Regierungsbezirk Allenstein was a ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts ' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...

'', or government region, of the Prussian province of

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

from 1905 until 1945. The regional capital was Allenstein (present-day Olsztyn). The territory today is part of the Polish Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.

History

The government region was created on 1 November 1905 as the third East Prussian ''Regierungsbezirk'' out of the southern

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

of the two original administrative regions Gumbinnen and

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, which had been established in 1815. It comprised the south of the former

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

; the lands of the Allenstein and Rößel districts had belonged to the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia, annexed by Prussia in 1772. In the 1920 East Prussian plebiscite all the Allenstein Region plus the was part of the Allenstein Plebiscite precinct, with the electorate voting for remaining with Germany by more than 97%. In 1945 following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Regierungsbezirk Allenstein was dissolved when East Prussia was partitioned between the Republic of Poland and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(Kaliningrad Oblast) according to the resolutions at the Potsdam Conference.

Demographics

The Allenstein region was ethnically mixed in 1910, with German, Polish and Masurian speakers.

Districts

As of 31 December 1937:

Notes

{{Authority control 1905 establishments in Germany States and territories disestablished in 1945 East Prussia Government regions of Prussia History of Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Olsztyn