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 Malbork; ; * la, Mariaeburgum, ''Mariae castrum'', ''Marianopolis'', ''Civitas Beatae Virginis'' * Kashubian: ''Malbórg'' * Old Prussian: ''Algemin'' is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It is the seat of Malbork County and has a p ...

Voivodeships and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia 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 importa ...

(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 ...

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 co ...

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, cont ...

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 w ...

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 on ...

, 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 respe ...

, the citizens of Chełmno, Toruń (''Thorn'') and Lubawa (''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, to oppose the ...

, 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, includi ...

, 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 ...

. 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) seat: *

Regional council ( sejmik generalny) *

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 pro ...

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 (his ...

, (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, (Powiat Toruński),

** Grudziądz County, (Powiat Grudziądzki),

** Radzyń County, (Powiat Radzyński), Radzyń ** Kowalewo County, (Powiat Kowalewski), Kowalewo * Michałowo Land, (Ziemia Michałowska), Lubawa ** Brodnica County, (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 prot ...

** Nowe Miasto County, (Powiat Nowomiejki), Nowe Miasto Lubawskie

Voivodes

# Augustyn z Szewy, 1454–1455 #

Gabriel Bażyński In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...

, 1455–1474 # Ludwik Mortęski, 1475–1480 # Mikołaj Dąbrowski, 1480–1483 # Karol z Napola, 1484–1495 #

Jan Dąbrowski Jan Dombrowski (26 May 1926 – 24 February 1992) was a Polish bobsledder. He competed in the four-man event at the 1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games ( it, VII Giochi Olimp ...

, 1498–1513 # Jan Luzjański, 1514–1551 # Stanisław Kostka, 1551–1555 # Jan Działyński, 1556–1583 # Mikołaj Działyński, 1584–1604 #

Maciej Konopacki Maciej (Polish pronunciation: ) is a Polish given name, the etymological equivalent of Matthias. Its diminutive forms are Maciek, Maciuś. Namedays according to Polish calendar: 30 January, 24 February, 14 May Maciej may refer to: Arts and ente ...

, 1605–1611 # Ludwik Mortęski, 1611–1615 #

Stanisław Działyński Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, Cali ...

, 1615-1615 # Jan Jakub Wejher, 1618–1626 #

Melchior Wejher Melchior Weiher (1574–1643) was a Polish noble. Son of Ernest Weiher, he held several important offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was the Deputy Treasury of Royal Prussia and economy of Malbork from 1616 to 1624, castellan o ...

, 1626–1643 #

Mikołaj Wejher Mikołaj Wejher (died 1647) was a Polish nobleman from the prominent Wejher family. He was the son of Jan Wejher and Anna Szczawińska. He held various offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was Voivode of Malbork since 1641 and V ...

, 1643–1647 # Jan Działyński, 1647–1648 # Jan Kos, 1648–1662 # Piotr Działyński, 1663–1668 # Jan Gniński, 1668–1680 #

Michał Działyński Michał () is a Polish and Sorbian form of Michael and may refer to: * Michał Bajor (born 1957), Polish actor and musician * Michał Chylinski (born 1986), Polish basketball player * Michał Drzymała (1857–1937), Polish rebel * Michał Hell ...

, 1681–1687 # Jan Kos (died 1702),1688–1702 #

Tomasz Działyński Tomasz is a Polish given name, the equivalent of Thomas in English. Notable people with the given name include: *Tomasz Adamek (born 1976), Polish heavyweight boxer *Tomasz Arciszewski (1877–1955), Polish socialist politician and Prime Minist ...

, 1702–1714 #

Jakub Zygmunt Rybiński Jacob is a common male given name and a less well-known surname. It is a cognate of James, derived from Late Latin ''Iacobus'', from Greek ''Iakobos'', from Hebrew (''Yaʿaqōḇ''), the name of the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob son of Isaac and Rebe ...

, 1714–1725 # Franciszek Bieliński, 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