Okonek was founded relatively late. The site’s German name - Ratzebohr, is linked to the Slavonic name of Duke <b>Racibór, </b>which explains why at the very beginning it was called Racibórz. From a 15th century description of the boundaries between the Crown and the Pomeranian Duchy it results, that the Czarna River constituted a boundary between Pomerania and Greater Poland, which did not foster settlement growth in this region until the end of the century. Okonek, as a village, was settled before 1546 by the village administrator and settlement founder- <b>Hening Woyka, a </b>Kashubian who came from the Człuchow region. At the beginning, Okonek was inhabited exclusively by Kashubians. Since 1597 it was a trade settlement at the crossing of two trade routes leading to Szczecin and Gdańsk, and was administered by some kind of a council. As a trade settlement, Okonek also had separate privileges called <i>„jus forense, jus civile”</i>. In 1614 Okonek is mentioned as a free village benefiting from fairs. As a result of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) Okonek, alongside with the whole Szczecińskie Land, came under Brandenburg rule, and from 1720 it passed under Prussian authority. A gradual influx of settlers caused genuine Kashubian inhabitants to move out. In 1748 Okonek was destroyed by a great fire, but thanks to the government’s aid it was soon reconstructed, and granted town privileges by Frederick II of Prussia in 1754. The town’s successful development was blocked by the outbreak of the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), during which it was plundered with impunity by the Cossacks’ squads of the Tsar’s army. The king wanted to support Okonek’s inhabitants and he granted the town a fulling mill[1.1], and moreover he donated them 2,000 thalers for purchasing wool. As a result, until the war in 1806, cloth and flannel production flourished in Okonek. At the end of the 18th century the town was a large center of cloth production, which supplied its products to Greater Poland. The first Partition of Poland (1772) which brought the transfer of the Polish border further away, had negative influence on the production volume and caused a slowdown in the cloth industry. In 1879 a railway connection with Szczecinek and Piła was established, and in 1939 the population of Okonek grew to 2,940 inhabitants. During the Second World War there was a forced labour camp in the city, where Russian soldiers were imprisoned. On the 31st of January, 1945 Okonek was liberated by the soldiers of the Second Corps of the Red Army Cavalry’s Guard. As a result of the war actions 35 % of the buildings were destroyed, but we can still admire houses of sulow – timber framing from the 19th century in town, and the Neo-Romanesque church from 1856, as well as the town hall built in 1883. At present Okonek has about 4,200 inhabitants, and it is an important center of culture and education in the municipality, as well as a center of small industry, trade and services, for the local community. There are about 250 small businesses in the town supplied with full technical infrastructure. An event called Okonek Days has been held there for some years. During several days of June many cultural events and entertainments are organized for the inhabitants of the town and municipality. [1.2]