Masuria
For the horse breed called Mazury, see Mazury (horse).Masuria (; ) is an area in northeastern
Poland famous for its
lakes and forests. Together with
Russia's
Kaliningrad Oblast to the north and a small section of
Lithuania, the region used to be a part of
Prussia and of the administrative region of
East Prussia, a
German exclave before
World War II. Sanctioned by the
Potsdam Conference, Masuria became part of Poland in 1945. The name Masuria comes from
Mazurian ethnic group,
Polish settlers from
Mazovia who repopulated much of the area after its conquest by the
Teutonic Knights.
Old Prussians
By the 13th century, Masuria was inhabited by the
Baltic Old Prussians in the lands of
Pomesania,
Pogesania,
Galindia,
Bartia, and
Sudovia. In the southern latter two regions, dense wilderness existed longer than in most of Europe, enabling
moose,
aurochs,
bears, and other mammals to survive. It is estimated that around 220,000 Old Prussians lived in the territory in 1200. During the Baltic or
Northern Crusades of the 13th century the Old Prussians used this remaining wilderness as defense against the
German knights of the
Teutonic Order and other visiting European
crusaders. The declared mission of the Teutonic Knights was to baptize and convert the native population to
Christianity; they did this mostly through conquest, which culminated in 1283 when the Prussian
keep at
Ełk (Lyck) was destroyed by the Order.
Following the Order's conquest of the area, Polish settlers, mainly Mazurs from Masovia, began to settle in the southeast of the conquered region. Also some German,
French,
Flemish,
Danish,
Dutch, and
Norwegian colonists entered the area shortly afterward. The number of Polish settlers grew significantly again in the beginning of 15th century, after 1410 and then again after 1466. It is estimated that in the middle of the century, Polish settlers made about 60% of the Masurian population. At the same time the original Prussian population had already largely disappeared through earlier warfare with the Teutonic Knights and later assimilation with the Polish colonists.
Polish sovereignty
In Masuria the Polish language dominated due to the many settlers from Masovia. In the
Second Treaty of Toruń in 1466, the Teutonic Order came under the overlordship of the
Polish crown. With the conversion of
Albert of Prussia to
Lutheranism in 1525, Masuria became part of
Protestant Ducal Prussia. While most of the countryside was populated by Polish-speakers, the cities remained centres of mixed German and Polish population, with the upper class more German than the lower class. The ancient
Old Prussian language survived in parts of the countryside until the early 18th century. Areas that were primarily Polish were known as the Polish departments (
die polnischen Ämter in German).
In 1656 Masuria was devastated by the
Tatar raids, which practically destroyed all the townships and killed 30% of the population within 2 weeks. From 1708-1711 about 50% of the inhabitants of the newly rebuilt villages died from
plague. Losses in population were partly compensated by migration from
Scotland,
Salzburg,
France, and especially from the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as by refugees, including
Polish brethren expelled from Poland in 1657. The last group of refugees were the
Russian
Filipons in 1830.
Kingdom of Prussia
|
Masuria in winter (Zyzdrój Wielki) |
As part of Ducal Prussia, Masuria passed under the control of the
Hohenzollern dynasty of
Brandenburg in 1618, and Polish sovereignty was revoked by the
Treaty of Wehlau in 1657. The region became part of the
Kingdom of Prussia after its creation in 1701. Masuria became part of the newly-created administrative province of
East Prussia upon its creation in 1773. The name
Masuria began to be used officially after new administrative reforms in the kingdom after 1818.
Germanisation was slow and mainly done through the educational system: after the unification of the province with
Imperial Germany, the Polish language was removed from schools in 1872. Local Poles resisted those attempts, mainly by publication of Polish newspapers such as
Przyjaciel Ludu Łecki and
Mazur. At the end of the 19th century Polish activists gathered around
Gazeta Ludowa and the
Mazurska Partia Ludowa ("Mazur People's Party"). Of the Masurian population in 1890 143,397 gave German as their language (either primary or secondary), 152,186 Polish, and 94,961
Masurian. In 1910, the German language was given by 197,060, Polish by 30,121, and Masurian by 171,413. In 1925, only 40,869 people gave Masurian as their native tongue and only 2,297 gave Polish. However, the last result may have been a result of politics at the time and a desire to present the province as purely German; in reality the Masurian dialect was still in use.
During
World War I, the
Battle of Tannenberg with the
Russian Empire took place within the borders of Masuria in 1914. After the war, the
League of Nations held a
plebiscite on
June 11 1920 to determine if the people of the two southern districts of East Prussia wanted to remain within East Prussia or to join the reborn state of Poland. 97.5% of the voters chose to remain with East Prussia, although the election took place during the backdrop of the nearby
Polish-Soviet War, and the continued existence of the Polish state was in doubt. German officials also conducted
electoral fraud and persecuted Polish voters. From 1928-1932 persecution of Poles and political activists by German officials increased, although oppression of the Polish population was greatest by
Nazi Germany.
Nazi Germany
The
Nazi government changed thousands of toponyms (especially names of cities and villages) from Prussian to German; about 50% of the existing names were changed in 1938 alone.
[Bernd Martin, p. 55] Many children were separated from their families in an attempt to eliminate Polish culture.
During
World War II, Masuria was partially devastasted by the retreating German and advancing
Soviet armies during the
Vistula-Oder Offensive. The region came under Polish rule at the war's end in the
Potsdam Conference. Most of the population fled to Germany or were killed during the war, while the rest were subject to "nationality verification" organized by the
communist government of Poland. As a result, the number of native Masurians that remained in Masuria was initially relatively high. Many Poles, mostly expelled from
Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union, were settled in Masuria.
Polish Masuria
Soon after 1956, some Masurians were given the opportunity to join their families in
West Germany. The majority (over 100 thousand) gradually left, mostly because the quality of life was better in Germany, and because the communist government persecuted their separate culture and identity. A few thousand (est. 5,000) Masurians still live in the area.
Masuria was incorporated into the
voivodeship system of administration in 1945. In 1999 Masuria was constituted with neighbouring
Warmia as a single administrative province through the creation of the
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.
Lakes
Masuria and the
Masurian Lakeland are known in Polish as
Kraina Tysiąca Jezior, and in German as
Land der Tausend Seen, meaning "land of a thousand lakes." These lakes were ground out of the land by glaciers during the
Pleistocene ice age, when ice covered northeastern Europe. By 10,000 BC this ice started to melt. Great geological changes took place and even in the last 500 years the maps showing the lagoons and peninsulas on the
Baltic Sea have greatly altered in appearance. As in other parts of northern Poland, such as from
Pomerania on the
Oder river to the
Vistula river, this continuous stretch of lakes is popular among tourists.
Main cities
Polish names, followed by German names in italics:
*
Ełk (
Lyck)
*
Giżycko (
Lötzen)
*
Gołdap (
Goldap)
*
Iława (
Deutsch Eylau)
*
Kętrzyn (
Rastenburg)
*
Morąg (
Mohrungen)
*
Mrągowo (
Sensburg)
*
Nidzica (
Neidenburg)
*
Olecko (
Oletzko)
*
Ostróda (
Osterode in Ostpreußen)
*
Pisz (
Johannisburg)
*
Szczytno (
Ortelsburg)
*
Węgorzewo (
Angerburg)
*
Mazury Entry on the region in Polish PWN Encyclopedia.
* Bernd Martin,
Masuren, Mythos und Geschichte, Ewangelische Akademie Baden, Karlsruhe 1998, ISBN 3872001226
* Erwin Kruk,
"Warmia i Mazury", Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie, Wrocław 2003, ISBN 8373840281
*
Natural tourism (birdwatching) in NE Poland*
Topographical maps 1:50 000*
Yachting at Masuria
