Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466-1772)
Encyclopedia
The Pomeranian Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland
and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1454/1466 until the First partition of Poland
in 1772.
From 1613 the capital was at Skarszewy
.
comprised the eastern lands of the historic Pomerania
region, which since the Teutonic takeover of Gdańsk
in 1308 had been held by the State of the Teutonic Order. After the 1454 uprising of the Prussian Confederation
and the Thirteen Years' War, the area fell back to the Polish Crown according to the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466. Together with the Chełmno (former Kulmerland) and Malbork
(Marienburg) voivodeships and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia (Ermland) it formed the autonomous province of Royal Prussia
.
In older English sources and generally in German language use, for this region the appellation of Pomerelia
(German: Pommerellen or Pomerellen, rendered as Pomorze Gdańskie in Polish) prevails, because the name Pomerania (German: Pommern) usually refers to the western Duchy of Pomerania
(Polish: Księstwo Pomorskie), ruled by the House of Griffins
, who had become vassal
s of the Holy Roman Emperor
in 1181. In turn for their support in the Thirteen Years' War, the Griffin dukes in 1455 gained the Pomerelian Lauenburg and Bütow Land
as a Polish fief, which upon the extinction of the dynasty in 1637 fell back to the Polish Crown and by the 1657 Treaty of Bromberg
was given to the Brandenburg
margraves, who also ruled over the adjacent Imperial Pomerania Province
.
For the Polish Crown the fact turned out to be fatal, that after the 1525 establishment of Ducal Prussia on the remaining territory of the Teutonic Order, the Pomeranian Voivodeship separated two territories, which were both held by the rising House of Hohenzollern
, since 1618 in the personal union
of Brandenburg-Prussia
. After the Polish crown had given up suzerainty over Ducal Prussia by the 1657 Treaty of Wehlau and the Brandenburg margraves had assumed the title of a King in Prussia
in 1701, the Hohenzollerns sought to link their territories. On the eve of the Polish partitons, King Frederick II of Prussia
in 1771 finally incorporated Lauenburg and Bütow into the Pomerania Province. In the course of the First Partiton the next year, he furthermore annexed the Pomeranian voivodeship with Royal Prussia, then renamed as the Province of West Prussia
- except for the City of Gdańsk
(Danzig), which was not incorporated until the Second Partition
of 1793.
Today the historic administrative region roughly corresponds to the present-day Pomeranian Voivodeship
of Poland, which also comprises the Lands of Słupsk
(Stolp), that formerly belonged to the Duchy of Pomerania, as well as the territory of the former Malbork Voivodeship.
Regional council (sejmik generalny)
Regional councils (sejmik poselski i deputacki)
Administrative divisions:
From 1637 to 1657, the Lębork-Bytów Land.
Poland during the Jagiellon dynasty
History of Poland during the Jagiellon dynasty is the period in the history of Poland that spans the late Middle Ages and early Modern Era. Beginning with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila , the Jagiellon dynasty formed the Polish–Lithuanian union...
and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1454/1466 until the First partition of Poland
First Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland or First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. Growth in the Russian Empire's power, threatening the Kingdom of Prussia and the...
in 1772.
From 1613 the capital was at Skarszewy
Skarszewy
Skarszewy is a small town 40 km south of Gdańsk in Starogard Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. Located between Kościerzyna and Tczew. Population: 6 809...
.
History
The voivodeshipVoivodeship
Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....
comprised the eastern lands of the historic 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...
region, which since the Teutonic takeover of Gdańsk
Teutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdansk)
The city of Danzig was captured by the State of the Teutonic Order on 13 November 1308, resulting in a massacre of its inhabitants and marking the beginning of tensions between Poland and the Teutonic Order. Originally the knights moved into the fortress as an ally of Poland against the...
in 1308 had been held by the State of the Teutonic Order. After the 1454 uprising of the Prussian Confederation
Prussian Confederation
The Prussian Confederation was an organization formed in 1440 by a group of 53 gentry and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia to oppose the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. It was based on the basis of an earlier similar organization, the Lizard Union...
and the Thirteen Years' War, the area fell back to the Polish Crown according to the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466. Together with the Chełmno (former Kulmerland) and Malbork
Malbork Voivodeship
The Malbork Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland from 1454/1466 until the partitions in 1772-1795. Together with the Pomeranian and Chełmno Voivodeships and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia it formed the historical province of Royal Prussia...
(Marienburg) voivodeships and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia (Ermland) it formed the autonomous province of Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
.
In older English sources and generally in German language use, for this region the appellation 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...
(German: Pommerellen or Pomerellen, rendered as Pomorze Gdańskie in Polish) prevails, because the name Pomerania (German: Pommern) usually refers to the western 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 ....
(Polish: Księstwo Pomorskie), ruled by the House of Griffins
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...
, who had become vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s 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. In turn for their support in the Thirteen Years' War, the Griffin dukes in 1455 gained the Pomerelian 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...
as a Polish fief, which upon the extinction of the dynasty in 1637 fell back to the Polish Crown and by the 1657 Treaty of Bromberg
Treaty of Bromberg
The Treaty of Bromberg or Treaty of Bydgoszcz was a treaty between John II Casimir of Poland and Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia, ratified at Bromberg on 6 November 1657...
was given to the 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....
margraves, who also ruled over the adjacent Imperial Pomerania Province
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...
.
For the Polish Crown the fact turned out to be fatal, that after the 1525 establishment of Ducal Prussia on the remaining territory of the Teutonic Order, the Pomeranian Voivodeship separated two territories, which were both held by the rising House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
, since 1618 in the personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
of Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia is the historiographic denomination for the Early Modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenzollern intermarried with the branch ruling the Duchy of Prussia, and secured succession...
. After the Polish crown had given up suzerainty over Ducal Prussia by the 1657 Treaty of Wehlau and the Brandenburg margraves had assumed the title of a King in Prussia
King in Prussia
King in Prussia was a title used by the Electors of Brandenburg from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently they used the title King of Prussia....
in 1701, the Hohenzollerns sought to link their territories. On the eve of the Polish partitons, King Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
in 1771 finally incorporated Lauenburg and Bütow into the Pomerania Province. In the course of the First Partiton the next year, he furthermore annexed the Pomeranian voivodeship with Royal Prussia, then renamed as the Province of West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
- except for the City 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...
(Danzig), which was not incorporated until the Second Partition
Second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the second of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation of 1792...
of 1793.
Today the historic administrative region roughly corresponds to the present-day Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
of Poland, which also comprises the Lands of Słupsk
Lands of Schlawe and Stolp
The Lands of Schlawe and Stolp are a historical region in Pomerania, centered around the towns of Sławno and Słupsk in Farther Pomerania...
(Stolp), that formerly belonged to the Duchy of Pomerania, as well as the territory of the former Malbork Voivodeship.
Administration
Voivodeship Governor (Wojewoda) seat:- SkarszewySkarszewySkarszewy is a small town 40 km south of Gdańsk in Starogard Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. Located between Kościerzyna and Tczew. Population: 6 809...
Regional council (sejmik generalny)
- Starogard GdańskiStarogard GdanskiStarogard Gdański is a town in Eastern Pomerania in northwestern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants...
Regional councils (sejmik poselski i deputacki)
- Człuchów
- TucholaTucholaTuchola is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. The Pomeranian town, which had a population of 13,976 as of 2004, is located close to the Tuchola Forests about 7t0 km north of Bydgoszcz, and is the seat of Tuchola County...
- ŚwiecieSwiecieŚwiecie is a town in northern Poland with 25,968 inhabitants , situated in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship ; it was previously in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship . It is the capital of Świecie County.-History:...
- StarogródStarogard GdanskiStarogard Gdański is a town in Eastern Pomerania in northwestern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants...
- PuckPuck, PolandPuck is a town in northwestern Poland with 11,350 inhabitants. It is in Gdańsk Pomerania on the south coast of the Baltic Sea . Previously in the Gdańsk Voivodeship , Puck has been the capital of Puck County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999.-History:The settlement became a marketplace...
Administrative divisions:
- Człuchów County, (Powiat Człuchowski), Człuchów
- Gdańsk CountyGdansk CountyGdańsk County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. It includes areas to the east and south of the city of Gdańsk, from...
, (Powiat Gdański), GdańskGdanskGdańsk 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... - Koscierzyna CountyKoscierzyna CountyKościerzyna County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and only town is Kościerzyna, which lies ...
, (Powiat Kościerzyński), KościerzynaKoscierzynaKościerzyna is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with some 24,000 inhabitants. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999; previously it was in Gdańsk Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998... - Mirachowo County, (Powiat Mirachowski), MirachowoMirachowoMirachowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kartuzy, within Kartuzy County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Kartuzy and west of the regional capital Gdańsk....
- Nowe County, (Powiat Nowski), NoweNoweNowe is a town in Świecie County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,270 inhabitants ....
- Puck CountyPuck CountyPuck County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the Baltic coast. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the town of Puck, which...
, (Powiat Pucki), PuckPuck, PolandPuck is a town in northwestern Poland with 11,350 inhabitants. It is in Gdańsk Pomerania on the south coast of the Baltic Sea . Previously in the Gdańsk Voivodeship , Puck has been the capital of Puck County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999.-History:The settlement became a marketplace... - Skarszewy County, (Powiat Skarszewski), SkarszewySkarszewySkarszewy is a small town 40 km south of Gdańsk in Starogard Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. Located between Kościerzyna and Tczew. Population: 6 809...
- Stargard CountyStargard CountyStargard County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Stargard...
, (Powiat Starogrodzki) Starogard GdańskiStarogard GdanskiStarogard Gdański is a town in Eastern Pomerania in northwestern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants... - Świecie CountySwiecie CountyŚwiecie County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Świecie,...
, (Powiat Świecki), ŚwiecieSwiecieŚwiecie is a town in northern Poland with 25,968 inhabitants , situated in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship ; it was previously in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship . It is the capital of Świecie County.-History:... - Tczew CountyTczew CountyTczew County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Tczew, which lies south of...
, (Powiat Tczewski), TczewTczewTczew is a town on the Vistula River in Eastern Pomerania, Kociewie, northern Poland with 60,279 inhabitants . It is an important railway junction with a classification yard dating to the Prussian Eastern Railway... - Tuchola CountyTuchola CountyTuchola County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and only town is Tuchola, which...
, (Powiat Tucholski), TucholaTucholaTuchola is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. The Pomeranian town, which had a population of 13,976 as of 2004, is located close to the Tuchola Forests about 7t0 km north of Bydgoszcz, and is the seat of Tuchola County...
From 1637 to 1657, the Lębork-Bytów Land.
See also
- Pomeranian Voivodeship (1919–1939)