Gorzów

Gorzów, formerly Landsberg an der Warthe, was founded where the Kłodawka enters the Warta. On 2 July 1257 Margrave John I of Brandenburg authorised Albert de Luge to establish a new town in the district of Santok. Its position at the meeting of water and land routes favoured merchants and craftsmen, and it became a significant centre of the Neumark. The margraves supported its defences and bridges: a toll granted in 1316 helped pay for maintenance of causeways and crossings. In 1433 the town endured a Hussite siege. The seventeenth century brought Swedish occupation, and during the Seven Years' War its inhabitants were required to maintain Russian troops. Later they faced contributions demanded by Napoleon's army.