Kurzętnik

Poland, Poland

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Kurzętnik is a village in northern Poland's Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in Nowe Miasto County, historically part of Chełmno Land and strategically positioned on a hill overlooking the Drwęca River valley, about 4 km southeast of Nowe Miasto Lubawskie.

First mentioned in 1291 when Bishop Werner of Chełmno granted lands here to the cathedral chapter, it gained town rights around 1330 on Chełmno law, featuring a central market square and serving as a key Teutonic outpost with a Gothic brick castle built mid-14th century after 1331 Lithuanian raids and before 1361.

The castle, a square residential tower-house of 25x27 meters with erratic stone walls, witnessed Grunwald prelude maneuvers in 1410, Thirteen Years' War destruction in 1454, and Swedish damage in 1656, leading to systematic demolition after Poland's control from 1466, though it retained town status until 1905.