Frombork

Frombork (in German Frauenburg) is a town in northern Poland, situated in the Warminsko-Mazurskie region on the Vistula Bay. Its population in the year 2000 was 2700. Frombork has been meticulously re-created after destruction in World War II and is now a well-known tourist attraction.

History

Founded at the location of an old Prussian settlement near the Baltic Sea as Frauenburg, the city was originally part of the Braunsberg district of the diocese of Ermeland, or Warmia, the Latin name and that used by Polish-speakers for the area. The episcopal seat was moved from Braunsberg to Frauenburg in 1242. In 1310, the town was granted rights under Luebeck Law by the bishop Eberhard of Neisse. The late 13th century saw the construction of many churches, including those dedicated to St. Nicolas, St George and St. Anna, as well as the beginning of the cathedral church.

The occupations of the local inhabitants were mainly fishing and farming.

Perhaps the most famous resident of the town was Nicolaus Copernicus, who lived in Frombork 1512-1516 and 1522-1543, died there and was buried in the cathedral.

The Copernicus monument in Frauenburg, built by Prussian Emperor William II of Germany, was destroyed by Polish authorities in the mid-1950s, after the city became part of Polish territory in the aftermath of World War II. However, his astronomical observatory, work room, and equipment, as well as the burial site of the astronomer at the cathedral can still be visited there today (2002).