Dębno

For other places with the same name, see Dębno (disambiguation).

Dębno [ˈdɛmbnɔ] (German: Neudamm) is a town in Myślibórz County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship in western Poland.^[1] It is the seat of Gmina Dębno. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 13,443.^[2]

Dębno
Dębno
Flag Coat of arms
Dębno
Coordinates: 52°44′N 14°42′E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	West Pomeranian
County	Myślibórz
Gmina	Dębno
Town rights	1731
Government
• Mayor	Wojciech Czepułkowski
Area
• Total	19.51 km2 (7.53 sq mi)
Elevation	40 m (130 ft)
Population  (2024)
• Total	12,010
• Density	615/km2 (1,590/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	74-400
Area code	+48 95
Vehicle registration	ZMY
National roads
Voivodeship roads
Website	http://www.debno.pl/

Despite its location in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Dębno is part of the historic Lubusz Land.

Dębno is known for hosting the oldest marathon in Poland (since 1969), one of the five marathons included in the Crown of Polish Marathons, along with marathons in Kraków, Poznań, Warsaw and Wrocław.^[3]

The Dębno oil field is located near the town.

History

After the Migration Period, the area was populated by Polish tribes since the 6th century. In the 10th century it became part of the emerging Polish state under its first historic ruler Mieszko I. In 1232 Dębno was granted by Duke Władysław Odonic of the Piast dynasty to the Knights Templar. Later, it was invaded by Saxons immediately after the invasion and annexation of the Catholic Duchy of Kopanica, a Polish fief. The castle of Dębno belonged to the House of Odrowąż. In 1373 the town became part of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (or Czech Lands), ruled by the Luxembourg dynasty. In 1402, the Luxembourgs reached an agreement with Poland in Kraków. Poland was to buy and re-incorporate the town and the surrounding region,^[4] but eventually the Luxembourgs sold it to the Teutonic Order, which remained in power until 1454.

During World War II, the German administration operated a subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in the town.^[5]

Notable residents

• Franz Alexander von Kleist (1769–1797), poet
• Franz Hilgendorf (1839–1904), zoologist and paleontologist
• Friedrich W. K. Müller (1863–1930), German scholar of oriental cultures and languages
• Arthur Hübner (1885–1937) a German philologist, researched German literature from the Middle Ages
• Antoni Dobrowolski (1904–2012) a Polish educator and the oldest known survivor of Auschwitz
• Joanna Szarawaga (born 1994) a Polish handballer for GTPR Gdynia and the Polish national team

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Dębno signed partnership agreements with:^[6]

• Strausberg, Germany (1978)
• Renkum, Netherlands (1990)
• Tczew, Poland (2000)
• Terezín, Czech Republic (2003)
• Nowy Tomyśl, Poland (2010)
• Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Poland (2022)
• Postomino, Poland (2022)

See also

• Coat of arms of Dębno