 Group of women in 1920s, wearing traditional Warmian clothes | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Poland (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship), Germany | |
| Languages | |
| Polish (Warmian subdialect) German | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Poles |
Warmians [lower-alpha 1] are a Polish ethnic group from Warmia. Most of them are Roman Catholic and speak in the Warmian subdialect of Polish or the High Prussian or Low Prussian dialects of German. [1]
Between the 14th and 17th centuries, settlers from northern, Mazovia moved to former territories of Old Prussians, following conquests by the Teutonic Order, and the erection of the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. [2] [3] Earlier, the southern parts of Warmia had become German-speaking, but eventually, more Polish settlers than Germans arrived to settle the land, particularly after 1410, so that the region gradually Polonized. [4]
The bishopric of Warmia became in 1466 an autonomous part of Royal Prussia, and remained part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1772 when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia (see: Partitions of Poland). While the Mazurs in the neighboring Ducal Prussia became Protestants when Duchy adopted Lutheranism in the 16th century, most Warmiaks, populating the areas around Olsztyn, remained Catholics. [2] [3]
During World War II, the Warmiaks were persecuted by the Nazi German government, which wanted to erase all aspects of Polish culture and Polish language in Warmia. [2] [3]
After the war, due to their Polish roots and their Catholic faith (unlike the Masurians who were predominantly Protestant, who had a friendly attitude towards the Germans), they were not victims of the large-scale expulsion of Germans. However, over the course of time, large numbers of Warmiaks decided to leave their native land and settle in more prosperous West Germany, exercising their right to German citizenship granted by the Basic Law as citizens or their descendants of inhabitants of Germany in the borders of 1937. [2] [3]
Masuria is an ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Its biggest city, often regarded as its capital, is Ełk. The region covers a territory of some 10,000 km2 which is inhabited by approximately 500,000 people.
Warmia is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia. Its historic capitals were Frombork and Lidzbark Warmiński and the largest city is Olsztyn.
Olsztyn is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents in 2021.
East Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 ; following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's Free State of Prussia, until 1945. Its capital city was Königsberg. East Prussia was the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast.
Braniewo, is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of Braniewo County.
Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn. The voivodeship has an area of 24,192 km2 (9,341 sq mi) and in 2019 had a population of 1,425,967.
The Masurians or Mazurs, historically also known as Prussian Masurians, are an ethnic group originating from the region of Masuria, within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland. They number around 5,000–15,000 people. In the 2011 Polish census, 1,376 individuals declared themselves to be Masurian as either a first or a secondary identification. Before World War II and its post-war expulsions, Masurians used to be a more numerous ethnic group found in the southern parts of East Prussia for centuries following the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Today, most Masurians live in what is now Germany and elsewhere.
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. This region is often also referred to as Old Prussia.
Bartoszyce is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.
Lidzbark Warmiński, often shortened to Lidzbark, is a historical town located within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the capital of Lidzbark County.
The Province of West Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1919. 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.
Pieniężno is a town in northern Poland, located on the Wałsza River in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is located in Braniewo County and had a population of 2,801 in 2010.
Wielbark is a town in Szczytno County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Wielbark. It lies approximately 19 kilometres (12 mi) south of Szczytno and 52 km (32 mi) south-east of the regional capital Olsztyn. It is part of historic Masuria.
Orzysz is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Pisz County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with 7,512 inhabitants (2007). It is located on Orzysz Lake in the region of Masuria.
This is the 1519-1521 Polish-Teutonic War. For a list of all Polish-German Wars, see Polish-German Wars.
The Archdiocese of Warmia is a Latin Church Metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland.
Jonkowo is a village in Olsztyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Jonkowo. It lies approximately 14 km (9 mi) west of the regional capital Olsztyn. It is located in Warmia.
Klebark Mały is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Purda, within Olsztyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) north-west of Purda and 5 km (3 mi) east of the regional capital Olsztyn. It is located in Warmia.
Klebark Wielki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Purda, within Olsztyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) north-west of Purda and 8 km (5 mi) south-east of the regional capital Olsztyn. It is located in Warmia.
The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia was a semi-independent ecclesiastical state, ruled by the incumbent ordinary of the Warmia see and comprising one third of the then diocesan area. The Warmia see was a Prussian diocese under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Riga that was a protectorate of the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights (1243–1464) and a protectorate and part of the Kingdom of Poland—later part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1464–1772), confirmed by the Peace of Thorn in 1466. The other two thirds of the diocese were under the secular rule of the Teutonic Knights until 1525 and Ducal Prussia thereafter, both entities also being a protectorate and part of Poland from 1466.
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