Sasna

Sasna or Sassen ( _de. Sassen; _la. terra Sossinensia; _lt. Sasna; _pl. zemia sasińska" or "Saska) was one of the regions of ancient Prussia. It is now located in northern Poland.

Etymology

Variations of the region's name include Sasna, Sassen, Sasno, Soysim, Sossen, Sassen, Szossen, and Czossin. Its name is traditionally derived from "sasnis"Bojtár, p. 158] or "sasins",Weise, p. 199] the Old Prussian word for rabbit; the village Sassendorf was later renamed "Hasendorf" (German for "rabbit village").Hermanowski, p. 260] Another theory derives the name from the Old Prussian word "sause", meaning dry, although the region was abundant with water.

Alternatively, the region was named by the Saxons who colonized it, as "Sassen" is a Low German name for Saxony. The Prussian region reminded the colonists of the surroundings of Osterode am Harz in the Duchy of Saxony. The colonial town of Osterode in Ostpreußen was named after Osterode am Harz.

A vallum probably dating from the crusading era built on Sasna's western border was known by the Old Prussians as "Sassenpils" (also "Sassenpil(e)"). The Saxon explanation relates that the Prussians combined the regional German name Sassen with the Prussian word for castle, "pils". Believing that the Prussian name was a reference to rabbits instead, folk etymology led German colonists to call the palisade and its environs "Hasenberg", "Hasenburg", and "Haasenberg", meaning "rabbit hill/castle".

In 1569 Hannibal Nullejus, rector of a school in Hamelin, mentioned "Nova Saxonia" ("New Saxony"); this is a possible reference to Saxons settling in Sassen, as the village of Kurken near Osterode in Ostpreußen had a legend similar to the Pied Piper of Hamelin.Weise, p. 200]

History

The region is not mentioned by Peter von Dusburg among his list of eleven Prussian lands, or in a 1233 ledger of King Valdemar II of Denmark. It is first mentioned as "terra Soysim" in a 1267 document written by King Ottokar II of Bohemia recognizing the Teutonic Knights' claim to it. [Voigt, p. 285] It was a small and scarcely inhabited territory roughly between Galindia and Lubavia. Before the arrival of the Teutonic Knights, it was plundered by Masovians and its inhabitants moved northward. The territory was disputed by the Teutonic Knights, the Duchy of Masovia, and Kuyavia, eventually being incorporated into the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. The new territory of Sassen was created from parts of Pomesania, Pogesania, and Galindia. It was first governed from Christburg before its own administrative center was set up at Osterode.

Intensive colonization of the forest region began under the direction of Low Saxon nobles in 1320, reaching its peak in 1325. This process was especially led by the Landkomtur of Kulm, Count Otto von Lauterberg-Scharzfeld, and the Komtur of Christburg, Duke Luther von Braunschweig. In the north near Liebemühl Luther founded the villages Groß Altenhagen, Nikelshagen, and Hagen (later Bienau), which were modeled after those in Schaumburg-Lippe. The towns Osterode and Gilgenburg also began to develop soon afterward. By the time Luther became Grand Master in 1331, western Sassen had been colonized in a range of 25-30 km southward until Soldau. Other villages with Lower Saxon names included Wonsin (named after Wense), Ülsen (Uelzen), and Sachse.

The 1343 Treaty of Kalisz granted southern Sassen to the Duchy of Masovia; it is unknown if that territory had been controlled by Masovia prior to its conquest by the Teutonic Knights. This southern region was documented as "Zakrże" in 1384.

Sassen was included within the Duchy of Prussia in 1525 and later composed the "Kreise" Osterode and Neidenburg of East Prussia. In 1945 the region was placed under Polish administration according to the Potsdam Agreement following World War II.

Notes

References

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*cite book|last=Hermanowski|first=Georg|authorlink=Georg Harmanowski|title=Ostpreußen: Wegweiser durch ein unvergessenes Land|year=1996|publisher=Bechtermünz Verlag|location=Augsburg|pages=344|isbn=3-86047-182-1 de icon
*cite book|last=Voigt|first=Johannes|authorlink=Johannes Voigt|title=Geschichte Preussens. Dritter Band|year=1828|publisher=Gebrüder Bornträger|location=Königsberg|pages=628|isbn= de icon
*cite book|last=Weise|first=Erich|authorlink=|title=Handbuch der historischen Stätten Deutschlands, Ost- und Westpreussen|year=1981|publisher=Alfred Kröner Verlag|location=Stuttgart|pages=284|isbn=3-520-31701-X de icon