Kreis Dirschau was a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n district which existed with varying borders from 1772 to 1818 and from 1887 to 1920. In 1920, following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the district was ceded by the German Empire partly to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and partly to the Free City of Danzig in accordance

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

. From 1939 to 1945 the district in occupied Poland was re-established as part of the wartime

Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia (german: Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreußen) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany created on 8 October 1939 from annexed territory of the Free City of Danzig, the Greater Pomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor ...

. Today the former district is in the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Pomeranian Voivodeship.

History

Kreis Dirschau from 1772 to 1818

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

became part of the Kingdom of Prussia through the First Partition of Poland in 1772 and was initially divided into six large districts, including the ''Dirschau'' district. The northern part of

Pomerelia Pomerelia,, la, Pomerellia, Pomerania, pl, Pomerelia (rarely used) also known as Eastern Pomerania,, csb, Pòrénkòwô Pòmòrskô Vistula Pomerania, prior to World War II also known as Polish Pomerania, is a historical sub-region of Pome ...

with the towns of

Dirschau Tczew (, csb, Dërszewò; formerly ) is a city on the Vistula River in Eastern Pomerania, Kociewie, northern Poland with 59,111 inhabitants (December 2021). The city is known for its Old Town and the Vistula Bridge, or Bridge of Tczew, which pl ...

, Neustadt, Putzig and Stolzenberg were part of the Dirschau district. The Prussian provincial authorities ordinance of April 30, 1815 and its implementing provisions made the area part of Regierungsbezirk Danzig in the province of West Prussia. With a comprehensive district reform, new smaller districts were formed on April 1, 1818. The area of the old Dirschau district was incorporated into the newly formed Karthaus, Danzig, Neustadt and Stargard districts.

Kreis Dirschau from 1887 to 1920

The continuous growth of the population prompted a district reform in West Prussia. In October 1887, the new Dirschau district was created, consisting of parts of the Danzig district and the Preußisch Stargard district. The seat of the district office and the only town in the district was Dirschau (today Tczew). The district had a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

majority and a significant

minority. Due to the provisions of the Versailles Treaty, the Dirschau district was ceded by the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

on January 10, 1920. The largest part of the district with the city of Dirschau was transferred to Poland and continued as ''Powiat Tczewski''. Several parishes in the north of the district were ceded to the Free City of Danzig and were incorporated into the Danziger Höhe district. The communities in the Marienwerder district, which were transferred to Poland in 1920, were largely incorporated into the Powiat Tczewski on April 1, 1932. They had previously formed the Polish ''Powiat Gniewski'' from 1924, based in

Gniew Gniew (pronounced ; csb, Gméw, or ''Gniéw''; formerly german: Mewe) is a historic town situated on the left bank of the Vistula River, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It has 6,870 inhabitants (2016). It is one of the ol ...

Kreis Dirschau in Occupied Poland (1939-1945)

After the

German Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

and the subsequent annexation of the district area in violation of international law, the district was re-established as part of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia from 1939 to 1945. Danzig-Westpreussen

In the spring of 1945 the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

occupied the district, which was then restored to

. In the following years, most of the German inhabitants were expelled.

Demographics

References

{{Authority control 1920 disestablishments in Europe 1887 establishments in Prussia 1818 disestablishments in Europe 1772 establishments in Prussia Tczew County