The Duchy of Oświęcim ( pl, Księstwo Oświęcimskie), or the Duchy of Auschwitz (german: Herzogtum Auschwitz), was one of many
Duchies of Silesia
The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the Ki ...
, formed in the aftermath of the
fragmentation of Poland
The period of rule by the Piast dynasty between the 10th and 14th centuries is the first major stage of the history of the Polish state. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gall Anonymous in the early 12th cen ...
.
It was established about 1315 on the
Lesser Polish lands east of the river held by the
Silesian branch of the Polish royal
Piast dynasty
The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great.
Branch ...
. Briefly semi-autonomous, with its capital in , it was finally sold to the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exis ...
in 1457. Annexed by the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
in 1772, the remaining ducal title ceased to exist in 1918 with the lands being reincorporated into the
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First Worl ...
.
History
The duchy was created in 1315 in the aftermath of the ongoing 12th century fragmentation of Poland on these southeastern estates of the original
Duchy of Silesia
The Duchy of Silesia ( pl, Księstwo śląskie, german: Herzogtum Schlesien, cs, Slezské knížectví) with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval duchy located in the historic Silesian region of Poland. Soon after it was formed under the ...
, which the Polish High Duke
Casimir II the Just
Casimir II the Just ( pl, Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy; 28 October 1138 – 5 May 1194) was a Lesser Polish Duke of Wiślica from 1166–1173, and of Sandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków and thereby Hi ...
had split off the
Seniorate Province
Seniorate Province, also known as the Senioral Province, , was a district principality in the Duchy of Poland that was formed in 1138, following the fragmentation of the state. Its ruler held the title of the High Duke, ruling all duchies wit ...
and granted to the Silesian duke
Mieszko IV Tanglefoot
Mieszko IV Tanglefoot ( pl, Mieszko IV Plątonogi) (c. 1130 – 16 May 1211) was Duke of Kraków and High Duke of Poland from 9 June 1210 until his death one year later. He was also Duke of Silesia from 1163 to 1173 (with his brother as co-ruler) ...
in 1177. From 1281 onwards, the area had been part of the Silesian
Duchy of Teschen
The Duchy of Teschen (german: Herzogtum Teschen), also Duchy of Cieszyn ( pl, Księstwo Cieszyńskie) or Duchy of Těšín ( cs, Těšínské knížectví), was one of the Duchies of Silesia centered on Cieszyn () in Upper Silesia. It was split o ...
(Cieszyn) until after the death of Duke
Miezsko I in 1315, the lands of Oświęcim east of the Biała were split off from it as a separate duchy for Mieszko's son
Władysław. In 1327 his heir Duke
Jan I the Scholastic
Jan I the Scholastic ( pl, Jan I Scholastyk; 1308/10 – 1372 before 29 September), was a Duke of Oświęcim from 1324 until his death.
He was the eldest child and only son of Duke Władysław of Oświęcim by his wife Euphrosyne, daughter of Duk ...
paid homage to King
John of Bohemia
John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King o ...
and likewise many other Silesian duchies, Oświęcim became a vassal of the
Bohemian Crown.
In 1445 the duchies of
Zator and
Toszek were created from some the lands of the duchy.
[The History of the City of Oświęcim]
www.auschwitz.org.pl
(based on '' Auschwitz 1940–1945. Central Issues in the History of the Camp'', ", published by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Poland) Though the Duchy of Oświęcim had fallen under the Bohemian vassalage, it was re-united with Poland in 1454, when the last duke,
Jan IV, declared himself a
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. ...
of the Polish king
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the mo ...
. Jan had no male heirs and sold his duchy to King Casimir for the price of 3,000,000
Prague groschen three years later.
At the time the duchy was being sold it consisted of: two towns (Oświęcim and
Kęty
Kęty is a town in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland with 18,955 inhabitants (2012).
The town located in Silesian Foothills dates its earliest document from 1277 when Polish prince of Opole Władysław confirmed sale of the ...
), two ducal castles (in Oświęcim and Wołek) and 45 villages:
Bielany
Bielany () is a district in Warsaw located in the north-western part of the city.
Initially a part of Żoliborz, Bielany has been an independent district since 1994. Bielany borders Żoliborz to the south-east, and Bemowo to the south-west. It ...
,
Łęki,
Babice,
Lipnik,
Osiek,
Brzeszcze,
Monowice,
Dwory,
Stara Polanka,
Nowa Polanka,
Włosienica,
Poręba
Poręba is a town in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 8,525 inhabitants (2019). The town has the area of , and lies along National Road Nr. 78; it also has a rail station on a line from Miasteczko Śląskie to Zawiercie. Alm ...
,
Grojec, ''Sparowicze'' (considered lost),
Nidek,
Witkowice,
Głębowice,
Bulowice,
Czaniec
Czaniec is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Porąbka, within Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Porąbka, east of Bielsko-Biała, and south of the regional capital K ...
,
Malec,
Kańczuga,
Nowa Wieś,
Roczyny,
Broszkowice,
Brzezinka
Brzezinka (; german: link=no, Birkenau; cs, Březinka) is a village in southern Poland, about from Oświęcim, in the district of Gmina Oświęcim, Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship.
General information
The village is near the ...
,
Rajsko,
Franciszowice (Pławy),
Przecieszyn,
Skidziń,
Wilczkowice,
Wilamowice
Wilamowice (earlier ''Willamowice'', german: Wilmesau, Wymysorys: ''Wymysoü'') is a rural town in southern Poland, situated in the Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town is inhabited by a Germanic ethnic group of Vilamovians, who speak ...
,
Hecznarowice,
Bujaków,
Kozy,
Mikuszowice,
Pisarzowice,
Hałcnów,
Biertułtowice,
Komorowice,
Żebracz,
Bestwina,
Dankowice,
Stara Wieś,
Jawiszowice
Jawiszowice is a village in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It has a long history of coal mining that continues to this day. Jawiszowice is about 12 kilometres from the city of Oświęcim.
History
The village w ...
,
Harmęże.
At the
General sejm
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...
of 1564, King
Sigismund II Augustus issued privileges of incorporation recognizing both Duchies of Oświęcim and Zator as part of the
Polish Crown
The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includi ...
into the Silesian County of the
Kraków Voivodeship, although the Polish kings retained both ducal titles.
After the
First Partition of Poland in 1772, the lands of the former duchies of Oświęcim and Zator were affiliated to the Habsburg
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...
, an
Austrian crown land from 1804, and joined the
German Confederation
The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
in 1818 by virtue of its historical affiliation to Bohemian Silesia.
By the 1919
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye they were attached to the Polish
Kraków Voivodeship.
Dukes of Oświęcim
The Dukes of Oświęcim belonged to the
Silesian branch of the
Piast dynasty
The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great.
Branch ...
(see also
Dukes of Silesia The Duke of Silesia was the sons and descendants of the Polish Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth. In accordance with the last will and testament of Bolesław, upon his death his lands were divided into four or five hereditary provinces distributed amon ...
).
Rulers claiming the ducal title after partition of Poland
In the aftermath of the First Partition of Poland until 1918, the Habsburg
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperator ...
s, from 1804
Emperors of Austria
The Emperor of Austria (german: Kaiser von Österreich) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the Hou ...
held the title of a ''Duke of Auschwitz'' (german: Herzog zu Auschwitz) which constituted part of their
official grand title.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oswiecim, Duchy Of
Duchies of Silesia
States and territories established in 1315
History of Lesser Poland
Fiefdoms of Poland