Brodnica

Sister cities

• Kėdainiai
• Strasburg
• Kristinehamn Municipality

History

The territory formed part of Poland after the country's establishment in the 10th century. The settlement of Michałowo (present-day neighbourhood of Brodnica) was established, which by 1240 became the seat of a castellany. Michałowo was a local administrative, military, judicial, commercial and religious center. It was located on an important trade route connecting Mazovia and Pomesania, and in 1252 a customs chamber was mentioned. The first reference to the town dates from 1263, when the area was part of the State of the Teutonic Order. In 1285–1370 the construction of the Gothic Church of St. Catherine took place. The settlement received town privileges in 1298 under the German name . In 1414, a Polish–Teutonic truce was signed there, ending the Hunger War. In 1440, the town was one of the founding members of the Prussian Confederation, which opposed Teutonic rule, and upon the request of which King Casimir IV Jagiellon reincorporated the territory to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454. On 28 May 1454 the town pledged allegiance to the Polish King in Thorn (Toruń). After the end of the Thirteen Years' War, the Teutonic Knights renounced claims to the town, and recognized it as part of Poland. It became a royal town of the Polish Crown, administratively located in the Chełmno Voivodeship in the provinces of Royal Prussia and Greater Poland. In the Teutonic state the town was the seat of the Commander; in the Polish Kingdom it was the capital of the district starosty, and the former Commander's lands were then royal property. A favourable location on the intersection of important routes used for transportation of different goods (wood, fish, furs, animal skin, grain, wool) accelerated the development of the town, making it an important trading centre, the status still…

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  631
• Great Spotted Woodpecker

  Dendrocopos major (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  622
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  547
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  528
• Common Crane

  Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  486
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  462
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow

  Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  427
• Eurasian Jay

  Garrulus glandarius (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  403