Vfrdtyky

Coordinates: 53°07′N 20°22′E / 53.117°N 20.367°E / 53.117; 20.367

Mława
Mława ratusz
Flag Coat of arms
Mława
Coordinates: 53°7′N 20°22′E / 53.117°N 20.367°E / 53.117; 20.367
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Masovian
County	Mława County
Gmina	Mława (urban gmina)
Established	15th century
Town rights	1429
Government
• Mayor	Sławomir Kowalewski
Area
• Total	35.5 km2 (13.7 sq mi)
Highest elevation	180 m (590 ft)
Lowest elevation	135 m (443 ft)
Population (2012)
• Total	30,957
• Density	870/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	06-500 to 06-501
Area code(s)	+48 023
Car plates	WML
Climate	Dfb
Website	http://www.mlawa.um.gov.pl

Mława ([ˈmwava]; Yiddish: מלאווע‎ Mlave; German: 1941-45 Mielau) is a town in north-central Poland with 30,957 inhabitants in 2012. It is the capital of the Mława County.^[1] The town is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously it was part of the Ciechanów Voivodeship (since 1975).

During the invasion of Poland in 1939, the battle of Mława was fought to the north of the city.

History

The first mention of Mława comes from July 2, 1426, when three princes of Mazovia - Siemowit V, Trojden II and Władysław I came here to a session of a local court. It is not known if Mława had already been an urban center, as there are no sources which would prove it. Three years later, Mława was incorporated as a town^[2] and in 1521 during the Polish-Teutonic War, the town was captured and looted by the Teutonic Knights. In 1659 the town was burned by the Swedish troops, and in 1795, following the Partitions of Poland, Mława became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.

After Napoleonic Wars, in the 1815 Congress of Vienna Mława (along with the entire province) was incorporated into the Russian Partition of Poland where it remained until World War I. Since the town was located along the pre-1914 imperial Russian-German border, Mława was a place of heavy fighting between the two opposing armies. During the interbellum, the town was assigned to the Warsaw Voivodeship (1919–39). The government of the Second Polish Republic constructed several fortifications there due to proximity of the German border.^[3][4]

World War II

In the opening stages of World War II, the advancing German army faced strong resistance from the Polish Army in the battle of Mława otherwise known as the Defence of the Mława between September 1 and September 3, 1939. Shortly after the beginning of the occupation of Poland, Mława was annexed to Nazi Germany on 26 October 1939 and administered as part of Regierungsbezirk Zichenau. The town (known as Mielau in German) gave its name to the Truppenübungsplatz "Mielau" military training range built by prisoners of the Soldau concentration camp nearby and nicknamed the New Berlin. The facility was used by the Nazis for repairing and refitting army tanks in Operation Barbarossa, and for testing anti-tank weapons and artillery on an area of 300 square kilometres (120 sq mi). Some fifteen villages around Krzywonoś were completely dismantled to make room for it and 25,000 people were expelled in the area.^[5] Similar Nazi German military ranges in occupied Poland included the SS-Truppenübungsplatz Heidelager located in Pustków, Podkarpackie Voivodeship and the SS-Truppenübungsplatz Westpreußen located in Dziemiany.

Prior to the arrival of the Soviets in 1945, Mława was the location of the German massacre of 364 prisoners of the forced labour camp adjacent to the Truppenübungsplatz "Mielau".^[6]

Industry

There is a large LG factory manufacturing TV sets and monitors located in the city. Mława was the first site of deployment for CONVAERO Polska's Bio-Dry™ technology project, where an annual throughput of 96,000 tonnes of MSW shredded is processed to achieve a 25% reduction in moisture and results in an easily separated and recycled end material ^[7]

Sport

Mława is home to MKS Mława, a men's football team, promoted to 2nd league in 2004/2005 season.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Mława is twinned with:

• 
  Moscufo, Italy
  


• 
  Nasaud, Romania
  


• 
  Saverne, France
  


• 
  Barañáin, Spain
  

Notable people

• 
  Isaac Isaacs - Australian judge and politician who served as the 3rd Chief Justice of Australia and the 9th Governor-General, father born in Mława


• 
  Joseph Opatoshu - Yiddish novelist and short story writer


• 
  Barbara Rogowska - Polish comedian actress and comic


• 
  Józef Skrobiński - Film director and painter


• 
  Józef Unszlicht - Co-founder of the Cheka
  

See also

• 
  Bolesław Prus' novel, Pharaoh, partly inspired by 19 August 1887 solar eclipse viewed at Mława


• Mława pogrom


• Vistula River Railroad

References

External links

• 
  Jewish Community in Mława on Virtual Shtetl


• MKS Mlawa

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mława.