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{{Infobox German location
|type              = Stadt
|image_photo       = Rathaus, Gartz.JPG
|image_caption     = Town hall
|image_coa         = DEU Gartz (Oder) COA.svg
|coordinates       = {{coord|53|12|N|14|23|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan        = Gartz (Oder) in UM.png
|state             = Brandenburg
|district          = Uckermark
|Amt               = Gartz (Oder)
|elevation         = 6
|area              = 61.69
|postal_code       = 16307
|area_code         = 03332
|licence           = UM
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 12 0 73 189
|website           = [https://www.gartz.de/ www.gartz.de]
|mayor             = Luca Piwodda<ref>[https://wahlen.brandenburg.de/wahlen/de/kommunalwahlen/ergebnisse/buergermeisterwahlen/ergebnisse/~12073000 Landkreis Uckermark Wahl der Bürgermeisterin / des Bürgermeisters]. Retrieved 10 July 2024.</ref> ([[Party of Progress (Germany)|PdF]])
|leader_term       = 2024&ndash;29
}}

'''Gartz''' is a [[border town]] in the [[Uckermark]] district in [[Brandenburg]], in north-eastern [[Germany]]. It is located on the West bank of the [[Oder River]], on the border with [[Poland]], about {{convert|20|km|mi|0}} south of [[Szczecin]], Poland. It is located within the historic region of [[Western Pomerania]].

==History==
[[File:Mury miejskie - panoramio - 7alaskan.jpg|thumb|left|Preserved medieval town walls]]
The existence of the town was first documented in 1124, when it was part of the [[Duchy of Pomerania]], which had been conquered by the Polish duke [[Bolesław III Wrymouth]]. It was then visited by [[Otto of Bamberg]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Kratz|first=Gustav|year=1865|title=Die Städte der Provinz Pommern. Abriss ihrer Geschichte, zumeist nach Urkunden|location=Berlin|language=de|page=145}}</ref> who was entrusted by Bolesław III Wrymouth with the [[Christianization of Pomerania|Christianization of Western Pomerania]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Medley|first=D. J.|year=2004|title=The church and the empire|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|page=152}}</ref> The name of the town derives from [[Polabian language|Old-Polabian]] from the word *{{lang|pox|gardec}} < *gordьcь, meaning "small fortified settlement". Following the [[fragmentation of Poland]] in 1138 it was part of the separate [[Duchy of Pomerania]], which in 1227 fell under the overlordship of the multi-ethnic [[Holy Roman Empire]]. In 1236, the castle was the seat of the local Slavic [[castellan]].<ref name=gar>{{cite web|url=https://www.gartz.de/verzeichnis/visitenkarte.php?mandat=18265|title=Gartz (Oder)|access-date=19 September 2020|language=de}}</ref> In 1249 Gartz was granted [[town privileges]] by [[Dukes of Pomerania|Duke]] [[Barnim I, Duke of Pomerania|Barnim I the Good]]. Because of its strategic location on the river, the town was frequently vulnerable during military campaigns. In 1284, it was one of the Pomeranian towns that guaranteed a peace treaty between the Duchy of Pomerania and the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]].<ref>Kratz, p. 147</ref> It was granted several [[privilege (law)|privileges]] by Pomeranian dukes in the following decades.<ref>Kratz, p. 147-148</ref> During a Pomeranian succession war, in 1468, the town opened its gates to Brandenburgians, what was taken in other Pomeranian cities and towns as an act of treason.<ref name=gk150>Kratz, p. 150</ref> In 1473, the Duchy of Pomerania made an unsuccessful attempt to recapture the town, however in 1477, with the help of the cities of [[Stargard]] and [[Szczecin]], Gartz was finally recaptured, which was confirmed in a subsequent peace treaty.<ref name=gk150/> In 1502, [[Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania]] temporarily resided in the town.<ref name=gk150/>

The town was devastated in the [[Thirty Years' War]], the [[Deluge (history)|Polish–Swedish War]] and the [[Great Northern War]] in the 17th–18th century. From 1648 to 1720 it was part of [[Swedish Pomerania]], in 1720 it was annexed by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], and from 1871 it formed part of the [[German Empire]]. From 1720 to 1945, Gartz was part of the [[Prussia|Prussian]] [[Province of Pomerania (1653–1815)|Province of Pomerania]]. In the final stages of [[World War II]], in 1945, the town was heavily destroyed.<ref name=gar/> Since the [[Oder-Neisse line]] was made the German-Polish border after the defeat of [[Nazi Germany]] in the war in 1945, Gartz is now a [[border town]]. From 1945 to 1952, it was part of the state of [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]], from 1952 to 1990 of the [[Bezirk Frankfurt]] of [[East Germany]] and since 1990 of [[Brandenburg]]. After the [[fall of communism]] in Central Europe and the [[German reunification]], in 1990 Gartz entered a partnership with the nearby Polish town of [[Gryfino]] as its twin town, and in 1998 river cruises between the towns were launched.<ref name=gar/> In 1990, the town was assigned to the state of [[Brandenburg]],<ref name=gar/> despite historically belonging to [[Pomerania]]. In 1993, a Polish-German school project was established at the local school.<ref name=gar/> The town was affected by the [[1997 Central European flood]].<ref name=gar/> Many [[Polish people|Poles]] moved to Gartz, and as of 2014, 32 of 62 children in the local kindergarten had non-German parents.<ref>[http://www.bz-berlin.de/berlin/umland/hurra-die-polen-kommen Zuzug in die Uckermark, Hurra, die Polen kommen!]</ref>

==Geography==
Across the river lies an industrial area of the Polish town of [[Gryfino]].
Gartz is part of [[Lower Oder Valley National Park]].

;Towns near Gartz
* [[Szczecin]] City ([[Poland]])
* [[Penkun]] ([[Germany]])
* [[Schwedt]] ([[Germany]])
* [[Gryfino]] ([[Poland]])

==Demography==
[[File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Gartz_(Oder).pdf|thumb|200px|left|Development of population since 1875 within the current boundaries (Blue line: Population; Dotted line: Comparison to population development of Brandenburg state; Grey background: Time of Nazi rule; Red background: Time of communist rule)]]

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right"
|+Residents by country of birth<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pop-stat.mashke.org/germany-birth-2022/brandenburg.htm|title=Germany's population by country of birth 2022|access-date=1 April 2025}}</ref>
|-
! Nationality||Population<br>(2022)||
|-
|{{flag|Germany}}||2,005||84.9%
|-
|{{flag|Poland}}||296||12.5%
|-
|{{flag|Ukraine}}||14||0.59%
|}

{{historical populations
|align=none | cols=3 | percentages=pagr
|title = Gartz (Oder): Population development <br>within the current boundaries (2020)<ref>Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Population_projection_Brandenburg Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons]</ref>
| 1875 | 6440
| 1890 | 5877
| 1910 | 5369
| 1925 | 4830
| 1933 | 4998
| 1939 | 5231
| 1946 | 5430
| 1950 | 5381
| 1964 | 4045
| 1971 | 3699
| 1981 | 3013
| 1985 | 2943
| 1989 | 2835
| 1990 | 2806
| 1991 | 2747
| 1992 | 2668
| 1993 | 2652
| 1994 | 2673
| 1995 | 2714
| 1996 | 2711
| 1997 | 2730
| 1998 | 2754
| 1999 | 2725
| 2000 | 2730
| 2001 | 2703
| 2002 | 2669
| 2003 | 2654
| 2004 | 2647
| 2005 | 2588
| 2006 | 2521
| 2007 | 2505
| 2008 | 2492
| 2009 | 2470
| 2010 | 2477
| 2011 | 2461
| 2012 | 2438
| 2013 | 2470
| 2014 | 2482
| 2015 | 2478
| 2016 | 2515
| 2017 | 2550
| 2018 | 2550
| 2019 | 2508
| 2020 | 2524
}}

==Twin towns==
Gartz is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Gryfino]], [[Poland]]<ref name=gar/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Gartz (Oder)|Gartz}}
* [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-germany-szczecin-idUSBRE94E0IN20130515 Reuters article from May 2013]

{{Cities and towns in Uckermark (district)}}
<!--{{Pomerania}}-->

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Localities in Uckermark (district)]]