Braniewo

Braniewo ([braˈɲɛvɔ]) (German: Braunsberg in Ostpreußen, Latin: Brunsberga, Old Prussian: Brus), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021.

The Polish border with Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast lies 6 km north, and may be reached from Braniewo via National road 54.

According to the German geographer Johann Friedrich Goldbeck (1748–1812), the town originally was named Brunsberg after Bruno von Schauenburg (1205–1281), bishop of Olomouc in Moravia, who accompanied King Ottokar II of Bohemia in 1254 and 1267 when the latter participated in the crusade of the Teutonic Knights against the Old Prussians.

As the most important trading and harbor city in Warmia, the town prospered as member of the Hanseatic League, which it remained until 1608.

In 1440, the town was one of the founding members of the Prussian Confederation, which opposed Teutonic rule,[3] and upon the request of which King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the territory to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454.

In Warmia, Lutheran teachings again were suppressed when Prince-Bishop Stanislaus Hosius (1504–1579) brought in the Jesuits and founded the Collegium Hosianum school.

Among the students of the school were Polish Catholic Saint Andrew Bobola, Polish statesmen and high dignitaries Mikołaj Zebrzydowski[6] and Piotr Gembicki, Europe's most prominent 17th-century Latin poet Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski,[7] missionary, explorer, mathematician, astronomer and sinologist Jan Mikołaj Smogulecki,[8] and Primate of Poland Gabriel Podoski.

Regina Protmann (1552–1613), a native of Braunsberg (Braniewo), founded the Saint Catherine Order of Sisters in the town, recognized by the church in 1583.

The Jesuit theologian Antonius Possevinus was instrumental in enlarging the Collegium Hosianum in the 1580s to counter the growing Protestant movement.

After three and a half years of savage warfare, Soviet forces began their assault on German land by attacking East Prussia on Jan. 13, 1945.

Remains of the Braniewo Castle
17th-century view of the town (from Altes und neues Preussen , Christoph Hartknoch )
Potocki Palace
Collegium Hosianum and defensive walls