Farther Pomerania

Farther Pomerania or Further Pomerania ( _de. Hinterpommern; _pl. Pomorze Zachodnie) is a Pomeranian region roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East. The region correponds with the eastern part of the pre-war Prussian Province of Pomerania, yet today it is not an administrative, but a historical region within the West Pomeranian and Pomeranian Voivodeships.

Terminology

"Farther Pomerania" is the rough English translation of German "Hinterpommern", which is literally "behind" or "rear Pomerania". Initially, the term meant areas east of ("behind") Pomerania-Wolgast and was gradually adopted for areas east of Stettin in the 1500s. When the 1648 Peace of Westphalia divided the Duchy of Pomerania in a Western, Swedish and an Eastern, Brandenburgian part, "Farther Pomerania" was used for the latter - in opposition to Swedish "Hither Pomerania" ("Vorpommern") now including Stettin (Szczecin) and a strip of land east of the Oder River. As this Swedish-Prussian border shifted west several times afterwards, the Oder River was considered the western edge of Farther Pomerania. To the Southeast and East, Farther Pomerania has no distinct border to the Pomerelian region, as the administrative borders between the duchy and later province of Pomerania and its neighbors varied significant over time. In the post-1945 era, Farther Pomerania was affected by the Polish-German border shift. Before, it happened to be the Eastern part of German Pomerania ("Pommern", consisting of Hither and Farther Pomerania), yet thereafter it became the Western part of Polish Pomerania ("Pomorze", consisting of Farther Pomerania and Pomerelia). As Polish "Pomorze" has also been in use for Pomerelia, Farther Pomerania is termed "Western Pomerania" in Poland and roughly represented in todays West Pomeranian Voivodeship, including Szczecin "(Stettin)" and Wolin "(Wollin)". However, this term is not being adopted by the Germans, as the German part of Pomerania (Hither Pomerania) is considered to be Western Pomerania, so "Farther Pomerania" is still in use.

Towns

Major towns of Farther Pomerania include:
*Bytów "(Bütow)"
*Darłowo "(Rügenwalde)"
*Kołobrzeg "(Kolberg)"
*Koszalin "(Köslin)"
*Lębork "(Lauenburg in Pommern)"
*Słupsk "(Stolp in Pommern)"
*Stargard Szczeciński "(Stargard in Pommern)"
*Szczecinek "(Neustettin)"

History

"Main article: History of Pomerania"

After the Germanic tribes had left during the migration period, "Farther Pomerania" and "Pomerelia" became the settlement area of West Slavic tribes known as Pomeranians. By 992 AD some of the Pomeranians' territory was conquered by Mieszko I, who established a bishopric in Kołobrzeg that was destroyed only a decade later in a pagan uprising to regain Pomerania's independence. A note in a papal abbey in the 1080s mentiones that lands were gifted in 992 by Mieszko I to the pope (referred to as Dagome iudex, or (according to other sources) to sons of Mieszko I and Oda von Haldensleben. After a result of a military campaign, in 1116, 1119 and 1121 all lands of Pomerania was conquered by Bolesław III Wrymouth and divided into smaller parts. Pomerelia with Gdańsk ("Danzig") as a capital came under Bolesław III's direct rule, the Duchy of Słupsk ("Stolp") and Sławno ("Schlawe") with duke Ratibor I and Farther Pomerania with duke Wartislaw I became Polish vassal states. Wartislaw I was able to conquer large territories of Liutizian tribes in the West, the stock of the later "Hither Pomerania", and by inviting the missionary Otto of Bamberg managed to christianize the formerly pagan Pomeranian and Liutizian inhabitants of his realm.

Wartislaw I is the first non-legendary member of the Griffin dynasty that ruled Farther Pomerania until 1637, when the last Duke of Pomerania died without descendants. The Grffins ruled Saxony after the 1164 Battle of Verchen and the Holy Roman Empire in 1181. In the course of the German Ostsiedlung, Farther Pomerania was settled with Germans and German law, culture and language was introduced. In contrast to Hither Pomerania, there still were substantial Slavic Pomeranian populations after this period in the East, that kept Slavic tongue and customs and became known as Slovincians (Lutheran) and Kashubs (Roman-Catholic). In 1534 the Dukes of Pomerania joined Protestant Reformation influenced by Johannes Bugenhagen and Pomerania became a Lutheran state. Pomeranian Dukes managed lands on both sides of the Oder river and therefore in different history periods territories were vassal's or real estate of:

* Kingdom of Poland (small part around 992)
* Holy Roman Empire or independent (992-1116)
* Kingdom of Poland (1116-1181)
* Holy Roman Empire (1181-1214)
* Denmark (1214-1227)
* Holy Roman Empire (1227-1806) (except Lębork and Bytów, see below)
** different duchies within the HRE ruled by the Dukes of Pomerania (1227-1637)
* Swedish territory in the Holy Roman Empire (1631-1635, some parts from 1631-1660, 1631-1719)
* Brandenburg/Prussia (1648-1871)
* German Reich (1871-1945)
* Republic of Poland (from 1945- present)

After German vassalization, the region saw a huge influx of German settlers invited by the Pomeranian nobility to found towns and cultivate the countryside. By the 18th century, Farther Pomerania was linguistically:
* in majority German,
* in eastern rural areas Kashubian
* Slovincian dialect in the rural areas of Leba (Łeba) and Lauenburg (Lębork), roughly germanized by 1850.

* After Potsdam Conference in 1945, Farther Pomerania became part of the territory of Poland, and most of the German population was forcibly expelled.

Timelines

Majority of Farther Pomerania

* became part of Holy Roman Empire in the 12th century
* 1121-1238 Duchy of Slawno ( _de. Herzogtum Schlawe)
* 1238-1317 divided
* 1317-1654 part of the Duchy of Pomerania (districts: Duchy of Kashubia, Duchy of Vandalia, Principality of Cammin)
* 1654-1815 part of Brandenburg-Prussia (districts: Duchy of Kashubia, Duchy of Vandalia, Principality of Cammin)
* 1815-1945 District of Köslin, part of Prussian Province of Pomerania
* 1945-1950 part of Szczecin Voivodeship
* 1950-1975 Koszalin Voivodeship
* 1975-1998 Koszalin Voivodeship, Słupsk Voivodeship
* after 1999 divided between Pomeranian Voivodeship and West Pomeranian Voivodeship

Lębork and Bytów

Lębork ("Lauenburg") and Bytów ("Bütow") had a slightly different history:

* 1310 to Teutonic Knights (together with Pomerelia)
* 1454 to Poland (Royal Prussia)
* 1455 as a Polish fief administrated by dukes of Pomerania
* 1637 after the extinction of the dukes of Pomerania, restored to Poland
* 1657 as a Polish fief, administrated by Prince-electors of Brandenburg-Prussia
* 1698 Prussians stopped recognizing Polish suzerainty over the towns
* 1815 reorganized as Province of Pomerania in the Kingdom of Prussia
* 1945 to Poland as planned at the Tehran Conference

ee also

*Pomerania
*Dukes of Pomerania
*House of Pomerania
*Pomerelia