The Kreis Kolmar in Posen (1818–1877 ''Kreis Chodziesen'') was a district in the northern government region of Bromberg, in the

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 em ...

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (german: Provinz Posen, pl, Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920. Posen was established in 1848 following the Greater Poland Uprising as a successor to the Grand Duchy of Posen, w ...

, from 1818 to 1920. The district capital was Kolmar in Posen.

History

The ''district of Chodziesen'' was formed in 1818. It became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in 1871. On March 6, 1877, the district and the district town of Chodziesen were renamed Kolmar in Posen. On 1 April 1914 the city of Schneidemühl was disentangled from the district and became an independent town (Stadtkreis) within the Bromberg Region. On December 27, 1918, the Greater Poland uprising began in the province of Posen. Except for the south of the district around the town of Budsin, the Kolmar district remained largely under German control. On February 16, 1919, an armistice ended the Polish-German fighting. On June 28, 1919, with the signing of the

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 ...

, the

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 **Ger ...

government officially ceded most of the district including the capital Kolmar to the newly founded

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

. On November 25, 1919, Germany and Poland concluded an agreement on the evacuation and surrender of the areas to be ceded, which was ratified on January 10, 1920. The area to be ceded was cleared and handed over to Poland between January 17 and February 4, 1920. Only the rural communities of Schönfeld, Stöwen and Usch Hauland in the northern part of the Kolmar district remained in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

after this, as did the city of Schneidemühl. These areas became part of the newly formed Prussian Province of Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia. Schönfeld became part of the Flatow district, while Stöwen and Usch Hauland became part of the newly formed Netzekreis district.

Demographics

According to the census of 1858, the district had a population of 49,380, of which 39,087 (79%) were

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and 10,293 (21%) were

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

Table of Standesämter

"Standesamt" is the German name of the local civil registration offices which were established in October 1874 soon after the German Empire was formed. Births, marriages and deaths were recorded. Previously, only the church records were used for Christians.

Military command

Kreis Kolmar was part of the military command (German: ''Bezirkskommando'') at Schneidemühl, which was the garrison of the 149th Infanterie regiment (6th Westpreußisches) of the 74. Inf. Brigade. Created Mar 31, 1897. Also, since 1913, the home of the 5th Luftschiffer- Bataillon (Zeppelins).

Court system

The main court (German: ''Landgericht'') was in Schneidemühl, with subject courts (German: ''Amtsgericht'') in the district capital Kolmar in Posen and

Margonin Margonin (german: Margonin) is a town in Chodzież County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,941 inhabitants (2004). History Margonin dates back to the 7th century, and in the 9th–12th it was a defensive stronghold, which became p ...

Police districts

Police districts (German: ''Polizeidistrikt'') were administered from the towns of Budsin, Kolmar, Samotschin, Schneidemühl and Usch.

References

----''This article is part of the project'' Wikipedia:WikiProject Prussian Kreise''. Please refer to the project page, before making changes.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolmar in Posen, Kreis Districts of the Province of Posen