The Chełmno Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in 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 exi ...

since 1454/1466 until the Partitions of Poland in 1772/1795. Together with the Pomeranian and Malbork Voivodeships and the

Prince-Bishopric of Warmia The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia ( pl, Biskupie Księstwo Warmińskie; german: Fürstbistum Ermland) was a semi-independent ecclesiastical state, ruled by the incumbent ordinary of the Warmia see and comprising one third of the then diocesan area ...

it formed the historical province of

Royal Prussia Royal Prussia ( pl, Prusy Królewskie; german: Königlich-Preußen or , csb, Królewsczé Prësë) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) was a ...

. Its capital was at

Chełmno Chełmno (; older en, Culm; formerly ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional impor ...

(german: link=no, Kulm).

History

The ''Land of Chełmno'' (later known in German as Kulmerland) had been part of the Polish

Duchy of Masovia Duchy of Masovia was a district principality and a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland, existing during the Middle Ages. The state was centered in Mazovia in the northeastern Kingdom of Poland, and during its existence, its capital was located i ...

since 1138. It was occupied by pagan

Old Prussian Old Prussian was a Western Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to avoid con ...

tribes in 1216, who struggled against their

Christianization Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

instigated by Bishop

Christian of Oliva Christian of Oliva ( pl, Christian z Oliwy), also Christian of Prussia (german: Christian von Preußen) (died 4 December(?) 1245) was the first missionary bishop of Prussia. Konrad I of Masovia Konrad I of Masovia (ca. 1187/88 – 31 August 1247), from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia from 1194 until his death as well as High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232 and again from 1241 to 1243. Life Konrad wa ...

in 1226 called for support by the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

, who indeed approached and started a Prussian campaign, after the duke promised them the unshared possession of the Chełmno territory as part of the Order's State. In the course of the Order's decline after the 1410

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

, the citizens of Chełmno, Toruń (''Thorn'') and

Lubawa Lubawa (german: Löbau in Westpreußen, Old Prussian: ''Lūbawa'') is a town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland. It is located in Iława County on the Sandela River, some southeast of Iława. Geographical location Lubawa is located ...

(''Löbau'') joined the 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 (region), Prussi ...

, which sparked the Thirteen Years' War between the Knights and the

. After the Order's defeat, the Chełmno Land fell back to Poland according to the

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 betwe ...

and together with the adjacent Michelauer land in the east formed the Chełmno Voivodeship 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, incl ...

, since the 1569

Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin ( pl, Unia lubelska; lt, Liublino unija) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the per ...

part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

. The voivodeship was annexed by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

during the First Partition of Poland in 1772, except for the city of

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

, which was not incorporated into the Province of

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

until the 1793 Second Partition.

Administration

Voivodeship Governor (

Wojewoda Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

) seat: *

Regional council (

sejmik generalny A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; lt, seimelis) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of Pol ...

) *

Grudziądz Grudziądz ( la, Graudentum, Graudentium, german: Graudenz) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its prov ...

Regional councils (sejmik poselski i deputacki) * Kowalewo * Radzyń Administrative division: *

Chełmno Land Chełmno land ( pl, ziemia chełmińska, or Kulmerland, Old Prussian: ''Kulma'', lt, Kulmo žemė) is a part of the historical region of Pomerelia, located in central-northern Poland. Chełmno land is named after the city of Chełmno (hist ...

, (Ziemia Chełmińska),

Chełmno County Chełmno County ( pl, powiat chełmiński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local governm ...

, (Powiat Chełmiński),

Toruń County __NOTOC__ Toruń County ( pl, powiat toruński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It was created on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gover ...

, (Powiat Toruński),

Grudziądz County Grudziądz County ( pl, powiat grudziądzki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gove ...

, (Powiat Grudziądzki),

** Radzyń County, (Powiat Radzyński), Radzyń ** Kowalewo County, (Powiat Kowalewski), Kowalewo * Michałowo Land, (Ziemia Michałowska),

Brodnica County __NOTOC__ Brodnica County ( pl, powiat brodnicki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish loca ...

, (Powiat Brodnicki),

Brodnica Brodnica (german: Strasburg in Westpreußen or Strasburg an der Drewenz) is a town in northern Poland with 28,574 inhabitants . It is the seat of Brodnica County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. The nearby Brodnica Landscape Park, a pro ...

Nowe Miasto County __NOTOC__ Nowe Miasto County ( pl, powiat nowomiejski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local go ...

, (Powiat Nowomiejki),

Nowe Miasto Lubawskie Nowe Miasto Lubawskie (; german: Neumark in Westpreußen) is a town in northern Poland, situated on the River Drwęca. The total population in June 2018 was 11,062. Nowe Miasto Lubawskie is the capital of Nowe Miasto County ( pl, powiat nowomie ...

Voivodes

# Augustyn z Szewy, 1454–1455 # Gabriel Bażyński, 1455–1474 # Ludwik Mortęski, 1475–1480 # Mikołaj Dąbrowski, 1480–1483 # Karol z Napola, 1484–1495 # Jan Dąbrowski, 1498–1513 # Jan Luzjański, 1514–1551 # Stanisław Kostka, 1551–1555 # Jan Działyński, 1556–1583 # Mikołaj Działyński, 1584–1604 # Maciej Konopacki, 1605–1611 # Ludwik Mortęski, 1611–1615 # Stanisław Działyński, 1615-1615 # Jan Jakub Wejher, 1618–1626 # Melchior Wejher, 1626–1643 # Mikołaj Wejher, 1643–1647 # Jan Działyński, 1647–1648 # Jan Kos, 1648–1662 # Piotr Działyński, 1663–1668 #

Jan Gniński Jan Gniński (died c.1685) was a Polish diplomat, Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk ...

, 1668–1680 # Michał Działyński, 1681–1687 # Jan Kos (died 1702),1688–1702 # Tomasz Działyński, 1702–1714 # Jakub Zygmunt Rybiński, 1714–1725 #

Franciszek Bieliński Franciszek Bieliński of Junosza coat of arms (1683–1766) was a Polish statesman. A Grand Marshal of the Crown, Marshal of Prussia and a voivode of Chełmno, he is best remembered as a strong proponent of the expansion and the modernisation of ...

, 1725–1732 # Jan Ansgary Czapski 1732–1738 # Michał Wiktor Bieliński, 1738–1746 # Zygmunt Kretkowski, 1746–1766 # Franciszek Stanisław Hutten-Czapski, 1766–1802

References

Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Royal Prussia 1466 establishments in Europe 15th-century establishments in Poland 1793 disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth {{Poland-hist-stub