- Warmia
Warmia ( _pl. Warmia,
Latin : "Varmia") or Erm(e)land (Audio-de|Ermland|Ermland.ogg) is a region betweenPomerania andMasuria in northeasternPoland . Together with Masuria, it forms theWarmian-Masurian Voivodeship .To the west of Warmia is
Pomesania , to the south isChełmno Land ,Sassinia , and Masuria (earlier calledGalindia ), to the east isSambia , and to the north is theVistula Bay . Warmia has been under the dominion of various states and peoples over the course of its history, most notably theOld Prussians , theTeutonic Knights , the Kingdom of Poland, and theKingdom of Prussia . The history of the region is closely connected to that of theArchbishopric of Warmia (formerly,Duchy of Warmia ).The area is associated with the Prussian tribe, the
Warmians Also called the "Warms", "Varms", "Varmi", "Warmians", "Varmians", and, in Latvian, the "Vārmieši".] , who settled in the northern part of the area. According tofolk etymology , the area of "Warmia" is named after the legendary Prussian chief "Warmo ", the name "Ermland", in turn, derives from his widow "Erma".History
Early history
The first traces of human settlement in the region come from roughly 14 to 15 thousand years ago: traces of settlements made by the
Lusatian culture (13th—5th century BC ), including above-ground water housings and artificially created islands.Fact|date=February 2007 By the earlyMiddle Ages , the area was inhabited by the Warmians, an Old Prussian tribe.The beginning of the Northern Crusades
In the 13th century, the area became a battleground in the
Northern Crusades . Having failed to gather an expedition against Palestine,Pope Innocent III resolved in1207 to organize a new Crusade; beginning in1209 , he called for Crusades against theAlbigenses , in against theAlmohad dynasty ofSpain (1213 ), and, around that time, the pagans ofPrussia [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04543c.htm] . The first Bishop of Prussia,Christian of Oliva , was commissioned in1209 to convert the Prussians, at the request ofKonrad I of Masovia .The Teutonic Order
After a number of years Duke
Konrad I of Masovia invited theTeutonic Knights toChristianize the pagan Prussians in 1226. He supplied the Teutonic Order and allowed the usage ofChełmno Land ("Culmerland") which as a base for the knights. They were to establish secure borders between Masovia and the Prussians, with perhaps his assumption that conquered territories would be joined to Masovia. The Order waited until they received official authorisation by the empire, which Emperor Frederick II granted by issuing theGolden Bull of Rimini . The grant was confirmed by the papalGolden Bull of Rieti fromPope Gregory IX in 1234, although Konrad of Masovia never recognized the rights of the Order to rule Prussia. Later, the Knights were accused of forging these land grants.By the end of the 13th century most of the Prussian region, including Warmia, was conquered and Christianized by the Teutonic Order, as was requested by the popes, the ultimate superiors of the Teutonic Order. Of the native Prussians many were reduced to the status of serfs and gradually Germanized. Other native Prussians took on Christianity and had their equal status granted. Over several centuries the colonists, native Prussians and the immigrants gradually developed into German East Prussians.
The
Archbishopric of Warmia was one of fourdiocese s created in 1242 by thepapal legate William of Modena . Since the 13th century the two Meistertums of Prussia (with Warmia) andLivonia were colonised byGermans (the from 1525 onwardsLutheran Duchy of Prussia gave refuge to Protestant Lithuanians, Scots, Salzburgers, and Mazurian Poles). The bishopric was exempt and was governed by a prince-bishop, confirmed by Emperor Charles IV. The Bishops of Warmia were usually Germans or Poles, although Enea Silvio Piccolomini, the laterPope Pius II , was an Italian bishop of the diocese.After the 1410
Battle of Grunwald , BishopHeinrich Vogelsang of Warmia surrendered to KingJogaila of Poland, and later with BishopHenry of Sambia gave homage to the Polish king atMarienburg Castle (Malbork). After the Polish army moved out of Warmia, the new Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights,Heinrich von Plauen the Elder , accused the bishop of treachery and reconquered the region. [http://www.pieniezno.pl/?site=historia]Polish Crown
Warmia was under the Church jurisdiction of the
Archbishopric of Riga until 1512, whenPrince-Bishop Lucas Watzenrode received exempt status, placing Warmia directly under the authority of the Pope (in terms of church jurisdiction), which remained until the resolution of theHoly Roman Empire in 1806. TheSecond Peace of Thorn (1466) had removed Warmia from the control of the Teutonic Knights and placed it under the sovereignty of theCrown of Poland as part of the province ofRoyal Prussia , with several privileges though.Soon after, in 1467, the Cathedral Chapter elected
Nicolas von Tüngen against the wish of the Polish king. The Estates of Royal Prussia did not take the side of the Cathedral Chapter. Nicholas von Tüngen allied himself with theTeutonic Order and with KingMatthias Corvinus of Hungary . The feud, known as theWar of the Priests , was a low scale affair, affecting mainly Warmia. In 1478Braniewo (Braunsberg) withstood a Polish siege which was ended in an agreement in which the Polish king recognized von Tüngen as bishop and the right of the Cathedral Chapter to elect future bishops, which however would have to be accepted by the king, and the bishop as well as Cathedral Chapter swore an oath to the Polish king. Later in the Treaty ofPiotrków Trybunalski (December 7 1512 ), conceded to the king of Poland a limited right to determine the election of bishops by choosing four candidates from Royal Prussia [http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/15cen/pfaffenkrieg14671479.html] .After the
Union of Lublin in1569 Duchy of Warmia was officially directly included as part of the Polish crown within thePolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . At the same time the territory continued to enjoy substantial autonomy, with many legal differences from neighbouring lands. For example, the bishops were by law members of Polish Senat and the land elected MP's to theSejmik ofRoyal Prussia as well as MP's to the Sejm ofPoland .Prussia
By the
First Partition of Poland in 1772, Warmia was politically reunited with the surrounding parts of East Prussia and annexed by theKingdom of Prussia ; the property of theArchbishopric of Warmia was confiscated by the Prussian state.Ignacy Krasicki , the lastprince-bishop as well as a Polish writer, friend ofFrederick the Great , was nominated to the Archbishopric of Gnesen (Gniezno). The Prussian census in 1772 showed a total population of 96,547, including an urban population of 24,612 in 12 towns. 17,749 houses were listed and the biggest city was Braunsberg (Braniewo).From 1772-1945 Warmia was part of Lutheran
East Prussia , with the exception that the people of Warmia remained largely Catholic. Most of the German population of Warmia spokeHigh Prussian , while a small area in the north spokeLow Prussian ; southern Warmia was mostly populated by Polish-speakingWarmiak s. Warmia became part of theGerman Empire in1871 .In 1873 according to a regulation of the German government, school lessons at public schools inside Germany had to be hold in German, as a result the Polish language was forbidden in all schools in Warmia, including Polish schools founded in the
16th century . In 1900 Warmia's population was 240,000. In the jingoistic climate afterWorld War I , Poles were subject to persecution by the German government, and Germans by the Polish government. Polish children speaking their language were punished in schools and often had to wear signs with insulting names, such as "Pollack". [http://www.domwarminski.pl/www.domwarminski.pl/content/view/294/416]After the
First World War in the aftermath of theEast Prussian plebiscite the region remained in Germany, as in the Warmian district ofAllenstein (Olsztyn) 86,53% and in the district ofRössel ( Reszel) 97,9% voted for Germany. The reciprocal persecutions of the German and Polish governments and militias worsened in the late 1930s, and the Poles in Warmia were subject to harsher persecution by German authorities and militias, such as attacks on schools and centers. DuringWorld War II Germany sought to suppress all elements of social and political life of the Polish minority in Germany by interning and murdering Polish activists and leaders.Poland
After the
Potsdam Conference , following World War II, East Prussia was divided into the two parts now known asOblast Kaliningrad andWarmian-Masurian Voivodeship . Mostethnic Germans were evacuated during the war, and most of those remaining were expelled to Germany. Only a small minority of Germans remained in what became Poland.Major towns
*
Biskupiec
*Braniewo
*Frombork
*Lidzbark Warmiński
*Olsztyn
*Reszel Famous Warmians
*
Rainer Barzel , politician
*Nicolaus Copernicus , astronomer and mathematician
*Hugo Haase , politician
*Maximilian Kaller , bishop of Warmia
*Erich Mendelsohn , architect
*Feliks Nowowiejski , musician and composer
*Regina Protmann , canonised founder of the Catholic order Congregatio Sanctae Catharinae (CSCA)
*Georg Cardinal Sterzinsky , Cardinal-bishop
*Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski , politicianee also
*
Archbishopric of Warmia
*Bishops of Warmia References
*pl icon Erwin Kruk, "Warmia i Mazury", Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie, Wrocław 2003, ISBN 83-7384-028-1External links
* [http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/bertius/bertius1/jpg/s210.html Ermland, Heilsberg, Culm, Riesenburg, Samland bishoprics on 1615 list of Imperial Offices (Ordines Imperii)]
* [http://www.domwarminski.pl/content/view/369/507/ Region of Warmia]
* [http://wim.pl/ Warmia and Masuria]
* [http://www.visitator-ermland.de/ Catholic Ermlanders page]
* [http://www.raremaps.com/maps/big/11962.jpgca. 1547 map of Prussia including Warmia]
* [http://www.raremaps.com/maps/big/3206.jpg1690 map of Magnus Prussia Ducatus (with Warmia in center in green)]
* [http://www.domwarminski.pl/images/stories/warmia_regionem/mapy_historyczne_tabula_geografica_w.jpgHeilsberg Epicopate Warmia in Prussia map of 1755]
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