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10-field Pomeranian coats of arms in 15th–17th centuries

thumb; Kashubia, known as Eastern Pomerania or Pomerelia, is not included.]]

Pomerania is a geographical region today divided between northern Poland and Germany on the south coast of the Baltic Sea. While its boundaries have varied, and are somewhat disputed, it can be said to stretch roughly from Rostock in the west to GdaÅ„sk in the east, centred on the Oder delta.

Polish Pomerania is currently divided into 3 voivodeships: the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Zachodniopomorskie, ZP), Pomeranian Voivodeship (Pomorskie, PM) and the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (Kujawsko-Pomorskie, KP). German Pomerania (Vorpommern) is part of the German Bundesland (federal state) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania).

The history of the region is rich and varied, perhaps due to its having been under the rule of many different powers through the centuries. A Polish province since 962, from 1181 until 1806, Pomerania was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and was ruled as imperial fiefs by the Dukes of Pomerania, and, briefly, the kings of Poland; also Denmark, Saxony, Brandenburg, Prussia, and Sweden. With the demise of the Holy Roman Empire Pomerania became a part of Prussia, then, after 1871 of Germany.

Origin and meaning of the name

Pomerania (Polish: Pomorze, German: Pommern, Kashubian: PÃ²mÃ²rze or PÃ²mÃ²rskÃ´, Latin: Pomerania, Pomorania) takes its name from the Latin "longum mare," and means "country by/next to/along the sea." The Polish name, "Pomorze," is literally "Seacoast" (here, the Baltic seacoast).

There is a probable first mention of Pomerania as the Latin "longum mare" (="along the sea") in a papal document of around 1080, the Dagome iudex, shortened copy of an earlier document supposedly referring to the year 992. The document speaks of Oda von Haldensleben and her husband "Dagome," assumed to be the Polish ruler Mieszko I, and refers to territory gifted by "Dagome" to the Pope. An imperial document of 1046 makes an actual first mention of "Pomerania" in reference to "Zemuzil dux Bomeranorum" (Siemomysl, Duke of the Pomeranians). From then on, "Pomerania" appears repeatedly in the chronicles of Adam of Bremen (ca. 1070) and Gallus Anonymous (ca. 1113).

Subdivisions of Pomerania

In the German tradition Pomerania is often divided into Vorpommern (on the left bank of the Oder river) and Hinterpommern (on its right bank). The easternmost part is known in German as Pommerellen, bordering and overlapping with West Prussia.

Polish terminology divides Pomerania into: Pomorze Zachodnie (Western Pomerania) and Pomorze Wschodnie or Pomorze GdaÅ„skie (Pomerelia). The former covers roughly the teritorries referred to in German as Vorpommern and Hinterpommern, the latter corresponds to Pommerellen (Pomerelia). Under Polish administration a number of several different voivodships all using the name Pomerania have been established.

Kashubian geographic terminology with regard to Pomerania is similar to Polish, and distinguishes between ZÃ´padnÃ´ PÃ²mÃ²rskÃ´ (Western Pomerania) and PÃ²rÃ©nkÃ²wÃ´ PÃ²mÃ²rskÃ´ (Eastern Pomerania).

Demographics

Polish Voivodship or German Kreis	Capitals	Registration plates	Area w kmÂ²	Population Polish(Dec 31st of 1999) German 2001	territorial code
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship	BydgoszczÂ¹ ToruÅ„Â²	C	17,969.72	2,100,771	04
Pomeranian Voivodship	GdaÅ„sk	G	18,292.88	2,192,268	22
West Pomeranian Voivodship	Szczecin	Z	align="right">22,901.48	1,732,838	32
(Â¹) - the site of the Voivod office. (Â²) - the site of the Voivod council
Polish Pomerania total			59,164.08	6,025,877
Nordvorpommern	Grimmen	NPV	2,168	117,722
Ostvorpommern	Anklam	OVP	1,910	113,623
RÃ¼gen	Bergen auf RÃ¼gen	RÃœG	974	74,400
Uecker-Randow	Pasewalk	UER	1,624	83,459
Demmin (district)	Demmin	DM	1,921	93,700
Greifswald		HGW	52.2	52,984
Stralsund		HST	est. 52.2	60,000
German Pomerania total			8,701	595,888

The biggest cities are (with population figures for 1999):
;in Polish Pomerania
* Tricity metropolitan area (population(2001): 1,035,000; area 1,332,51 kmÂ²), including:
** GdaÅ„sk (458,988) (1905 - 159,685)
** Gdynia (253,521)
** Sopot (46,000)
* Szczecin (416,988) (1905 - 224,078)
* Bydgoszcz (369,151)
* ToruÅ„ (206,158)
* Koszalin (112,375)
* SÅ‚upsk (102,370)
* Stargard SzczeciÅ„ski (72,000)
and KoÅ‚obrzeg, Szczecinek and ÅšwinoujÅ›cie
; in German Pomerania
* Greifswald (52,984)
* Stralsund (63,000)
* Wolgast
* Barth

Geography

Pomerania is the area along the Baltic Sea between the Vistula, NoteÄ‡, Warta and Recknitz rivers. The islands of Uznam, Wolin and RÃ¼gen lie along the Pomeranian coast, while the Hel peninsula and the Vistula peninsula jut out into the Baltic.

The Baltic forms the Bay of Pomerania, Szczecin Bay, GdaÅ„sk Bay with Bay of Puck, and Vistula Bay along the coast. Lakes Lebsko, Jamno and Gardno were formerly bays but have been cut off from the sea.

Prehistoric times

In prehistoric times Pomerania was settled by a number of East Germanic tribes including migrants from Scandinavia, called the Rugians. Later, around 500 AD, Rugians moved on to Central Europe and by the 7th century they were replaced by Slavic tribes.

The Pomeranians are first mentioned around the year 1000 AD.

The territory of northern Germania, as it was recorded 20,000 years ago, was covered with ice, which did not start to recede until the late period of the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic some 10,000 years BC, when the Scandinavian glacier receded to the north. Various archeological cultures developed in the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age.

History of Pomerania

thumb. Note also the variant coat of arms on this map by Eilhardus Lubinus.]]

Pomerania as part of Poland

Pomerania was conquered by the Polish duke Mieszko I in the second half of the 10th century (see beginnings of Poland map , in center, white, with some surrounding territories already conquered). During the big pagan uprising in Poland in 1038, it became independent for a short time, returning later to Poland. In 1138 it became a part of the Polish seniorat, which the western part left in 1181 to join in an alliance with the German noblemen. From 1181 until 1806, "Pommern" (in Polish terminology, "Western Pommerania") was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire. The eastern part, which was directly part of Polish kingdom, was disputed by Brandenburg (which based their claims on dubious claims) and conquered by the Teutonic Knights in 1309, becoming part of the Teutonic Order Prussian state. It was then annexed by the kingdom of Poland in 1466 as a province with large authonomy. This part of Pomerellia and Prussia was centuries later referred to as KÃ¶nigliches PreuÃŸen ("Royal Prussia"). In 1569 during the unification of all lands of Polish kingdom and creation of Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth large part of authonomy was abandoned.

Duchy of Pomerania in 15th century

Throughout the late mediaeval period Pomerania was claimed by Mecklenburg, Brandenburg and Poland, and occasionally by the Teutonic Knights. In 1420 the Wendish nobles of Brandenburg were supported by the Wends of Pomerania in an uprising against the Margrave of Brandenburg, Frederick I of the Hohenzollerns, but were decisively defeated at AngermÃ¼nde. Frederick believed that the key to the complicated politics of his region was to forge close ties with Poland, which could now control the Teutonic order and was therefore in a position to confirm Brandenburgâ€™s claims to Pomerania. He therefore arranged for his second son, Frederick, to get engaged to King Vladislav of Polandâ€™s daughter.

This enraged Sigismund of Bohemia, who now threw his support behind the Dukes of Pomerania, granting them the Uckermark. In 1425 it came to war, with Brandenburg facing Pomerania, Mecklenburg, the Teutonic Order and even Poland. Frederickâ€™s plans had come badly unstuck. In the war which followed, Frederick was able to keep the Uckermark, but Hohenzollern pretensions to rule Pomerania were thwarted.

Since 1200 a steady influx of German settlers and agricultural pioneers had existed in then mostly Slavic Pomerania.

The 16thâ€“17th Centuries

Disputes with Brandenburg continued. These were partially agreed at the Conference of Juterbog (1527) between Joachim I of Brandenburg and the Duke of Pomerania. As the Reformation gathered pace, Pomerania also went Lutheran Protestant, but the process was slower than in Brandenburg.

In 1637 the last of the Wendish Dukes of Pomerania, Boguslaw XIV, died without direct male successor. During the Thirty Years War Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden occupied Pomerania. In the negotiations between France Brandenburg and Sweden following the Northern War the Brandenburgish diplomats Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal and his son Christoph Caspar obtained the rights of succession for Brandenburg, though the argument with Sweden, especially over Hither Pomerania, continued to the end of the 17th century and beyond, until the Treaty of Stockholm in 1720.

The 18thâ€“19th centuries

Prussian noblemen began to acquire estates in Pomerania, while Pomeranian noblemen were integrated into Prussian society. Thus originally Wendish noble families such as the von Lettows, von Strelows, von Peglows, von Zitzewitzes and von Krockows intermarried with German families from Brandenburg such as the von Blumenthals, who possessed great estates at Quackenburg, Varzin, Dubberzin, SchlÃ¶nwitz and elsewhere. By the nineteenth century Pomerania was mostly Germanised, and was a popular place of retirement for the well-to-do such as Bismarck, who bought Varzin.

The 20th Century

During the Nazi period Pomerania was a hotbed of opposition to as well as supporter of the Nazis, where the network of aristocratic estates and the loyalties they generated were ideal for conspiracy. Dietrich Bonhoeffer ran his illegal Lutheran Confessing Church seminary at the Pomeranian hamlet of GroÃŸ SchlÃ¶nwitz, near Schlawe, in 1938. Many leading officers and highly decorated German soldiers were from Pomerania, where Prussian militarism had exercised its influence for centuries. After the defeat of Germany in 1945 most of Pomerania became Polish, according to the Potsdam Conference. The entire German population of the Pomeranian territories assigned to Polish rule fled or was expelled (often by violence). Some Germans were assigned by Soviet authorities to do forced labour for the People's Republic of Poland during several years after 1945.Vegelahn Familiengeschichte

Modern 20th Century divisions of Pomerania

The eastern part of Pomerania, Pomorze, is a geographical and historical region in Poland that encompasses three Polish voivodeships: the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Zachodniopomorskie), Pomeranian Voivodeship (Pomorskie) and the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (Kujawsko-Pomorskie). The most western part of Pomerania (Vorpommern, in Polish Zapomorze) is part of the German state (Bundesland) of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern).

Footnotes

* Byrnes, James F., Speaking Frankly, New York, 1947.
* Keesing's Research Report, Germany and Eastern Europe since 1945, New York, 1973, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-7729. ISBN 684-13190-0
* de Zayas, Alfred M, Nemesis at Potsdam, Routledge, (1st edition 1977), Revised edition 1979, ISBN 0-7100-0458-3
* Boehlke, LeRoy, Pomerania - Its People and Its History, Pommerscher Verein Freistadt, Germantown, WI, U.S.A., 1983.
* von Krockow, Christian, Hour of the Women, UK edition 1992, Faber & Faber, ISBN 0-571-14320-2
* Herrick, Linda, & Wendy Uncapher, Pomerania - Atlantic Bridge to Germany, Origins, Janesville, WI, U.S.A., 2005.

Publications in Polish

* Gerard Labuda (ed.), Historia Pomorza, vol. I (to 1466), parts 1-2, PoznaÅ„ 1969
* Gerard Labuda (ed.), Historia Pomorza, vol. II (1466–1815), parts 1-2, PoznaÅ„ 1976
* Gerard Labuda (ed.), Historia Pomorza, vol. III (1815–1850), parts 1-3, PoznaÅ„
* Gerard Labuda (ed.), Historia Pomorza, vol. IV (1850–1918), part 1, ToruÅ„ 2003
* Marian Biskup (ed.), ÅšlÄ…sk i Pomorze w historii stosunkÃ³w polsko-niemieckich w Å›redniowieczu. XII Konferencja WspÃ³lnej Komisji PodrÄ™cznikowej PRL-RFN HistorykÃ³w 5–10 VI 1979 Olsztyn, Instytut Zachdni, PoznaÅ„ 1987
* Antoni CzubiÅ„ski, Zbigniew Kulak (ed.), ÅšlÄ…sk i Pomorze w stosunkach polsko-niemieckich od XVI do XVII w. XIV Konferencja WspÃ³lnej Komisji PodrÄ™cznikowej PRL-RFN HistorykÃ³w, 9–14 VI 1981 r. ZamoÅ›Ä‡, Instytut Zachodni, PoznaÅ„ 1987
* Szkice do dziejÃ³w Pomorza, vol. 1-3, Warszawa 1958-61
* B. Wachowiak, RozwÃ³j gospodarczo-spoÅ‚eczny Pomorza Zachodniego od poÅ‚owy XV do poczÄ…tku XVII wieku, Studia i MateriaÅ‚y do dziejÃ³w Wielkopolski i Pomorza, 1958, z. 1
* J. WiÅ›niewski, PoczÄ…tki ukÅ‚adu kapitalistycznego na Pomorzu Zachodnim w XVIII wieku, Studia i MateriaÅ‚y do dziejÃ³w Wielkopolski i Pomorza, 1958, z. 1
* A. Wielopolski, Gospodarka Pomorza Zachodniego w latach 1800–1918, Szczecin 1959
* W. Odyniec, Dzieje Prus KrÃ³lewskich (1454–1772). Zarys monograficzny, Warszawa 1972
* Dzieje Pomorza NadwiÅ›laÅ„skiego od VII wieku do 1945 roku, GdaÅ„sk 1978
* Zygmunt Boras, "KsiÄ…Å¼Ä™ta Pomorza Zachodniego", PoznaÅ„ 1969, 1978, 1996
* Zygmunt Boras, "Stosunki polsko-pomorskie w XVI w", PoznaÅ„ 1965
* Zygmunt Boras, "ZwiÄ…zki ÅšlÄ…ska i Pomorza Zachdoniego z PolskÄ… w XVI wieku", PoznaÅ„ 1981
* Kazimierz KozÅ‚owski, Jerzy Podralski, "Poczet KsiÄ…Å¼Ä…t Pomorza Zachodniego", KAW, Szczecin 1985
* Lech BÄ…dkowski, W. Samp. "Poczet ksiÄ…Å¼Ä…t Pomorza GdaÅ„skiego", GdaÅ„sk 1974
* B. ÅšliwiÅ„ski, "Poczet ksiÄ…Å¼Ä…t gdaÅ„skich", GdaÅ„sk 1997
* Wojciech MyÅ›lenicki, "Pomorscy sprzymierzenscy JagielloÅ„czykÃ³w", Wydawnictwo PoznaÅ„skie, PoznaÅ„ 1979
* JÃ³zef Spors, "PodziaÅ‚y administracyjne Pomorza GdaÅ„skiego i SÅ‚awieÅ„sko-SÅ‚upskiego od XII do poczÄ…tkÃ³w XIV w", SÅ‚upsk 1983
* Kazimierz Åšlaski, "PodziaÅ‚y terytorialne Pomorza w XII-XII w.", PoznaÅ„ 1960
* Benon MiÅ›kiewicz, "Z dziejÃ³w wojennych Pomorza Zachodniego. Cedynia 972-Siekierki 1945", Wydawnictwo PoznaÅ„skie, PoznaÅ„ 1972

Publications in German

* M. Wehrmann, Geschichte von Pommern, vol. 1-2, Gotha 1919-21
* M. Spahn, Verfassungs- und Wirtshaftsgeschichte des Herzogtums Pommern von 1476 bis 1625, Leipzig 1896
* B. Schumacher, Geschichte Ost- und Westpreussens, Wurzburg 1959

External links