Darłowo (; ; ) is a seaside town on the Slovincian Coast of north-western Poland, south of the Baltic Sea, with 13,324 inhabitants as of December 2021. Administratively, it is located in Sławno County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The earliest archaeological signs of a settlement in the area occurred when Roman merchants travelled along the Amber Road in the hope of trading precious metals like bronze and silver for amber. By the 11th century the location of the later town was already becoming a significant trading point. Over the years Dukes of Pomerania constructed a Ducal Castle on a nearby island and chose it as their seat. It was here that the largest artillery piece in the world, Schwerer Gustav, was constructed and tested by Nazi Germany during World War II.
The original medieval outline of Darłowo has been preserved to this day. The Old Town, Ducal Castle and local beaches are popular among holidaymakers. Darłowo is also an important historical centre as it is the birthplace and burial site of Eric of Pomerania, King of Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Geography
History After the last Ice-age had ended at about 8000 BC, settlers of the Stone Age first populated the region.As an example, near to the village of Słowino, away from the town, a axe with a shaft hole, made from diorite, has been found, cf. 40. Jahresbericht der pommerschen Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Altertumskunde, 1877/1878, p. 463. Around 100 AD the region of the later town was inhabited by the East Germanic tribe of the Rugii. According to Ptolemy at the site of the later city was a settlement called Rugium.
Middle Ages In the 10th century, the region became part of the emerging country of Poland under its first ruler Mieszko I. By the eleventh century a fortress named Dirlow, (or Dirlovo) existed where the River Wieprza entered the Baltic.E. Walter: Über Altertümer und Ausgrabungen in Pommern, Jahresbericht der Gesellschaft für pommersche Geschichte und Altertumskunde, 1. Mai 1914 bis 31. März 1915, Vol. 77, p. 280. From this fortress, the district of Dirlow was administered, which belonged to the castellany of Sławno. A town was later founded in the district of Dirlow, but not at the location of the fortress itself. Following Poland's fragmentation, it was at various times part of the western and eastern duchies of Pomerania.
The town was probably founded in 1270 by Vitslav II of the Danish Principality of Rügen, at that time also ruler of the Lands of Sławno and Słupsk. The first mention of the town is in a document of 5 February 1271.Der Kreis Schlawe – Ein pommersches Heimatbuch (edited by Manfred Vollack and Ernst Hubert Michaelis, Heimatkreisausschuss Schlawe), Husum Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Husum 1986, p. 698, The settlement decayed.Rembert Unterstell: Klio in Pommern – Die Geschichte der pommerschen Historiographie 1815 bis 1945, Böhlau, 1996, p.81,
The town was destroyed in 1283 during a conflict between Vitslav II and Mestwin II (Polish: Mszczuj or Mściwój).Wielka Encyklopedia PWN [Great Encyclopaedia of Polish Scientific Publishing House], Warsaw 2001–2005, article on Darłowo. In a chronicle of 1652, Matthäus Merian stated that the town had been destroyed by Bogislaw of Pomerania, when after Mestwin's II death in December 1294 the Duke Przemysł II (future king) of Poland acquired the town, as a consequence of Treaty of Kępno.
In 1308, the town along with the coastal region of Poland was invaded and occupied by Brandenburg. The town was rebuilt and on 21 May 1312, it was granted Lübeck law under the administration of the noble brothers John, Peter, and LawrenceIn the "Handfeste" document the brothers call themselves: "Petrus dei gracia comes de Nuwenburg et domines Johannes et Laurentius, felicis memoriae dominis Suensones filii"; in another document of 9 October 1313 they call themselves "Petrus, Jasco et Laurencius germani, dicti de Nuwenborch"; cites from Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum: Die Geschichtsquellen der Preussischen Vorzeit bis zum Untergange der Ordensherrschaft of the Swienca family,Eberhard Völker, Pommern und Ostbrandenburger, 2000, p.37, vassals of the Brandenburg margraves since 1308.Radosław Gaziński, Paweł Gut, Maciej Szukała, Peter Oliver Loew, Archiwum Państwowe w Szczecinie, Poland Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych, Archiwum Państwowe w Szczecinie, Poland, Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych, Staatsarchiv Stettin- Wegweiser durch die Bestände bis zum Jahr 1945, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2004, p.336 The Brandenburg margraves undertook in 1308 a campaign against Gdańsk, Poland.Werner Buchholz: Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp.77–80, Jan M Piskorski: Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, p. 68, : rough translation: "In 1308 the Brandenburgians subdued the areas of Stolp, Schlawe, and Danzig. Despite their eviction from Danzig by the Teutonic knights, they stayed in charge of the mouths of the Wipper and Stolpe rivers."
The town passed to the Duchy of Pomerania in 1347,Werner Buchholz: Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.105, at that time ruled by the brothers Bogislaw V, Wartislaw V, and Barnim IV of the House of Pomerania dynasty. Bogislaw, son-in-law of king Casimir III of Poland, would become ruler of the area after the partition of Pomerania-Wolgast in 1368. This part duchy was known as Pomerania-Stolp (Duchy of Słupsk). Duke Bogislaw VIII, a Polish vassal, tried to direct Polish Baltic trade to the Port of Darłowo, but without success.K. Kozłowski, J. Podralski, Gryfici. Książęta Pomorza Zachodniego, Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Szczecin, 1985, p. 73.
Transition to modern times In 1352 the construction of the castle began, and co-operation with the Hanseatic League was initiated, with the town becoming a full member of the organization in 1412. The town had its own trade fleet, larger than in other surrounding towns; it actively traded with Lübeck, while boats and ships owned by local merchants travelled as far as Normandy and Spain. In 1382 Eric of Pomerania, later the king of Norway, Denmark and Sweden, was born in the town. After losing his thrones, he returned to his birthplace and began to expand his duchy. After his death in 1459, he was buried in St. Mary's Church. After Eric's death, the town was ruled by Duke Eric II of Pomerania-Wolgast.Gustav Kratz: Die Städte der Provinz Pommern, Vaduz: Sändig Reprint Verlag, 1996 (unchanged reprint of the edition of 1886), p. 332.
Another significant ruler was Bogislaw X (1454–1523) under whose administration sea trade with the Hanseatic League and land trade with Poland grew increasing the prosperity of the area.
The town suffered a series of natural disasters. In 1497 and 1552 the harbour of the town, known in German as Rügenwaldermünde, and parts of the town were hit by great storms. Ships which broke from their moorings were seen drifting in the vicinity of the town and of the neighbouring village of Suckow. In 1589, 1624, 1648, 1679 and 1722 fires damaged the town.
From 1569 to 1622, it was the capital of a small eponymous duchy, and afterwards it was again part of the Duchy of Pomerania. After the death of the last Pomeranian Duke Bogislaw XIV in 1637, the end of the contemporary Thirty Years' War in 1648 and the subsequent partition of the Duchy of Pomerania between the Swedish Empire and Brandenburg-Prussia in the Peace of Westphalia and the Treaty of Stettin (1653), Brandenburg included Farther Pomerania with Rügenwalde in her Pomeranian province. Following the annexation by Brandenburg the town entered a period of economic stagnation. The harbour of Rügenwaldermünde was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War by imperial troops, and was reconstructed by order of King Frederick II of Prussia not before 1772. The first lighthouse was built around the year 1715.
19th and early 20th centuries During the Napoleonic Wars some of Rügenwalde's inhabitants, in particular ship owners and businessmen, profited from smuggling British goods to the continent. In 1871 the town, along with Prussia, became a part of the German Empire. A railway reached the town in 1878, providing connections with Danzig (Gdańsk) and Stettin (Szczecin). It simultaneously became a popular health resort, mainly due to the exceptional climate. The Royal Swedish Vice Consulate was located in the town in 1859–1901 (Vice Consul Bertold August Riensberg, b. 1823) and in 1914–1936 (Vice Consul Albert Rubensohn, b. 1879).
In 1935 the German Army , designed for testing heavy guns, including long-range railway guns such as Krupp K5, was built between Rügenwalde's harbour Rügenwaldermünde and the village of Suckow.Ulrich Ziervogel: Der Schießplatz in Rügenwalde-Bad, in: Der Kreis Schlawe – Ein pommersches Heimatbuch (M. Vollack, Hrsg.), Vol. I: Der Kreis als Ganzes, Husum 1986, . pp. 294–296. Some of the largest guns in military history were tested here: Schwerer Gustav and Mörser Karl. Gun barrels with a length of up to were tested. For long-distance tests, target areas within the Baltic Sea North of Großmöllendorf and Henkenhagen (about away from Rügenwaldermünde) and North of Dievenow and Swinemünde ( away) were used. The test site was visited by high-ranking officers of the German Army, Air Force and Navy, including Admiral of the Fleet Erich Raeder and field marshals von Rundstedt, Wilhelm Keitel and Hermann Göring.
During World War II, the German Nazi government operated a forced labour subcamp of the Stalag II-B prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs in the town. During World War II the town was used to house families made homeless after the Allied bombing of Hagen and Bochum in the Ruhr district. Shortly before the end of World War II, numerous German refugees from the provinces of East Prussia and Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia arrived in the region. In early 1945, about 5,600 people escaped by ships of Operation Hannibal before Soviet Troops reached the town on 7 March 1945. About 3,500 citizens remained in the town or returned again after failing to escape.Carlheinz Rosenow: Rügenwalde and der Ostsee – Kleine Geschichte der Heimatstadt, in: Der Kreis Schlawe, Vol. II, Husum 1989, pp. 687–698.
After the end of World War II
Following the defeat of Nazi Germany, border changes promulgated at the Potsdam Conference assigned the town once again to Poland, and its German population was expelled.Manfred Vollack (ed.): Der Kreis Schlawe, Vol. I: Der Kreis als Ganzes, Vol. II: Die Städte und Landgemeinden, Husum 1986/1989. The first expulsion of the surviving German inhabitants took place on 17 October 1945, followed by a series of further expulsions beginning on 17 August 1946. In 1949 only about 70 Germans were left in the town. In 1946–47, the town was repopulated with Poles and Lemkos, who partly came from what had been eastern Poland but was annexed by the Soviet Union. The town was given the Polish name Dyrłów, and later Darłów, before changing to the current name.
The German name Rügenwalde was best known in Germany for the production of the Rügenwalder Teewurst in the town; after World War II the production was restarted in West Germany under the old name.
From 1950 to 1998, it was administratively located in the Koszalin Voivodeship.
Today the Polish Darłowo is a summer resort. A coast aquapark with desalinated seawater is available there, the only one in Poland.
Main sights
The entire Old Town area in Darłowo has been entirely preserved. Darłowo has maintained the unique medieval urban planning with the main square in the middle of the town. During medieval times the town was surrounded by walls and had four gates; only one gate, Brama Wysoka (High Gate), has survived in a fairly original shape.
Castle of Pomeranian Dukes