withdrawing from an organization union or especially a political entity This section contains a wide range of artifacts, ranging from 17th century portraits, to weapons, pottery, and the biedermeier interior furnishings of the villa itself. In Central Europe, Biedermeier refers to work in the fields of literature music the visual arts and interior design in the period between the years 1815 ( Vienna Congress

The Gorzów Jewish cemetery is located on the western edge of the city. A Jewish cemetery (Hebr בית עלמין " Beth Olamin " serves as any other Cemetery for the burial of the dead and holds other qualities which are Although the cemetery was vandalised in the 1930s, a number of graves still remain intact.

Culture

Gorzów is well known for the International Romani Gathering (Międzynarodowe Spotkanie Cygańskie) Romane Dyvesa which is held every summer on the first week of July. The gathering includes a series of concerts held in the outdoor amphitheatre near the centre of the city. An amphitheatre (alternatively amphitheater) is an open-air venue for spectator sports concerts rallies or theatrical performances The festival is organised by Edward Dębicki, the founder of the Romani music group Terno, which also performs as part of the series of concerts. Edward Dębicki (born 4 March 1935) is a Polish Romani Poet, Musician and Composer. Terno (the Young founded in 1953 is a Polish Romani Music collective.

Romane Dyvesa continues Gorzów's strong tradition of Romani culture, of which the most widely known member was the poet Bronisława Wajs, often known as Papusza. Bronisława Wajs ( 17 August 1908, Lublin - 8 February 1987, Inowrocław) was a Polish - Romani classic Bronisława Wajs ( 17 August 1908, Lublin - 8 February 1987, Inowrocław) was a Polish - Romani classic Wajs's former home on Kosynierów Gdyńskich street is marked with a plaque, as is the main city library on Sikorskiego street. The library itself holds a collection of books about Papusza, as well as the manuscripts of her correspondence with Julian Tuwim. Julian Tuwim (the Surname comes from the Hebrew "טובים" " tovim," "good" September 13, 1894

Universities and colleges

• Panstwowa Wyzsza Szkola Zawodowa w Gorzowie Wlkp. Homepage
• Poznan University School of Physical Education - Faculty of Physical Education in Gorzów Wielkopolski Faculty homepage
• Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu w Gorzowie Wlkp. Homepage
• College of English in Gorzów Wielkopolski. Homepage
• Wyzsza Informatyczna Szkola Zawodowa w Gorzowie Wlkp. Homepage
• Poznan University of Medical Sciences - University Teaching Center in Gorzów Wielkopolski

Sports

• Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski - Motorcycle speedway
• AZS PWSZ Gorzów Wielkopolski - women basketball team
• Stilon Gorzów - 3rd league football team
• AZS AWF Gorzów Wielkopolski men's handball team extraclass league

Politics

Gorzów Wielkopolski cathedral

Gorzow Wielkopolski/Zielona Gora constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from this constituency

• Dariusz Bachalski, PO
• Andrzej Brachmański, SLD-UP
• Jakub Derech-Krzycki, SLD-UP
• Stanisław Gudzowski, LPR
• Jan Kochanowski, SLD-UP
• Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, PiS
• Henryk Ostrowski, Samoobrona
• Alfred Owoc, SLD-UP
• Robert Smoleń, SLD-UP
• Franciszek Wołowicz, SLD-UP
• Bogusław Wontor, SLD-UP
• Józef Zych, PSL

Famous people

Wełniany Rynek street in Gorzów old town

• Gottfried Bernhardy (1800-1875), philologist and literary historian
• Edward Dębicki (born 1935) Romani poet, composer and musician
• Zenon Jaskula (born 1962), bicyclist
• Marie Juchacz (1879-1956), feminist
• Victor Klemperer (1881-1960), author and literary scientist
• Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz (born 1959), former Prime Minister of Poland
• Kurt Scharf (1902–1990), Lutheran bischop of Berlin
• Arthur Moritz Schönflies (1853-1928), mathematician
• Bronisława Wajs (1908-1987), Romani poet
• Christa Wolf (born 1929), writer and literary critic

Twin towns

• Cava de' Tirreni
• Eberswalde
• Frankfurt (Oder)
• Herford
• Verden (Aller)
• Jönköping
• Hazleton, Pennsylvania

References

1. ^ Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN Warsaw 1976

External links

• The official website of Gorzów Wielkopolski
• Website of Gorzów Wielkopolski