3,119 views
Holiday in the town of Darłowo! See what's happening! Roman merchants following the "amber route" probably reached these areas in ancient times to exchange bronze, silver, gold or glass products for amber, honey, leather, wax and slaves. In the 8th-9th centuries, a settlement was established, located at the mouth of the Wieprza River into the Baltic Sea. In the 11th century, Darłowo was already an important trade centre. In 1205, its name was recorded as Dirlov. The favourable location of the castle at the mouth of two rivers: Wieprza and Grabowa, fertile soil and proximity to trade routes significantly influenced the increase in population. In 1312, Darłowo received Lübeck city rights, granted by the Święc brothers. Through Kołobrzeg, in 1361, Darłowo joined the Hanseatic League, which influenced the further growth of the importance of the trade port. At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, it had a merchant fleet larger than nearby Słupsk. It maintained lively trade contacts with Lübeck, and local merchants' ships reached Normandy and even Spain. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the city was surrounded by defensive walls. In the 1460s, after Eric I of Pomerania died without an heir, Duchess Zofia, wife of Eric II (who was separated from him) and mother of Bogusław X, became the lady of Darłowo. Although many unfavourable legends about her circulated for many years (she was referred to as "Cruel Zofia", there were mentions of the "White Lady" doing penance in the castle in Darłowo for numerous sins and wickednesses), in reality, she looked after the interests of Western Pomerania, directing them towards cooperation with Poland. From 1478, during the reign of Zofia's son Bogusław X, Darłowo experienced its golden age. In 1497, a huge wave, created as a result of tectonic movements of the seabed, hit the area, completely destroying the port, breaking inland and taking four large ships moored in Darłowo. Later, the city was plagued by fires. In the largest one, in 1624, 566 buildings, the town hall, the parish church, the school and the pastor's house burned down within six hours. Many people died and the disaster started the economic decline. Then the city was plagued by more fires, plague epidemics and later by activities related to the Thirty Years' War. In 1715, the first lighthouse was built. The port of Darłowo did not revive again until the 19th century. At that time, the reconstruction of the port began and the fleet was significantly expanded. At the end of the 19th century, Darłowo became a fashionable holiday resort due to its unique microclimate. In the interwar period, Darłowo belonged to Germany. A military unit was quartered there, and there was also a specialist shipyard that built reinforced concrete ships. Such ships, called "Darłowo ships", were built due to war restrictions on the use of steel. In 1938, the construction of the training ground in Darłowo was completed. The Krupp concern conducted tests of railway guns there. The two largest guns in the history of the world, named "Dora" and "Gustav", were also assembled and tested here. Adolf Hitler came several times to visit their construction. In 1945, the city was incorporated into Poland, and the German population was displaced. The first post-war name was "Dyrłów", then "Darłów". The seaport of Darłowo is still in operation, maintaining, among other things, a summer permanent connection with the island of Bornholm. 00:00 Intro 00:30 Darłowo #darłowo #center #summer