Mieszkowice

In the High Middle Ages, a Slavic settlement existed there, located on a trade route connecting Lubusz Land with Pomerania.[1] Also there are remains of a Slavic fortress nearby.[2] The area became part of the emerging Polish state under its first ruler Mieszko I of Poland in 963.[3] Later it was part of Pomerania, and then Greater Poland within fragmented Poland,[1][4] until its annexation by the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg in the 1284,[5] who then founded the town at the site.[6]

Church of the Transfiguration

The first record of Bärwalde is a 1295[6] deed under the name of Berenwalde. Most likely, the settlement was owned by a knight of the von Behr family.[6][2] The settlement was developed following a grid of rectangular streets with a central market place.[2] In 1297, St. Mary's Church was first mentioned,[7] and another document gives 1298 as the year when Bärwalde was granted German town law.[6][2] In the late 13th and early 14th century the city walls were constructed,[8] much of which still exist, while the city gates were pulled down in 1867.

In 1319, the last Ascanian margrave Waldemar died in the town,[2] After his death a war broke out over control of the region, and the town came again under control of the Duchy of Pomerania,[9] but it fell back to Brandenburg after 1328. Therefater, throughout the 14th century, Bärwalde was subordinated directly to the Holy Roman Emperor and the regional center to 29 surrounding villages.[2] During this period, it was strongly affected by the Waldensians (Waldenser) movement.[2] Since 1353 coins for Brandenburg's New March were struck at the Bärwalde mint.

In 1373, the region became part of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown Lands, ruled by the Luxembourg dynasty. In 1402, the Luxembourgs reached an agreement with Poland in Kraków, according to which Poland was to purchase and re-incorporate the region,[10] but eventually the Luxembourgs sold it to the Teutonic Order. Under Teutonic rule, the region was neglected, resulting in the town's economic decline, and robberies became widespread.[5] In addition, in the course of the Polish–Teutonic War the town was burnt down in 1433 by Hussite forces marching through. When another Polish-Teutonic war broke out in 1454, the Teutonic Knights sold the region to Brandenburg in order to raise funds for war.

The town suffered fires in 1540 and 1568.[5] During the Thirty Years' War, the Swedish field marshal Gustav Horn on 23 January 1631 signed the Treaty of Bärwalde with France[11] against Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg, whereafter the town was devastated by Swedish and Imperial troops several times. The devastations of the war resulted in a severe population drop: only 30 inhabitants remained.[11] From 1650 to 1673 Elias Loccelius, also known as Elias Lockelius or Löckel, (1621–1704) was pastor in Bärwalde and from there he moved to Drossen (today Ośno Lubuskie). He is known as a chronicler of the New March and was an electoral church inspector for Torzym Land (at that time Sternberg Land) as well. Löckel documented the wartime devastation of the area, including Bärwalde, in his Marchia Illustrata.[11]

Old timber-framed houses

Over the next centuries, the town slowly recovered: in 1750, it had about 1,500 inhabitants, and more than 3,500 in 1850, occupied primarily with agriculture.[11] From that period, several 18th-century timber framed buildings and the early 19th-century town hall are preserved.[7] During the Napoleonic Wars and Polish national liberation fights, in 1807, French and Polish troops marched through the town.[12] When the Kingdom of Prussia reformed her administrative organization after the Napoleonic Wars, the town became part of the Province of Brandenburg created from the territory of the former margraviate. In 1853 a railroad connected it with Kostschin (Kostrzyn). Twenty- three years later the town was connected with Stettin (Szczecin). From 1871 to 1945, the town was also part of Germany. During World War II, under Nazi Germany, forced laborers, mostly Poles, worked in the town.[13] The town was captured on 4 February 1945 by the Red Army during the Vistula–Oder Offensive in the final period of World War II, and as it was east of the Oder-Neisse line, became again part of Poland. Only 30% of the town was destroyed.[14] The remaining inhabitants were expelled and the town was resettled by Poles, including settlers from Central Poland and expellees from former Eastern Poland (Kresy).[8] Bärwalde was first renamed Barwice, later Mieszkowice after Mieszko I of Poland.[15] The final name was chosen for political purposes: the Communist regime sought to legitimize its presence at the Oder by referring to the medieval Piast dynasty, whose territory had also extended to the Oder, and propagated the "return" to ancient Polish lands.[8] To that effect, a legend was popularized in Mieszkowice, linking the town's foundation to a hunting expedition of Mieszko I: Allegedly, the town was founded at a spot where Mieszko once slew two bears.[6] In 1957, a statue of Mieszko I created by Sławomir Lewiński was unveiled on the town square.[6]

Development of Mieszkowice continued in the following years, especially in the period between 1970 and 1992 when many new buildings were constructed. In 1997 the whole town was connected to the gas pipeline. In 1998 a new sport centre was opened. Until 1998, Mieszkowice was administratively part of the Szczecin Voivodeship. Since 2007, a ferry service connects Mieszkowice with Güstebieser Loose on the opposite bank of the Oder.[14]