POLSKA	POLAND
województwo: Pomorskie	voivodship: Pomerania
powiat: Kościerzyna	county: Kościerzyna

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Kościerzyna (in German: Berent) is situated at an elevation of 150 m in the Pomerelia region of Pomerania in northern Poland, about 50 km southwest of Gdańsk. Kościerzyna is the capital of the distict of the same name (powiat Kościerski); the municipality has a population of about 68,300 (2009).

The history of the town dates back to the end of the 13th century. Costerina was first mentioned in 1284. In 1346 it was granted municipal rights, and around 1350 the settlement obtained the status of a town. After 1310 it was part of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights. At that time, the German name of the town (then Bern) was used. After the Second Peace of Thorn (Toruń; 1466) the town became part of the province of Royal Prussia incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland. The town suffered many times from fire. In 1463 it was first plundered and thereafter burned down completely by Poles. In 1626, during the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629; part of the Thirty Years' War, 1618–1648), it was completely burned down once more. During the years 1646, 1663 and 1669 it partly burned down, and in 1709 again entirely. In the First Partition of Poland in 1772 (see map) the town was annexed by Kingdom of Prussia. It was administratively in the newly formed province of West Prussia, where it remained until 1919. After World War I, in January 1920 Kościerzyna was integrated into the Second Polish Republic. Occupied during World War II from 1939 to 1945 by Nazi Germany, it was returned to Poland in 1945.

The picture on glass no. 3266 shows a view of the Royal Teacher Seminary (labeled in German: Königl[iches] Lehrer-Seminar).

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kościerzyna, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kościerzyna]