The Rychtal Region, known in

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 ...

as Reichthaler Ländchen is the north-eastern part of the former Silesian district of Namslau located around the town of

Rychtal Rychtal is a village in Kępno County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Rychtal. Geography Part of the Silesia historical region, it is situated close to the a ...

(Reichthal), which was ceded by

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 ...

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 ...

after

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 ...

Settlements

The following towns and villages belonged to the Reichthaler Ländchen: * Rychtal ''(Reichthal)'' * Drożki ''(Droschkau)'' * Darnowiec ''(Dörnberg)'' * Wielki Buczek ''(Groß Butschkau)'' * Krzyżowniki ''(Kreuzendorf)'' * Hanowry ''(Marienhof)'' * Skoroszów ''(Skorischau)'' *

Zgorzelec Zgorzelec (, german: link=no, Görlitz, szl, Gorlice, Upper Lusatian German dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', and ''Gerltsch'', hsb, Zhorjelc, dsb, Zgórjelc, cz, Zhořelec) is a town in southwestern Poland with 30,374 inhabitants (2019). It ...

''(Skorsellitz)'' * Sadogóra ''(Schadegur)'' * Stogniewice ''(Herzberg)'' * Proszów ''(Proschau)''

History

The region was part of Regierungsbezirk Breslau 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 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 ...

, in 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 ...

until the end of

. After the war, the newly restored Polish state claimed the districts of Namslau and Oppeln. In 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 ...

, Poland was given the eastern part of the Namslau district. As part of 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 ...

, a referendum took place in the Namslau voting area. The voting area comprised the south-eastern part of the Namslau district, and included the communities of Bachwitz (

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 ...

: Wieloleka), Dammer, Erbenfeld, Erdmannsdorf, Friedrichsberg, Hennersdorf, Johannesdorf, Noldau, Ordenstal, Sophiental, Steinersdorf, Sterzendorf and Wallendorf. Around 97.6% of votes were in favor of this area remaining with

. The border was set with this result in mind. The Reichthaler Ländchen with 11 towns, about 85 km² and about 4,600 inhabitants was attached to Poland in 1921 without a referendum. A privately organized survey of the population resulted in a clear vote in favor of remaining with Germany. In the absence of international monitoring, this opinion poll did not meet the requirements of a plebiscite and was not taken into account when drawing the boundary. The region became part of Germany from 1939 to 1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, it was restored to

and is now part of the

Kępno County __NOTOC__ Kępno County ( pl, powiat kępiński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local govern ...

in the

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wielkopolskie; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 o ...

References

{{coord missing, Poland Silesia Regions of Poland