Polish historic regions are regions that were related to a former Polish state, or are within present-day Poland, with or without being identified in its administrative divisions.
There are several historic and cultural regions in Poland that are called ethnographic regions. Their exact borders cannot be drawn, as the regions are not official political or administrative units. They are delimited by culture, such as country traditions, traditional lifestyle, songs, tales, etc. To some extent, the regions correspond to the zones of Polish language dialects. The correspondence, however, is by no means strict.
The following historic regions within Poland's modern borders belonged to the Polish state during most of its existence, inhabited by a majority or a sizeable Polish- or Cashubian-speaking population, thus forming the core Polish territory:
Another group of territories constituted (either directly or as a fief) a part of the Polish state for varying amounts of time, ranging from an episode in the Middle Ages (e.g. Kłodzko Land, Lusatia) to several hundreds of years in the case of some, like Silesia and Warmia. Among them, only Warmia, Powiśle, southern Masuria, as well as Upper, Cieszyn and Eastern Lower Silesia retained sizeable Polish-speaking populations into the beginning of 20th century.
Outside Poland are several historic regions which were once part of medieval Poland, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Second Polish Republic. While these regions are important for Polish history, calling them Polish is in some cases controversial, as most of them, with the exceptions of Vilnius Region (Polish : Wileńszczyzna) in Dzūkija, as well as Grodno Region (Polish : Grodzieńszczyzna) in Dzūkija or Black Ruthenia, were either never or centuries ago predominantly populated by ethnic Poles and now lie beyond the borders of Poland. They are:
The Duchy of Warsaw, also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnically Polish lands ceded to France by Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit, and was augmented in 1809 with territory ceded by Austria in the Treaty of Schönbrunn. It was the first attempt to re-establish Poland as a sovereign state after the 18th-century partitions and covered the central and southeastern parts of present-day Poland.
Prussia is a historical region in Central Europe on the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, that ranges from the Vistula delta in the west to the end of the Curonian Spit in the east and extends inland as far as Masuria, divided between Poland, Russia and Lithuania.
The Province of Silesia was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as part of the Free State of Prussia within Weimar Germany, Silesia was divided into the provinces of Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia. Silesia was reunified briefly from 1 April 1938 to 27 January 1941 as a province of Nazi Germany before being divided back into Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia.
Red Ruthenia, or Red Rus' , is a term used since the Middle Ages for the south-western principalities of the Kievan Rus', namely the Principality of Peremyshl and the Principality of Belz. Nowadays the region comprises parts of western Ukraine and adjoining parts of south-eastern Poland. It has also sometimes included parts of Lesser Poland, Podolia, Right-bank Ukraine and Volhynia. Centred on Przemyśl and Belz, it has included major cities such as: Chełm, Zamość, Rzeszów, Krosno and Sanok, as well as Lviv and Ternopil.
Galicia is a historical and geographic region spanning what is now southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, long part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It covers much of the other historic regions of Red Ruthenia and Lesser Poland.
The Frontier March of Posen–West Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1922 to 1938. Posen–West Prussia was established in 1922 as a province of the Free State of Prussia within Weimar Germany, formed from merging three remaining non-contiguous territories of Posen and West Prussia, which had lost the majority of their territory to the Second Polish Republic and Free City of Danzig in the Treaty of Versailles. From 1934, Posen–West Prussia was de facto ruled by Brandenburg until it was dissolved by Nazi Germany, effective 1 October 1938 and its territory divided between the Prussian provinces of Pomerania, Brandenburg and Silesia. Schneidemühl was the provincial capital. Today, the province is entirely contained within the modern state of Poland.
South Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1793 to 1807.
Kuyavia, also referred to as 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 traditional parts: north-western, central, and south-eastern.
The former eastern territories of Germany refer in present-day Germany to those territories east of the current eastern border of Germany, i.e., the Oder–Neisse line, which historically had been considered German and which were annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union after World War II in Europe. In most of these territories, Germans used to be the dominant or sole ethnicity. In contrast to the lands awarded to the restored Polish state by the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, the German territories lost with the Potsdam Agreement after World War II in Europe on 2 August 1945 were either almost exclusively inhabited by Germans before 1945, mixed German-Polish with a German majority, or mixed German-Czech with a German majority (Glatz). Virtually the entire German population of the territories that did not flee voluntarily in the face of the Red Army advance of 1945, was expelled to Germany, with their possessions being expropriated.
Sanok Land was a historical administrative division unit (ziemia) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 14th-18th centuries. It consisted of land that now belongs to the powiats (counties) of: Sanok, Brzozów, Lesko and partially Krosno and Rzeszów. Ziemia Sanocka was a part of the Ruthenian Voivodeship with the capital at Lwów.
The Province of West Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth annexed in the First Partition of Poland. West Prussia was dissolved in 1829 and merged with East Prussia to form the Province of Prussia, but was re-established in 1878 when the merger was reversed and became part of the German Empire. From 1918, West Prussia was a province of the Free State of Prussia within Weimar Germany, losing most of its territory to the Second Polish Republic and the Free City of Danzig in the Treaty of Versailles. West Prussia was dissolved in 1920, and its remaining western territory was merged with Posen to form Posen-West Prussia, and its eastern territory merged with East Prussia as the Region of West Prussia district.
Dobrzyń Land is a historical region in central-northern Poland. It lies northeast of the Vistula River, south of the Drwęca, and west of the Skrwa. The territory approximately corresponds with the present-day powiats of Lipno, Rypin, and half of Golub-Dobrzyń within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, although it encompasses parts of other counties as well. Totally, it has about 3,000 km2 and 200,000 inhabitants. Its historic capital is Dobrzyń nad Wisłą, which gave its name to the entire region. Its largest town is Rypin.
Poland is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the ninth largest in Europe.
Polish regions are regions that are in present-day Poland but are not identified in its administrative division.
The Duchy of Sieradz, also known as the Duchy of Siradia, was created based on part of the Duchy of Łęczyca in 1263. Duchy of Łęczyca was created around 1231 from Province of Łęczyca, a part of the Seniorate Province by Konrad I of Masovia.
Sieradz Land is a historical region in central Poland, a part of Łęczyca-Sieradz Land.
Chełmno land is a part of the historical region of Pomerelia, located in central-northern Poland.
Wieluń Land, originally known as Ruda Land, was a land of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and a part of the historical Sieradz-Łęczyca Land. Wieluń Land for centuries was part of Sieradz Voivodeship in the Province of Greater Poland.
Łęczyca Land is a historical region in central Poland, a part of Łęczyca-Sieradz Land.
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