Chojna

Chojna (Königsberg in der Neumark; ; Regiomontanus Neomarchicus "King's Mountain in the New March") is a small town in northwestern Poland in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It lies approximately south of Szczecin. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 7,330. but eventually the Luxembourgs pawned it to the Teutonic Order. The Church of St. Mary and the new town hall (1410) built during this time were some of the most aesthetically pleasing Gothic buildings in the New March. The strong town withstood an attack by the Hussites in 1433 during the Hussite Wars. In 1454, the Teutonic Knights sold the region to Brandenburg in order to raise funds for war against Poland.

The town flourished economically during the German Renaissance beginning in the 15th century, but the majority of its population died from three plagues during the 16th and 17th centuries. It had several churches: the Augustinian monastery church, the Augustinian hospital church of the Holy Spirit, and the Churches of Saints Mary, Nicholas, George, and Gertrude. The town gradually converted to Lutheranism from 1539 1553 during the Protestant Reformation, resulting in the dissolution of the monastery in 1536. Its buildings were instead used as a hospital and school, while Holy Trinity Church, Chojna [pl] was used as a storehouse, before in 1690 it was reopened as a Protestant church. During the Thirty Years' War, the town was occupied at different times by the Imperial troops of Albrecht von Wallenstein and the Swedish troops of King Gustavus Adolphus, in the course of which the town was destroyed by 52%. After the destruction of the Church of St. Mary's tower by a lightning bolt in 1682, reconstruction commenced until 1692. In the church, a new Baroque pulpit was built in 1714, as well as an organ built by Joachim Wagner in 1734. The town began to revive economically after the foundation of the Kingdom of Prussia, becoming the seat of the government (Kriegs und Domainenkammer) of the New March in 1759 during the Seven Years' War. In 1767 the city gates towards Schwedt and Bernikow were partially dismantled to provide stone for the construction of a military barracks at the former monastery. The town's inhabitants initially specialised in agriculture and forestry and later in weaving of fine textiles. That industry declined, however with the onset of industrialisation, around 1840. During the Napoleonic Wars, in 1806 the town was captured by a small French unit. The place became the county seat of the Königsberg/Neumark (district) [de] in 1809 and part of the Frankfurt Region in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg in 1816. With Prussia the town became part of the German Empire in 1871 and flourished after being connected to the railway network in 1877. It also served as an educational and administrative centre for the surrounding region. In 1913 the local Polish community erected the Sacred Heart Church, the town's first Catholic church since the Reformation.

In 1939 the Luftwaffe constructed Königberg/Neumark airfield [de], later used by the Soviet Air Forces between 1945 and 1992. A subcamp of the Ravensbrück concentration camp was set up for the enlargement of the airfield. After the Warsaw Uprising, many Polish women from Warsaw were imprisoned there. In January 1945 battles of the Vistula–Oder Offensive occurred in and around the town. The German population fled in haste warned about the mass rapes. On 4 February 1945 Kurt Flöter, Königsberg's then mayor, was condemned to death by hanging by an SS court martial chaired by Otto Skorzeny, because he had fled before issuing a general evacuation order by the military. On the same day the Soviet Red Army occupied the town. The entire city centre with the Church of St. Mary and the town hall was burned to the ground by the Soviets on 16 February 1945. 80 percent of the entire town was destroyed. After the German capitulation, under border changes promulgated at the Potsdam Conference, the town became again part of Poland; the local population was dispossessed and expelled.

The town was first renamed as Władysławsko by June 1945. On 21 August 1945 the name was changed to Królewiec nad Odrą (Królewiec being the historic Polish equivalent for Königsberg, adding upon Oder for distinction). On 7 May 1946 the town was renamed again as Chojna. Chojna was gradually repopulated by Poles, many of whom were expelled from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. Vestiges of the war are still visible in some of Chojna's buildings. The foundation wall of the destroyed town hall was rebuilt for use as a cultural centre, town library, and public house. The monastery was also reconstructed, while the marketplace was newly built. Reconstruction of the destroyed St. Mary's church began in 1994 as a joint German Polish cooperation. In 1997 the roof of the church's nave was covered, while the pyramidal tower roof of the tower was reconditioned in a 19th century Neo gothic style. Chojna's two main landmarks are thus Chojna Town Hall [pl] and the Church of St. Mary, both historical buildings by the Gothic architect Hinrich Brunsberg. A monument to Pope John Paul II was unveiled in 2006 next to the St. Mary's church.

Chojna is a member of the Douzelage, a unique town twinning association of 24 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals. Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three further towns (Agros in Cyprus, Škofja Loka in Slovenia, and Tryavna in Bulgaria).