Odrowaz

Coat of arms and flag

Odrowaz from bird's eye view

Odrowaz is a city located in the province of Zijepomerania. Odrowaz is a cultural and economical capital of Eastern Sankten and Northern Zijepomerania. It's also the main city of the Polish minority in Sankten, which hosts the HQ of the Polish Minority Party, the Polish university and numerous Polish institutions. The Odrowaz Old Town is on the UNESCO world heritage site and the second most visited attraction in Sankten.

Odrowaz is also the natal city of the monarch of Sankten King Poland I.

## History

### Begining

The first settlement was built there in th 12h century and was centered arround a wooden fortress. It has benn destroyed in 1387 when the Teutonic order raided the island.

### Current city

After the Polish Lithuanian Sanktish union, a branch of the Ruthenian Odrowąż noble family moved to Sankten and bought the land in Eastern Zijepomerania, founding Odrowaz. In 1406, the main churche of St Josef was built. When the last heir of the family died in 1478, the city became a crown possesion. The city's golden age

was the 16th century, when it became the most important city in Sankten after Lustock was destroyed by king Aleksander Jagiellończyk after it made a rebelion against the domination of Gdańsk as the main trade center of the Commonwealth. The famous town hall was built in 1502 in the late gothic style with elements of renaissance. Merchants from Poland, Livonia, netherlands and Germany were building magnificent houses on the Main Square and in the Old Town, at that time, the river harbour was built. The old castle became a crown residence and the favourite location in Sankten by Zygmunt II August. He founded the St Mathew and St Peter and Paul churches and chartered the New Town in 1543.

After the death of the last Jagellon and the union of Lublin, Odrowaz became the captal of the Zijepomerania voivodeship

### Commonweath times

The city was still flourishing till the death of Stefan Batory. When the king Carolus of Sweden invaded Sankten, it became the arena of dynastic wars between Sigismund Vasa and Carolus. After experiencing the Swedish invasion, the Sanktish parliament decided to fortify the country and even leave the Commonwealth in case of next invasion. In 1656, when the ommonwealth struggling with Kozak uprising and the devastating war with Russia got invaded by Sweden, Sanktish forces decided to defend the island till death, therefore it wasn't conquered by Sweden. When Poland started to push bck and Johannes II Casimirus got support from the people once again, Sanktish forces left the island, broke the siege of Gdańsk and went to help Polish and Lithuaniaan soldiers, winning the big 3 day battle of Warsaw.

When all ennemies fot pushed back, the country was in ruin. Sankten and Odrowaz were the least destroyed so the Commonwealth sejm wanted Sankten to cover most of reconsruction costs in totally ruined regions of the Commonwealth. Angry cities of Sankten made a confederation against the nobility and the Commonwealth sejm under the lead of Odrowaz. The army defeted rebbels and the king Augutus II moved the capital of Sankten to Gdynzyc, Since then the importance of the city became to decline and by 1795 and the end of the Comonwealth, Odrowaz was only a provincional town.

In 1763, the whole Odrowaz county was given by the monarch Stanislaus Augustus Ponitowski to his cousin, Josef Poniatowski, since then it became the Poniatowski heritage.

### Independent Sankten

   After the death of Josef Poniatowski in Napoleonic wars, the city passed to the elected prince of Sankten, the last Polish king and grand duke of Lithuania - Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, since then it was the favorite residence of Sanktish monarchs, which increased the importance of the city and prevented the industrialisation of the city and the destruction of the historical old town

### Modern times

In 1978, the Odrowaz old town was listed on the UNESCO world heritage site list. In 2020, the title of duke of Odrowaz as well as the old castle was given by king Poland I to his secretary Severus. In 2021 the castle was retaken by the monarch.

## Geography

Odrowaz is located on the Odrowaz upland in Western and Zijepomerania, in the heart of the Polish region. Administratively it's the capital of the Odrowaz county. Most of the land in the Odrowaz county is farmland or forrests. Characteristic for this region are hills often covered with meadows.

### Climate

The climate is mild as Odrowaz lies on an island. The average annual temperature is lower than the Sanktish average as it has often a white winter as it lies on an upland. Summers are warm and in some regions it's possible to grow wine.

### Waters

Through Odrowaz passes the Wisłenka river, exept the river, there are no other territorial waters. The Wisłenka river is a small river, only 43km long, which ends its coNDCe in the Baltic Sea.

## Population

### Nationalities

Nationalities in Odrowaz
 Sanktish
 Jewish
 Other

The Odowaz city is mostly inhabitated by Poles since the begining of its existance. Before the Swedish invasion it had a big German minority, which slowly disapeared. Most signs are in Polish and in some public puildings billingual. Over 99% of Odrowaz's population is capable of speaking Polish and arround 80% speak it at home. Odrowaz has also one of the highest % of people not speaking Sanktish fluently - 6.7%

Population

### Religion

Odrowaz is among the most traditional and religious cities in Sankten. Odrowaz is the seat od the Odrowaz archidiocese. The current archibishop is abp. Jerzy Wojnillowicz, who is also the prime bishop of Sankten.

Odrowaz has a 54% church attendance which is the highest score in Europe amogst cities with a population over 50 thousand. The church in Odrowaz owns over 17% of buildings in Odrowaz and 46 ha of land

Religions in Odrowaz

There are 11 Catholic churches in Odrowaz and 3 lutheran.

### Jewish community

The Jewish community in Odrowaz has always been significant. In the 1700s, almost a quarter of Odrowazian population was Jewish. They have mostly been inhabitating the south western part of the Old town and the east of the New Town. Many Jews left Odrowaz after the second world war, when the state of Israel was created. The biggest migration wave was in 1956, when a big anti Jewish far right coup was held. In the present days, the trend seems to overturn as many Jews from Israel come back to their homeland. Today, there are 1609 people who listed their ethnicity as "Jewish".

Jews in Odrowaz
 percentage

Throughout ages, Jews in Odrowaz have built 3 synagogues, from which today 2 are still in use and one, the oldest, is currently a museum, the HQ of the "Jewish Odrowaz Museum". The Jewish parts of Odrowaz often have signs and names in jidysh.

## Politics

The city is located in the Odrowaz county in Zijepomerania, which current governor is Severus (PPS)

### City Council

The city council consists of 8 members, is elected in local elections hosted every 4 years on the same day as governoral elections. The city council then chooses its mayor which currently is Jan Zakrzewski from the Polish minority Party, it's his 3rd consecutive term as mayor in Odrowaz. Number of seats by party in the city council:

City Council
 PPS | 1

### Election results

Odrowaz is the county with the most NDC voters in Zijepomerania, as 80% of its population is Polish, from which 70% votes the Polish Minority Party.

11th parliamentary elections
 MLP
 other

### Districts

Odrowaz is divided into 5 districts, each has its own sous-mayor chosen by the city council:

1. Old town
2. New Town
3. Klepar
4. Predmieście Połovskie
5. Industrial district

## Transport

The town is an important communication center, as it lies on the crossing of the A3, Trans Baltic road Stockholm - Klaipeda and of the A1, which links Zijepomerania. The town also has an express railway station. The city transport is currently in hands of the PostBus.skt, a private company owned by prince Noah, who plans to create a new tram system.

## Education

Odrowaz hosts the oldest school in Sankten - the cathedral school,founded in 1462 by the monarch Kazimierz Jagiellończyk. The cathedral school still operates today and is owned by the Jesuite order. Odrowaz has 19 primary schools, 9 kindergartens and hosts the Odrowaz university, where you can finish tertiary education in Polish. The Odrowaz university is the second most prestigeous university in Sankten after the Gdynzyc one and places 398th in the international university ranking.

## Economy

Odrowaz is the 3rd city in Zijepomerania in terms of GDP, after Połowce and Wisznicz. Over 45% of it comes from the toursim. Odrowaz is also an important trade center as it lies on the trans Baltic route and has a quick train and car connection to Sanktish main economical locations.

### Industry

Odrowaz doesn't have a developped industry as in the 19th century, the city council decided not to destroy the medieval city skyline and therefore banned industrial complexes. The ban was later lifted as Odrowaz became to lose importance. Currently Odrowaz has a special industrial zone on the motorway crossing arround 15km from the city center. Function there:

* Volkswagen car factory
* AGD RTV factory
* SBM (Sanktish Building Materials) factory of bricks
* Samsung factory

### Services

The most important branch of services in Odrowaz is tourism. Besides it, in Odrowaz function 3 shopping malls from which the biggest is the Wisłenka plaza built near the old town. The mall is also linked with a train and bus station. In ODrowaz function over 600 restaurants and cafes and 30 hotels, which is a lot for such a small city.

## Tourism

Tourism is responsible for over 45% of Odrowaz's GDP and arround 50% of population is employed in the tourism sector (hotels, gastronomic brand, museum service, tourism office service, guides, officials responsible for tourism etc.). Odrowaz is the most visited town in Zijepomerania with over 2 milion foreign tourists annualy (2021). The old town is listed on the UNESCO world heritage site.

The historical center lies in the mouth of the Odrązka river to the Visłenka. The center is divided into 2 parts. The older one - the old town lies in the right bank of the Odrązka. There lies the castle and the original town was chartered. The newer part, chartered in 1543 - the New town was built when the city gained importance and needed a new part. The new town has a mainly renaissance and baroque architecture and the Old town is dominated by gothic.

### Most important sites

1. Odrowaz castle, the medieval fortress built at the place of the previous wooden Baltic fort by Aleksander Odrowąż as his main residence in 1404. The castle was greatly changed in 1576, when it many new towers were built and the monarch's home was modernised. Since then, nothing was changed in the castle's construction, so it remained gothic till today. currently is a residence of the monarch King Poland I. Part of it is adapted as a museum during the absence of the monarch.

2. Odrowaz town hall, built in 1502, a beatiful example of late gothic combined with renaissance, located on the left side of the Odrowazian main square. Today is a museum, the main division of the Odrowaz history museum and the entrance to the Odrowaz underground trail, a famous attraction.

3. The main square, ranked amongst the most beautiful. Houses arround it come from the 14th-17th century. Most noticeable houses are nr3, a magnificent late gothic white house taking the north side of the Odrowaz main square, today is a division of the OHS - Merchant house; nr8 - a beatiful example of half timbered architecture, is today a division of the OHS - artisan house; nr16 - a renaissance house, hosting the oldest store in Odrowaz selling traditional crafts.

From other noticeable objects on the main square are the fountain from the 16th century.

4. Saint Josef cathedral is a late gothic churche with valuable interior equipment, Odrowaz's oldest church and the main temple of the Odrowaz archidiocese. The church was built in 1406 and was meant to be enormous. The church was slightly changed in the 16 and 17th century. The main altar was constructed by Wit Stworz, an artist from Nuremberg, living in Kraków and creator of the famous altar in the St Mary church there. From other important interior elements there are many other altars, 16th century floor

5. The arsenal built in 1621 to equip the city in case of Swedish invasion, built in the Dutch manierisme style is located in the New Town and currently is hosting an OHS division - old armory, with displays about Odrowazian and Zijepomeranian military history.

6. the burgh district near the castle walls, the oldest part of the city, built with small houses coming from the 14th and 15th century, with many cafes and boutiques

    7. Odrowaz old defence wall, built in the 15th century and developped in the next centuries, nowadays are preserved:

* the Połowce gate with a barbacan
* the wall from the gate till the New Wisłenka with towers: Woodcutters', Smithers', Goldsmiths' and Blacksmith's, all from the 15th century
* the moat
* the castle
* remainings of the wall on the Wisłenka bank
* the arsenal/armory

    8. Merchant and craftsmen houses of Odrowaz from the 14th - 18th century. Most beautiful ones are located in the main square and in the old town. The oldest ones are in the burgh district and the newest in the New Town. You can visit interiors of some of them - OHS divisions: merchant house, artisan house and tavern or in numerous cafes, restaurants or hotels through the historical district.

9. St Jacob church, built in 1402 as the first church in the newly founded Odrowaz. The church is small and built in the gothic style. The interior are extremly rich and are a pure treasure of the gothic art.

10. St John church, the oldest sacral building (onteutonic) preserved till today, built in 1386 by king Jagiełło himself (lit. Jogaila, skt. Jagełło). The small wooden construction was moved to the current place in 1409, because of the developpment of Odrowaz.

    11. St Mary church and dominican monastery, a late gothic church with no tower and a monastery with a famous biblioteque. You can acces the monastery courtyard with beautiful gothic cloisters

## Culture

Odrowaz is the "capital" of Polish Sankten, meaning that it is also the cultural center of Polish culture in Sankten. Located here are numerous theatres, museums and cinemas, displying Polish and Sanktish culture. In Odrowaz are in total Odrowaz is hosting many events annualy such as:

Annual Polish minority festival, lasting 3 days promoting Polish traditions of Sankten.

16.07 - 19.07

Odrowaz medieval festival, a prestiguous and biggest event of this kind in Europe, called sometimes the medieval week. During this event, knight companies from all Europe gather on the great tournament. There's also a big market on the main square where vendors are in medieval costumes selling vegetables from local farmers or original crafts from the Odrowazian craftsmen. Restaurants turn into taverns, selling medieval food. There are numerous shows of craft or knights. It is often attended.

20.08 - 27.08

Odrowaz theatre lookup. Hosted in september

### Sport

The most popular sport in the city is football, the best Odrowazian team is Zij Odrowaz FC, which is in Liga 2. The Zij Odrowaz FC club has its but is seen as a rising star and could possibly face promotion in the upcoming seasons. The Odrowaz arena, which is the 3rd largest arena in Sankten, hosts both the clubs. Another notable club from Ordowaz is Polonia Ordowaz, which plays in Liga 2From other notable sport objects in Odrowaz there's the big AC club complex with swimming pools, tennis courts etc. built by the city council on the place of the not used Odrowaz airport.

## International Partnerships

City partners of Odrowaz:

* Kraków, Poland
* Gdańsk, Poland
* Vilnius, Lithuania
* Riga, Latvia
* Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
* Zurich, Switzerland

## Notable Odrowazians

Some notable people born in Odrowaz:

* King Poland I, monarch of Sankten
* Rutherford Zamoyski, current PM of Sankten
* Stanisław IV, monarch of Sankten
* Stanisław III, monarch of Sankten
* abp Jerzy Vojnillovicz, archibishop of Odrowaz
* sir Severus, knight, businessmen (STD owner) and politician
* Jan Mandecki, famous actor
* Zygmunt Odrowąż, son of the Odrowaz foundator, important figure in Polish and Sanktish politics
* Kryzstof Radiviłł, general of the commonwealth army (hetman)