Stare Drawsko

Stare Drawsko [ˈstarɛ ˈdrafskɔ] (German: Draheim, old Polish: Drahim before 1945) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czaplinek, within Drawsko County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland.

Geography

The village forms a northwestern outpost of the historic Greater Poland region, where it borders with Pomerania. It lies approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) north-west of Czaplinek, 28 km (17 mi) east of Drawsko Pomorskie, and 109 km (68 mi) east of the regional capital Szczecin. The village has a population of 140.

History

The 14th century Drahim Castle was a stronghold of the Knights Hospitaller, who controlled the Polish-Pomeranian border region. In 1407 German and Polish robber barons conquered the castle and expelled the knights. The robber barons made the castle the starting point of their brigandage, until the burghers of Drawsko defeated them in 1422. In 1438 the Teutonic Knights arranged it so that Poland could take control of the region, which it reorganised as the Starostwo Drahimskie, with Drahim as its capital, within Greater Polish Poznań Voivodeship.