West Prussia
West Prussia (;
Polish:
Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of the
Kingdom of Prussia from 1773-1824 and 1878-1918.
In the
Thirteen Years' War (1454-1466), the towns of
Pomerelia and western Prussia rebelled against the
Teutonic Knights and sought the assistance of King
Kazimierz IV Jagiellon of Poland. In the
Peace of Toruń in 1466, Pomerellia and western Prussia became the Polish province of
Royal Prussia, while eastern Prussia remained with the Teutonic Knights, who were reduced to vassals of Poland. Royal Prussia became part of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569.
Most of Royal Prussia was annexed by the
Kingdom of Prussia in the
First Partition of Poland in 1772, and became the Province of West Prussia the following year, with the exception of
Warmia which joined with
Ducal Prussia to form the Province of
East Prussia. In 1793, during the
Second Partition of Poland, the
Hanseatic city of Danzig (
Gdańsk), no longer able to rely on its own strength, was also annexed into the Kingdom of Prussia.
In
1806 during the
Napoleonic Wars, southern parts of West Prussia were moved to the
Duchy of Warsaw. From 1824-1878 West Prussia was combined with East Prussia to form the
Province of Prussia, after which they were reestablished as separate provinces.
After the
Treaty of Versailles in 1919, most of West Prussia was granted to the
Second Polish Republic, while small parts of the west and east of the former province remained in Germany. The western remainder formed
Posen-West Prussia in 1922, while the eastern remainder became part of the
District of West Prussia within East Prussia. In the
Potsdam Conference of 1945 after
World War II, all of former West Prussia was placed under the administration of Poland and was later recognized as part of Poland by
East and
West Germany in ensuing decades.
Population of Prussia and its Provinces in 1890 | Inhabitants | non-German citizens |
|---|
| West Prussia | 1,433,681 | 1,976 |
From 1885 to 1890 West Prussia's population decreased by 1%.
*1875 - 1,343,057
*1880 - 1,405,898
*1890 - 1,433,681 (681,195 Protestants, 717,532 Catholics, 21,750 Jews, others)
*1900 - 1,563,658 (730,685 Protestants, 800,395 Catholics, 18,226 Jews, others)
Note: Prussian provinces were subdivided into units called "Kreise" (singular "
Kreis", abbreviated "Kr.", English
circle), which were similar to large counties in Anglo-American terms. Cities would have their own "Stadtkreis" (English:
municipal county) and the surrounding rural area would be named for the city, but referred to as a "Landkreis" (English:
rural county).
*
Administration of West Prussia before 1919*
East Prussia*
Pomerelia*
Pomerania*
Province of Prussia*
Royal Prussia*
www.westpreussen-online.de*
Administrative subdivision of the province in 1910*
Westpreussenlied (midi)
