Wałcz
Wałcz | |
|---|---|
Town Hall | |
| Coordinates: 53°16′N 16°28′E / 53.267°N 16.467°E | |
| Country | Poland |
| Voivodeship | West Pomeranian |
| County | Wałcz |
| Gmina | Wałcz (urban gmina) |
| Town rights | 1303 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Maciej Żebrowski |
| Area | |
• Total | 38.16 km2 (14.73 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 109 m (358 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 24,949 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 78-600 |
| Area code | +48 67 |
| Car plates | ZWA |
| Climate | Dfb |
| Highways | |
| National roads | |
| Voivodeship roads | |
| Website | walcz.pl |
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Wałcz (pronounced Vouch [vau̯t͡ʂ]; German: Deutsch Krone) is a county town in Wałcz County of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland.
Granted city rights in 1303, Wałcz has become the administrative, industrial and cultural center of the Wałcz Lake District with the city itself situated on the banks of the Raduń and Zamkowe lakes. Wałcz is located in the southestern portion of West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The closest cities are Szczecin 130 km (81 mi), Bydgoszcz 115 km (71 mi), Piła 26 km (16 mi), Poznań 120 km (75 mi), Gorzów Wielkopolski 107 km (66 mi) and Koszalin 120 km (75 mi).
Historically, the town belonged to the province of Greater Poland and was a royal city of Poland until the Partitions of Poland. Afterwards, from 1772 to 1945 it was part of Prussia and, from 1871 to 1945, it was also part of Germany, before being reintegrated with Poland. It is the location of one of the oldest high schools in Poland, founded over 350 years ago, and a garrison of the Polish Army.