Barczewo
city of Poland
Barczewo [barˈt͡ʂɛvɔ] (until 1946 Wartembork; German: Wartenburg in Ostpreußen) is a town in Olsztyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 7,483.
Name
The German name of the town ("Wartenburg") has its origins from the town of Wartenburg (Elbe). In Polish the town was known historically mostly as Wartembork, but also as Wartenberg, Wartenbergk, Wathberg, Bartenburg, Warperc, Wasperc, Wartbór or Wartbórz.
In the aftermath of World War II, the town was transferred from Germany once again to Poland. The Commission for the Determination of Place Names decided to change the town's name. It was briefly named Nowowiejsk, after local composer Feliks Nowowiejski, in September 1946. In December that year the Commission settled on another name, Barczewo, honouring Polish national activist who fought against Prussian oppression of Poles in Warmia, Walenty Barczewski (1865–1928).
History
The settlement was first located in 1325 but was soon after destroyed by Lithuanians. The rebuild settlement was granted town rights in 1364.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Barczewo” as city of Poland. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city of Poland. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q807991. VIAF identifies the subject as 235688596. The Library of Congress control number is no2013099274. Authority coordinates are 53.831, 20.691. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1946, 2021, 1865 and 1928.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Barczewo”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Barczewo primary sources, Barczewo archive and Barczewo research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Barczewo”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Barczewo” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.