Świecie in Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship

Świecie pronounced (Schwetz) is a town in northern Poland with ca 25000 inhabitants), situated in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is the capital of Świecie County. Świecie is located on the west bank of river Vistula at the mouth of river Wda, approximately 40 kilometres north-east of Bydgoszcz.
Historical town hall, Swiecie Poland

 Świecie became the residence of Pomeranian Duke Grimislaw, when in 1198 the St. Mary's church was erected there. The Teutonic Order conquered Gdańsk in 1309 and in 1310 bought Pomeralia in Soldin from the Margraves of Brandenburg. 
Historic Market Square in Swiecie

 By then, the settlement already had the status of Civitas, just as Gdańsk and Tczew did. Świecie was granted a municipal form of government by the Teutonic Order, when it was still located on the high west bank of the Vistula. Probably because of destruction by fire, during the period 1338–1375 the town was relocated down into the valley at the Vistula.
Wda river and the tower of the Teutonic castle in Swiecie

 

After the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66) Świecie became part of the autonomous province of Royal Prussia incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland. 
Psychiatric hospital in Świecie is one of the most important specialized clinic in Poland.

 In 1772, during the Partitions of Poland, the town was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, and Schwetz was integrated into the newly formed Province of West Prussia. After World War I Świecie became part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland.
Basilica in Swiecie. About the Miraculous Picture Our Lady of Świecie (Matka Boska Świecka) Click Here

During the Second World War, Germany occupied Świecie and annexed it on 8 October 1939, making it the seat of the Kreis county of Schwetz. Prominent Poles were arrested using secret politically targeted hit list and murdered using the Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz paramilitaries.
Mondi Świecie SA, cellulose and paper factory

After the World War II Świecie became part of the Bydgoszcz Voivodeship in Poland.
Source text; Wiki
Photos Elisabeth Fazel.