Plock/Płock

Plock/Płock

1. Toponymy

German terms

Plock, Plotzk, Plozk

Official name

Polish: Płock

Other names

1941–1945 Schröttersburg

Etymology

The name Płock is first mentioned in documents dating from the 12th century. Its origin is not entirely clear. The historian and ethnographer Zygmunt Gloger (1845–1910) linked the name to the word ‘płot’,meaning‘fence’, as a form of protection against raids. Another derivation is from the Greek‘ploto” refers to a fishing boat. A third hypothesis links the name to the River Płota, which used to flow where ul. Mostowa is today. A derivation from the root ‘pły’ suggests water, a pond or a lake.

2. Geography

Location

52° 33′ north latitude, 19° 42′ east longitude, 58–105 m above sea level. Płock is situated in Masovia (Mazowsze) in central Poland, approximately 100 km north-west of Warsaw (Warszawa) on the Warsaw–Włocławek road. The town lies on both sides (with the town centre to the east) of the Vistula (Wisła), about 50 m above the river on the high bank that overlooks the Masovian Plain. The surrounding area features large forests and the Gostynin Lake District.

Region

Masovia (Mazowsze)

Political and administrative affiliation

Republic of Poland; Masovian Voivodeship (Województwo mazowieckie); city with independent status: 88.10 km²; Płock County (Powiat Płocki): 1,798.71 square kilometres.

3. History and Culture

Common symbolism

Coat of arms of Płock, Wikimedia Commons [Photo: Orem].
Coat of arms of Płock, Wikimedia Commons [Photo: Orem].

The town’s coat of arms dates back to the oldest town seal from the 14th century. It depicts a crenellated town wall with a town gate. Above this stands the triangular west gable of the cathedral, decorated with a rosette and topped with a finial. On either side stands a tower with a pointed roof.

The town flag is blue and yellow with a red stripe down the centre (Kontuschgürtel).

Prehistory and Early History

Plock is the oldest town in Masovia and one of the oldest towns in Poland. The earliest traces of settlement date back to the 10th century BC and are associated with the Lusatian culture. The broad headland that later became Cathedral Hill offered favourable conditions for settlement. Archaeological excavations show that Plock was founded in the 9th century AD.

Middle Ages

The city’s development is closely linked to the formation of the early Piast state. The wooden Piast castle on Cathedral Hill (Wzgórze Tumskie), surrounded by an earthen rampart, and the first town fortifications were constructed during the reign of Mieszko I (c. 945?–992).[1] A pagan centre of worship had existed there in the early Middle Ages. Płock was one of the stops made by King Bolesław I the Brave (Chrobry, 965/967–1025) when he travelled through the country. It was probably from Płock that Brun of Querfurt (c. 974–1009) set out on his final missionary journey to the Prussians. From 1039 to 1047, Plock was the centre of an independent state under Miecław/Masław (?–1047). In 1075, Plock became the seat of the newly founded Diocese of Masovia. From 1079 to 1138, during the reigns of Władysław I Herman (c. 1043–1102) and Bolesław III the Crooked-Mouthed (Krzywousty, 1085–1138), Plock was the capital of Poland. Residences were built for the bishop, the princes and for Judith of Bohemia (Judyta Czeska/Przemyślidka, 1056/1058–1086), the first wife of Władysław I Herman and mother of Bolesław III, and his second wife, Judith of Hungary (Judyta Maria Szwabska/Salicka, 1047–1092).

Following the fragmentation of the country into smaller principalities, Płock became one of the capitals of the Piast princes of Masovia. In the 13th century, the castle was conquered and pillaged on several occasions. Towards the end of the century, work began on building defensive walls to replace the earthworks. The town defended itself against, amongst others, the troops of Władysław I Ellenlang (Łokietek, 1260–1333). Around 1226, Plock was granted town privileges. In 1237, Conrad I of Masovia (Mazowiecki, 1187/1188–1247) confirmed these privileges in accordance with Magdeburg law. In 1435, the town charter was granted once again by Władysław III (1424–1444) in accordance with Kulm law. Following the death of the last Prince of Płock, Janusz II (1455–1495), the principality became part of the Kingdom of Poland in 1495 under King John I Albrecht (Jan I Olbracht, 1459–1501). Until the Partitions of Poland, the castle was administered by royal district governors (starosts). From 1495 to 1793, Plock was the seat of the province of the same name (Województwo Płockie).

Modern times

In 1526, the worst epidemic in the town’s history claimed the lives of around 1,100 people, 30 per cent of the population. In 1545, a fire raged through the town. On 1 August 1558, Plock was granted the privilege of freely electing its mayor and town council chairman (Wojt) by Sigismund II Augustus (Zygmunt II August, 1520–1572). In 1657, Plock was plundered by Swedish troops; the castle, town houses and hospital were completely destroyed. In 1731, a landslide occurred on the Vistula, and parts of the town were swept away by the river. In the wake of the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, Plock fell to Prussia and became part of the newly established provinces of South-East Prussia (1793–1795) and New East Prussia (from 1795). The demolition of the defensive walls and city gates began. A new district sprang up along the road to Wyszogród, comprising administrative buildings and accommodation for civil servants.

19th/20th century

In 1807, Plock became part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the town (as the provincial capital of the Kingdom of Poland) came under Russian administration. Following the failed January Uprising of 1863 against the Russian occupying power, Zygmunt Padlewski (1836–1863), one of the leaders, was executed on 15 May at the Plock barracks. During the war with the Soviet Union, the town was attacked on 18 and 19 August 1920 and successfully defended.

Płock was occupied by the Wehrmacht on 8 September 1939. In 1941, the town was renamed Schröttersburg after the East Prussian politician Friedrich Leopold von Schrötter (1743–1815); it remained the administrative centre of the Schröttersburg district in the Zichenau/Ciechanów administrative region of the Province of East Prussia until 1945. Following the annexation of the region to the German Reich, forced resettlements of Polish inhabitants took place; Germans from Lithuania were to be settled there. Numerous Poles were conscripted into forced labour. The Jewish population was deported to concentration camps in early 1941. As part of the Soviet winter offensive, Plock was liberated on 21 January 1945. Between 1945 and 1950, the remaining Germans were forced to leave Plock and the region. From 1975 to 1998, the town was the capital of the voivodeship.

Economy

As a royal residence and episcopal see, Plock attracted craftsmen and traders. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it benefited from the grain and timber trade, which utilised the shipping route along the Vistula to Danzig/Gdańsk. Fires and wars meant that, at times during the 18th century, Plock had a population of only around a thousand. In the 19th century, the town developed only slowly; the first engineering works were established in the last quarter of the century. In 1923, the Radziwie district on the left bank, which included an inland waterway port, was incorporated into the city; it was home to Poland’s largest inland river shipyard, founded in 1937. Since 1938, there has been a road and railway bridge across the Vistula, the Piłsudski Legions Bridge (Most im. Legionów Piłsudskiego). A second bridge, the Solidarity Bridge (Most Solidarności, 2002–2007), is the largest and longest bridge in Poland. Today, Płock is an industrial city with sectors including petroleum, petrochemicals (ORLEN S.A.), chemicals, mechanical engineering, food, clothing and construction. Płock is a university city with around 12,000 students at six higher education institutions.

Population trends

In 1237, Bishop Peter of Plock (Piotr I Półkozica) mentioned both Polish and German inhabitants.[2] In the same document, he confirms the existence of a Jewish quarter, which is thus one of the oldest in Poland. It was situated in the Old Town, between the northern side of the Old Market Square (Stary Rynek) and the city walls, and remained almost unchanged until the 19th century.[3] With the wave of settlement from 1730 onwards, Dutch and German peasant settlers, including Mennonites, migrated from the north (Lipno) along the Vistula into the Plock region.[4] The so-called ‘Niederungers’ lived south of Plock, whilst the so-called ‘Swabians’ lived to the north.[5] During the period when the area was part of Prussia (1793–1807), the settlement of Schröttersdorf was founded in 1797 as the first Prussian colony near Maszewo, north of Plock. Prussian officials moved into the town. The government councillor E. T. A. Hoffmann lived here from 1802 to 1804, having been transferred as a disciplinary measure because of the caricatures he had drawn of Prussian officials and nobles. After 1807, Russian military personnel, officials and their families settled in the town.[6]

Before 1939, the approximately 7,600 Jewish inhabitants made up a third of the population. They were relocated to a ghetto by the German occupiers in November 1939 and deported to concentration camps in early 1941, where the majority of Plock’s Jews were murdered.

Among those born in Płock were: Mark Lidzbarski (1868–1928), a German scholar of Semitic studies, Władysław Broniewski (1897–1962), Polish poet, Tadeusz Mazowiecki (1927–2013), Polish Prime Minister, made an honorary citizen of the town in 2011. Today, the population stands at 121,879,[7] whilst the district (Powiat Płocki) has 107,765 inhabitants.[8]

History of Religion and the Church

The Diocese of Plock, established in 1075, is one of the oldest dioceses in Poland. The cathedral was elevated to the status of a minor basilica in 1910. The Shrine of Divine Mercy is situated near the Old Market Square. It was here that Sister Maria Faustyna Kowalska (1905–1938), canonised by Pope John Paul II in 2000, received her first vision of the Merciful Jesus on 22 March 1931.

Former synagogue, ul. Kwiatka [Photo: Museum of the Jews of Mazovia, Płock].
Former synagogue, ul. Kwiatka [Photo: Museum of the Jews of Mazovia, Płock].
The interior of the former synagogue, now the Museum of Mazovian Jews [Photo: Muzeum Żydów Mazowieckich, Płock].
The interior of the former synagogue, now the Museum of Mazovian Jews [Photo: Muzeum Żydów Mazowieckich, Płock].

Until 1939, the Jewish community had access to the Great Synagogue and a small synagogue, which today houses the Museum of Mazovian Jews (Muzeum Żydów Mazowieckich), opened in 2013. Other Jewish institutions, such as a mikveh, a hospital and two cemeteries, amongst others, are now mostly used for other purposes, following the extermination of the Jewish population during the Holocaust.

The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, which has existed since 1804, also looked after the other Protestant congregations in the surrounding area (including Mennonites, Reformed and Baptists) until 1945. The Diocese of Plock of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession was founded in 1828. It represented several congregations, some of which predated the diocese itself. The Plock congregation used buildings belonging to the Dominican monastery, establishing a school in 1805 and a vicarage in 1854. The cemetery contains graves with Polish, German, Russian and French inscriptions and is still in use today. Services are currently held in the church built at the cemetery in 2000–2001.

The firstRussian Orthodox church was established in 1842 in a barracks. TheRussian Orthodox church, built between 1865 and 1867 to designs by Bronisław Żochowski-Brodzic (1836–1911), was demolished in 1929, whilst five other smallRussian Orthodox churches were closed. Since then, the parish has had only a chapel in the south-western part of the former Dominican monastery. The Mariavite monastery and cathedral complex is the headquarters of the Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites in Poland (Kościół Starokatolicki Mariawitów w RP).

Special cultural institutions

Museum of Mazovia in Płock [Wikimedia Commons].
Museum of Mazovia in Płock [Wikimedia Commons].

The Mazovian Museum (Muzeum Mazowieckie), founded in 1821, is one of the oldest museums in Poland. The Art Nouveau section, one of the most extensive collections of its kind, is housed in an Art Nouveau building on ul. Tumska.

The former Benedictine abbey and a building next to the cathedral, constructed in 1903, house the Diocesan Museum (Muzeum Diecezjalne w Płocku). The collection includes, amongst other things, a Romanesque chalice donated by Conrad of Mazovia in 1239/1240, the crown of Saint Sigismund (Zygmunt), a gift from Casimir the Great, and over 100 kontush belts.

Education and Science

In the 12th century, the widow of Voivode Wojslaw (Wojsław) founded the Collegiate Church of St Michael, at which a school was established in 1180. The Małachowianka, the Marshal Stanisław Małachowski General Secondary School (Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Marszałka Stanisława Małachowskiego w Płocku), is the oldest school in Poland and has been in continuous operation since 1180.

In 1820, on the initiative of the school’s headmaster, Kajetan Morykoni (1774–1830), the Płock Scientific Society (Towarzystwo NaukowePłockie) was founded. In 1907, the Society received the book collection of the writer Gustaw Zieliński (1809–1881). The Zieliński Library, which today comprises over 270,000 volumes, holds, amongst other items, a first edition of *De revolutionibus orbium coelestium* (1543) by Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) and the *Commune incliti Poloniae regni privilegium* (1506) by Jan Łaski (1456–1531).

Until the Second World War, the library of the Płock Seminary, with holdings from the diocesan archive and secularised monasteries, was one of the richest collections in Poland. Of the 140 illuminated manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries, 500 incunabula and other items looted during the German occupation of the seminary, the seminary recovered only a fraction.

Art History and Architecture

View of Plock with the cathedral hill [Herder Institute, Marburg, Inv. No. 253701].

The grid-patterned town centre around the Old Market Square, with the Town Hall and the remains of the city walls, dates back to the medieval town plan. The medieval gates were replaced by Neoclassical gatehouses in the early 19th century. With the exception of the Jewish quarter, the built-up area survived the Second World War with relatively little damage.

The high banks of the Vistula are dominated by the cathedral and the sovereign’s residence. The Castle of the Dukes of Masovia (Zamek książęcy), a fine example of Brick Gothic architecture, was built on the site of a wooden castle in the 14th century. Alongside the clock tower (c. 1360), which later served as a prison, a double gate was erected in the 15th century. The residence of the princes of Masovia was connected by arcades to an Italian-style residential building and a viewing terrace overlooking the Vistula. These buildings were damaged during the Swedish invasion of 1655–1660 and during the Great Northern War in 1705. Around 1800, they were partially demolished, whilst other structures slid into the Vistula. The Noblemen’s Tower, the Clock Tower and the remains of the castle walls have survived. On the Clock Tower, Romanesque remains of a palatium belonging to Władysław I Herman from the 11th century can be seen.

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Katedra Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny) is the seat of the Bishop of Płock and is one of the oldest religious buildings in Poland. On the castle site, the first stone cathedral was built in the 12th century under Bishop Alexander of Malonne (?–1156) on the site of a rotunda dating from the mid-11th century; it was consecrated in 1144. The three-nave basilica with a transept was the largest religious building in Poland at the time. In 1530, the cathedral was destroyed by fire and rebuilt between 1530 and 1563 in the Late Renaissance style on the initiative of Bishop Andrzej Krzycki (1482–1537). The construction work was supervised by the Italian architects Jan (Giovanni) Cini, Bernardino Zanobi de Gianotis and Filip da Fiesole. The crossing dome was designed by Jan Baptysta Wenecjanin (from Venice, c. 1492–1567). In 1778, the cathedral was given a classical portico with columns, designed by Dominik/Domenico Merlini (1730–1797). Between 1901 and 1903, it was restored to its Renaissance state. The architect Stefan Szyller (1857–1933) also designed the new interior furnishings (high altar, side altars, pulpit, choir stalls). The interior was painted between 1904 and 1914 by Władysław Drapiewski (1876–1961) and Mikołaj Brücher (Brucher, 1874–1957). The Royal Chapel beneath the north tower houses marble sarcophagi containing the remains of Władysław I Herman and Judith of Bohemia, as well as Bolesław Schiefmund; the crypt beneath the chapel is the final resting place of 15 Masovian princes. The cathedral’s double-leaf bronze door, cast in Magdeburg between 1152 and 1154 on the commission of Bishop Alexander of Malonne, was moved to the west portal of St Sophia’s Cathedral in Novgorod around 1400 under circumstances that remain unclear.[9] A replica of the door has been on display in Płock since 1981.

The Bishop’s Palace, built around 1600 and subsequently rebuilt in the Neoclassical style, now serves as a courthouse and the headquarters of the public prosecutor’s office.

Płock Cathedral and Benedictine Abbey, 1987 [Herder Institute, Marburg, Image Archive, Inventory No. 99725].

Also situated on the cathedral hill is the former Benedictine abbey (Klasztor Benedyktynów). In the 11th century, the Church of St Lawrence was owned by the Benedictines; in the 12th century, they founded the new Abbey of St Adalbert of Prague (św. Wojciech). In 1538, Sigismund I granted them part of the castle grounds. The Benedictines expanded the abbey in the 16th and 17th centuries and built the Baroque church. In 1705, during the Great Northern War, the monastery was plundered and partially destroyed. In 1781, the bishop moved to Pultusk/Pułtusk; alterations were carried out for the Congregation of the Missionaries of St Vincent de Paul (Misjonarzy św. Wincentego à Paulo) and the seminary. Between 1850 and 1864, the church was deconsecrated and, along with other parts of the complex, was remodelled; in 1866, it was taken over by the Russian administration and a girls’ grammar school was established there. Since 1973, the building has been used as a museum.

The Gothic parish church of St Bartholomew (Kolegiata św. Bartłomieja), the foundation of which was made by Casimir the Great, was consecrated in 1356. Jan Baptysta Wenecjanin remodelled the interior in the Renaissance style. The restoration work, completed in 1772, gave the church its present appearance, with the chancel being moved to the Vistula side.

In 1234, Konrad I brought the Dominican Order to the city. The Church of St Dominic, which he founded, and the monastery were built near Cathedral Hill and remodelled in the late Renaissance style around 1590. The partially preserved late Baroque interior was created in the first half of the 18th century. In 1805, the Dominicans were expropriated by the Prussian authorities. The church was handed over to the Protestant congregation, which had been established for German officials and settlers. The library and the archive were dispersed and destroyed. Flats, a school and an archive were established in the monastery buildings. The Protestant congregation existed until 1945. Today, the church belongs to the parish of St Maximilian Maria Kolbe.

The single-nave, late Baroque Church of St John the Baptist was consecrated in 1771. The associated monastery of the Reformists was builtbetween 1773 and 1783. In 1867, the seminary moved in;between 1914 and 1916, it was extended with a Neo-Baroque wing designed by Oskar Sosnowski (1880–1939).

The centre of the Mariavite Order’s Neo-Gothic monastery complex, built between1911 and 1914, is the church with its dome and towers (Temple of Mercy and Love).

The town hall, which had been destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars, was replaced in 1824–1825 by a new Classicist building designed by Jakub Kubicki (1758–1833).

The only surviving Gothic residential buildings are the Canon’s House at 8 Narutowicz Square, built around 1445, which houses the Płock Scientific Society, and the House of the Horns (Dom pod Trąbami) on ul. Mostowa 1. The oldest residential buildings on the Old Market Square date from the first half of the 18th century.

4. Bibliographical references

Bibliography

  • Aneta Bukowska, Maciej Trzeciecki: Remains of stone architecture on Tumski Hill in Płock – results of verification research [Remains of stone architecture on Tumski Hill in Płock – research findings]. In: Romanesque Architecture in Poland. Gniezno 2009, pp. 300–316.
  • Severin Gawlitta: Between Invitation and Expulsion: German Peasant Settlers in the Kingdom of Poland 1815–1915. Marburg 2009 (Materials and Studies on East Central European Research 20).
  • Christofer Herrmann, Dethard von Winterfeld (eds.): Medieval Architecture in Poland. Romanesque and Gothic Architecture between the Oder and the Vistula. Vol. 1. Petersberg 2015.
  • Eduard Kneifel: The Evangelical-Augsburg Congregations in Poland: 1555–1939. A Parochial History in Individual Accounts. Vierkirchen 1971.
  • Paweł Piotr Kowalski: Kępa Ośnicka – How the Dutch were settled near Płock in 1759. In: Notatki Płockie 224 (2010), No. 3, pp. 3–16: www.tnp.org.pl/Notatki%20Plockie%202010%20r.%20nr%203-224.pdf.
  • Jan Przedpełski : The Jews of Płock. History and Martyrology 1939–1945 [The Jews of Płock. History and Martyrology 1939–1945]. Płock 1993.
  • Zbigniew Ptasiewicz: The Zichenau Administrative District: 1939–1945. Ciechanów District. Ciechanów 2012.
  • Wawrzyniec Sikora: Monograph on German Settlements [First published in 1935]. In: Our Roots. A popular science biannual of the Mazovian Museum in Płock 2 (2011), pp. 36–39.
  • Zygmunt Świechowski: Romanesque Art in Poland [Romanesque Art in Poland]. Warsaw 1982.
  • Włodzimierz Szafrański: The City of Płock is over 1,000 years old (the very beginnings of Płock’s urbanisation process in statu nascendi) [The City of Płock is over 1,000 years old (The beginnings of the urbanisation process)]. In: Notatki Płockie 132 (1987), No. 3, pp. 12–14, www.tnp.org.pl/Notatki%20Plockie%201987.pdf.
  • Maciej Trzeciecki: The public space of medieval Płock as a subject of archaeological research. In: Wratislavia Antiqua 13 (2011), pp. 63–75: http://wratislavia.archeo.uni.wroc.pl/13-tom/6.pdf.

Sources

  • Albert Breyer: German Districts in Central Poland. Plauen 1935 (Ostdeutsche Heimathefte 4): upstreamvistula.org/Documents/ABreyer_DtGaue.pdf.
  • Robert Gundlach: Commemorative publication marking the 125th anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Płock. Bydgoszcz 1929 : upstreamvistula.org/Documents/Gedenkschrift125_D.pdf.
  • Walter Kuhn: The Origins of the German-Ruled Town of Płock. In: Zeitschrift für Ostforschung 13 (1964), pp. 1–30.
  • Friedrich Gottlob Leonhardi: Geography of the Prussian Monarchy. Vol. 5. Halle 1799, pp. 22, 304–311.

Web links

Notes

[1] Andrzej Buko: *Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej* [The Archaeology of Early Medieval Poland]. Warsaw 2005, p. 232.

[2] In 1237, Bishop Peter of Plock confirmed the foundation of the new town of Plock by Duke Konrad of Masovia and his sons: www.herder-institut.de/bestaende-digitale-angebote/e-publikationen/dokumente-und-materialien/themenmodule/quelle/1312/details.html (accessed 7 September 2016).

[3] sztetl.org.pl/pl/miejscowosci/p/414-plock (accessed 17 August 2021).

[4] Jerzy Szalygin: Catalogue of monuments of Dutch colonisation in Mazovia / Katalog zabytków osadnictwa holenderskiego na Mazowszu. Warsaw 2004, pp. 11ff.; Otto Heike: The Province of South Prussia: Prussian Development and Administrative Work in the Vistula and Warta River Regions 1793–1806. Marburg 1953 (Scientific Contributions to the History and Regional Studies of East-Central Europe 12), pp. 28ff.

[5] Breyer: German districts in Central Poland, pp. 10–16: upstreamvistula.org/Documents/ABreyer_DtGaue.pdf (accessed 7 September 2016); Kowalski: Kępa Ośnicka.

[6] Malte Rolf: Imperial Rule in the Vistula Region: The Kingdom of Poland within the Russian Empire (1864–1915). Berlin, Munich, Boston 21015, pp. 27, 77, 94, 143, 269, 302, 333, 369, 396.

[7] Central Statistical Office. Population. Status and Structure by Territorial Area]. As at 30 June 2015, demografia.stat.gov.pl/bazademografia/Tables.aspx.

[8] Central Statistical Office. Population. Status and structure by territory [Central Statistical Office. Population. Status and structure by territory]: demografia.stat.gov.pl/bazademografia/Tables.aspx (accessed 7 September 2016).

[9] Willibald Sauerländer: The Bronze Door of Novgorod. Munich 1963, p. 50.

Citation

Heidi Stecker: Plock/Płock. In: Online Encyclopaedia on the Culture and History of Germans in Eastern Europe, 2016. URL: ome-lexikon.uni-oldenburg.de/p32510 (accessed 15 February 2022).

Terms of use for this article

Copyright © University of Oldenburg and the Federal Institute for the Culture and History of Germans in Eastern Europe (BKGE), all rights reserved. This work was produced as part of the project ‘Online Encyclopaedia on the Culture and History of Germans in Eastern Europe’ and may be reproduced and published provided the rights holders’ consent has been obtained. Please contact:

If you have any specialist comments or additions to the text, please contact the editorial team, citing relevant literature and source references.

(Changed: 16 Oct 2026)  |  Kurz-URL:Shortlink: https://ome-lexikon.uni-oldenburg.de/p32510en
Zum Seitananfang scrollen Scroll to the top of the page

This page contains automatically translated content.