Czarne

Sister cities

• Langlingen

History

The area formed part of Poland until the Teutonic invasion in 1309. Konrad von Jungingen granted the settlement town privileges in 1395. It lay on the bank of the Czarna river, hence its name. It was an important trade and military point due to the nearby Teutonic Order and Pomeranian frontier. In 1454 the town and region were reincorporated to Poland by King Casimir IV Jagiellon. Afterwards the castle and town were defended against Teutonic attacks. Following the Thirteen Years' War, according to the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), it was confirmed as part of Poland. Since then the town was part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in the Polish province of Royal Prussia, and later also in the Greater Poland Province. Czarne was the seat of the starosts (local royal administrators), they resided in the local castle. In 1627, it was site of the Battle of Czarne, in which Poles under the command of Stanisław Koniecpolski defeated the invading Swedes. After the First Partition of Poland in 1772 the town was annexed by Prussia. It became part of the newly established Province of West Prussia in 1773. Prussian authorities ordered the demolition of the Czarne castle. The town was captured by Poles in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars and Polish national liberation fights. A railway line from Chojnice via Czarne to Szczecinek was opened in 1878. After the war, the former camp housed German civilians fleeing Soviet Russia and Poles so that they would be prevented from participating in the Greater Poland uprising of 1918–1919 and joining the nascent Polish army. and Polish civilians from Soviet captivity mistakenly classified as POWs, of which tens of thousands, mainly Soviets, died from disease, mistreatment and malnutrition. From June to October 1941, the town was the location of…

Most-observed species

• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  36
• Roman Snail

  Helix pomatia Linnaeus, 1758 · Gastropoda
  33
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  30
• Mute Swan

  Cygnus olor (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  30
• Common Crane

  Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  28
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  26
• Great Crested Grebe

  Podiceps cristatus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  24
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  22