Piła grew from an old fishing village situated in the woods over the Gwda river. The industrial charac­ter associated with wood processing is reflected in the name of the city (English: saw). Piła received its town rights in the 15th century, which were confirmed in 1513 by King Sigismund I the Old. The city had its share of disasters and war turmoil. In 1626, the city was completely burned down. Rebuilt, it did not manage to resist the Swedish army during the Great Northern War, whereas the greatest destruction was brought over by the Sev­en Years’ War. The First Partition ended the rule of Poles in Piła. In 1807 - 1815, Piła was part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, a substitute of the Pol­ish state. After the fall of Napoleon, the city be­came part of the Grand Duchy of Posen (then part of Prussia). Following World War I, Piła remained within the limits of the Reich. During World War II, it became an important centre of the German armaments industry and the place of evacuation of German population from industrial districts of the Third Reich, which were bombed by the Allies. At the beginning of 1945, Piła was declared a for­tress, becoming a part of the fortifications of the Pomeranian Wall. As a result of long-term battles, Piła was completely destroyed. The city needed to be rebuild almost from scratch.