Płoty, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland

🇵🇱 Płoty (Płota; Plathe an der Rega) is a town in Gryfice County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland.

Geography: Location The fences are located in the central and northern part of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in Gryfice County, in the Gryfice Plain. The skids lie on the Rega River

Larger cities around Płotów: • Gryfice - 12 km • Szczecin - 80 km • Koszalin - 80 km • Świnoujście - 81 km • Nowogard - 17 km

As of January 1, 2013, the city's area is 4.12 km.² The city forms a layout of 63 streets with the Constitution Square on May 3.

The fings are located in the northern part of Western Pomerania, since 1723 in the district of Regenwalde. From 1814 to 1945 in the province of Pomerania, until 1938 in the Szczecin region, then for 7 years in the Koszalin region. In 1946-1998 it was located in Szczecin Voivodeship.

History In the 10th century there were two castles and a commercial settlement, it was the centre of Slavic Opole. In 1277 the knight Dobiesław of Vodka granted the Płot city rights under Lübeck law. In 1465 the inhabitants of Kolobrzeg destroyed the local castle. The city was repeatedly plagued by fires: in 1561, 1612, 1630, 1641, 1660, 1673, 1723, 1860, the owners of the Fences often changed. The year 1638 was tragic for the inhabitants of the town. The plague decimated the townspeople - 200 people died out of 480 inhabitants of Płoty.

In 1892 the Dairy Cooperative was established in the city. It contributed to the growth and economic development of the city, before World War I, products from the Płock dairy were sent to Berlin to the imperial court. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Płoty became a modern city with developed industry, administration. A railroad line was routed to Płoty. The economic and social development of the city lasted until World War II. On March 5, 1945, the Germans were driven out of the city by soldiers of the 1st armored army of the Guard of the First Belarusian Front (after the war, a Monument to commemorate this fact, a Monument to the Brotherhood of Arms was erected in front of the railroad station).

In 1945, the city was taken over by the Polish administration, the influx of Polish settlers began and the displacement of existing residents to Germany. The destruction of the Fings as a result of hostilities was not large (22%), while the following months after the end of hostilities brought huge losses. The destruction, reaching 40% in 1946, was the result of the theft and destruction of property by looters and passing troops. In the following years, the city is developed evenly, new buildings, housing estates, industrial plants are being built, and the number of inhabitants increases. In 1977, the city of Płoty celebrated the 700th anniversary of granting city rights.

Monuments In Płoty, despite the post-war destruction, several historic buildings have been preserved. The entire area of the Old Town of Płotów is entered in the register of monuments. Among the monuments protected by law are: • Old Castle - Old Castle is a historic building located in Płoty. The history of the old castle dates back to the 13th century, when the castle hill was developed. Archaeological research carried out in 1957 at the request of the then Provincial Conservator of Monuments allowed to determine the beginnings of the building. Already at the end of the 13th century the castle fulfilled its role perfectly. It was tasked with controlling the intersection of routes 100 m away, and was built on a rectangular plan with 4 floors. The castle was surrounded by a defensive wall. As a result of the turbulent history of Western Pomerania and the Płoty themselves, the castle has often changed its appearance and owners. Significant modernizations take on the period of the 14th and 15th centuries. This gave the effect of an extension to the original building with a height of 3 floors. This extension bore the features of late Gothic and Renaissance. In 1577 Wedigo Osten sold his part of the city with the old castle to the Blucher family. The 16th century brought a general reconstruction of the castle, which from then on became a Renaissance building. The castle has been destroyed more than once in its history. The greatest damage was caused by a fire in 1860, which consumed a large part of the castle. Burned by the Russians in 1945, it was not rebuilt until 1965. From the 16th century until World War II, the castle served as a palace residence. After the war, the castle was taken over by the authorities of the Flocks. Currently, the old castle houses the Municipal Public Library. • New Castle - The history of the new castle in Płoty dates back to the 16th century, to be exact 1577, when the Osten sold the old castle to the Blucher family, but decided to stay in Płoty. They bought a plot of land near the old castle and decided to build a second castle, a new one, slightly smaller than the old one. Construction continued in 1606-1618. The new castle was architecturally similar to the old one. It was a 2-storey building with two wings surrounded by a moat and emavals. The castle was renovated in the early 18th century. Over the years, the castle has become an increasingly representative building, which has been envied by many cities. The last descendant of the Osten family was Charles. After World War II, the castle first became the seat of the Agricultural School, then a boarding school for commuters to the Agricultural School Complex. In the right wing of the castle there is a Meeting Room of the Płoty City and Commune Council and the Wedding Hall. An additional attraction are the rich collections of the "Pomeranian Library" collected for centuries, as well as valuable specimens of coins and collections of works of art, also in the castle there is a collection of 17thx2nd century tapestries. • Transfiguration Church - Fast-growing Fences and thus an increasing number of believers forced the city government to decide to build a new church. In 1883 there were 3,000 believers in the city and the old church had nowhere to accommodate them. The decision was made to demolish the old church and build a new one. The patron saint of the Fences Count Charles von Osten bequeathed 120,000 marks for this purpose. Less than 20 years later, on June 8, 1902, the cornerstone was laid for the construction of a new church. Construction was going extremely fast and already on June 16, 1903 the investment was completed. The church has neo-Gothic features. Inside, stained glass windows from the beginning of the 20th century, an organ with silver pipes ending in gilding deserve attention. The entrance door to the temple with beautiful brass fittings is also eye-like. The 50 m high tower clearly towers over the city. • City park at the New Castle • Post office (ul. National Unity 34) • Former school (ul. Army WP 15) • A complex of buildings of the entrance gate to Nowy Zamk with residential buildings at ul. Sienkiewicza 3a-b, 3c-d

Culture and education The animator of cultural life in the city and municipality is the Municipal Cultural Center in Płoty. He is the organizer of many cultural, entertainment and educational events in the city and municipality. MGOK is located at ul. Kościuszki 7. Other institutions that disseminate culture in the city are the Municipal Public Library located in the Old Castle, as well as the sports and entertainment hall.

In the city there is 1 kindergarten, 3 primary schools and the Vincent Witos Secondary School Complex.

The local football team is the Municipal People's Sports Club "Polonia" Płoty, created on November 10, 1956. The club's greatest success was promotion to the district league in 1976. The team has black and white club colors and plays matches at the Municipal Stadium in Płoty with a capacity of 1500 seats. In the 2009/2010 season, Płoty's "Polonia" played in the 5th league in the group "Szczecin".

There is an Interschool People's Student Sports Club "Mokasyn" Płoty in the city, whose players successfully compete in the Polish championships.

Makowice-Płoty Airport was the venue for the 27th edition of Pol'and'Rock Festival in 2021.

Economy In 2006, there were 404 private business entities in the city, 344 of whom were natural persons conducting business activity.

In July 2010, 301 unemployed residents of the city were registered in the district labor office.

On the Reda River in Płoty, a small hydroelectric power plant "Płoty" has been located, which reaches 130 kW and produces 800 MWh on average per year. Two Francis turbines and one Kaplan turbine are installed in it.

There are several larger enterprises in Płoty, but there is no burdensome industry here, which has a positive effect on the development of tourism and agritourism.

Płoty houses a plant producing steel containers and containers. The city is home to the production plant of one of the largest exporters of claques to Europe, and building materials in nearby Sownies.

In addition, in the city there is: post office, police station, health centre, gas station, bakery, butcher shop, workshops, repair points.

Transport The fences are a transport hub where the national road, 3 provincial roads and a railroad line connected. On September 30, 2019, a section of the S6 expressway, which is the western bypass of the city, was put into operation, thanks to which transit traffic outside its area of residence was launched.

National roads: • S6E28 (Szczecin - Płoty - Koszalin - Słupsk - Pruszcz Gdański)

Provincial roads: • 108 (Golczewo - Płoty) • 109 (Mrzeżyno - Gryfice - Płoty) • 152 (Furds - Resko - Świdwin)

There is a train station in the city. Buses and buses on the route Wybrzeże Rewalskie - Gryfice-Szczecin pass through the town.

Nature About 2.5 km west-northwest of the city, on the northern side of the provincial road No. 108 to Golczew, there is a nature reserve "Wrzosowisko Sowno" (floristic, area 39.27 ha). About 1 km north-east of the city is located in turn, the nature reserve "Rhineast" (water, 48.7 ha).

Religious communities • Greek Catholic Church: ◦ parish of the Transfiguration, services are conducted in the Roman Catholic Church of the Transfiguration • Roman Catholic Church: ◦ parish of the Transfiguration

Administration The city is the seat of an urban and rural municipality. The inhabitants of Płoty elect 7 councillors to their city council (7 out of 15). The remaining 8 councillors are elected by residents of rural areas of the Płoty commune. The executive body is the mayor. The seat of the authorities is the municipal office at Konstytucji 3 Maja Square.

Mayor of Płotów: • Radoslaw Mackiewicz.

The inhabitants of Płotów elect deputies to the Sejm from constituency No. 41, senator from constituency No. 98, and members of the European Parliament from constituency No. 13.