Malbork Voivodeship

Malbork Voivodeship
Województwo malborskie
Palatinatus Marienburgensis
Voivodeship of Poland¹
Part of Royal Prussia and Greater Poland provinces
1466–1772
Coat of arms of Malbork
Coat of arms

Malbork Voivodeship of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
CapitalMalbork
Area
 • Coordinates54°02′21″N 19°01′39″E / 54.039205°N 19.027598°E / 54.039205; 19.027598
 
• 
2,096 km2 (809 sq mi)
History 
• Prussian uprising
1454
9 October 1466
1569
1772
Political subdivisionsCounties: 4
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
State of the Teutonic Order
Elbląg Voivodeship
West Prussia
Today part ofPoland
¹ Voivodeship of the Polish Crown in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; Voivodeship of the Kingdom of Poland before 1569.

The Malbork Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo malborskie), after Partitions of Poland also referred to as the Malbork Land (Polish: Ziemia malborska), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland from 1454/1466 until the Partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. Its capital was at Malbork.

Together with the Pomeranian and Chełmno Voivodeships and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia it formed the historical province of Royal Prussia, and with several more voivodeships it formed part of the Greater Poland Province.

History

Province of Royal Prussia in 1525
  Malbork Voivodeship (Marienburg)
History of Brandenburg and Prussia
Present

After the Teutonic Knights during the 13th century had conquered the Prussian territories and incorporated them into the Order's State, the castle of Marienburg served as the seat of the Grand Masters. Following the 1410 Battle of Grunwald, the Knights once again could withstand the Polish Siege of Marienburg. In 1440, various cities, towns and nobles from the area co-formed the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation.[1] In 1454, the organisation led an uprising against the rule of the Teutonic Knights, and asked King Casimir IV of Poland to include the region within the Kingdom of Poland, to which the King agreed and signed the act of incorporation of the region to Poland in March 1454 in Kraków,[2] which sparked the Thirteen Years' War. The cities of Elbląg, Malbork, Sztum and Tolkmicko were members of the Confederation,[3] whereas Dzierzgoń also sided with Poland in the war.[4] The Teutonic Knights had to withdraw from Malbork to Königsberg and after their final defeat lost the castle and the surrounding territory in the 1466 Second Peace of Thorn.

King Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland established the Malbork Voivodeship, including the towns of Elbing (Elbląg), Stuhm (Sztum) and Christburg (Kiszpork/Dzierzgoń). Since the 1569 Union of Lublin the Lands of the Polish Crown were part of the larger Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Malbork Castle was occupied twice by troops of the Swedish Empire: during the Thirty Years' War 1626–1629 and again from 1656 to 1660 during the Deluge. Truces between Poland and Sweden were signed in the Malbork Voivodeship in 1629 and 1635.

In 1772, the voivodeship was annexed by Prussia in the First Partition of Poland and became part of the newly established Province of West Prussia the next year.

Zygmunt Gloger in his monumental book Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland provides this description of Malbork Voivodeship:

"The smallest of three voivodeships of Polish Prussia, it was divided into four counties: Sztum, Kiszpork, Elbląg and Malbork. Local starostas resided at Kiszpork, Sztum, Tolkmicko, and other locations. Sejmiks and courts were not located at Malbork, but at Sztum, which itself was governed by the starosta of Kiszpork. At sejmiks, local nobility elected eight deputies to the Prussian Sejm, e.g. two from each county (...) Malbork Voivodeship’s coat of arms was almost identical as Chełmno Voivodeship's, with differences in color of the eagle. The Prussian Sejm took place alternatively at Malbork and Grudziądz".

Cities

Elbląg, the largest city of the voivodeship, in the 18th century
Sztum, royal town and county seat, mid-18th century drawing

The largest city of the voivodeship was Elbląg, which as one of the largest and most influential cities of entire Poland enjoyed voting rights during the Royal free elections.[5] Other cities were Malbork, Sztum, Kiszpork, and Tolkmicko, and all cities in the voivodeship were royal cities of Poland.[6]

Administration

Voivodeship Governor (Wojewoda) seat:

Voivodes list:

Regional council (sejmik generalny):

The Voivodeship was divided into four powiats (counties or administrative divisions):

References

  1. ^ Górski 1949, p. XXXI.
  2. ^ Górski 1949, pp. 59–60.
  3. ^ Górski 1949, pp. XXXI, XXXVII–XXXVIII.
  4. ^ Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom II (in Polish). Warszawa. 1881. p. 281.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Polska encyklopedja szlachecka, Tom I (in Polish). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Instytutu Kultury Historycznej. 1935. p. 42.
  6. ^ Prusy Królewskie w drugiej połowie XVI wieku. Część I. Mapy, plany (in Polish). Warszawa: Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 2021. p. 1.

Sources

Bibliography

  • Górski, Karol (1949). Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych (in Polish). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni.