Country Poland Gmina Gmina Słupsk Area 16.57 km² Local time Sunday 7:23 PM | Powiat Słupsk Elevation 10 m Population 405 (2006) Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship | |
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Weather 8°C, Wind W at 14 km/h, 62% Humidity | ||
Redzikowo [rɛd͡ʑiˈkɔvɔ] (German: Reitz, Kashubian: Redzëkòwò) is a village in northern Poland, located in Gmina Słupsk, Słupsk County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, 5 km to the east of Słupsk. It has 405 inhabitants (2006). Just to the north of it is the Słupsk-Redzikowo Airport which was to be the site of a US missile defense complex that was planned to be built by 2012. The original project was cancelled on September 2009, but the airfield is expected to be a base for SM-3 Block IIA missiles of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System starting in 2018.
Contents
Map of Redzikowo, Poland
History
The village is first mentioned in historical records from 1288, when during the era of German eastward settlement duke Mestwin II granted the village to a monastery of Norbertine nuns. In subsequent centuries Reitz had been a fief owned in succession by various noble families. In 1814 the manor was sold to the family Arnold. In 1938 the owner of the estate had been Friedrich Wilhelm Arnold.
In 1935 the construction of an airfield named Stolp-Reitz started next to the village (earlier airfield named Stolp-West located in the area was built during World War I). Later the airfield became a Fliegerwaffenschule (Air Weapons School) for the Luftwaffe, and a number of hangars and other buildings were added. On March 8, 1945, the region was occupied by the Red Army and the inhabitants were expelled. From the end of World War II to 1950 the base was used by the Soviet Air Force. Although after the end of the war the region became part of Poland, Redzikowo and its airfield remained under Russian control until 1950. It was handed over to the Polish Air Force in 1950. The base was subsequently used by the 28 Słupski Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego (28th Słupsk Fighter Aviation Regiment, disbanded in 1999). It also functioned for a time as a civil airport. At present the airfield is only used by small civil airplanes.