Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772)
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The Pomeranian Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in the
Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
and the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
from 1454/1466 until the
First partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...
in 1772. From 1613 the capital was at Skarszewy. The name ''Pomerania'' derives from the Slavic ''po more'', meaning "by the sea" or "on the sea".''Der Name Pommern (po more) ist slawischer Herkunft und bedeutet so viel wie „Land am Meer“.''
(Pommersches Landesmuseum, German)


History

The
voivodeship A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in ...
comprised the westernmost part of the province of Royal Prussia, and the northernmost part of the Greater Poland Province. After the 1454 uprising of the Prussian Confederation and the Thirteen Years' War, the area fell back to the Polish Crown according to the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466. Together with the Chełmno and Malbork voivodeships and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia it formed the autonomous province of Royal Prussia. The autonomy of the region was later abolished as a result of the
Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin (; ) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the personal union of the Crown of the Kingd ...
in 1569 and the area was incorporated into the Polish Crown. In older English sources and generally in German language use, for this region the appellation of Pomerelia (German: ''Pommerellen'' or ''Pomerellen'', rendered as ''Pomorze Gdańskie'' in Polish) prevails, because the name Pomerania (German: ''Pommern'') usually refers to the western Duchy of Pomerania (Polish: ''Księstwo Pomorskie''), ruled by the
House of Griffins The House of Griffin or Griffin dynasty, (; , ; Latin: ''Gryphes''), or House of Pomerania (see ), was a dynasty ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century ...
, who had become
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
s of the
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
in 1181. In turn for their support in the Thirteen Years' War, the Griffin dukes in 1455 gained the Pomerelian Lauenburg and Bütow Land as a Polish fief, which upon the extinction of the dynasty in 1637 fell back to the Polish Crown and by the 1657 Treaty of Bromberg was given to the
Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
margraves, who also ruled over the adjacent Imperial Pomerania Province. For the Polish Crown the fact turned out to be fatal, that after the 1525 establishment of Ducal Prussia on the remaining territory of the Teutonic Order, the Pomeranian Voivodeship separated two territories, which were both held by the rising
House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
, since 1618 in the
personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
of Brandenburg-Prussia. After the Polish crown had given up suzerainty over Ducal Prussia by the 1657 Treaty of Wehlau and the Brandenburg margraves had assumed the title of a
King in Prussia King ''in'' Prussia (German language, German: ''König in Preußen'') was a title used by the Prussian kings (also in personal union Elector of Brandenburg, Electors of Brandenburg) from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently, they used the title King ''of' ...
in 1701, the Hohenzollerns sought to link their territories. On the eve of the Polish partitions, King Frederick II of Prussia in 1771 finally incorporated Lauenburg and Bütow into the Pomerania Province. In the course of the First Partition the next year, he furthermore annexed the Pomeranian voivodeship with Royal Prussia, then renamed as the Province of West Prussia – except for the City of
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
(''Danzig''), which was not incorporated until the Second Partition of 1793. Today the historic administrative region roughly corresponds to the present-day
Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship ( ; ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk Voivo ...
of Poland, which also comprises the Lands of Słupsk, that formerly belonged to the Duchy of Pomerania, as well as the territory of the former Malbork Voivodeship, that until 1230 had been part of the Prussian tribal territory.


Administration

Voivodeship Governor ( Wojewoda) seat: * Skarszewy Regional council ( sejmik generalny) *
Starogard Gdański Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; formerly ) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. Founded in the Middle Ages, Starogard is a city with ...
Regional councils (sejmik poselski i deputacki) *
Człuchów Człuchów (, ''Człochòwo'', or ''Człëchòwò''; ) is a town in the region of Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 13,350 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Człuchów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Location ...
*
Tuchola Tuchola (; ) is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. The Pomeranian town, which is the seat of Tuchola County, had a population of 13,418 . Geographical location Tuchola lies about north of Bydgoszcz, close to th ...
*
Åšwiecie Åšwiecie (; ) is a town in northern Poland with 24,841 inhabitants (2023), capital of Åšwiecie County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is located within the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in the historic region of Pomerania. Founded ...
* Starogród * Puck Administrative divisions: * Człuchów County, (Powiat Człuchowski),
Człuchów Człuchów (, ''Człochòwo'', or ''Człëchòwò''; ) is a town in the region of Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 13,350 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Człuchów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Location ...
*
Gdańsk County __NOTOC__ Gdańsk County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. ...
, (Powiat Gdański),
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
* Koscierzyna County, (Powiat Kościerzyński),
Kościerzyna Kościerzyna (; Pomeranian language, Pomeranian and ; former ) is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with 23,327 inhabitants as of June 2023. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomeranian Voivodeship si ...
* Mirachowo County, (Powiat Mirachowski), Mirachowo * Nowe County, (Powiat Nowski), Nowe *
Puck County __NOTOC__ Puck County (, ) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the Baltic coast. The ''powiat'' of this name existed in the history of Poland, since the times of th ...
, (Powiat Pucki), Puck * Skarszewy County, (Powiat Skarszewski), Skarszewy * Stargard County, (Powiat Starogrodzki)
Starogard Gdański Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; formerly ) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. Founded in the Middle Ages, Starogard is a city with ...
*
Åšwiecie County __NOTOC__ Åšwiecie County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms p ...
, (Powiat Åšwiecki),
Åšwiecie Åšwiecie (; ) is a town in northern Poland with 24,841 inhabitants (2023), capital of Åšwiecie County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is located within the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in the historic region of Pomerania. Founded ...
* Tczew County, (Powiat Tczewski),
Tczew Tczew (, formerly ) is a city on the Vistula River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, with 59,111 inhabitants (December 2021). It is the capital of Tczew County and the largest city of the ethnocultural region of Kociewie within th ...
*
Tuchola County __NOTOC__ Tuchola County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local government reforms pas ...
, (Powiat Tucholski),
Tuchola Tuchola (; ) is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. The Pomeranian town, which is the seat of Tuchola County, had a population of 13,418 . Geographical location Tuchola lies about north of Bydgoszcz, close to th ...
From 1637 to 1657, the Lębork-Bytów Land.


See also

*
Pomeranian Voivodeship (1919–1939) The Pomeranian Voivodeship or Pomorskie Voivodeship () was an administrative unit of Second Polish Republic, Interwar-Poland (from 1919 to 1939). It ceased to function in September 1939, following the Nazi Germany, German and Soviet Union, Soviet ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466-1772) Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Royal Prussia 1466 establishments in Europe 15th-century establishments in Poland 1772 disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth