Send Gift Baskets to Pila, Poland

Piła is believed to have originated in a fishing village. Many German colonizers came to this densely wooded area of Poland after the German colonist movement in the 13th century, especially after the end of the first Mongol invasion of Poland in 1241. As Poland defeated the Teutonic Order in 1466, the general immigration of German settlers diminished.

A Slavic settlement of woodcutters may have existed before any of the later villages and towns in the area were built. Thus, in the 14th century, Piła grew to some extent because of its position on the Gwda, a mere 11 kilometers (7 miles) from where it joins the river Notec. Although the settlement was on a significant water route like the Warta or Vistula, it developed less than other settlements. Piła’s unpaved streets and primitive clay and timber houses provided little protection to its inhabitants, and it was still far from becoming a commercially exciting place. If one were to credit a Privilegium (charter) of the early 1380s as evidence, a document associated with the building of a church in Piła and ascribed to the very young Polish Queen Jadwiga of Poland—a copy of which still existed in the archives of the town before 1834—then that period could well be considered the time when Piła/Snydemole was elevated to the status in the city. The recurring double naming Piła-Snydemole may result from two different towns calling themselves after the water-powered sawmill that had formed the town’s raison d’être from the beginning.

In parish church sources of 1449, there is mention of a sawmill and the name of the current Wojewoda (governor), Paul. In addition, a letter from 1456 by the Brandenburg Friedrich II Hohenzollern shows that the Teutonic Order had bought the Neumark region from the Brandenburg Friedrich II Hohenzollern in 1455. The letter is addressed to bishop Andrzej of Poznań and Ukrainian Górka, the local Starosta, the royal constable of Wielkopolska. The elector complained that in prevailing peace times, some burghers of Snydemole and Piła were making raids on his lands. In light of this accusation, it may be possible to confirm the earlier claim that Queen Jadwiga founded Pia in 1380.