Pomesania
Encyclopedia
Pomesanians were one of the Prussian clans. They lived in Pomesania , a historical region in modern northern Poland
, located between the Nogat
and Vistula
Rivers to the west and the Elbląg River
to the east. It is located around the modern towns of Elbląg
and Malbork
. As the westernmost clan, the Pomesanians were the first of the Prussians to be conquered by the Teutonic Knights
, a German military crusading order brought to the Chełmno Land
to convert the pagans to Christianity. Due to Germanization and assimilation, Pomesanians became extinct sometime in the 17th century.
, legendary chieftain of the Prussians. Georg Gerullis determined that its name was actually derived from the Old Prussian word pomedian, meaning fringe of the forest. Lithuanian term pamedė, having the same meaning, was introduced by Kazimieras Būga
.
asked the Teutonic Knights
to protect his territory from such raids. In 1230 the Knights settled in the Chełmno Land and began the Prussian Crusade. In 1231 they crossed Vistula and built Thorn (Toruń)
. Pomesanian leader Pepin unsuccessfully besieged the city, but soon he was captured and tortured to death. In 1233 the work began in Marienwerder (Kwidzyn), and during the winter the Prussians gathered a large army for a major battle on the Sirgune River, where they suffered a great defeat. During the next three years all of Pomesania was conquered and made part of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights
. The city of Elbing (Elbląg)
was founded in 1237 by the Order near the ancient Prussian trading town of Truso
.
In 1243, the Bishopric of Pomesania
and the other three dioceses (Bishopric of Samland
, Ermland
, and Bishopric of Culm) were put under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Riga
by papal legate William of Modena
. The diocese of Pomesania was later placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) (until 1821). Pomesanians joined the other Prussian clans during the First Prussian Uprising
(1242–1249), but was the only clan not to participate in the Great Prussian Uprising (1260–1274). As the westernmost Prussian territory, it was the most exposed clan to the Polish Pomeranian, Masovian, and Kuyavian and thenGerman colonists
and their cultures. They might have assimilated and became extinct a bit faster than the other Prussians.
The region became a part of the Kingdom of Poland province of Royal Prussia
with the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), prospered with the grain trade from southern Poland to the royal city of Gdańsk
and then sustained ravages and plagues brought by several Swedish and Prussian invasions during the 17th and early 18th centuries, and was forcefully removed from Kingdom of Poland and annexed into the Kingdom of Prussia
as a result og the First Partition of Poland
in 1772. With the rest of Prussia, it became a part of the German Empire
during the unification of Germany
in 1871. When the Treaty of Versailles
granted most of former Royal Prussia to the Second Polish Republic
as the Polish Corridor
in 1920, Pomesania remained in Germany as part of the exclave and province of East Prussia
. After World War II
ended in 1945, Pomesania returned to Poland according to the Potsdam Agreement
. It is currently divided between the Warmian-Masurian
and Pomeranian Voivodeship
s.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, located between the Nogat
Nogat
-----------------The Nogat is a 62km long delta branch of the Vistula River and does not empty at Gdańsk Bay as the main river does.The Nogat has its origin near the city of Biała Góra as an anabranch of the Vistula River. Shortly after the river Liwa flows into the Nogat. Than the river passes...
and Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
Rivers to the west and the Elbląg River
Elblag River
The Elbląg is a river in northwest Poland connecting Lake Drużno with the Vistula Lagoon. The city of Elbląg is situated on the river.Tributaries include:*Fiszewka*Kumiela*Tina...
to the east. It is located around the modern towns of Elbląg
Elblag
Elbląg is a city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants . It is the capital of Elbląg County and has been assigned to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Before then it was the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship...
and Malbork
Malbork
Malbork is a town in northern Poland in the Żuławy region , with 38,478 inhabitants . Situated in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously assigned to Elbląg Voivodeship...
. As the westernmost clan, the Pomesanians were the first of the Prussians to be conquered by 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...
, a German military crusading order brought to the Chełmno Land
Chełmno Land
Chełmno land or Chełmno region is a historical region of Poland, located in central Poland, bounded by the Vistula and Drwęca rivers....
to convert the pagans to Christianity. Due to Germanization and assimilation, Pomesanians became extinct sometime in the 17th century.
Etymology
The territory is said in folk etymology to have been named after Pomeso, a son of WidewutoWidewuto
Widewuto was a legendary king of the pagan Prussians who ruled along with his elder brother, the high priest Bruteno in the 6th century AD. They are known from writings of 16th-century chroniclers Erasmus Stella, Simon Grunau, and Lucas David...
, legendary chieftain of the Prussians. Georg Gerullis determined that its name was actually derived from the Old Prussian word pomedian, meaning fringe of the forest. Lithuanian term pamedė, having the same meaning, was introduced by Kazimieras Būga
Kazimieras Buga
Kazimieras Būga was a Lithuanian linguist and philologist. He was a professor of linguistics, who mainly worked on the Lithuanian language.He was born at Pažiegė, near Dusetos, then part of the Russian Empire...
.
History
The area was inhabited by Baltic people at least since the 9th century and possibly earlier. At the dawn of the 13th century the population is estimated at around 16,000–20,000. The clan, together with neighbours Pogesanians, made frequent raids into Masovian lands. In 1225 Duke Konrad I of MasoviaKonrad I of Masovia
Konrad I of Masovia , from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia from 1194 until his death and High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232.-Life:...
asked 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...
to protect his territory from such raids. In 1230 the Knights settled in the Chełmno Land and began the Prussian Crusade. In 1231 they crossed Vistula and built Thorn (Toruń)
Torun
Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....
. Pomesanian leader Pepin unsuccessfully besieged the city, but soon he was captured and tortured to death. In 1233 the work began in Marienwerder (Kwidzyn), and during the winter the Prussians gathered a large army for a major battle on the Sirgune River, where they suffered a great defeat. During the next three years all of Pomesania was conquered and made part of 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....
. The city of Elbing (Elbląg)
Elblag
Elbląg is a city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants . It is the capital of Elbląg County and has been assigned to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Before then it was the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship...
was founded in 1237 by the Order near the ancient Prussian trading town of Truso
Truso
Truso, situated on Lake Druzno, was an Old Prussian town near the Baltic Sea just east of the Vistula River. It was one of the trading posts on the Amber Road, and is thought to be the antecedent of the city of Elbląg . In the words of Marija Gimbutas, "the name of the town is the earliest known...
.
In 1243, the Bishopric of Pomesania
Bishopric of Pomesania
The Bishopric of Pomesania was a diocese in the Prussian regions of Pomesania and Pogesania. It was founded as a Roman Catholic diocese in 1243 by the papal legate William of Modena. The bishops, whose seat was Riesenburg , possessed one-third of the bishopric's territory...
and the other three dioceses (Bishopric of Samland
Bishopric of Samland
The Bishopric of Samland was a bishopric in Samland in medieval Prussia. It was founded as a Roman Catholic diocese in 1243 by papal legate William of Modena. Its seat was Königsberg, until 1523 the episcopal residence was in Fischhausen. The bishopric became Lutheran in the 16th century during...
, Ermland
Archbishopric of Warmia
The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia was a semi independent ecclesiastical state, a Prussian bishopric under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Riga that was a protectorate of the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights and a protectorate of Kingdom of Poland, later part of the Polish-Lithuanian...
, and Bishopric of Culm) were put under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Riga
Archbishop of Riga
The Archbishopric of Riga was an archbishopric in Medieval Livonia, a subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 as the bishopric of Livonia at Üxküll, then after moving to Riga it became the bishopric of Riga in 1202 and was elevated to an archbishopric in 1255.- Archbishops of Riga :The...
by papal legate William of Modena
William of Modena
William of Modena , also known as William of Sabina, Guglielmo de Chartreaux, Guglielmo de Savoy, Guillelmus, was an Italian clergyman and papal diplomat. He was frequently appointed a legate, or papal ambassador by the popes Honorius III and Gregory IX, especially in Livonia in the 1220s and in...
. The diocese of Pomesania was later placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) (until 1821). Pomesanians joined the other Prussian clans during the First Prussian Uprising
Prussian uprisings
The Prussian uprisings were two major and three smaller uprisings by the Prussians, one of the Baltic tribes, against the Teutonic Knights that took place in the 13th century during the Northern Crusades. The crusading military order, supported by the Popes and Christian Europe, sought to conquer...
(1242–1249), but was the only clan not to participate in the Great Prussian Uprising (1260–1274). As the westernmost Prussian territory, it was the most exposed clan to the Polish Pomeranian, Masovian, and Kuyavian and thenGerman colonists
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...
and their cultures. They might have assimilated and became extinct a bit faster than the other Prussians.
The region became a part of the Kingdom of Poland 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...
with the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), prospered with the grain trade from southern Poland to the royal 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...
and then sustained ravages and plagues brought by several Swedish and Prussian invasions during the 17th and early 18th centuries, and was forcefully removed from Kingdom of Poland and annexed into the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
as a result og the First Partition of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
in 1772. With the rest of Prussia, it became a part of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
during the unification of Germany
Unification of Germany
The formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm of the German...
in 1871. When the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
granted most of former Royal Prussia to the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
as the Polish Corridor
Polish Corridor
The Polish Corridor , also known as Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia , which provided the Second Republic of Poland with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from the province of East...
in 1920, Pomesania remained in Germany as part of the exclave and province of East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ended in 1945, Pomesania returned to Poland according to the Potsdam Agreement
Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement was the Allied plan of tripartite military occupation and reconstruction of Germany—referring to the German Reich with its pre-war 1937 borders including the former eastern territories—and the entire European Theatre of War territory...
. It is currently divided between the Warmian-Masurian
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, or Warmia-Masuria Province , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn...
and 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...
s.