From: http://www.pgsa.org/Towns/townsl.php

Lidzbark

- in the County of Brodnica

- Ger. Lautenburg or Luttenberg, Lutenburg. Liczburg. Ludbarz (found in documents listed as such), town and village and a forestry region belonging to the king, county Brodnica on the paved road leading from Brodnica to Dzialdowo, near the East Prussia border on a significant lake Lidzbark and the river Wel, which crosses it and enters river Drweca, besides from the court (sheriffs) ponds, there used to flow here a stream called Struzka entering river Wel.

1) the town, area of 5644 acres, 612 buildings, 235 households and 3734 residents - 1244 Catholics and 1725 Evangelical in Lidzbark There are here Catholic and Protestant parish churches, a 3-grade Catholic school, Lutheran city schools, Post Office, Telegraph station, magistrate, a city council, a district court (Amtsgericht), a customs office, pharmacy, a physicisan, etc. A railroad from Jablonowo to Brodnica, Lidzbark and Dzialdowo is being planned in connection with the Malbork-Mlawa line.

According to an unofficial description, from 1868 (Stat.-topogr. Addressbuch van West-Pressen) there were in Lidzbark 2 forges, 2 waterpowered mills, 1 sawmill, 3(?) breweries, 5 leather furriers, 2 wheelwrights, 9 bakers, 2 sweetshops, 1 watchmaker, 19 butchers, 9 leathermakers, 86 (?) shoemakers, 2 ropemakers, 16 taylors, a hatmaker, 8 weavers, 4 bricklayers, 4 carpenters, 4 coopers, 2 woodworkers, 2 printmakers, 1 combers, 1 chimneysweep, 6 chimney builders, 2 glassmakers, 7 smiths, 1 potmaker, 1 nailmaker, 1 sheet metalworker, 2 barbers/surgeons, 1 tobacco factory, 1 cotton factory 2 painters. Yearly markets take place 4 times for cattle, horses and stalls.

From the history of town very scant information remains. As the church records mention, the town with the church was founded about 1301 on the German law. The first known privilege it received only in 1410 under the rule of Master Ulryk van Juningen. That master of the Knights of the Cross also created the donation document of the church here in 1409 (Pawel von Russdorf is in the records). The town Lidzbark had under the Knights of the Cross a fortified castle. The population, both in the town and in the outlying area was from the beginning mostly Polish, as the names of villages in those days testify, though their Polish character the Knights were trying hard to erase. And so, among others, the Knights' twisted name Bladau, Blendorf means today's village of Bladowo, Bulkendorf=Belki, Dwor 1410, Hof=dwor, Gelen=Jelen, Klonau=Klonowo, Leinau=Linowiec(?), Melensdorf=Mlyniki, Renk, Reyneke=Rynek, Selste, Selze=Chelsty, Stibor=Ciborz, Wamperschke=Wapiersk, Weyer.=Wery, etc. See Ketrzynski, Polish population, page 87. In Polish times Lidzbark town consisted with attached area of starostwo [county office] non-city Lidzbark. In 1531 King Zygmunt I, desifing to better the situation of that town, introduced markets and trade fairs here. In 1703 the Swedes razed large part of the town together with the main church, but were next seriously defeated by the Poles. According to the last inspection of the area performed in 1765, the castle didn't exist anymore, and only a manor house stood in Lidzbark by the fiver. In 1807 a large number of Prussian and Russian soldiers were led through the town and stationed here. In 1855 came here the first Lutheran pastor.

Non-city area of Lidzbark, in province Chelmno, land of Michalow, county Brodnica, according to inspection of 1664 included the town and villages Wompiersk, Jeleniec, Jamielnik and farm Podciborski. In 1771 it belonged to Stefan Rumocki and his wife Anna born Plaskowska, who paid from it quarter payments of 1071 Polish zloty and 7 groszy. From 13 Sep. 1772 it was under Prussian rule. Parish Lidzbark, diocese Lidzbark includes 3580 souls. A Church of St. Adalbert (Wojciech) patronate of the government, founded in 1301, date of consecration unknown. There is a hospital for the poor from 6 parishes, brotherhood of szkaplerz since 1647 and of sobriety since 1859.

The parish villages: Lidzbark town, Lidzbark suburb or old town (German Amtsgrund Lautenburg), Belki, Bladowo, Borki, Chelsty, Ciborz, Brynsk, Ciechanowko, Jamielnik, Jelen, Klonowo, Koty, Kurodaj, Milostaj, Nowy Dwor, Nosek, Piaseczno, Podciborz, Polko, Wlewsk, Wapiersk, brickmaking factories: in Wlewsk, Jamielnik, Ciborz and Jelen. Catholic Schools: in Lidzbark (3-grade, 314 children), in Wlewsk (55 children) in Ciborz (60), in Nowy Dwor (71), in Wapiersk (59) and in Jelen (61). 30 Catholic children attend the evang. school in Brynsk. Until recently there was a second church in Lidzbark - the church of the Ascention of the Holy Virgin Mary in the Old town, (Ger. Amtsgrund Lautenburg). At first it was a church with a rectory, with a city cemetery and a hospital and had its own parish priests. During Lutheran reformation it gradually felLidzbark In the beginning of XVII century, it was again lifted off the ground by a good townsman, Wodciech Kotek and was consecrated in 1606 by bishop of Chelmno, Gebicki and joined with the city church as its branch. In the main altar it had a precious picture of Virgin Mary with Jesus by the then famous painter, Borzymowski. The above mentioned Kotek donated to the Church to better its situation two pieces of ground in Jamielnik, Anna Bobrowa gave other two pieces of ground, which were later transfered to the city church. Marcin Pudlo gave 1/2 parcel, etc. In 1647 the "brotherhood of the scapular" was created here. Unfortunately, in the folowing hard times, mainly because of the Swedish wars, it came near a fall for the second time. The second donor was Marcin Chelstowski, undersecretary of Chelmno, who again.lifted the church from the fall in 1712. New organs were bought - probably - by his wife. This church was consecrated by Bishop Feliks Kretkowski in 1725. After the Prussian occupation the Lutherans were waiting to take this church over. In 1800 there was already a decree ready to that effect, however a definitive response of Bishop Rydzynski saved it for a rejoicing district. Great help gave also the then parish priest, Matyszkiewicz, who watched over this church for over 33 years and didn't even leave the town in a dangerous moment so as not to make the annexation easy for those of other faiths. In 1807 he writes to his superiors:

"Through Lidzbark were led 1000 POWs, that is Russians, who were herded into the church, because it was in the suburbs. They spent the night there and desecrated the holy house to a great degree. The second time, 500 POWs, mostly Prussians, were led into the church, who broke down the benches, confessionals, altars and even set fire to the church to save themselves, but fortunately, the fire was noticed soon enough."

In the following times, the weakly-made church was falling ever more, in 1850 it was taken apart and sold for 200 talars. See lost churches in the Chelmno diocese, page 137.

Besides the above mentioned church, in Lidzbark there were two other churches, originally parish churches, in Wlewsk and Wapiersk. The Lidzbark diocese now quite small for many reasons, include. 8377 souls, 4 parish churches: in Lidzbark, Boleszyn, Mroczno and Radoszki, plus a branch in Kielpin. In the old days it had twice as many churches and the 2 still existing in Lecko and Przelek are in the newly created diocese in Pomezan and 3 mentioned above are gone in Lidzbark, Wapiersk and Wlewsk. There are 14 parish schools in in diocese, 5 ministers.

2) Lidzbark village and mill, 107 acres, 29 bldgs, 148 Catholic, 88 Evangelical.

3) Forestry royal region Lidzbark, newly created in 1877. See. Dzialdowka.

Source: Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego - Warsaw 1888

Submitted by: Martin C. Mazurk, 857 Euclid, Elmhurst, IL 60126 (Dec 1996)