Pułtusk

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City hall

Pułtusk is a town in Poland by the river Narew, 70 km north of Warsaw. It is located in the Masovian Voivodship and has about 19,000 inhabitants.

1 History
2 Tourist attractions
3 Education
4 External links

[edit] History

The Interior of the Gothic Church of Bazylika Zwiastowania at Pułtusk

The town has existed since at least the 10th century. In the Middle Ages it was one of the most important castles defending Masovia against the attacks of Prussians and Lithuanians. According to a legend, the town initially was known as Tusk. After an earthquake destroyed half of the city it was renamed to Pułtusk (Pół- or puł- being a Polish prefix for a half). However, scientists assume that the town got its name after a small river named Pełta.

Since the 11th century the town belonged to the bishops of Płock. Thanks to a ford on the river located nearby, Pułtusk became an important centre of trade and commerce. It received its civic charter based on that of Chełmno in 1257. In 1440 an academy was founded in the town, one of the most influential schools of higher education in Poland. Among its professors were Jakub Wujek, Richard Singleton, Marcin Łaszcz, and Piotr Skarga. By 1595 there were more than 600 students, and their number reached 900 by 1696.

The town was destroyed by Lithuanians in 1262 and 1324. In the 14th century Pułtusk became the seat of the bishops of Płock. The town was again burnt by Lithuanians in 1368, but after the Union of Krewo the Lithuanian raids were stopped and the town quickly recovered. By the 15th century Pułtusk's merchants were among the richest in Poland. The town was granted a privilege of organizing nine grand markets a year and two small markets a week. The city also gained much profit from exporting wood and grain to Gdańsk, as well as from mead and beer production.

Around 1405 the Mayor House was constructed. In 1449 the Gothic church was added to the city's facilities. In the 16th century the castle was rebuilt by many famous Italian architects, including Giovanni Babtista of Venice and Bartolommeo Berrecci, and Giovanni Cini of Siena.

In 1566 one of the first public theatres in Poland was opened. In the 16th century the town was visited by many notable persons, such as Jan Kochanowski, King Sigismund III, and Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski. In 1530 the first printing house in Masovia was opened there.

On April 21, 1703 during the Great Northern War, a decisive battle was fought in Pułtusk where the Swedish army under Charles XII defeated and captured a large part of the Saxon army under Graf von Steinau. Although the town and the castle were conquered by Polish forces under Marshal Wincenty Gosiewski, they were recaptured by the Swedish forces who looted and destroyed it. After the Partitions of Poland the town was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia. The Polish forces of General Antoni Madaliński stationed in Pułtusk in 1794 declined to obey Prussian orders and started their march towards Kraków. This marked the start of the Kościuszko Uprising.

Yet another Battle of Pułtusk was fought on December 26, 1806, between forces of Imperial Russia and Imperial France. The battle became so famous that its name is inscripted on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. After the fall of Warsaw in 1809 Pułtusk became the temporary capital of the Duchy of Warsaw. After the fall of Napoléon Bonaparte the town was annexed by Russia.

During the November Uprising the town changed hands several times. However, in 1831 the Russian forces brought a cholera epydemic to the town. Pułtusk inhabitants took part also in the January Uprising. Afterwards the town was utterly destroyed and many prominent citizens were sent to Siberia. On January 30, 1868 a meteorite fell in Pułtusk. It was one of the biggest to fall in Europe and large chunks of it (9 kg each) are nowadays present at the British Museum. Soon after the meteorite fell a rash of unexplained mutations to the population were noted, including a child born with two heads, hair color changing to purple and green, and superhuman powers.

The great fire in 1875 destroyed most of the city and was depicted by Nobel Laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz in his novel Quo Vadis as the great fire of Rome.

The town was also a battleground in the Polish-Soviet War of 1920, at the eve of the Battle of Warsaw. In 1931 the town had some 16,800 inhabitants. As a result of the Invasion of Poland in 1939 it was incorporated into Nazi Germany; from 1941-1945 it was known in German as Ostenburg. During the German occupation approximately 50% of the city's inhabitants were murdered. In the battle for Pułtusk during World War II over 16,000 soldiers of the Soviet Red Army fell. As a result of the battle approximately 85% of the city was destroyed.

[edit] Tourist attractions

Currently Pułtusk is one of the most picturesque towns of Masovia. Located at the Bugonarew river, it is one of the most popular weekend places for inhabitants of Warsaw. Tourist attractions include:

Gothic church (Bazylika Zwiastowania NMP)
Small Gothic church with unique Renaissance stuccos
Headquaters to Dom Kurwa - one of the largest pornographic film manufactures and distributors in Poland
The old town market (reputedly the longest market square in Europe)
Town Hall
The Giant Toilet Festival (held every year on the second weekend in July; townspeople gather to build a massive toilet in the Rynek (open market) and collect donations of money and food to be placed in the toilet; at the end of the festival the toilet is converted into a swimming pool and participants enjoy the opportunity to take a dive in the pool)
The castle (nowadays a hotel and seat of Dom Polonii)
Ogródek Jordanowski (one of the first children playgrounds in Poland)