GRAUDENZ (

See also:

• POLISH

Polish Grudziadz)  , a town in the kingdom of Prussia, province of West Prussia, on the right bank of the Vistula, 18 m . S.S.W. of Marienwerder and 37 M. by rail N.N.E. of Thorn . Pop . (1885) 17,336, (1905) 35,988 . It has two Protestant and three Roman Catholic churches, and a synagogue . It is a place of considerable manufacturing activity . The town possesses a museum and a monument to Guillaume Rene Courbiere (1733–1811), the defender of the town in 1807 . It has fine promenades along the bank of the Vistula . Graudenz is an important place in the German system of fortifications, and has a garrison of considerable size . Graudenz was founded about 1250, and received civic rights in 1291 . At the peace of Thorn in 1466 it came under the lordship of Poland . From 1665 to 1759 it was held by Sweden, and in 1772 it came into the possession of Prussia .

The fortress of Graudenz, which since 1873 has been used as a

barracks and a military depot and prison, is situated on a steep eminence about r a m. north of the town and outside its limits . It was completed by Frederick the Great in 1776, and was rendered famous through its defence by Courbiere against the French in 1807 .