1.
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland
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The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, or simply the Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, including Poland proper. The kingdom has been dated back to c. 966, when Mieszko I and his pagan Slavic realm joined Christian Europe and his oldest son and successor, Prince Bolesław I Chrobry, Duke of Poland, became the first crowned King of Poland in 1025. The creation of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland was a milestone in the evolution of Polish statehood and it represented the concept of the Polish kingdom as distinctly separate from the person of the monarch. A related concept that evolved soon afterward was that of Rzeczpospolita, the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland was also related to other symbols of Poland, such as the capital, the Polish coat of arms and the flag of Poland. The concept of the Crown also had a geographical aspects, particularly related to the indivisibility of the Polish - Crown -territory. It can be seen as a unit of administrative division. Parts formed part at the early Kingdom of Poland, then, at the same time, the Crown also referred to all lands that the Polish state could claim to have the right to rule over, including those that were not within Polish borders. The term distinguishes those territories federated with the Crown Grand Duchy of Lithuania from various fiefdom territories, such as the Duchy of Prussia and the Duchy of Courland. Prior to the 1569 Union of Lublin, Crown territories may be understood as those of Poland proper, inhabited by Poles, with the Union of Lublin, however, most of present-day Ukraine, passed onto Polish administration, thus becoming Crown territory. During that period, a term for a Pole from the Crown territory was koroniarz - or Crownlander in English - derived from Korona - the Crown and this often meant a distinction between persons loyal to the elected King and persons loyal to Polish magnate. Crown lands were divided into two provinces, Lesser Poland and Greater Poland and these were further divided into administrative units known as voivodeships. Royal Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land, Malbork Voivodeship, Gdańsk, Toruń, Polish historian Henryk Wisner writes that Royal Prussia belonged to the Province of Greater Poland. The towns affected were, Biała, Lubica, Wierzbów, Spiska Sobota, Poprad, Straże, Spiskie Włochy, Nowa Wieś, Spiska Nowa Wieś, Ruszkinowce, Wielka, Spiskie Podgrodzie, Maciejowce, Twarożne. Wenceslaus I sold the Duchy of Siewierz to the Archbishop of Kraków, Zbigniew Cardinal Oleśnicki, after that point it was considered to be associated with the Lesser Poland Province and was the only ecclesiastical duchy in Lesser Poland. In 1641 it became part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Duchy of Livonia was held as a condominium with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was held as a condominium with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, jan Herburt, Statuta Regni Poloniae, in ordinem alphabeti digesta, Cracoviae 1563. Jan Dąbrowski, Korona Królestwa Polskiego w XIV wieku, studium z dziejów rozwoju polskiej monarchii stanowej, stanisław Szczur, Historia Polski Średniowiecze, Wydawnictwo Literackie 2002, ISBN 83-08-03272-9
2.
Czersk, Masovian Voivodeship
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Czersk is a settlement in the administrative district of Gmina Góra Kalwaria, within Piaseczno County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately 2 kilometres south-east of Góra Kalwaria,19 km south-east of Piaseczno, the village also lies on the Czersk Lake, which is an oxbow lake of the Vistula. Czersk was an important settlement in the past and is one of the oldest Mazovian cities, the village currently has a population of about 590, but in the past, it was a royal town of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1247-1526, it was the capital of the Duchy of Czersk, after incorporation of Mazovia into Poland, the duchy was turned into the Czersk Land, part of Masovian Voivodeship. The Land of Czersk was divided into four counties - those of Czersk, Grójec, Garwolin, Czersk itself was the seat of castellans, who also were senators of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Czersk was first mentioned in the Laurentian Codex, in which under the date 1142, in Polish-language sources, it was spelled Cirnsk, Cyrnsko, Czyersko, and later, Czyrnsk or Czyrnsko. These forms were later simplified into Czyrsko, which in late Middle Ages changed into Czersk, the name probably comes from the Czarna river, a tributary to the Vistula River. First Slavic gord was established on a hill in the 11th century, in a location of a 7th-century settlement. In the same year, Czersk was named a capital of a Mazovian duchy, officially, Czersk received town charter in 1350, but long before that time, it had an urban character, with a mid-13th century market square. In 1388, Duke of Mazovia Janusz I of Warsaw ordered conctruction of a Gothic castle with two towers and a tower gate, the castle was completed in 1410. Three years later, the capital of the duchy was moved to better located Warsaw, furthermore, in the 14th century the Vistula river bed moved eastwards, and the town found itself located a few kilometers away from the strategic river. During the reign of King Czersk Sigismund I the Old, Czersk became one of places of his wife. She spent a lot of time here, and on her initiative, a brewery was opened, trade flourished, local produce was very popular across Mazovia. The town prospered until the Swedish invasion of Poland, when, after the Battle of Warka, Czersk, the town never recovered from the destruction, in 1762-1766 Crown Marshall Franciszek Bieliński tried to rebuild the castle, but his project was not completed due to Partitions of Poland. In 1815, Czersk became part of Russian-controlled Congress Poland, and in 1869, as a punishment for the January Uprising, Czersk was stripped of its town rights, becoming a village. Once one of the largest medieval towns of Poland, and second largest town of Mazovia, Czersk now is a small village, Czersk still has a medieval grid plan, with a large market square in the middle. In the 11th century, during the reign of either Bolesław III Wrymouth or Władysław I Herman, the gord later became administrative center of the Duchy of Czersk, mentioned in 1224 in the documents of Castellan of Czersk, Piotr Pilch. In 1229, Duke Konrad I of Masovia imprisoned here Duke Henry I the Bearded, in 1239, Konrad imprisoned here another Duke, Bolesław V the Chaste
3.
Warsaw
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Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It stands on the Vistula River in east-central Poland, roughly 260 kilometres from the Baltic Sea and 300 kilometres from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population is estimated at 1.750 million residents within a metropolitan area of 3.101 million residents. The city limits cover 516.9 square kilometres, while the area covers 6,100.43 square kilometres. Once described as Paris of the East, Warsaw was believed to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world until World War II. On 9 November 1939, the city was awarded Polands highest military decoration for heroism, Warsaw is one of Europe’s most dynamic metropolitan cities. In 2012 the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Warsaw as the 32nd most liveable city in the world, in 2017 the city came 4th in the “Business-friendly” category and 8th in the “Human capital and life style”. It was also ranked as one of the most liveable cities in Central, Warsaw is considered an Alpha– global city, a major international tourist destination and a significant cultural, political and economic hub. The city is a significant centre of research and development, BPO, ITO, the Warsaw Stock Exchange is the largest and most important in Central and Eastern Europe. Frontex, the European Union agency for external security, has its headquarters in Warsaw. Together with Frankfurt, London and Paris, Warsaw is also one of the cities with the highest number of skyscrapers in the European Union, the city is the seat of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and the University of Warsaw. The historic city-centre of Warsaw with its picturesque Old Town in 1980 was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, buildings represent examples of nearly every European architectural style and historical period. Warsaw provides many examples of architecture from the gothic, renaissance, baroque, neoclassical and modern periods, furthermore, the city is positioning itself as Europes chic cultural capital with thriving art and club scenes and renowned restaurants. Folk etymology attributes the city name to a fisherman, Wars, according to legend, Sawa was a mermaid living in the Vistula River with whom Wars fell in love. In actuality, Warsz was a 12th/13th-century nobleman who owned a village located at the site of Mariensztat neighbourhood. See also the Vršovci family which had escaped to Poland, the official city name in full is miasto stołeczne Warszawa. A native or resident of Warsaw is known as a Varsovian – in Polish warszawiak, warszawianin, warszawianka, warszawiacy, other names for Warsaw include Varsovia and Varsóvia, Varsovie, Varsavia, Warschau, װאַרשע /Varshe, Варшава /Varšava /Varshava, Varšuva, Varsó. The first fortified settlements on the site of todays Warsaw were located in Bródno, after Jazdów was raided by nearby clans and dukes, a new similar settlement was established on the site of a small fishing village called Warszowa
4.
Duke of Masovia
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Duke of Masovia was a title born by the sons and descendants of the Polish Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth. This was known as the fragmentation of Poland, subsequent developments lead to further splintering of the duchies. The following is a list of all rulers of the Duchy of Masovia, although not all incumbents listed here had titular rights to the title of Duke of Masovia, they are all listed as such for simplicitys sake. Also take note that some of the dates are merely approximate, finally, this table does not include lands ruled by dukes of other parts of partitioned Poland or Wenceslaus II and Wenceslaus III. The Duchy went through various changes in the coming years, sometimes losing. Duchy of Masovia In 1233, the Duchy of Kujavia emerged from Masovia, Duchy of Kujavia In 1313, Masovia is divided in the Duchies of Płock, Czersk and Rawa. The same happens with Płock in 1495, konrad III reunites Czersk and Warsaw, to recreate the Duchy of Masovia, annexed by Poland in1526. Media related to Dukes of Masovia at Wikimedia Commons
5.
Konrad I of Masovia
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Konrad I of Masovia, from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia and Kujawy from 1194 until his death as well as High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232 and again from 1241 to 1243. He was the youngest son of High Duke Casimir II the Just of Poland and Helen of Znojmo and his maternal grandmother was Maria of Serbia, apparently a daughter of the pre-Nemanjić župan Uroš I of Rascia. After his fathers death in 1194, Konrad was brought up by his mother, in 1199 he received Masovia and in 1205 also the adjacent lands of Kuyavia. In 1205, he and his brother, Duke Leszek I the White of Sandomierz, had their greatest military victory at Battle of Zawichost against Prince Roman the Great of Galicia–Volhynia, the Ruthenian army was crushed and Roman was killed in battle. The Rurik princess Agafia of Rus became his wife, in order to enlarge his dominions, Konrad unsuccessfully attempted to conquer the adjacent pagan lands of Chełmno in Prussia during a 1209 crusade with the consent of Pope Innocent III. In 1215 the monk Christian of Oliva was appointed a missionary bishop among the Old Prussians, several further campaigns in 1219,1222 failed, instead Konrad picked a long-term border quarrel with the Prussian tribes. Subjected to constant Prussian raids and counter-raids, Konrad now wanted to stabilize the north of his Duchy of Masovia in this fight over the area of Chełmno. When they notified Hungary that the Order was, firstly, responsible to the pope, in view of an imminent Prussian invasion, Konrad supposedly signed the Treaty of Kruszwica in 1230, according to which he granted Chełmno Land to the Teutonic Knights and the Order of Dobrzyń. By this donation disclaiming any enfeoffment, Konrad established the nucleus of the State of the Teutonic Order, however it is believed that it was never signed, and the Order might have forged it. The Knights under the command of Hermann Balk crossed the Vistula river and conquered Chełmno Land, erecting the castle of Toruń in 1231. In 1234, Pope Gregory IX issued the Golden Bull of Rieti, confirming the prior deals with the Teutonic Knights, stating that the land of the Order was only subject to the Pope, not a fief of anybody. However their Silesian relative Duke Henry I the Bearded finally prevailed as High Duke at Kraków in 1232, by 1207 Konrad married Agafia of Rus, daughter of Prince Svyatoslav III Igorevich. Eudoxia, married Count Dietrich I of Brehna and Wettin Ludmila, salomea, probably a clare nun at Skała. Judith, married firstly to Duke Mieszko II the Fat of Opole, siemowit I, succeeded eldest brother as Duke of Masovia. From the Polish point of view, the Emperor had no basis to vest the Order with lands that were beyond his discretionary power. King Casimir III of Poland had to accept the rule of the Order in Thorn, after the Thirteen Years War in the 1466 Second Peace of Thorn, the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon gained control over the Chełmno Land as part of Royal Prussia. History of Poland Altes Preussenland before 1200 Hartmut Boockmann, Deutsche Geschichte im Osten Europas, Konrad of Masovia sent Polish crusaders against Prussian after 1209
6.
Siemowit I of Masovia
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He was named after his older brother Siemowit, who died young in 1224. Konrad I died on 31 August 1247, leaving the districts of Sieradz, Łęczyca, in autumn 1248, Siemowit I, together with Daniel, his brother Vasilko and Bolesław V the Chaste, organized the first major military campaign against the Yotvingians. This was a victory, removed the threat of the Yotvingians for a few years. Siemowit I made two further agreements with the Teutonic Knights on 4 August 1257 at Włocławek and on 15 June 1260 at Troszyn, the close collaboration between Siemowit I and the Teutonic Order, didnt produce the expected results. Siemowit I was still targeting the Baltic tribes, while the Teutonic Knights received their territorial conquests, particularly dangerous proved to be the growing of Lithuania, who after the destruction of the Yotvingians became in the direct neighbor of Siemowit Is domains. Another problem that plagued Siemowit Is reign was the relationship with his brother Casimir I, so in December 1254, Casimir I and his wife where captured his brother and held them prisoners when they returned from Kraków after the celebration of the canonization of Stanislaus of Szczepanów. In the meanwhile, Siemowit I face more internal problems, in the spring of 1262 Lithuania and Kievan Rus, under the command of Mindaugas, launched a major offensive campaign against the Duchy of Mazovia. The Masovians where caught by surprise, since virtually without any defense the capital, Płock, during the captivity of Konrad II, the regency of Siemowit Is domains was held by his ally Bolesław the Pious. By 1248, Siemowit I married with Pereyaslava, a daughter of Rurikid Prince Daniel of Halych and they had three children, Konrad II
7.
Janusz III of Masovia
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Janusz III of Masovia, was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast in the Masovian branch. He was a Duke of Czersk, Warsaw, Liw, Zakroczym and Nur during 1503-1524 jointly with his brother, and sole ruler during 1524-1526 as the last male member of the Masovian Piasts. He was the son of Konrad III the Red and his third wife Anna, a daughter of Mikolaj Radziwiłł the Old, Voivod of Vilnius. After the death of their father on 28 October 1503, Janusz III and his younger brother Stanisław inherited his domains, Janusz III and his brother took the government in 1518, due to the constant riots of the local nobility. Despite this, Anna Radziwiłł retained the power in Masovia until her death in 1522. In the same year when they attained their majority, both attended the wedding ceremony of King Sigismund I the Old with Bona Sforza in Kraków. As Polish vassals, during 1519-1520 Janusz III and his brother participated in the Polish-Teutonic War sending auxiliary troops to the Polish King. Despite being the co-ruler of their domains, Janusz III didnt participate in the government until Stanisławs death on 8 August 1524, in 1525, Janusz III forbade the Lutheranism in his domains, under penalty of confiscation of property and death. Like his brother, Janusz III quickly became known for his love to drink and his dissolute lifestyle probably contributed with is early death, who took place in the night of 9 to 10 March 1526. He was buried at St. Johns Archcathedral, Warsaw, with his death, the male line of Masovian Piasts, originating with Siemowit III became extinct. The death of both brothers caused unrest, and accusations that they were murdered became widespread, eventually, King Sigismund I himself looked into the matter, and concluded that there was no foul play. The Polish king refused to recognize their demands, and stood by the agreements that made him the heir to the Duchy, the Duchy, which would become a significant asset of the Polish Jagiellon dynasty, would retain some autonomy until 1576. He is one of the characters on the painting by Jan Matejko. Samuel Orgelbrand, Encyklopedja Powszechna, S. Orgelbranda Synów, p.54 Józef Szujski, Historyi polskiéj treściwie opowiedzianéj ksiąg dwanaście,1880, p.167
8.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
9.
Kuyavia
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Kujawy (, sometimes referred to as Kuyavia or Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three parts, north-eastern, central, and south-eastern. The name Kujawy first appeared in sources in the 1136 Bull of Gniezno issued by Pope Innocent II. It is also mentioned in the chronicles of Wincenty Kadłubek, the borders of Kujawy stretch out on the left bank of Vistula River, from the mouth of Skrwa Lewa in the south-east, almost to the mouth of the Wda River to the north. The borders also enclose Brdowski Lake, Przedecz and Lubień Kujawski through the Skrwa Lewa, in Kujawy there are black fertile soils, thanks to which Kujawy is called “the granary of Poland”. The episcopal see of Kujawy was probably Kruszwica, and later Włocławek, today, the biggest center of Kujawy is Bydgoszcz, however it is often considered non-kujavian. The other cities are Włocławek and Inowrocław, also the southern part of Toruń lies in the historical region of Kujawy. Some ethnographers and historians, for example Oskar Kolberg and Zygmunt Gloger, count the lands of Dobrzyń, bachorza Białe Kujawy Kujawy borowe Kujawy czarne Kujawy garbate Kujawy leśne Kujawy nadwiślańskie Kujawy zagoplańskie The Linear Pottery culture existed in the area. The earliest solid evidence of cheese-making, dating to 5,500 BC, was found in Kujawy, the beginnings of the state in Kujawy are connected with the tribal state of the West Slavic Goplans. According to some sources, during the war with the Goplans, as a result of occupation of the Goplans’ territory, the lands of Kujawy were under the strong influence of the Pannonian culture and they lost their primary Masovian spirit. When the name Cuiavia arose for the first time in the 1136 Bull of Gniezno, it referred to the lands east of Greater Poland around Kruszwica and Włocławek, the bull confirmed the position of the Bishopric of Kujawy at Włocławek as a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Gniezno. Casimirs son Duke Konrad I of Masovia in 1233 created the Duchy of Kujawy for his second son Casimir I. When Casimirs elder brother Duke Bolesław I of Masovia died in 1248, he took the occasion and took Dobrzyń Land east of the Vistula River from the heritage of his younger brother Siemowit I. Upon Casimirs death 1267, the Duchy of Kujawy was divided by his sons Leszek II the Black, Ziemomysł, in 1306 Ziemomysłs son Casimir II swore allegiance to his uncle Władysław I, who began to re-unite the Lands of the Polish Crown under his rule. The duchy was devastated during the Polish–Teutonic War of 1326–32, culminating in the 1331 Battle of Płowce, with the death of Casimirs son Władysław the White in 1388, the Kujawy line of the Piast dynasty became extinct. After the union of Polish lands in the 14th century, the division into provinces and counties was introduced and that division finalized in the 15th century, existed until the dissolution of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. Kujawy was divided into the two divisions of Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship and Inowrocław Voivodeship. As a result of the First Partition of Poland in 1772 the Kingdom of Prussia took a part of Inowrocław
10.
History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty
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The rule of the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland between 1386 and 1572 spans the late Middle Ages and early Modern Era in European history. The dynasty was founded by the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila, whose marriage to Queen Jadwiga of Poland formed a Polish–Lithuanian union, in the Baltic Sea region, Polands maintained an ongoing conflict with the Teutonic Knights. In the south, Poland confronted the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Tatars, Polands and Lithuanias territorial expansion included the far north region of Livonia. In the Jagiellonian period, Poland developed as a state with a predominantly agricultural economy. The Nihil novi act adopted by the Polish Sejm in 1505 transferred most of the power in the state from the monarch to the Sejm. This event marked the beginning of the known as Golden Liberty. Protestant Reformation movements made deep inroads into the Polish Christianity, which resulted in unique policies of tolerance in the Europe of that time. The European Renaissance as fostered by the late Jagiellonian Kings Sigismund I the Old, in 1385, the Union of Krewo was signed between Queen Jadwiga of Poland and Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the ruler of the last pagan state in Europe. The act arranged for Jogailas baptism and the marriage, which established the beginning of the Polish-Lithuanian union. After Jogailas baptism, he was known in Poland by his baptismal name Władysław, the union strengthened both nations in their shared opposition to the Teutonic Knights and the growing threat of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Vast expanses of Rus lands, including the Dnieper River basin, the population of the Grand Duchys enlarged territory was accordingly heavily Ruthenian and Eastern Orthodox. The territorial expansion led to a confrontation between Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which found itself emerging from the Tatar rule and itself in a process of expansion. The intention of the union was to create a state under Władysław Jagiełło. Territorial disputes led to warfare between Poland and Lithuania or Lithuanian factions, the Lithuanians at times found it expedient to conspire with the Teutonic Knights against the Poles. Geographic consequences of the union and the preferences of the Jagiellonian kings instead created a process of orientating Polish territorial priorities to the east. Between 1386 and 1572, the Polish-Lithuanian union was ruled by a succession of monarchs of the Jagiellonian dynasty. The political influence of the Jagiellonian kings gradually diminished during this period, while the nobility took over an ever-increasing role in central government. The royal dynasty, however, had an effect on Polands politics
11.
Polish language
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Polish is a West Slavic language spoken primarily in Poland and is the native language of the Poles. It belongs to the Lechitic subgroup of the West Slavic languages, Polish is the official language of Poland, but it is also used throughout the world by Polish minorities in other countries. It is one of the languages of the European Union. Its written standard is the Polish alphabet, which has 9 additions to the letters of the basic Latin script, Polish is closely related to Kashubian, Silesian, Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian, Czech and Slovak. It is also the second most widely spoken Slavic language, after Russian, in history, Polish is known to be an important language, both diplomatically and academically in Central and Eastern Europe. Today, Polish is spoken by over 38.5 million people as their first language in Poland. It is also spoken as a language in western parts of Belarus and Ukraine, west and central Lithuania, as well as the northern parts of the Czech Republic. There are 55 million Polish language speakers around the world, Polish began to emerge as a distinct language around the 10th century, the process largely triggered by the establishment and development of the Polish state. With Christianity, Poland also adopted the Latin alphabet, which made it possible to write down Polish, the precursor to modern Polish is the Old Polish language. Ultimately, Polish is thought to descend from the unattested Proto-Slavic language, Poland is the most linguistically homogeneous European country, nearly 97% of Polands citizens declare Polish as their first language. Elsewhere, Poles constitute large minorities in Lithuania, Belarus, Polish is the most widely used minority language in Lithuanias Vilnius County and is found elsewhere in southeastern Lithuania. There are significant numbers of Polish speakers among Polish emigrants and their descendants in many other countries, in the United States, Polish Americans number more than 11 million but most of them cannot speak Polish fluently. The largest concentrations of Polish speakers reported in the census were found in three states, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey. Enough people in these areas speak Polish that PNC Financial Services offer services available in Polish at all of their machines in addition to English and Spanish. According to the 2011 census there are now over 500,000 people in England, in Canada, there is a significant Polish Canadian population, There are 242,885 speakers of Polish according to the 2006 census, with a particular concentration in Toronto and Montreal. The geographical distribution of the Polish language was affected by the territorial changes of Poland immediately after World War II. Poles settled in the Recovered Territories in the west and north and this tendency toward a homogeneity also stems from the vertically integrated nature of the authoritarian Polish Peoples Republic. The inhabitants of different regions of Poland still speak standard Polish somewhat differently, first-language speakers of Polish have no trouble understanding each other, and non-native speakers may have difficulty distinguishing regional variations
12.
Masovian dialect
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The Masovian dialect, also written Mazovian, is the dialect of Polish spoken in Mazovia and historically related regions, in northeastern Poland. It is the most distinct of the Polish dialects and the most expansive, Masovian emerged in the process of mixing the Polish and the Mazovian language existing as a separate language well until 20th century, according to various scholars. Mazovian dialects may exhibit such features as mazurzenie, liaison, the Kurpie region has some of the most distinctive phonetic features due to isolation. Characteristics include, Depalatalization of velars before /ɛ/ and palatalization of velars before /ɛ̃ /, e. g. Łomża-Warszawa 1993, anna Basara, Studia nad wokalizmem w gwarach Mazowsza. Anna Cegieła, Polski Słownik terminologii i gwary teatralnej, jadwiga Chludzińska-Świątecka, Ze studiów nad słowotwórstwem gwar mazowieckich. Barbara Falińska, Gwary Mazowsza, Podlasia i Suwalszczyzny. ɴ I
13.
History of Poland during the Piast dynasty
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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 nation. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gallus Anonymous in the early 12th century, (Siemowit, Lestek and it was Mieszko I, the son of Siemomysł, who is now considered the proper founder of the Polish state at about 960 AD. The ruling house then remained in power in the Polish lands until 1370, Mieszko converted to Christianity of the Western Latin Rite in an event known as the Baptism of Poland in 966, which established a major cultural boundary in Europe based on religion. He also completed a unification of the West Slavic tribal lands that was fundamental to the existence of the new country of Poland. Mieszkos son Bolesław I Chrobry established a Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Gniezno, the first Piast monarchy collapsed with the death of Mieszko II Lambert in 1034, followed by its restoration under Casimir I in 1042. In the process, the dignity for Polish rulers was forfeited. Bolesław III, the last duke of the period, succeeded in defending his country. Upon his death in 1138, Poland was divided among his sons, the resulting internal fragmentation eroded the initial Piast monarchical structure in the 12th and 13th centuries and caused fundamental and lasting changes. Konrad I of Masovia invited the Teutonic Knights to help him fight the Baltic Prussian pagans, which led to centuries of Polands warfare with the Knights and the German Prussian state. In 1320, the kingdom was restored under Władysław I the Elbow-high, the western provinces of Silesia and Pomerania were lost after the fragmentation, and Poland began expanding to the east. The period ended with the reigns of two members of the Capetian House of Anjou between 1370 and 1384, the consolidation in the 14th century laid the base for the new powerful kingdom of Poland that was to follow. Accelerated rebuilding of old tribal fortified settlements, construction of new ones. The Polish state developed from these roots in the second half of the century. According to the 12th-century chronicler Gallus Anonymus, the Polans were ruled at this time by the Piast dynasty, in existing sources from the 10th century, Piast ruler Mieszko I was first mentioned by Widukind of Corvey in his Res gestae saxonicae, a chronicle of events in Germany. Widukind reported that Mieszkos forces were defeated in 963 by the Veleti tribes acting in cooperation with the Saxon exile Wichmann the Younger. Under Mieszkos rule, his tribal state accepted Christianity and became the Polish state, the viability of the Mieszkos emerging state was assured by the persistent territorial expansion of the early Piast rulers. Beginning with a small area around Gniezno, the Piast expansion lasted throughout most of the 10th century. The Polanie tribe conquered and merged with other Slavic tribes and first formed a tribal federation, after the addition of Lesser Poland, the country of the Vistulans, and of Silesia, Mieszkos state reached its mature form, including the main regions regarded as ethnically Polish
14.
Mazovia
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Mazovia is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. Borders of the Mazovian Voivodeship, which was created in 1999, do not reflect exactly its original shape, historical Mazovia existed since the Middle Ages until the partitions of Poland and consisted of three voivodeships with the capitals in Warszawa, Płock and Rawa Mazowiecka. In a narrower sense, the Mazovian Voivodeship was only the first of them, between 1816 and 1844 another Mazovian Voivodeship existed, encompassing the south of the region. In the Middle Ages the main city of the region was Płock, since 1138 Mazovia had a separate branch of the Piast dynasty and was incorporated to the Polish Crown as late as in the 15th and 16th centuries. As much as over 20% of Mazovian population was the yeomanry, inhabitants of Mazovia are Mazurzy – hence the region of Masuria, settled by them. Mazovia has a landscape without hills and without lakes and it is spread over the Mazovian Lowland, on both sides of the Vistula river and its confluence with Narew and Bug. Forests cover one-fifth of the region, with the large Kampinos Forest, Puszcza Biała, in the north Mazovia borders on the Masurian subregion of former Prussia, in the east on Podlachia, in the south on Lesser Poland and in the west on Greater Poland. The area of Mazovia is 33,500 km2 and it has population of 5 million. When the Slavs came to this region from the area of Polesie, they mingled with the descendants of Vistula Veneti. This created a Lechitic tribe, Mazovians, the historical region of Mazovia in the beginning encompassed only the territories on the right bank of Vistula near Płock and had strong connections with Greater Poland. In the period of the rule of the first monarchs of the Piast State, Płock was one of their seats, in the period 1037–1047 it was the capital of the independent, Mazovian state of Masław. Between 1079 and 1138 this city was de facto the capital of Poland, during the 9th century Mazovia was perhaps inhabited by the tribe of Mazovians, and it was incorporated into the Polish state in the second half of 10th century under the Piast ruler Mieszko I. In 1138 the duchy of Mazovia was established, and during the 12th and 13th centuries it joined temporarily various adjacent lands and endured invasions of Prussians, Yotvingians, and Ruthenians. To protect its northern section Conrad I of Masovia called in the Teutonic Knights in 1226, after the reunification of the Polish state by Władysław I in the early 14th century, Mazovia became its fief in 1351. In the second half of 15th century western Mazovia and in 1526/1529 the main part was incorporated into the Polish state, in the 15th century eastern part of the region was settled, mainly by the yeomanry. Mazovia was considered underdeveloped in comparison with Greater Poland and Lesser Poland, in the Early Modern Times Mazovia was known for exporting grain, timber, and fur. It was also distinct because there was no reformation here, Mazovia was divided into three voivodeships, each of them divided into lands, each of them divided into counties. The Polish-Lithuanian Union of Lublin established Mazovia as the region of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with Warsaw rising to prominence as the seat of the state legislature
15.
Masovians
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The Masovians or Mazovians are a Lechitic tribe or an ethnic group associated with the region of Mazovia. They were referenced by Nestor the Chronicler in the 11th century, perhaps they formerly buried the dead toward the North Star. Their main settlements were probably in the area of Płock, later, the inhabitants of Mazovia used to be called Mazurzy. Today, the term Mazovians is again in use and refers to the inhabitants of the Mazovian Voivodeship in Poland. Like most Poles, Masovians are Roman Catholics
16.
Vistula
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The Vistula is the longest and largest river in Poland, at 1,047 kilometres in length. The drainage basin area of the Vistula is 194,424 km2, the remainder is in Belarus, Ukraine and Slovakia. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in the south of Poland,1,220 meters above sea level in the Silesian Beskids, where it begins with the White Little Vistula and the Black Little Vistula. It empties into the Vistula Lagoon or directly into the Gdańsk Bay of the Baltic Sea with a delta, the name was first recorded by Pomponius Mela in AD40 and by Pliny in AD77 in his Natural History. Mela names the river Vistula, Pliny uses Vistla, the root of the name Vistula is Indo-European *u̯eis- to ooze, flow slowly and is found in many European rivernames. The diminutive endings -ila, -ula, were used in many Indo-European languages, in writing about the Vistula River and its peoples, Ptolemy uses the Greek spelling Ouistoula. Other ancient sources spell it Istula, ammianus Marcellinus refers to the Bisula, note the absence of the -t-. Jordanes uses Viscla, while the Anglo-Saxon poem Widsith refers to it as the Wistla, the Vistula river basin covers 194,424 square kilometres, its average altitude rising to 270 metres above sea level. In addition, the majority of its basin is located at heights of 100 to 200 m above sea level. The highest point of the basin lies at 2,655 metres. The asymmetry of the basin is 73–27%. The most recent glaciation of the Pleistocene epoch, which ended around 10,000 BC, is called the Vistulian glaciation or Weichselian glaciation in regard to north-central Europe. The river forms a delta called the Żuławy Wiślane around the town of Biała Góra near Sztum, about 50 km from the mouth. In the city of Gdańsk the Head of the Leniwka branch separates again into the Szkarpawa branch, the so-called Dead Wisła divides again into the Przegalinie branch flowing into Gdańsk Bay. Until the 14th century the Vistula was divided into an eastern branch, the Elbląg Vistula, and the smaller western branch. Since 1371 the Vistula of Gdańsk is the main artery. After the flood in 1840 an additional branch formed called the Śmiała Wisła, in 1890 through 1895, additional waterworks were carried out up the Świbna. The history of the River Vistula and her valley spans over 2 million years, the river is connected to the geological period called the Quaternary, in which distinct cooling of the climate took place
17.
Piast dynasty
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The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Prince Mieszko I, the Piasts royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branches of the Piast dynasty continued to rule in the Duchy of Masovia, the Piasts intermarried with several noble lines of Europe, and possessed numerous titles, some within the Holy Roman Empire. However, the term Piast Dynasty was not applied until the 17th century, in a historical work the expression Piast dynasty was introduced by the Polish historian Adam Naruszewicz, it is not documented in contemporary sources. The first Piasts, probably of Polan descent, appeared around 940 in the territory of Greater Poland at the stronghold of Giecz, shortly afterwards they relocated their residence to Gniezno, where Prince Mieszko I ruled over the Civitas Schinesghe from about 960. The name Polani, from Slavic, pole, did not appear until 1015, the Piasts temporarily also ruled over Pomerania, Bohemia and the Lusatias, as well as Ruthenia, and the Hungarian Spiš region in present-day Slovakia. The ruler bore the title of a duke or a king, depending on their position of power. The Bohemian Přemyslid dynasty, the Hungarian Arpads and their Anjou successors, the Kievan Rus, later also the State of the Teutonic Order, the Piast position was decisively enfeebled by an era of fragmentation following the 1138 Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty. Numerous dukes like Mieszko III the Old, Władysław III Spindleshanks or Leszek I the White were crowned, only to be overthrown shortly afterwards. After the Polish royal line and Piast junior branch had died out in 1370, the Masovian branch of the Piasts became extinct with the death of Duke Janusz III in 1526. The last ruling duke of the Silesian Piasts was George William of Legnica who died in 1675 and his uncle Count August of Legnica, the last male Piast, died in 1679. The last legitimate heir, Duchess Karolina of Legnica-Brieg died in 1707 and is buried in Trzebnica Abbey, nevertheless, numerous families, like the illegitimate descendants of the Silesian duke Adam Wenceslaus of Cieszyn, link their genealogy to the dynasty. About 1295, Przemysł II used a coat of arms with a white eagle – a symbol later referred to as the Piast coat of arms or as the Piast Eagle, Piast kings and rulers of Poland appear in list form in the following table. For a list of all rulers, see List of Polish monarchs
18.
Mieszko I of Poland
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Mieszko I was the ruler of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was a son of Siemomysł, and he was the father of Bolesław I the Brave and Gunhild of Wenden with his wife Oda. The first Christian ruler of territories later called Poland, Mieszko I is considered the de facto creator of the Polish state and he continued the policy of both his father and grandfather, who were rulers of the pagan tribes located in the area of present-day Greater Poland. Through both alliances and the use of force, Mieszko extended ongoing Polish conquests and early in his reign subjugated Kuyavia. For most of his reign, Mieszko I was involved in warfare for the control of Western Pomerania, during the last years of his life, he fought the Bohemian state, winning Silesia and probably Lesser Poland. Mieszko Is marriage in 965 to the Czech Přemyslid princess Dobrawa and his baptism in 966 put him, apart from the great conquests accomplished during his reign Mieszko I was renowned for his internal reforms, aimed at expanding and improving the so-called war monarchy system. According to existing sources, Mieszko I was a politician, a talented military leader. He successfully used diplomacy, concluding alliances, first with Bohemia, then Sweden, in foreign policy, he placed the interests of his country foremost, even entering into agreements with his former enemies. On his death, he left to his sons a country with greatly expanded territories, Mieszko I also enigmatically appeared as Dagome in a papal document dating to about 1085, called Dagome iudex, which mentions a gift or dedication of Mieszkos land to the Pope. It is roughly his borders that Poland was returned to in 1945, There is no certain information on Mieszko Is life before he took control over his lands. Only the Lesser Poland Chronicle gives the date of his birth as somewhere between the years 920–931, however, modern researchers dont recognize the Chronicle as a reliable source, There are three major theories concerning the origin and meaning of Mieszko Is name. The most popular theory, proposed by Jan Długosz, explains that Mieszko is a diminutive of Mieczysław, today, this theory is rejected by the majority of Polish historians, who consider the name Mieczysław to have been invented by Długosz to explain the origin of the name Mieszko. Today, we know that ancient Slavs never formed their names using either animal names or weapon names, ancient Slavic names were abstract in nature. The chronicler related this story as follows, At that time Prince Siemomysł urgently asked the people of his country whether his sons blindness conveyed some miraculous meaning. They explained that this meant that Poland was blind back then. In addition, it is known that the Slavic word mzec can be interpreted as having his eyes closed or be blind, in that symbolic rite a child became a man. That explains that Mieszko wasnt blind in fact, besides his sons name was also Mieszko and it is hard to believe that he was also blind. In addition, as we know today ancient Slavs used only abstract names among nobility, the third theory links the name of Mieszko with his other name, Dagome, as it appeared in the document called Dagome iudex
19.
Civitas Schinesghe
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Civitas Schinesghe is the first recorded name related to Poland as a political entity first attested in 991/2. Though a state of Poland is not explicitly mentioned, the name Schinesghe most likely refers to Gniezno and their duke Mieszko had himself baptised upon the marriage with Princess Dobrawa of Bohemia in 965. - and from its borders along the Oder to aforementioned Schinesghe. Studium krytyczne Początki państwa polskiego – Księga Tysiąclecia vol, Mieszko I i początki państwa polskiego
20.
Grand Prince
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The title grand prince or great prince ranked in honour below king and emperor and above a sovereign prince. German, Dutch, Slavic and Scandinavian languages do use separate words to express this concept, the title of grand prince was once used for the sovereign of a grand principality. The last titular grand principalities vanished in 1917 and 1918, the territories being united into other monarchies or becoming republics. The last sovereign to reign whose highest title was grand prince was Ivan IV of Moscow in the 16th century, when Ivan IVs pre-tsarist title is referred to in English, however, it is usually as grand duke. Velikiy knjaz is also a Russian courtesy title for members of the family of the Russian tsar, Grand Prince, used in the Slavic and Baltic languages, was the title of a medieval monarch who headed a more-or-less loose confederation whose constituent parts were ruled by lesser princes. Those grand princes title and position was at the time usually translated as king, in fact, the Slavic knjaz and the Baltic kunigaikštis are cognates of king. However, a prince was usually only primus inter pares within a dynasty. All princes of the family were eligible to inherit a crown. Often other members of the dynasty ruled some constituent parts of the monarchy/country, an established use of the title was in the Kievan Rus and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Thus, Veliki Knjaz has been more like high king than grand duke, at least, as these countries expanded territorially and moved towards primogeniture and centralization, their rulers acquired more elevated titles. Grand Prince was the used by contemporary sources to name the leader of the federation of the Hungarian tribes in the 10th century. It was used by Géza and his son and heir Stephen of Hungary, in the Middle Ages, the Serbian veliki župan was the supreme chieftain in the multi-tribal society. The title signifies overlordship, as the leader of lesser chieftains titled župan and it was used by the Serb rulers in the 11th and 12th centuries. In Greek, it was known as archizoupanos, megazoupanos and megalos zoupanos, in the 1090s, Vukan became the veliki župan in Raška. Stefan Nemanja expelled his brother Tihomir in 1168 and assumed the title of veliki župan, a Latin document used mega iupanus for King Stefan the First-Crowned. Afterwards, it was a noble rank with notable holders such as Altoman Vojinović. Later, several princes of nationally important cities, which comprised vassal appanage principalities, from 1328 the Grand Prince of Moscow appeared as the titular head of eastern Rus and slowly centralized power until Ivan IV was crowned tsar in 1547. Since then, the grand prince ceased to be a hereditary office
21.
Teutonic Order
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The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious order founded as a military order in the 12th century in Acre. Purely religious since 1929, it still confers limited honorary knighthoods, the order was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. Formed in the year 1190 in Acre, in the Levant, after Christian forces were defeated in the Middle East, the Order moved to Transylvania in 1211 to help defend the South-Eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Kipchaks. Starting from there, the Order created the independent Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights, adding continuously the conquered Prussians territory, the Order theoretically lost its main purpose in Europe with the Christianization of Lithuania. However, it initiated numerous campaigns against its Christian neighbours, the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Novgorod Republic. The Teutonic Knights had an economic base, and so hired mercenaries from throughout Europe to augment their feudal levies. In 1410, a Polish-Lithuanian army decisively defeated the Order and broke its military power at the Battle of Grunwald, however, the capital of the Teutonic Knights was successfully defended in the following Siege of Marienburg and the Order was saved from collapse. In 1515, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I made an alliance with Sigismund I of Poland-Lithuania. Thereafter, the empire did not support the Order against Poland, in 1525, Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg resigned and converted to Lutheranism, becoming Duke of Prussia as a vassal of Poland. Soon after, the Order lost Livonia and its holdings in the Protestant areas of Germany, the Order did keep its considerable holdings in Catholic areas of Germany until 1809, when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its dissolution and the Order lost its last secular holdings. However, the Order continued to exist as a charitable and ceremonial body and it was outlawed by Adolf Hitler in 1938, but re-established in 1945. Today it operates primarily with charitable aims in Central Europe, the Knights wore white surcoats with a black cross. A cross pattée was sometimes used as their coat of arms, the motto of the Order was, Helfen, Wehren, Heilen. The full name of the Order in German is Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem or in Latin Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum, thus, the term Teutonic refers to the German origins of the order in Latin. It is commonly known in German as the Deutscher Orden, historically also as Deutscher Ritterorden, Deutschherrenorden, Deutschritterorden or Die Herren im weißen Mantel. However, based on the model of the Knights Templar, it was transformed into an order in 1198. It received papal orders for crusades to take and hold Jerusalem for Christianity, during the rule of Grand Master Hermann von Salza the Order changed from being a hospice brotherhood for pilgrims to primarily a military order. The Order was founded in Acre, and the Knights purchased Montfort, northeast of Acre, the Order also had a castle at Amouda in Armenia Minor
22.
Old Prussians
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Prussians may also refer to citizens of the former German state Prussia. Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians refers to the peoples from a cluster of Baltic tribes that inhabited the region of Prussia. This region became the core of the state of Prussia. It was located on the shore of the Baltic Sea between the Vistula Lagoon to the west and the Curonian Lagoon to the east. The people spoke a language now known as Old Prussian and followed pagan Prussian mythology, during the 13th century, the Old Prussians were conquered by the Teutonic Knights. The former German state of Prussia took its name from the Baltic Prussians, the Teutonic Knights and their troops transferred Prussians from southern Prussia to northern Prussia. Many Old Prussians were also killed in crusades requested by Poland, many were also assimilated and converted to Christianity. The old Prussian language was extinct by the 17th or early 18th century, many Old Prussians emigrated due to Teutonic crusades. Old Prussians, who emigrated to surrounding areas, later returned, the land of the Old Prussians was larger before the arrival of Polans consisting of central and southern East Prussia and West Prussia. After 1945, the territory was equivalent to the areas of Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, the Kaliningrad Oblast. The names of the Baltic Prussian tribes all reflected the theme of landscape, most of the names were based on water, an understandable convention in a land dotted with thousands of lakes, streams, and swamps. To the south, the terrain runs into the Pripet Marshes at the headwaters of the Dnieper River, the original pre-Baltic settlers generally named their settlements after the streams, lakes, seas, or forests by which they settled. The clan or tribal entities into which they were organized then took the name of the settlement and this root is perhaps the one used in the very name of Prusa, for which an earlier Brus- is found in the map of the Bavarian Geographer. In Tacitus Germania, the Lugii Buri are mentioned living within the range of the Germans. Lugi may descend from Pokornys *leug-, black, swamp, while Buri is perhaps the Prussian root, the name of Pameddi tribe is derived from the words pa and meddin or meddu. Nadruvia may be a compound of the words na and drawē or nad, the name of the Bartians, a Prussian tribe, and the name of the Bārta river in Latvia are possibly cognates. In the 2nd century AD, the geographer Claudius Ptolemy listed some Borusci living in European Sarmatia and his map is very confused in that region, but the Borusci seem further east than the Prussians, which would have been under the Gythones at the mouth of the Vistula. The Aesti, recorded by Tacitus, were 450 years later recorded by Jordanes as part of the Gothic Empire, folk etymology led to the belief that each Prussian tribe was named after a tribal leader or his wife, such as the mythical leader Warmo ruling the Warmians
23.
Hohenstaufen
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The Hohenstaufen, also called the Staufer or Staufen, were a dynasty of German kings during the Middle Ages. Besides Germany, they ruled the Kingdom of Sicily. In Italian historiography, they are known as the Svevi, since they were dukes of Swabia from 1079, three members of the dynasty—Frederick I, Henry VI and Frederick II—were crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The name Staufen derives from Stauf, meaning chalice, and was applied to conical hills in Swabia in the Middle Ages. The family derives its name from the castle which the first Swabian duke of the lineage built there in the half of the 11th century. Staufen castle was finally called Hohenstaufen by historians in the 19th century. The name of the dynasty followed, but in recent decades the trend in German historiography has been to prefer the name Staufer, the noble family first appeared in the late 10th century in the Swabian Riesgau region around the former Carolingian court of Nördlingen. A local count Frederick is mentioned as progenitor in a pedigree drawn up by Abbot Wibald of Stavelot at the behest of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1153. He held the office of a Swabian count palatine, his son Frederick of Buren married Hildegard of Egisheim-Dagsburg and their son Frederick I was appointed Duke of Swabia at Hohenstaufen Castle by the Salian king Henry IV of Germany in 1079. At the same time, Duke Frederick I was engaged to the kings approximately seventeen-year-old daughter, Fredericks brother Otto was elevated to the Strasbourg bishopric in 1082. Upon Fredericks death, he was succeeded by his son, Duke Frederick II, Frederick II remained a close ally of the Salians, he and his younger brother Conrad were named the kings representatives in Germany when the king was in Italy. Around 1120, Frederick II married Judith of Bavaria from the rival House of Welf, when the last male member of the Salian dynasty, Emperor Henry V, died without heirs in 1125, a controversy arose about the succession. A civil war between Fredericks dynasty and Lothairs ended with Fredericks submission in 1134, after Lothairs death in 1137, Fredericks brother Conrad was elected King as Conrad III. In 1147, Conrad heard Bernard of Clairvaux preach the Second Crusade at Speyer, conrads brother Duke Frederick II died in 1147, and was succeeded in Swabia by his son, Duke Frederick III. When King Conrad III died without heir in 1152, Frederick also succeeded him. As royal access to the resources of the church in Germany was much reduced and he was soon crowned emperor in Italy, but decades of warfare on the peninsula yielded scant results. The Papacy and the prosperous city-states of the Lombard League in northern Italy were traditional enemies, under the skilled leadership of Pope Alexander III, the alliance suffered many defeats but ultimately was able to deny the emperor a complete victory in Italy. During Fredericks long stays in Italy, the German princes became stronger, offers of reduced taxes and manorial duties enticed many Germans to settle in the east in the course of the Ostsiedlung
24.
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Frederick II was a Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily in the Middle Ages, a member of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, however, his enemies, especially the popes, prevailed, and his dynasty collapsed soon after his death. As such, he was King of Germany, of Italy, at the age of three, he was crowned King of Sicily as a co-ruler with his mother, Constance of Hauteville, the daughter of Roger II of Sicily. His other royal title was King of Jerusalem by virtue of marriage, Pope Gregory IX went so far as to call him an Antichrist. Speaking six languages, Frederick was a patron of science. He played a role in promoting literature through the Sicilian School of poetry. His Sicilian royal court in Palermo, from around 1220 to his death, saw the first use of a form of an Italo-Romance language. The poetry that emanated from the school had a significant influence on literature and he was also the first king who explicitly outlawed trials by ordeal as they were considered irrational. After his death, his line died out and the House of Hohenstaufen came to an end. Born in Iesi, near Ancona, Italy, Frederick was the son of the emperor Henry VI and he was known as the puer Apuliae. Some chronicles say that his mother, the forty-year-old Constance, gave birth to him in a square in order to forestall any doubt about his origin. In 1196 at Frankfurt am Main the infant Frederick was elected King of the Germans and his rights in Germany were disputed by Henrys brother Philip of Swabia and Otto of Brunswick. At the death of his father in 1197, Frederick was in Italy travelling towards Germany when the bad news reached his guardian, Conrad of Spoleto. Frederick was hastily brought back to his mother Constance in Palermo, Sicily, Constance of Sicily was in her own right queen of Sicily, and she established herself as regent. Upon Constances death in 1198, Pope Innocent III succeeded as Fredericks guardian, Fredericks tutor during this period was Cencio, who would become Pope Honorius III. However, Markward of Annweiler, with the support of Henrys brother, Philip of Swabia, reclaimed the regency for himself, in 1200, with the help of Genoese ships, he landed in Sicily and one year later seized the young Frederick. He thus ruled Sicily until 1202, when he was succeeded by another German captain, William of Capparone, Frederick was subsequently under tutor Walter of Palearia, until, in 1208, he was declared of age. His first task was to reassert his power over Sicily and southern Italy, Otto of Brunswick had been crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Innocent III in 1209
25.
State of the Teutonic Order
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The state was based in Prussia after the Orders conquest of the Pagan Old Prussians which began in 1230. It expanded to include at various times Courland, Gotland, Livonia, Neumark and its territory was in the modern countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. Most of the territory was conquered by military orders, after which German colonization occurred to varying effect, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword controlling Terra Mariana were incorporated into the Teutonic Order as its autonomous branch Livonian Order in 1237. In 1346, the Duchy of Estonia was sold by the King of Denmark for 19,000 Köln marks to the Teutonic Order, the shift of sovereignty from Denmark to the Teutonic Order took place on 1 November 1346. Following its defeat in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 the Teutonic Order fell into decline, the Teutonic lands in Prussia were split in two after the Peace of Thorn in 1466. The western part of Teutonic Prussia was converted into Royal Prussia, the monastic state in the east was secularized in 1525 during the Protestant Reformation as the Duchy of Prussia, a Polish fief governed by the House of Hohenzollern. The Livonian branch continued as part of the Livonian Confederation until its dissolution in 1561, the Old Prussians withstood many attempts at conquest preceding that of the Teutonic Knights. Bolesław I of Poland began the series of unsuccessful conquests when he sent Adalbert of Prague in 997, in 1147, Bolesław IV of Poland attacked Prussia with the aid of Kievan Rus, but was unable to conquer it. Numerous other attempts followed, and, under Duke Konrad I of Masovia, were intensified, the West-Baltic Prussians successfully repelled most of the campaigns and managed to strike Konrad in retaliation. However, the Prussians and Yotvingians in the south had their territory conquered, the land of the Yotvingians was situated in the area of what is today the Podlaskie Voivodeship of Poland. The Prussians attempted to oust Polish or Masovian forces from Yotvingia and Culmerland, Konrad of Masovia had already called a crusade against the Old Prussians in 1208, but it was not successful. Konrad, acting on the advice of Christian, first bishop of Prussia, established the Order of Dobrzyń, the Order, however, was soon defeated and, in reaction, Konrad called on the Pope for yet another crusade and for help from the Teutonic Knights. As a result, several called for crusades against the Old Prussians. The crusades, involving many of Europes knights, lasted for sixty years, in 1211, Andrew II of Hungary enfeoffed the Teutonic Knights with the Burzenland. In 1225, Andrew II expelled the Teutonic Knights from Transylvania, early in 1224, Emperor Frederick II announced at Catania that Livonia, Prussia with Sambia, and a number of neighbouring provinces were under Imperial immediacy. This decree subordinated the provinces directly to the Roman Catholic Church, at the end of 1224, Pope Honorius III announced to all Christendom his appointment of Bishop William of Modena as the Papal Legate for Livonia, Prussia, and other countries. As a result of the Golden Bull of Rimini in 1226, the Knights began the Prussian Crusade in 1230. Under their governance, woodlands were cleared and marshlands made arable, upon which many cities and villages were founded, the cities were heavily fortified, accounting for the long lasting conflicts with the resistive native Old Prussians, with armed forces under command of the knights
26.
Casimir I of Kuyavia
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He was the second son of Konrad I of Masovia and his wife Agafia of Rus. He was probably named after his grandfather, Casimir II the Just, Casimir I received Kujawy from his father in 1233. In 1239, he would enlarge his domains with the castellany of Ląd, in subsequent years, Casimir I actively supported his fathers turbulent politics, who brought him in 1242 the conquer of the district of Wyszogród from the rulers of Gdańsk. Konrad I died on 31 August 1247, under his will, mostly of Masovia passed to his oldest son Bolesław I and the youngest of his sons, Siemowit I, received Sieradz-Łęczyca. Dissatisfied with his part of the inheritance, Casimir I attacked his brothers and was able to conquer Siemowit Is inheritance. The next geopolitical change in Masovia came shortly after, with the death of Bolesław I in early 1248 without issue, in his will. In this opportunity Casimir I was able to take advantage of the confusion after his brothers death. During the 1250s Casimir I was busy in his project to Christianize the Yotvingian tribes, however his plans wasnt supported by the Teutonic Order, which had the Pope on its side. After its failure, Casimir I turned his attention elsewhere, in order to secure the northern border of his territory, he appealed to the Knights Templar, who settled in Łuków. It wasnt until 1263 that his relations with the Teutonic Order where normalized, in the meanwhile, Casimir I face more internal problems. The expedition was a victory, and on 29 November 1259, Casimir I was forced to surrender. However, Casimir I refused to return Ląd, and this caused that in 1261 the coalition attacked again, finally, Casimir I was forced not only to surrender the castellany of Ląd, but also gave Sieradz to his son as a separate district. Casimir died on 14 December 1267 and was buried in the Cathedral of Włocławek, around 1230/31 Casimir I married firstly with Hedwig, probably the daughter of Władysław Odonic. In 1239 Casimir I married secondly with Constance, a daughter of Henry II the Pious, as her dowry, she received the castellany of Ląd, who was the cause of the long conflict with the Duchy of Greater Poland. They had two sons, Leszek II the Black, in 1257, Casimir I married thirdly with Euphrosyne, daughter of Casimir I of Opole. As her dowry, she received the district of Ruda, and they had four children, Władysław I the Elbow-high, King of Poland. Casimir II, killed in battle against the Lithuanians, euphemia, married Yuri I of Galicia
27.
Konrad II of Masovia
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Konrad II of Czersk, was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast, Duke of Masovia during 1264-1275 jointly with his brother, since 1275 sole ruler over Czersk and Duke of Sandomierz during 1289. He was the eldest son of Siemowit I of Masovia and Pereyaslava, Konrad II is mentionet for the first time in 1262, when Lithuanian Grand Duke Treniota launched a major campaign against Masovia. He and his father stayed at a fort in Jazdów when they were surprised by the attack, Siemowit I was killed during the battle. After two years of captivity, Konrad II was released and recover his lands left to him by his father. In terms of policy, Konrad II continued the line of his father, working closely with Bolesław V the Chaste, Leszek II the Black. He fought alongside Hungary in the war which opposed Bohemia for the Babenberg inheritance, in 1271 became part of a coalition against Henryk IV Probus, to prevent it from providing support to the Bohemian King Ottokar II. Two years later, the coalition attacked Władysław Opolski who during the general confusion for the Bohemian-Hungarian war, tried to obtain the Seniorate from Bolesław V. In 1275 when his brother Bolesław II attained his majority, forced Konrad II to make a division over their paternal domains and he gave Płock to him, retaining only Czersk. When Bolesław V the Chaste died on 7 December 1279, he was succeeded by his designated heir, the civil war in Masovia prevented Konrad II to claim the Seniorate, but he was allowed to make extensive contacts with the oppositors of the new Duke of Kraków and Sandomierz. In 1282 Konrad II organized an expedition against Leszek II which ended in a failure, although the Masovian troops briefly captured the districts of Radom. On 3 May 1285 took place a decisive battle in Bogucice, in 1286, with the help of Lithuanian troops, he took the district of Gostynin from Władysław I the Elbow-high. Leszek II the Black died on 30 September 1288, this event offered a new opportunity for Konrad II to ascend the throne of Kraków, despite this, Konrad II didnt give up, and in 1289, he concluded an agreement with his brother. The events of Lesser Poland where the last political manifestation of Konrad II and he died between 23 June and 11 October 1294 in the district of Czerwińsk nad Wisłą, and was buried in either the Dominican Church of Warka or in the Abbey of Czerwińsk. Around 1265/70, Konrad II married with Hedwig, a daughter of Bolesław II Rogatka and they had one daughter, Anna, married betw. 1289/91 to Duke Przemysław of Racibórz, because he died without male offspring, all his domains passed to his brother Bolesław II, against whom he had fought all his life
28.
Seniorate Province
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For the state of Cracow between 1846 and 1918, see Grand Duchy of Cracow. Fore more modern division of Kraków region, see Kraków Voivodeship. It existed during the period of fragmentation of Poland until 1320, the Seniorate Province was supposed to be ruled by the rotating head of the royal Piast dynasty, a principality that he held as overlord of the other Polish dukes. The High Duke resided at Kraków, Polands capital since 1038, the Seniors prerogatives also included control over the Duchy of Silesia and his Pomerelian vassals at Gdańsk in eastern Pomerania. The Senior was tasked with defense of borders, the right to have troops in provinces of other Dukes, carrying out the policy, supervision over the clergy. Kraków was an addition to the resources of the incumbent, whoever it was. The duchy neighboured originally each of the four partition duchies of Masovia at Płock, Sandomierz, Silesia at Wrocław, even after many of those were further partitioned, it bordered on several principalities, and was at least close to all. Upon the exile of High Duke Władysław II the rule was assumed by Władysławs II eldest brother Bolesław IV the Curly, Duke of Masovia, who died without issue in 1173. He was followed in the Seniorate by the second eldest Mieszko III the Old, while Masovia, a long-term struggle between the brothers followed, whereby Mieszko III was able to incorporate the northwestern lands of Gniezno and Kalisz into his Duchy of Greater Poland. In the long-term struggle Leszek I was killed in 1227 and the Pomerelian lands got lost, when Duke Swietopelk II of Gdańsk declared himself independent. In 1232 the Silesian duke Henry I the Bearded finally prevailed, re-uniting the thrones of Wrocław, after an interregnum he was succeeded by Leszeks I son Bolesław V the Chaste, who upon his death in 1279 appointed Konrads grandson Leszek II the Black of Kuyavia. The Seniorate was again contested between the dukes Przemysł II of Greater Poland and Władysław I the Elbow-high of Kuyavia, Przemysł II brought the royal Přemyslid dynasty of Bohemia into the Polish affairs, when he allied with King Wenceslaus II, whom he ceded the throne at Kraków. In 1295 however, he switched sides and had himself crowned as King of Poland at Greater Polish Gniezno, in 1320 Władysław I, against the fierce resistance of King John of Bohemia, reached the consent by Pope John XXII to have himself crowned Polish king at Kraków. The Duchy of Kraków was finally incorporated into the Lands of the Polish Crown as Kraków Voivodeship, Władysławs I successor King Casimir III the Great had to buy off the Bohemian claims by renouncing Silesia in the 1335 Treaty of Trentschin. In this list, titular claims are not noted, not as rule, only true
29.
Silesian Piasts
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The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile, eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesławs testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his hereditary province, the history of the Silesian Piasts began with the feudal fragmentation of Poland in 1138 following the death of the Polish duke Bolesław III Wrymouth. Władysław soon entered into conflicts with his brothers and the Polish nobility. When in 1146 he attempted to control of the whole of Poland, he was excomunicated by Archbishop Jakub ze Żnina of Gniezno. He was received by King Conrad III of Germany, his brother-in-law by Władysławs consort Agnes of Babenberg, Silesia and the Seniorate Province came under the control of second-born Bolesław IV the Curly, Duke of Masovia. In the same year King Conrad III attempted to power for Władysław. He died in 1159 without returning to Poland, the Duchy of Silesia remained within the Polish seniorate constitution, but Władysławs sons were obliged to pay a yearly tribute to the Holy Roman Emperor. Mieszko Tanglefoot the smaller Duchy of Racibórz around Racibórz and Cieszyn and their minor brother Konrad Spindleshanks received Żagań, Głogów and Krosno from the hands of Bolesław the Tall. In the same year, Poland abolished the seniorate and the Silesian duchies became independent entities, Henry I the Bearded actively took part in the inner-Polish conflicts and expanded his dominion with determination. Henry, before securing in 1229 the sovereignty in Kraków, had no less persevering efforts to bring Greater Poland also under his dominion. From the beginning of the century he had not ceased to intervene in the disputes which were carried on between the descendants of Mieszko the Old. At last in 1234, a half of that province was formally ceded to him. As a guardian of minor dukes, Henry moreover ruled over Opole and this Silesian prince not only intended to enlarge his possessions, he proposed to make them the nucleus of a restored Kingdom of Poland. He became duke of Kraków in 1232, which gave him the title of the Senior Duke of Poland, Henry expanded his realm also outside Poland ruling over Barnim, Teltow as well as parts of Lower Lusatia. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, he never gained the Polish crown, the royal crown, almost forgotten since the fall of Bolesław II, was destined by him for his eldest son, whom he associated in his rule towards the end of his life. This Henry II the Pious, who succeeded his father in 1238, was, in fact, pursuing the very able policy of Henry the Bearded, his son was moreover able to obtain the support of the clergy, with whom his father had had frequent disagreements. Following an old tradition of his dynasty, he placed himself under the protection of the Holy See, in 1241, he died as a Christian hero in the Battle of Legnica, in which he was attempting to arrest the Mongolian invasion. His death left the Silesian Piast dynasty deeply shaken, after Henrys death in 1241 his brother Bolesław II ruled on behalf of his underage brothers
30.
Greater Poland
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Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied throughout history. Since the Middle Ages the proper or exact/strict Wielkopolska included the Poznań, in the wider sense it encompassed also Sieradz, Łęczyca, Brześć Kujawski and Inowrocław voivodeships. One another meaning included also Mazovia and Royal Prussia, after the Partitions of Poland, Greater Poland was often identified with the Grand Duchy of Posen. The region in the proper sense roughly coincides with the present-day Greater Poland Voivodeship, because Greater Poland was the settlement area of the Polans and the core of the early Polish state, the region was at times simply called Poland. The more specific name is first recorded in the Latin form Polonia Maior in 1257 and its original meaning was the Older Poland, as opposed to Lesser Poland, a region in south-eastern Poland with its capital at Kraków which became the main center of the state later. Greater Poland comprises much of the area drained by the Warta River and its tributaries, the region is distinguished from Lesser Poland with the lowland landscape, and from both Lesser Poland and Mazovia with its numerous lakes. In the strict meaning, it covers an area of about 33,000 square kilometres, in the wider sense, it has almost 60,000 square kilometres, and 7 million inhabitants. The regions main metropolis is Poznań, near the centre of the region, on the Warta. Other cities are Kalisz to the south-east, Konin to the east, Piła to the north, Ostrów Wielkopolski to the south-east, Gniezno to the north-east, and Leszno to the south-west. An area of 75.84 square kilometres of forest and lakeland south of Poznań is designated the Wielkopolska National Park, the region also contains part of Drawa National Park, and several designated Landscape Parks. For example, the Rogalin Landscape Park is famous for about 2000 monumental oak trees growing on the plain of the river Warta. Greater Poland formed the heart of the 10th-century early Polish state, in the testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty, which initiated the period of fragmentation of Poland, the western part of Greater Poland was granted to Mieszko III the Old. The eastern part, with Gniezno and Kalisz, was part of the Duchy of Kraków, however, for most of the period the two parts were under a single ruler, and were known as the Duchy of Greater Poland. The region came under the control of Władysław I the Elbow-High in 1314, in the reunited kingdom, and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the country came to be divided into administrative units called voivodeships. In the case of the Greater Poland region these were Poznań Voivodeship, the Commonwealth also had larger subdivisions known as prowincja, one of which was named Greater Poland. However, this covered an larger area than the Greater Poland region itself, also taking in Masovia. In 1768 a new Gniezno Voivodeship was formed out of the part of Kalisz Voivodeship
31.
Siemowit II of Masovia
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He was the eldest son of Bolesław II of Płock and his first wife Gaudemantė, the daughter of Grand Duke Traidenis of Lithuania. He was probably named after his grandfather, Siemowit I. Before his father died, in 1310 Siemowit II received the districts of Warsaw, when Bolesław II died in 1313, the Duchy of Masovia was divided. As the oldest son, Siemowit II obtained the part of Masovia. His younger brothers Trojden I and Wenceslaus were respectively given Czersk and this division didnt satisfy anybody and lead to a brief war between the three brothers in 1316. Apart from a mention in the Roczniku miechowskim, the exact details of this conflict are unknown. In terms of policy, Siemowit II tried to skillfully maneuver between his powerful neighbors, Władysław I the Elbow-high, the Teutonic Order, Lithuania and Bohemia. This policy was expressed, inter alia, in frequent changes of alliances, initially Siemowit II, along with his brothers, relied on Władysław I the Elbow-high, with whom in 1323 placed in the throne of Halych his nephew Bolesław Jerzy II. The continuation of this collaboration was further showed two years later when the Masovian Dukes participed in Władysław Is coalition against Brandenburg, in 1325 Siemowit II and Trojden I send a letter to the Pope determined the eastern border of their possession as reaching two miles from Grodno. In 1329 Siemowit II and his brothers decided to support Władysław I. A year later Siemowit II managed to obtain the neutrality, the conclusion of eternal peace between Poland and the Teutonic Order relieved Siemowit II, whose Duchy had an uncomfortable situation between the two powers. As a potential successor Casimir III the Great on the throne of Poland, he issued a document under which he agreed to waive the rights of Chełmno. Siemowit II died in Rawa on 19 February 1345 at his estate of Wiskitki near Sochaczew and he was buried in either Płock Cathedral or in the Dominican monastery of Warka. He never married or had offspring, so after his death his duchy was divided among his three surviving nephews, Bolesław III, Siemowit III and Casimir I
32.
Trojden I, Duke of Masovia
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Trojden I, was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast, Duke of Czersk since 1310, ruler over Warsaw and Liw since 1313, regent of Płock during 1336–1340. He was the son of Bolesław II of Płock and his first wife Gaudemantė. He was named after his maternal grandfather, in 1310, when his father was still alive Trojden I received the district of region Czersk. When his father died in 1313, he received the districts of Warsaw and Liw in addition to his duchy. This division didnt satisfy anybody and lead to a war between the three brothers in 1316. Apart from a mention in the Roczniku miechowskim, the exact details of this conflict are unknown. Initially Trojden I maintained excellent relations with Władysław I the Elbow-high, thanks to his intervention, in ca. 1309/10 Trojden I could married Maria, daughter of Yuri I, in 1325 Trojden I and Siemowit I send a letter to the Pope determined the eastern border of their possession as reaching two miles from Grodno. This event caused that on 2 January 1326 at Brodnica, Trojden I and his brothers concluded an agreement with the Teutonic Order, in the following years Trojden I together with his brothers tried to maneuver between the Polish Kingdom and the Teutonic Order. For instance, in 1329 the Dukes of Masovia supported militarily Władysław I the Elbow-high, in 1339 Trojden I was again close to the Kingdom of Poland, ruled at the time by Casimir III the Great. Evidence of this was his testimony during the Polish-Teutonic trial for the seizure of land from the Piast dynasty, for unknown reasons, Trojden I didnt personally attend the trial, but sent his Chancellor Gunther as his representative. In 1340, his eldest son Bolesław was poisoned by his own subjects, Trojden I waives his right to succeed his son in Halych-Volhynia in exchange for a large sum of money paid to him by Casimir III. Trojden I died on 13 March 1341 and is buried in the Dominican monastery in Warka, in 1859 his remains where moved to the Church of Our Lady of Carmel in Warka, thanks to the initiative of Piotr Wysocki, as manifestation of the growing Polish nationalism. Around 1309/10, Trojden I married with Maria, daughter of Yuri I and they had four children, Bolesław, became King of Halych-Volhynia. Euphemia, married Casimir I, Duke of Cieszyn
33.
Rawa Mazowiecka
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Rawa Mazowiecka is a town in central Poland, with 17,765 inhabitants. It lies in the Łódź Voivodeship and is the capital of the Rawa County, from 1562 the city hosted the Rawa Treasury for the Polish army. During an excavation in 1948, a hoard wealth deposit dating from 600 BC was found containing 4 underground rooms with barrels of gold, a smaller treasure was found containing mainly bronze artefacts from the Trzciniec culture, dating from around 1700 BC. Rawa has a long and rich history, first mentioned in 1288, it received city rights in 1321. Rawa Mazowiecka was first mentioned as a medieval gord, probably located on one of local hills, in 1321, it received town charter, and in 1355-1370, a brick castle of Mazovian Dukes was built here. During the reign of Siemowit III, Duke of Masovia, Rawa was the capital of the whole Duchy of Mazovia, in 1462, Rawa was incorporated into Poland, and named capital of a voivodeship. The town prospered, wars of the 14th and 15th centuries did not affect Rawa and it was one of the largest cities of Mazovia. In 1613, a Jesuit church was here, and by 1622. Among its students was Jan Chryzostom Pasek, nobleman and writer best remembered for his memoirs, the period of prosperity ended during the catastrophic Swedish invasion of Poland, when Rawa was captured by Swedes, who completely destroyed both town and castle. Rawa never recovered from the destruction, and even though it continued to be the capital of Rawa Voivodeship, in 1676, its population was only 100. In 1702, Swedish forces returned during the Great Northern War, in 1766, most of Rawa burned in a fire, and on February 4,1793, the town was seized by the Kingdom of Prussia during the military Partitions of Poland. In 1800, Rawa County was created, and in November 1806, during the Napoleonic Wars and it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw. Since 1815, following Napoleons defeat, Rawa became part of the Russian-controlled Congress Poland, in 1822, a town hall was built together with tenement houses in the main town square, and in 1829-1830 a hospital was completed. Rawa quickly modernized, but this process was halted by the Tsarist repression after the failed November Uprising of 1830, on February 4,1863, Rawa was captured by the rebels of the January Uprising. The town was almost completely destroyed in 1915 during World War I, the Nazis established a Jewish ghetto in Rawa Mazowiecka in March 1941. The two zones spread across the part of town from the bridge on Rawka river to the bridge on Rylka river near the hospital. At the same time the area included the streets of Studzienna, Zatylna, Starościanska, Bóźnicza, by 1942, the number of Jewish prisoners in the Rawa ghetto grew to four thousand. Typhus epidemic broke out due to poor sanitary conditions, the Jews died as the result of starvation diet and occasional executions carried out in the castle
