Michałów Land ( pl, Ziemia michałowska, german: Michelauer Land, la, Terra Michaloviensis) is a historical region in central

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 ...

, now part of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship. During 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 ...

, it was a disputed territory between the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

and the

State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Cent ...

Name

It was named after Castle Michelau/Michałowo (it is part of the city of

Brodnica Brodnica (german: Strasburg in Westpreußen or Strasburg an der Drewenz) is a town in northern Poland with 28,574 inhabitants . It is the seat of Brodnica County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. The nearby Brodnica Landscape Park, a pro ...

(Strasburg), which was destroyed well before 1789).

Geography

From a geographical perspective, it was sometimes also considered part of Kulmerland, although it is east of the river

Drwęca The Drwęca ('; german: Drewenz; lt, Druvinčia) is a river in northern Poland and a tributary of the Vistula river near Toruń (German: ''Thorn''), forming a part of the city's administrative boundary. It has a length of 231 km and a basin ...

(Drewenz). The land of Michałowo and

Lubawa Lubawa (german: Löbau in Westpreußen, Old Prussian: ''Lūbawa'') is a town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland. It is located in Iława County on the Sandela River, some southeast of Iława. Geographical location Lubawa is located ...

(Löbau) were part of

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 territory in direct vicinity of the Kulmerland.

History

Conquered in the 11th century a territory named

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

developed as borderland between the Prussians and

Masovians Masovians, also spelled as Mazovians, and historically known as Masurians, is an ethnographic group of Polish people that originate from the region of Masovia, located mostly within borders of the Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. They speak the Ma ...

, who at a time of the

fragmentation of Poland The period of rule by the Piast dynasty between the 10th and 14th centuries is the first major stage of the history of the Polish state. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gall Anonymous in the early 12th cen ...

had made themselves independent of the Polish rulers. The small territories of Michelau and Löbau were bouncing back and force in between. The rulers of Kujavia and Masovia had given lands to the monk and apostle of the Prussians, Christian of Oliva, He was declared first bishop of Prussia by the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and he also bought additional territories. A Prussian chieftain had given bishop Christian his land Löbau, by accepting Christianisation at Rome. In 1303 the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

state received the territory as lien and in 1317 they bought it and received all rights from the Duke of Kujavia. Over the next few centuries, as Masovia was reabsorbed into the Kingdom of Poland, the Michelauer land became one of the territories often contested between Poland and the Order. After the

Second Peace of Toruń The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń ( pl, drugi pokój toruński; german: Zweiter Friede von Thorn), was a peace treaty signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 betwe ...

it was incorporated into Poland, as part of the

Chełmno Voivodeship The Chełmno Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland since 1454/1466 until the Partitions of Poland in 1772/1795. Together with the Pomeranian and Malbork Voivodeships and the Prince-B ...

. The area is mentioned in the

Treaty of Lake Melno The Treaty of Melno ( lt, Melno taika; pl, Pokój melneński) or Treaty of Lake Melno (german: Friede von Melnosee) was a peace treaty ending the Gollub War. It was signed on 27 September 1422, between the State_of_the_Teutonic_Order, Teutonic K ...

External links

1500s Map of Old Prussian Land (Altpreussen) with Culmerland, Sassen, Galindia (Michelau and Löbau)
Michelauer Land and Lobovia on the Border to

to the south of

, before arrival of

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

{{coord, 53, 12, N, 19, 24, E, type:city_region:PL_source:dewiki, display=title Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Historical regions in Poland

Name

Geography

History

See also

External links