Zawkrze, also Zawkrze Land (), is a small historic region of Poland (

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 ...

), located in northern

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

, along the border with

Masuria Masuria ( ; ; ) is an ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship (ad ...

. Its approximate area is , and the population is about 114,000. Currently, Zawkrze has three towns, and more than 200 villages. Its name comes from the Wkra river – Zawkrze means ''the land behind the Wkra'', from the perspective of

Płock Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

, the historic capital of Mazovia. The largest town of the region is Mława, while the historic capital of Zawkrze is

Szreńsk Szreńsk is a village in Mława County, Masovian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Szreńsk. It lies approximately south-west of Mława and north-west of Warsaw. History In ...

. Zawkrze lies between the Wkra (in the south), Działdówka (in the west), Orzyca and Łydynia (in the east) rivers, and the former border with

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in the north. From east to west, Zawkrze is some , while from north to south – some . Currently, Zawkrze is divided between five counties and two

voivodeship A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in ...

s - Mława, Żuromin, Ciechanów,

Nidzica Nidzica (; formerly ; ; ) is a town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship of Poland, lying between Olsztyn and Mława, in Masuria. The capital of Nidzica County, its population in 2017 was 13,872. History The settlement was originally founded by O ...

and Działdowo. It has four towns, Mława, Żuromin, Glinojeck, Lubowidz, as well as three former towns – Kuczbork-Osada, Niedzbórz and Szreńsk. There is a sports club "Zawkrze" Mława, as well as a Museum of the Zawkrze Region, also in Mława.

History

Following the medieval fragmentation of Poland, Zawkrze was part of the duchies of

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

and

. The northern border was established by the Treaty of Kalisz in 1343. From 1384 to 1399 and from 1407 to 1411, Zawkrze was pawned to the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

by Duke of Mazovia, Siemowit IV. In 1494, during the reign of King John I Albert, Zawkrze was reincorporated directly into the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, in which it was part of

Płock Voivodeship Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

within the Greater Poland Province. It was divided into three counties (Szreńsk, Mława and Niedzbórz), and its boundaries remained unchanged until the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

. Following the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of partitions of Poland, three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition (politics), partition occurred i ...

(1793), the northern part of Zawkrze was annexed by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, and in 1795, the whole Zawkrze became part of Prussia. In 1807, Zawkrze became part of the short-lived Polish

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

, and after its dissolution, from 1815 to 1918, it belonged to Russian-controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

. Following the joint German-Soviet

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, which started

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 ...

in September 1939, the region was occupied by Germany until 1945, and the local population was subjected to persecution. The village of Ościsłowo was the site of large massacres, in which several hundreds of Poles were murdered as part of the ''

Intelligenzaktion The ''Intelligenzaktion'' (), or the Intelligentsia mass shootings, was a series of mass murders committed against the Polish people, Polish intelligentsia (teachers, priests, physicians, and other prominent members of Polish society) during the ...

'', and several dozen disabled from the region were murdered as part of ''

Aktion T4 (German, ) was a campaign of Homicide#By state actors, mass murder by involuntary euthanasia which targeted Disability, people with disabilities and the mentally ill in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-WWII, war trials against d ...

''.

References

Sources

History of Zawkrze

External links

Webpage of the Zawkrze Museum in Mlawa
{{coord, 53.116667, 20.366667, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark Mazovia Ziemias