Landkreis Leobschütz (Leobschütz district) 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 em ...

n district in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, from 1743 to 1945, with its capital at Leobschütz. Its historical roots lie in the Duchy of Leobschütz.

History

After most of Silesia fell under

Prussian 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 e ...

rule, King

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

introduced Prussian administrative structures in Lower Silesia in 1742 and in Upper Silesia in 1743. In the course of the

Prussian Reform Movement The Prussian Reform Movement was a series of constitutional, administrative, social and economic reforms early in nineteenth-century Prussia. They are sometimes known as the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms, for Karl Freiherr vom Stein and Karl August ...

, the district of Leobschütz was assigned to Regierungsbezirk Oppeln in the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

. During the district reform of 1 January 1818 in Regierungsbezirk Oppeln, the district boundaries were changed as follows: * The villages of Berndau, Damasko, Gläsen, Kasimir, Schönau, Steubendorf and Thomnitz moved from the Neustadt district to the Leobschütz district. * The city of Hultschin, the areas of Beneschau and Zauditz and the villages of Autoschowitz, Benenschau, Bielau, Bobrownick, Bolatitz, Boleslau, Boratin, Buslawitz, Chlebsch, Cosmütz, Deutsch Krawarn, Ellgoth, Groß Darkowitz, Groß Hoschütz, Groß Peterwitz, Halsch, Henneberg, Hoschialkowitz, Kauthen, Klein Darkowitz, Klein Hoschütz, Klein Peterwitz, Koblau, Köberwitz, Kranowitz, Kuchelna, Langendorf, Ludgerzowitz, Marquartowitz, Odersch, Owschütz, Peterzkowitz, Pyscha, Ratsch, Rohow, Schammerwitz, Schlausewitz, Schreibersdorf, Schillersdorf, Sczepankowitz, Strandorf, Thröm, Wrbkau, Wrzesin, Zabrzeg and Zawada moved from the Leobschütz district to the Ratibor district. On 8 November 1919 the province of Silesia was dissolved. The new

Province of Upper Silesia The Province of Upper Silesia (german: Provinz Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Oberschläsing''; szl, Prowincyjŏ Gōrny Ślōnsk; pl, Prowincja Górny Śląsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. It comprise ...

was formed from Regierungsbezirk Oppeln. In the

Upper Silesia plebiscite The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and Poland. The region was ethnically mixed with bot ...

held on 20 March 1921, 99.6% of the voters in the Leobschütz district voted for

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 ...

and 0.4% voted for

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 populous ...

. Consequently, the district remained in Germany in the interwar period. On 1 April 1938 the provinces of

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

and Upper Silesia were merged to form the Province of Silesia. On 18 January 1941, the province of Silesia was dissolved again and the province of Upper Silesia was formed, including territories annexed from Poland. 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, after ...

captured the district and placed it under

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

administration, after which the German population of the district was expelled.

Demographics

The district had a majority German population, with significant Czech and Polish minorities.

Place Names

In 1936, several communities in the Leobschütz district were renamed: * Badewitz → Badenau * Boblowitz → Hedwigsgrund * Dirschkowitz → Dirschkowitz * Hratschein → Burgfeld * Jakubowitz → Jakobsfelde * Kittelwitz → Kitteldorf * Osterwitz → Osterdorf * Peterwitz → Zietenbusch * Thomnitz → Thomas * Tschirmke → Schirmke * Waissak → Lindau * Wanowitz → Hubertusruh * Wehowitz → Wehen * Zauchwitz → Dreimühlen * Zülkowitz → Zinnatal

References

{{Authority control 1945 disestablishments 1743 establishments Głubczyce County Leobschütz