Nidzica

History

The settlement was originally founded by Old Prussians who established a small fortified fort and were subsequently invaded by Teutonic Knights in 1355, who then erected a small castle around 1376 It was again captured by the Poles in 1414. In 1455 a Teutonic attack was repulsed In 1656 the town was unsuccessfully besieged during the Northern Wars. The city suffered from fires in 1656, 1664, 1784 and 1804. In 16th century a significant part of inhabitants in surrounding countryside were Polish farmers. Neidenburg became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. Half of Neidenburg's inhabitants died from plague from 1708 to 1711. In 1758 the town was under Russian control. In 1831 a cholera epidemic broke out, which killed 218 people. Since 1840 the local German authorities issued decrees ordering to report any Poles fleeing from the Russian Partition of Poland. During the January Uprising local population was involved in smuggling and trading weapons to Polish fighters in Russian Empire. At the beginning of World War I in 1914, Neidenburg was heavily damaged by invading Imperial Russian troops; 167 residential and agricultural houses, 8 public and 58 business buildings were destroyed by artillery fire on 22 August 1914. The town was reconquered and rebuilt by the Germans after the Battle of Tannenberg later in August 1914. The reconstruction was originally based on plans by Bodo Ebhardt, however, his neo-gothic style was not carried out; instead, a neoclassicist style was preferred. As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, the East Prussian plebiscite was organized under the control of the League of Nations on 11 July 1920. The votes were 3,156 for remaining in Prussia and 17 for joining Poland. During the Kristallnacht riots in November 1938, the synagogue was…