The settlement is first mentioned as civitas Barwitz in historical records from 1286, when it was granted by Polish Duke Przemysł II to the Knights Templar, but since it is located in the vicinity of a pre-historical salt road leading to the saltworks of Kołobrzeg, it probably had been founded much earlier.
The town and its neighbouring villages became in 1477 under duke Bogislaw X (1454–1523) part of the Duchy of Pomerania. In the 16th century the town and the surrounding lands were in the possession of four noble families: von Glasenapp, von Wolde, von Zastrow and von Münchow. The oldest town seal is from 1564 and carries the inscription Sigillum civitatis Berwoldie.[5] During the second half of the 16th century, duke John Frederick (1542–1600) granted to the town the right to hold trade fairs three times a year.
In 1626 a blaze destroyed parts of the town, including both the town hall and the church. Because of this, the town was freed from tax paying for the next five years. During the Thirty Years' War the town was occupied in 1630 by Swedish military of Gustav II Adolph (1534–1632) and suffered heavy damages. During the Seven Years' WarRussian troops devastated the town's archives within the town hall, so that all older historical documents went lost.[6]
In the 18th century the town became part of the Kingdom of Prussia, and from 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany. Since 1766 five fairs per year were allowed to be arranged. In the 18th century, immigrants from France founded a tobacco factory in the town.
Before World War II it had been the site of a county court and of a customs office, and it had a secondary school. The local industry manufactured machinery and produced building materials made from sandstone. There existed both sawmills and grain mills. The town was a centre of agricultural trade, the main trade products being grain, potatoes and cattle. During World War II, the Germans operated a labor camp for French and Belgian prisoners of war from the Stalag II-Bprisoner-of-war camp in the town.[7]
In March 1945, shortly before the end of World War II, the town was captured by the Soviet Army. Under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement, the town became again part of Poland after the war.
A memorial stone from 1988, erected on the 70th anniversary of Poland regaining its independenceMunicipal office
Gustav Kratz: Die Städte der Provinz Pommern - Abriß ihrer Geschichte, zumeist nach Urkunden. Berlin 1865 (reprinted in 1996 by Sändig Reprint Verlag, Vaduz/Liechtenstein, ISBN3-253-02734-1; reprinted in 2011 by Kessinger Publishing, U.S.A., ISBN1-161-12969-3), pp. 18–19. (in German, online).
^Christian Friedrich Wutstrack: Nachtrag zu der Kurzen historisch-geographisch-statistischen Beschreibung von dem königlich-preußischen Herzogtum Vor- und Hinterpommern. Stettin 1795, p. 228 (in German)
^"Les Kommandos". Stalag IIB Hammerstein, Czarne en Pologne (in French). Retrieved 16 March 2020.
Poland
