Kostrzyn nad Odrą (German: Küstrin) is a town in western Poland, about 40 km west of Gorzów Wielkopolski, at the confluence of the Oder and Warta rivers, on the border with Germany. Located in the Lubusz Voivodship, in Gorzów Wielkopolski County, it has 17,620 inhabitants (2004).

The region of Kostrzyn was originally settled by Germanic and Slavic peoples. Until 900 the territory of Kostrzyn was under the control of Pomerania. From 900-1200 the area, along with its castle, largely was under Polish sovereignty. Duke Mieszko I of Poland used Kostrzyn's strategic location as a staging area during his expedition to Cedynia. Bolesław I the Brave also prepared here for fights in Bautzen. The name of the town was first mentioned in 1232 in a Polish letter to the Teutonic Knights, in which the old Slavic Wendish name Cozsterine was mentioned. In the 12th century it developed into a fortified outpost and a Polish taxation chamber. In 1223 Prince Władysław Odonic granted the town to German brothers of the Knights Templar, although in 1261 it was seized by the margrave of Brandenburg. By 1300 the town received Magdeburg rights and started to grow rapidly, owing largely to trade on the rivers.

From 1535-1571 the town was the seat of John of Brandenburg-Küstrin, who made it the capital of the region of the Neumark and built a castle. With time the castle was expanded into a fortress, one of the largest such facilities in the region. While still crown prince, Frederick the Great was imprisoned in the fortress, from which he witnessed the execution of his friend Hans Hermann von Katte on 6 November 1730. Captured by the French in 1806, it remained under occupation from a French military garrison for the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars. During the retreat from the east in 1814 the town was set on fire and burnt to the ground. After that the town recovered and became one of the most important railway hubs in the Kingdom of Prussia and later the German Empire. In 1857 it was linked to Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder) and in 1875 with Stettin (Szczecin) on the Pomeranian coast. In 1900 its population reached 16,473, including the garrison of the fortress.

At the outbreak of World War II, Küstrin had 24,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom were Germans. However, due to Allied air raids on the railway hub and local factories, almost 95% of the buildings were destroyed (including all 32 of the city's factories) and the town was generally deserted. The suburb Alt-Drewitz (modern Drzewice, one of Kostrzyn's boroughs) contained the Nazi POW camp Stalag III-C Alt-Drewitz, used mostly for French, Soviet, and Italian prisoners of war. From 1943-45 the town also housed a number of German forced labour camps and a sub-camp of Sachsenhausen concentration camp. After the war the town's ruins were awarded to Poland by the Potsdam Conference, its remnant of German inhabitants was expelled to the west, and the town was gradually rebuilt.

Since 2004 Kostrzyn annually hosts Przystanek Woodstock in the summer, the largest open-air music festival in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

[Source: Wikipedia]

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