Lands of Schlawe and Stolp - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Lands of Schlawe and Stolp are a historical region

Historical region

Historical regions are delimitations of geographic areas for studying and analysing social development of period-specific cultures without any reference to contemporary political, economic or social organisations....

in Pomerania

Pomerania

Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...

, centered around the towns of Sławno (Schlawe) and Słupsk (Stolp) in Farther Pomerania

Farther Pomerania

Farther Pomerania, Further Pomerania, Transpomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...

. The area is of some historic significance, as it initially did not belong to the Duchy of Pomerania

Duchy of Pomerania

The Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....

(Slavinia

Slavinia

Slavinia is a historical region in present-day Poland and Germany consisting of the western part of the region of Pomerania, specifically Hither Pomerania and Further Pomerania."...A distinction was made between Slavinia, or modern [i.e., 1911] Pomerania, and Pomerellen." The term Duchy of...

) under Duke Wartislaw I

Wartislaw I, Duke of Pomerania

Wartislaw I was the first historical ruler of the Duchy of Pomerania and the founder of the Griffin dynasty....

and his descendants, who became vassals of the Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

in 1181.

Geography

The region comprises the easternmost part of Farther Pomerania

Farther Pomerania

, located between the Unieść

Unieść

Unieść is a river of Poland....

river at the Góra Chełmska hill (about 2 km (1.2 mi) east of Koszalin

Koszalin

Koszalin ; is the largest city of Middle Pomerania in north-western Poland. It is located 12 km south of the Baltic Sea coast. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999...

) in the west, the historic border with the Bishopric of Cammin, and the Łeba River in the east, where it bordered on the lands of Pomerelia

Pomerelia

Pomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia lay in eastern Pomerania: on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and west of the Vistula and its delta. The area centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...

. In the north the region is bounded by the Baltic

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

coast. Before 1945 the region had boundaries in the south to both the New March region of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg

Province of Brandenburg

The Province of Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:The first people who are known to have inhabited Brandenburg were the Suevi. They were succeeded by the Slavonians, whom Henry II conquered and converted to Christianity in...

and to Greater Poland

Greater Poland

Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...

History

Since the 1120s, the Lands of Schlawe and Stolp were ruled by Duke Ratibor I

Ratibor I, Duke of Pomerania

Ratibor I of the House of Pomerania was Duke of Pomerania. He was married to Pribislawa, and was the ancestor of the Ratiborides sideline of the Griffins....

, the brother of Duke Wartislaw I of Pomerania. When Wartislaw was murdered about 1135, Ratibor also assumed the rule over his late brother's duchy as regent

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

for his minor nephews, however upon his own death in 1156, the domains were again separated: Schlawe-Stolp was inherited by Ratibor's sons Swantepolk and Bogislaw, the so-called "Ratiborides" cadet branch of the Griffin House of Pomerania

House of Pomerania

The House of Griffins or House of Pomerania, , also known as House of Greifen; House of Gryf, was a dynasty of Royal dukes that ruled the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637, after their power was temporarily derivated to Prussian Royal House...

, while their cousin Duke Bogislaw I of Pomerania

Bogislaw I, Duke of Pomerania

Bogislaw I of the House of Pomerania was Duke of Pomerania-Stettin from 1156 to 1187. He co-ruled the Duchy of Pomerania with his brother Casimir I of Pomerania-Demmin. His father was Wartislaw I...

pledged allegiance to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...

in 1181. Nevertheless all Pomerania was under Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

occupation from the 1180s to 1227.

Samborides

The last member of the Ratiborides branch of the Griffins, Ratibor II, died in 1223. This led to an inheritance dispute between the Pomeranian Griffins and the Samborides

Samborides

The Samborides or House of Sobiesław were a ruling dynasty in the historic region of Pomerania. They were first documented about 1155 as governors in the eastern Pomerelian lands serving the royal Piast dynasty of Poland, and from 1227 ruled as autonomous princes until 1294, at which time the...

dukes of neighbouring Pomerelia

Pomerelia

, vassals of the Piast Kingdom of Poland. As Ratibor II had died during the Danish period, Denmark administered the area until she had to withdraw after the lost Battle of Bornhöved

Battle of Bornhöved (1227)

The Battle of Bornhöved took place on 22 July 1227 near Bornhöved in Holstein. Count Adolf IV of Schauenburg and Holstein — leading an army consisting of troops from the cities of Lübeck and Hamburg, about 1000 Dithmarsians and combined troops of Holstein next to various north German nobles —...

in 1227. Duke Barnim I of Pomerania

Barnim I, Duke of Pomerania

Barnim I the Good from the Griffin dynasty was a Duke of Pomerania from 1220 until his death.-Life:...

immediately took control of the lands after the Danish withdrawal, but had to yield rights to the Pomerelian duke Swantopolk II, who claimed a closer relationship to the extinct Ratiborides, and took over Schlawe-Stolp in 1235/36.

In the 1250s, the Griffins mounted an unsuccessful campaign to gain the area. After the death of Duke Swantopolk II in 1266, Duke Barnim I of Pomerania again assumed the rule over the area and kept it until 1269, when Rugian

Principality of Rugia

The Principality of Rugia or Principality of Rügen was a Danish principality consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a local dynasty of princes of the Wizlawiden dynasty...

prince Wizlaw II took over. On 3 September 1273 the Lands of Schlawe and Stolp became a fief under the Imperial Margraves of Brandenburg

Margraviate of Brandenburg

The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....

. Contested by late Swantopelks's son Duke Mestwin II of Pomerelia, Wizlaw II of Rugia finally withdrew in 1277 and sold his rights to the area for 3.500 Brandenburgian Marks in silver to the Margraves of Brandenburg. In 1283, Mestwin II of Pomerelia finally took over. Competition arose anew after his death in 1294, since the Samborides dynasty had become extinct and in his testimony Mestwin II had ignored his earlier contracts and by the secret Treaty of Kępno

Treaty of Kępno

The Treaty of Kępno was an agreement between the High Duke of Poland and Wielkopolska Przemysł II and the Duke of Pomerania Mestwin II signed on February 15, 1282, which transferred the suzerainty over Gdańsk Pomerania to Przemysł...

had inserted as his successor the former Polish High Duke Przemysł II of Greater Poland.

Inheritance conflict

Przemysł II was crowned King of Poland in 1295 and assumed the rule over the Pomerelian lands with Schlawe-Stolp. However, after he was murdered the next year, the lands of Schlawe, Stolp and Rügenwalde fell to the Brandenburgian House of Ascania: A last attempt had been made by Przemysł II to occupy the region, but in 1296 the Polish invasion troops were beaten by a Pomeranian contingent in a decisive battle near Buckow, a village in the vicinity of the town of Rügenwalde. According to a chronic of 1652 by M. Merian, the lands were then taken over by Wizlaw of Rügen and count Adolph from Holstein. In 1301 Prince Sambor of Rugia enfeoffed his castellan Matthew in Schlawe with his domains in the surroundings of Schlawe, Rügenwalde and Stolp. The Pomeranian dukes, acting under the sovereignty of Brandenburg, were forced out and had to withdraw at about 1301, after the Bohemian king Wenceslaus II had become king of both Poland and Bohemia

Kingdom of Bohemia

The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...

. He inserted a Polish administrator in the lands of Schlawe and Stolp, Frederic of Scassowo, a Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

n noble, who appeared in Schlawe in December 1302.

After both King Wenceslaus II and his young successor, Wenceslaus III

Wenceslaus III of Bohemia

Wenceslaus III Premyslid was the King of Hungary , King of Bohemia and the king of Poland ....

, had died, the Margraves of Brandenburg returned in 1305 to the lands of Schlawe, Rügenwalde and Stolp. In 1307 they launched from the region a campaign against the fortified castle of Gdańsk

Gdansk

Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...

in Pomerelia. The attack failed, however, since the local war lord, Wŀadisŀaw Ŀokietek, had recruited soldiers of the Teutonic Knights

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

in order to help defending it.

In 1308, after a massacre of Gdańsk citizens, the city was taken over by Teutonic Order (Teutonic takeover of Danzig). Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen

Siegfried von Feuchtwangen

Siegfried von Feuchtwangen was the 15th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1303 to 1311.Von Feuchtwangen was born in Feuchtwangen in Middle Franconia, and was a relative of the earlier Grand Master Konrad von Feuchtwangen. He took the office after his predecessor, Gottfried von...

and Master Heinrich von Dirschau und Schwetz integrated Danzig into the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights

Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights

The State of the Teutonic Order, , also Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights or Ordensstaat , was formed in 1224 during the Northern Crusades, the Teutonic Knights' conquest of the pagan West-Baltic Old Prussians in the 13th century....

. In the Treaty of Soldin of 13 September 1309, the Ascanian Margrave Waldemar of Brandenburg

Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal

Waldemar of Brandenburg was Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal, the last from the Ascanian House.-Life:He was a son of Conrad, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal and Constance, daughter of Przemysł I of Greater Poland...

sold his claims to Pomerelia east of the Łeba River including Lauenburg and Bütow Land

Lauenburg and Bütow Land

Lauenburg and Bütow Land formed a historical region in eastern in eastern Pomerania. Composed of two districts centered around the towns of Lauenburg and Bütow , it was on the western periphery of Pomerelia...

to the Teutonic Order, but retained Schlawe-Stolp. Emperor Henry VI

Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry VI was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197, Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King of Sicily from 1194 to 1197.-Early years:Born in Nijmegen,...

ratified the Soldin Treaty in 1313, whereafter the Lands of Schlawe and Stolp finally were incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

Duchy of Pomerania

The districts of Schlawe (now Sławno), Rügenwalde (Darłowo) and Stolp (Słupsk), remained with the Margraviate of Brandenburg and were ruled by the margraves' vassals, the Swenzones

Swenzones

The collective name Swenzones , refers in historical literature to a Pomeranian noble family which at the transition from the Middle Ages to modern times made in the Lands of Schlawe and Stolp and Pomerelia from 1269 to 1357 a remarkable career under various political powers struggling for...

, who had administered the area already before under other dynasties. In 1316/17, the Griffin

House of Pomerania

duke of Pomerania-Wolgast took over these areas as a fief from Margrave Waldemar of Brandenburg. In 1347, the area became fully attached to the Duchy of Pomerania-Wolgast. The lands of Stolp were pawned to the Teutonic Order from 1329 to 1341, the Bütow

Bütow

Bütow is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....

area was bought by the Order in 1329 and thus remained outside Pomerania-Wolgast.

The lands of Schlawe and Stolp became part of the Duchy of Pomerania-Stolp after the partition of the Pomeranian duchy in 1368. The eastern border of the lands of Schlawe and Stolp to Pomerelia had shifted several times, before they, together with the lands of Lauenburg and Bütow, were integrated into the Prussian Province of Pomerania

Province of Pomerania (1653–1815)

The Province of Pomerania was a province of Brandenburg-Prussia, the later Kingdom of Prussia. After the Thirty Years' War, the province consisted of Farther Pomerania. Subsequently, the Lauenburg and Bütow Land, Draheim, and Swedish Pomerania south of the Peene river were joined into the province...

in 1653.

Geography

History

Samborides

Inheritance conflict

Duchy of Pomerania

See also