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Lauenburg and Bütow Land (german: Länder or , csb, Lãbòrskò-bëtowskô Zemia, pl, Ziemia lęborsko-bytowska) formed a historical region in the western part of Pomerelia (Polish and papal historiography) or in the eastern part of Farther Pomerania (German historiography). It was composed of two districts centered on the towns of Lauenburg (Lębork) and Bütow (Bytów). The land is today part of the Polish Pomeranian Voivodeship.


History


Polish Pomerelia

In the 12th and 13th centuries the area east of the
Łeba river Łeba (pronounced: , Kashubian, Pomeranian and German: ''Leba'') is a seaside town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland. It is located in the Pomerelia sub-region, near Łebsko Lake and the mouth of the river Łeba on the coast of ...
was on the western periphery of the Pomerelian duchies, ruled by the
Samborides The Samborides () or House of Sobiesław () were a ruling dynasty in the historic region of Pomerelia. They were first documented about 1155 as governors (''princeps'') in the Eastern Pomeranian lands serving the royal Piast dynasty of Poland, an ...
dynasty as vassals 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 ...
as distinct to the neighbouring Duchy of Pomerania, which in 1181 had become an
Imperial State An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...
. After the
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
defeat at the 1227 Battle of Bornhöved, the Pomerelian duke
Swietopelk II Swietopelk II, also Zwantepolc II or Swantopolk II, (1190/1200 – 11 January 1266), sometimes known as the Great ( pl, Świętopełk II Wielki; Kashubian: ''Swiãtopôłk II Wiôldżi''), was the ruling Duke of Pomerelia-Gdańsk from 1215 un ...
at Gdańsk acquired the adjacent
Lands of Schlawe and Stolp The Schlawe and Stolp Land, also known as Słupsk and Sławno Land, is a historical region in Pomerania, centered on the towns of Sławno (''Schlawe'') and Słupsk (''Stolp'') in Farther Pomerania, in present-day Poland. The area is of some hi ...
, formerly a possession of the Pomeranian dukes, and declared himself an independent ''dux Pomeranorum'' in his enlarged territory (''Pomorze Gdańskie''). However, the line of the Samborides became extinct upon the death of Swietopelk's son
Mestwin II Mestwin II ( pl, Mściwój II or ''Mszczuj II'') ( 1220 – December 25, 1294) was a Duke of Pomerelia, member of the Samborides dynasty. He ruled Pomerelia as a sole ruler from 1273 to 1294. Early life Mestwin II was the son of Swietopelk II ...
in 1294, and after the
Treaty of Kępno The Treaty of Kępno ( pl, Umowa kępińska, Układ w Kępnie) was an agreement between the High Duke of Poland and Wielkopolska Przemysł II and the Duke of Pomerania Mestwin II (sometimes rendered as "Mściwój") signed on February 15, 1282, w ...
, the territory became part of Poland, under King
Przemysław II Przemysław () is a Polish Slavic given name, meaning someone who is clever or ingenious. It is derived from another Polish name Przemysł. Its diminutive forms include Przemek (the most popular one), Przemuś (hypocorism), Przemo, Przemko, Przem ...
. The
Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out ...
also sought to control the area and in the following armed conflict, the Polish duke Władysław I the Elbow-high called for the support of the Teutonic Knights.


Seizure by the State of Teutonic Order

After expelling the Brandenburgians from Gdańsk, the Knights massacred the local population and took over Gdańsk and adjacent areas in 1308. Disregarding the Polish claims and subsequent papal rulings, the Order's State concluded the Treaty of Soldin with Brandenburg in the following year, where the Knights claimed all Pomerelian lands - including Lauenburg and Bütow - while the adjacent Lands of Schlawe and Stolp fell to the Ascanian margraves and were again acquired by the Duchy of Pomerania in 1316 (later Pomerania-Stolp). The
Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back ...
dukes in 1317 also acquired the Bütow area, which was yet again sold to the Knights in 1329. After paying off the Brandenburg margraves, the Teutonic knights integrated the Pomerelian lands into their monastic state, with the Lauenburg and Bütow Landmarking its western border with the Pomeranian duchy. The knights invited German settlers (see ''
Ostsiedlung (, literally "East-settling") is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration-period when ethnic Germans moved into the territories in the eastern part of Francia, East Francia, and the Holy Roman Empire (that Germans had alr ...
'') and granted the towns of Lauenburg and Bütow Kulm law in 1341 and 1346 respectively. Lauenburg as well as Leba joined the 1454 uprising of the
Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (german: Preußischer Bund, pl, Związek Pruski) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Kwidzyn (then officially ''Marienwerder'') by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the a ...
, which sparked the Thirteen Years' War between the Kingdom of Poland and the Order's State.


Polish fief held by dukes of Pomerania

In 1455 Poland promised the Lauenburg and Bütow Land to Duke Eric II of Pomerania in return for his support, yet the towns were still held by the Knights' troops. When the Order's defeat and 1466
Second Peace of Thorn The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń ( pl, drugi pokój toruński; german: Zweiter Friede von Thorn), was a peace treaty signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 betwee ...
ended the war, those troops were paid off and 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 ...
of Poland again granted the towns to the Griffins, though it was disputed whether as his trustees or in pawn, while the rest of Pomerelia became part of Royal Prussia. The dispute was ended in 1526 when King Sigismund I the Old entrusted the area as a fief ("libere a servitio et a iuramento") to Duke Georg I of Pomerania.


Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

After the childless death of the last Griffin duke,
Bogislaw XIV Bogislaw XIV (31 March 1580 – 10 March 1637) was the last Duke of Pomerania. He was also the Lutheran administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Cammin. Biography Bogislaw was born in Barth as a member of the House of Pomerania. He was the thir ...
in 1637, the land again became a ''terra'' (land, ''
ziemia Land is a historical unit of administration in Poland and Ruthenia. In the Polish language, the term is not capitalized (''ziemia chełmińska'', Chelmno Land; not ''Ziemia Chełmińska''). All ''ziemias'' are named after main urban centers (o ...
'') 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 ...
and in 1641 became part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Whereas the Reformation had been enforced by the Pomeranian dukes, the Poles took action to regain the area for the Catholic Church.


Polish fief held by Brandenburg-Prussia

After the 1657 Treaty of Bydgoszcz (''Bromberg'') that amended the previous
Treaty of Wehlau The Treaty of Bromberg (, Latin: Pacta Bydgostensia) or Treaty of Bydgoszcz was a treaty between John II Casimir of Poland and Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia that was ratified at Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) on 6 November 1657. The tre ...
it was granted as a fief to the Hohenzollern dynasty of
Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...
in return for her help against Sweden in the Swedish-Polish War under the same favourable conditions the Griffins had enjoyed before. The Hohenzollern had also acquired the adjacent lands of Farther Pomerania upon the extinction of the line and since 1618 held the Duchy of Prussia in personal union.


Kingdom of Prussia

Lauenburg-Bütow was officially a Polish fiefdom until the First Partition of Poland in 1772. King
Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
had incorporated the territory the year before and the subsequent Treaty of Warsaw in 1773''Translation of a treaty between the King of Prussia and the King and Republic od Poland''. In: ''The Scots Magazine'', vol. XXXV, Edinburgh 1773
pp. 687–691
made the former conditions obsolete. From 1772 on the area was still attached to the Pomerelian lands of part of West Prussia, but in 1777 Lauenburg and Bütow were finally integrated into the Prussian province of Farther Pomerania succeeded after the Napoleonic Wars from 1815 onwards by the larger Province of Pomerania, constituting along Draheim their only parts outside of
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 ...
(thus Germany). In 1846 it was partitioned into the two Landkreise Lauenburg and Bütow, both parts of the Regierungsbezirk of
Köslin Koszalin (pronounced ; csb, Kòszalëno; formerly german: Köslin, ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-sta ...
, though still outside of the German Confederation, until formally being annexed into Germany upon formation of the
North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...
in 1866. The territory also remained part of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełmno The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełmno ( pl, Diecezja chełmińska; german: Bistum Kulm/Culm) was a Roman Catholic diocese in Chełmno Land, founded in 1243 and disbanded in 1992.Apostolic Administration of Tütz Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...
.


Free State of Prussia

While much of the Pomerelian lands annexed by Prussia returned to the Second Polish Republic after World War I according to the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, Lauenburg and Bütow remained with the Prussian province of Pomerania until 1945.


Poland

Since the Potsdam Agreement after World War II, the region has been a part of Poland.


Sources

;Footnotes {{DEFAULTSORT:Lauenburg And Butow Land History of Pomerania Ziemias Fiefdoms of Poland