Tczew ([tt͡ʂɛf] ⓘ, Kashubian: Dërszewò; formerly German: Dirschauⓘ) is a city on the Vistula River in Eastern Pomerania, Kociewie, northern Poland with 59,111 inhabitants (December 2021).

In order to obtain better control of traffic on the Vistula, Pomeranian Duke Sambor II moved his residence from Lubiszewo Tczewskie to Tczew.

[4][7] In 1457, during the Thirteen Years’ War, Bohemian mercenaries on the Order's service sold Tczew to Poland in lieu of indemnities.

In 1626, it was occupied by king Gustav II Adolf of Sweden, who built a pontoon bridge across river Vistula and who had his camp at the southern side of the town.

In a nearby battle on 2 September 1657, the Poles were defeated by the combined troops of Brandenburg and Sweden under general Josias II, Count of Waldeck-Wildungen.

[11] With the unification of Germany, the town became part of the German Empire in 1871 and from 1887 was the capital of the Dirschau district in the province of West Prussia.

The town grew rapidly during the 19th century after the opening of the Prussian Eastern Railway line connecting Berlin and Königsberg, with the Vistula bridge near Dirschau being an important part.

The German official Heinrich Mettenmeyer wrote that German-appointed teachers were treated with the highest disdain by Polish children and their parents.

The town became a center of cultural activities of the German minority in Poland, a German-language school and a theater was founded.

[3] According to the city's website, Tczew was the location of the start of World War II when German bombers attacked Polish sapper installations to prevent the bridges from being blown up at 04:34 on 1 September 1939 (the shelling of Westerplatte commenced at 04:45).

[15] During the German occupation of Poland (1939–45) Tczew, as Dirschau, was annexed into the newly formed province of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia of Nazi Germany.

[16] The Germans imprisoned hundreds of Poles in camps established in a former factory (present-day museum), in a craft school and in military barracks.

[19] In January 1940, the SS and Selbstschutz carried out two public executions of 33 Polish residents, including railway employees, officials, craftsmen and merchants, at the market square.

[20] Also Poles from Starogard and Tuchola counties, who refused to sign the Volksliste, were imprisoned in Tczew and then murdered in a nearby forest.

[22] In 1941, the Germans created a transition camp for Poles expelled from the region in a local factory (present-day museum).

[3] The coat of arms of Tczew depicts a red griffin in honor of Duke Sambor II, who granted the town municipal rights in 1260.