WagriaArnold, Benjamin (1991). ''Princes and territories in medieval Germany'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, p. 156. . (german: Wagrien, ''Waierland'' or ''Wagerland'') is the northeastern part of Holstein in the German state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

, corresponding roughly to the districts of Plön and

Ostholstein Ostholstein (; da, Østholsten) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Stormarn, Segeberg and Plön, the Baltic Sea and the city of Lübeck. History The district was es ...

. The word "Wagria" is derived derived from the Slavic Lechites tribe of Wagri, which meant "those who live by the bays".

Geography

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, and as still shown on early modern maps, Wagria was bordered on the north and east by the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

from the Kiel Fjord to Lübeck Bay, and inland by the rivers Schwentine and Trave. Today, Wagria generally refers just to the Oldenburg Peninsula (''Oldenburgische Halbinsel'') in

. The highest elevation in the peninsula is the

Bungsberg The Bungsberg () is the highest point in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein (elevation: ). It lies in the region known as Holstein Switzerland in the municipality of Schönwalde am Bungsberg between Scheelholz and Mönchsneversdorf. T ...

at 168 metres.

History

The Lechitic (Slavic) root of the name, ''Wagria'', meant not only the so-called, present-day Wagrian peninsula, but the entire region between the Kiel Fjord, the middle reaches of the Trave, and the lower course of the river; a region with this name emerged at least as early as the 8th century. Wagria Castle occupied a central location in

Oldenburg in Holstein Oldenburg in Holstein () is a town at the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea. The nearest city is Lübeck. The town belongs to the (historical) region of Holstein, today in the state Schleswig-Holstein of Germany. Oldenburg was the chief tow ...

(then called ''Starigard'', or "Old Castle"); its ramparts still exist. Important settlements in Wagria were

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

, Old- Lübeck ( Liubice), and Plön ( Plune). In 1143, according to the vivid account by contemporary chronicler,

Helmold of Bosau Helmold of Bosau (ca. 1120 – after 1177) was a Saxon historian of the 12th century and a priest at Bosau near Plön. He was a friend of the two bishops of Oldenburg in Holstein, Vicelinus (died 1154) and Gerold (died 1163), who did much to ...

, Count

Adolf II of Schauenburg and Holstein Adolf II of Holstein ( – 6 July 1164) was the Count of Schauenburg and Holstein from 1130 until his death, though he was briefly out of Holstein from 1137 until 1142. He succeeded his father Adolf I under the regency of his mother, Hildewa. ...

introduced German settlers, not only from his own territories of Holstein and Stormarn, but also from

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

and

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, in order to develop the land of Wagria into a highly-profitable region as part of the

German eastward expansion (, literally "East-settling") is the term for the Early Middle Ages, Early Medieval and High Middle Ages, High Medieval migration-period when ethnic Germans moved into the territories in the eastern part of Francia, East Francia, and the Hol ...

in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

: :''"Then a countless number of people from different tribes left, took their families and possessions with them and went with Count Adolf in Wagria to take possession of their promised land. Initially, those from Holsten were given the most sheltered area west of Segeberg, on the River Trave, on the Schwentine flood plain and everything from the Schwale to the Grimmelsberg and Lake Ploen. The country around Dargun was settled by the Westphalians, the Eutin area by the Dutch and Suesel by the Frisians. The Plön area remained uninhabited however. He allowed Oldenburg, Lütjenburg and other coastal areas be colonised by the Slavs, who had to pay taxes to him."'' The local

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

were thus also involved in this expansion or development. Bungsberg panorama

References

Sources

* Witt, Hermann (1982). ''1000 Jahre Wagrien von Luitschaburg bis Lütjenburg''. Sönksen Verlag, Plön. {{Authority control Regions of Schleswig-Holstein Plön (district) Ostholstein Obotrites Holstein Peninsulas of the Baltic Sea