Nowogard

Nowogard (Nowògard; Naugard) is a town in northwestern Poland, in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. it had a population of 16,733.

Name
Nowogard is a combination of two Slavic terms: novi (new) and gard, which is Pomeranian for town, city, or fortified settlement. In this capacity, the term gard (or gôrd) is still being used in the only surviving variation of the Pomeranian language, Kashubian.

Location
Nowogard has been situated in Goleniow County of West Pomeranian Voivodship since 1999, but formerly in Szczecin Voivodship from 1975 to 1998. It is located 60 km northeast of Szczecin and 55 km south of the Baltic coast

History
At one point during the 10th century Polish forces invaded Pomerania as far as Naugard, before being evicted. The town's origins go back to a fortified Slavic settlement which was the seat of the local castellan. The settlement was first mentioned in 1268 as "Nogart" when Barnim I, the Duke of Pomerania granted it as a fief to the Bishopric of Cammin. The bishops erected a castle in the city. In 1274, the town and its surrounding area was administered by Otto von Eberstein, it remained in the possession of the "von Eberstein" family until 1663. They were a collateral branch of the Counts of Everstein (sometimes also called Eberstein) from Lower Saxony with their ancestral home Everstein Castle on the Burgberg (ridge).

In 1309 the town adopted German municipal law. In the first half of the 14th century, new fortifications were erected with an oblong market square in the center of the town. This is where the town hall and St. Mary's Church were erected. In 1663, after the death of the last Eberstein, Naugard became property of Ernst Bogislaw von Croÿ and in 1684, property of the electors of Brandenburg. During the Napoleonic Wars, in 1807, the town was captured by allied Polish-French-Italian forces. In the 18th century, the town became part of Prussia, and from 1871 it was also part of Germany. During World War II many forced labourers of different nationalities were brought to the town by the Germans, and there was also a Nazi German prison for youth in the town.

Throughout the Soviet East Pomeranian Offensive operation of World War II up to 60 percent of the town was destroyed. On the 5 March 1945, the town was taken by the Red Army, and the population fled or was expelled in accordance to the Potsdam Agreement. Following the war, Nowogard became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the Fall of Communism in the 1980s. It was resettled with Poles. The first new Polish settlers were the freed forced labourers.

Sights
The city's main tourist attraction is a large lake which extends to the center of Nowogard. Its surface covers 1.12 sqkm with a length of 2680 m and a width of 620 m. Surrounding forests have mushrooms, berries and game. Historic heritage sights include the Gothic Church of the Assumption and medieval town walls.

Population

 * 1875: 4,765 inhabitants
 * 1880: 4,949 inhabitants
 * 1890: 4,872 inhabitants
 * 1925: 6,302 inhabitants
 * 1933: 7,356 inhabitants
 * 1939: 8,202 inhabitants
 * 1960: 6,500 inhabitants
 * 1970: 8,800 inhabitants
 * 1975: 9,900 inhabitants
 * 1980: 11,300 inhabitants

Transport
The Polish S6 highway acts as a bypass of the town, and the Voivodeship roads (roads of regional importance) 106 and 144 pass through the town. There is also a train station in Nowogard.

Notable residents

 * Friedrich Michael Ziegenhagen (1694–1776), German clergyman, court preacher of George I of Great Britain
 * Paul Manasse (1866 in Naugard – 1927) a German physician, who specialized in the field of otology
 * Zbigniew Szczepkowski (born 1952) a Polish former cyclist, competed in the team pursuit at the 1976 Summer Olympics
 * Ewa Durska (born 1977) a two time Paralympic gold medalist, competing mainly in category T20 shot put

Twin towns — sister cities
Nowogard is twinned with:
 * 🇩🇪 Gützkow, Germany
 * 🇩🇪 Heide, Germany
 * 🇸🇪 Kävlinge, Sweden
 * Veles, North Macedonia

In 1963 West Germany (FRG) town of Heide took over a partnership for the expelled populace of Naugard. In 1996 this led to the signing of a contract of partnership between Heide and Nowogard in which the former populace is regarded "constitutive partners".