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== Notable people == == Notable people ==
(in alphabetical order)</br> (in alphabetical order)</br>
(includes individuals also associated with the ]) (includes individuals also associated with the ]), even though they have nothing to do with the Grand Duchy of Posen.


* ] (1875–1967), Polish priest, social and political activist of the Union of Catholic Societies of Polish Workers (''{{lang|pl|Związek Katolickich Towarzystw Robotników Polskich}}''), founder and editor of the 'Robotnik' (Worker) weekly * ] (1875–1967), Polish priest, social and political activist of the Union of Catholic Societies of Polish Workers (''{{lang|pl|Związek Katolickich Towarzystw Robotników Polskich}}''), founder and editor of the 'Robotnik' (Worker) weekly

Revision as of 00:10, 6 April 2009

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Grand Duchy of PosenGroßherzogtum Posen (de)
Wielkie Księstwo Poznańskie (pl)
Client state of Prussia
1815–1848
Flag of Posen Flag Coat of arms of Posen Coat of arms

The Grand Duchy was administrated as the Province of Posen, within the Kingdom of Prussia.
CapitalPosen (Poznań)
Area 
• 184928,951 km (11,178 sq mi)
Population 
• 1849 1,350,000
Government
 • TypeMonarchy
Grand Duke of Posen, King of Prussia 
• 1815–40 Frederick William III
• 1840–49 Frederick William IV
Duke-Governor 
• 1815–31 Antoni Radziwiłł
History 
• Established 9 June 1815
• Wielkopolska Uprising May 9, 1848
• Autonomy abolished 28 June 1848
Preceded by Succeeded by
Coat of arms Duchy of Warsaw
Province of Posen
Part of a series on
Polish statehood
Poland
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The Grand Duchy of Posen (Template:Lang-de; Template:Lang-pl) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and formally established following the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Per agreements derived at the Congress of Vienna it was to have some autonomy. However in reality it was subordinated to Prussia and the proclaimed rights for Polish subjects were not fully implemented. The name was unofficially used afterward for denoting the territory, especially by Poles, and today is used by modern historians to describe different political entities until 1918. Its capital was Posen (Polish: Poznań). The Grand Duchy was formally replaced by the Province of Posen in the Prussian constitution of 5 December 1848.

History

Background

The Prussian Province of Posen. Yellow colour: Polish-speaking areas according to German authorities

Originally part of the Kingdom of Poland, this area largely coincided with Greater Poland. The mid-1600s brought devastation from invading Swedish forces during "the Deluge". The eastern portions of the territory were taken by the Kingdom of Prussia during the Partitions of Poland; during the first partition (1772), Prussia took just the Netze District, the portion along the Noteć (German: Netze) river. Prussia added the remainder during the second partition in 1793. Prussia briefly lost control during the Kościuszko Uprising in (1794).

It was initially administered as the province of South Prussia. The Poles were the primary ally of Napoleon Bonaparte in Central Europe, participating in the Greater Poland Uprising of 1806 and supplying troops for his campaigns. After the defeat of Prussia by Napoleonic France, the Duchy of Warsaw was created by the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807.

1815-1830

According to the Congress of Vienna, put into action after the fall of Napoleon in 1815, parts of the former Prussian Partition of Poland was returned to Prussia. From them the Grand Duchy of Posen was to be created, that was to be a nominally autonomous province under Hohenzollern rule with the rights of "free development of Polish nation, culture and language", and was outside the German Confederation. Originally the Duchy was to include Chełmno and Toruń. Prussia however disregared this promise from Congress of Vienna. At this time the city of Poznań was the administrative center and the seat of "Prince Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł of Poznań". In reality the actual administrative power over the region was awarded by Prussia to over-president of the province who was a German

At the beginning of the Prussian takeover of Polish territories, the discrimination and repression of Poles consisted of reducing their access to education and the judicial system. Prussian officials identified Germanisation as the progress of higher culture over a lower one. As a result the local administration discriminated against Poles. After 1824 attempts to Germanise the school system were hastened and the government refused to establish a Polish university in Poznań. Polish politicians issued protests against Prussian policies and a secret, patriotic Polish organisation was founded called Towarzystwo Kosynierów (Society of Scythemen). Resistance activity of Poles resulted in reaction from Berlin, where a trial was held in connection to links between Poles from Prussian parts of Poland with Poles from Russian Congress Poland.

1830-1840

The 1830 November Uprising within Congress Poland against the Russian Empire was significantly supported by Poles from the Grand Duchy. Afterward, the Prussian administration under Oberpräsident Edward Flotwell known for his antipolonism introduced a stricter system of repression against the Poles. Prussian authorities attempted to expel Poles from administration to weaken the Polish nobility by buying its lands, and, after 1832, the role of the Polish language in education was significantly repressed. Local self-government of land-lords which was dominated by Polish nobility was abolished, and its place were appointed commissars appointed by Prussian state. Monasteries and their assets were confiscated by Prussia. The office of the governor was abolished. Germanisation of institutions, education as well through colonisation was implemented.

Before 1848 repressions intensified in the Duchy, censorship was strengthened, German settlers were brought in. W large patriotic demonstrations were held in memory of Antoni Babiński-member of Polish Democratic Society. During attempted arrest the Prussian gendarme engaged in fight with him and was wounded by a gunshot. Babiński was then captured, sentenced to death and executed in Poznań. His public execution in February 1847 was accompanied by public mourning. Cloth soaked in his blood and other remains were distributed as national relic. Large prayers were held in his memory, often against orders of Prussia. Members of such gatherings were persecuted by police. At the same time the national self-awareness grew among rural population. Anti-Prussian sentiment grew as response to policy of Germanisation and repression by Prussian authorities and conspiracy organisation called Związek Plebejuszy found a potent ground. It was led by bookseller Walenty Stefański, poet Ryszard Berwiński and lawyer Jakub Krauthofer-Krotowski.

Frankfurt Parliament of 1848 and the Duchy

During the Revolutions of 1848 the Frankfurt Parliament attempted to divide the Duchy into two parts: the Province of Poznań, which would have been given to the Germans and annexed to a newly-created German Empire, and the Province of Gniezno, which would have been given to the Poles and held outside Germany, but because of the protest of Polish parliamentarians these plans failed and the integrity of the duchy was preserved. However, on February 9, 1849, after a series of broken assurances, the Prussian administration renamed the duchy to the Province of Posen. However the Prussian Kings up to William II, German Emperor still held the title "Grand Duke of Posen" until 1918.

Area and population

Grand Duchy of Posen (light blue) after its creation, in 1815

The area was 28,951 km² and contained most of the territories of the historical province of Greater Poland, which comprised the western parts of the Duchy of Warsaw (Departments of Poznań, Bydgoszcz, partly Kalisz) that were ceded to Prussia according to the Congress of Vienna (1815) with an international guarantee of self-administration and free development of the Polish nation.

Population:

  • 900,000 (1815)
  • 1,350,000 (1849)
  • 2,100,000 (1910)

In 1815 the Polish population made up circa 73 % of the overall population, while Germans 25 % and Jews 2 %. Despite Germanisation efforts Polish population remained the majority, however it decreased to 64% of population in 1910

Territorial administration

The monarch of the duchy, with title of Grand Duke of Posen, was the Hohenzollern king of Prussia and his representative was the Duke-Governor: the first was Prince Antoni Radziwiłł (1815–31), who was married to Princess Louise of Prussia, the king's cousin. The governor was assigned to give advice in matters of Polish nationality, and had the right to veto the administration decisions; in reality, however, all administrative power was in the hands of the Prussian over-president of the province.

The Prussian administrative unit that covered the territory of the Duchy was called the Province of the Grand Duchy of Posen in the years 1815–49, and later to simplify just the Province of Posen (Template:Lang-de, Template:Lang-pl).

The territory of the duchy was divided into two regions (Template:Lang-pl), Posen and Bromberg, which were further divided into 26 original districts (Template:Lang-de, Template:Lang-pl) administered by landrats ("district councils"). Later, these were redivided into 40 districts, plus two urban districts. In 1824, the Duchy also received a provincial council (term started in 1827) but with little administrative power, limited to providing advice. In 1817, Culmerland (Chełmno Land) was moved to West Prussia.

Polish organisations

German organisations

Notable people

(in alphabetical order)
(includes individuals also associated with the Province of Posen), even though they have nothing to do with the Grand Duchy of Posen.

See also

References

  1. Historia. Encyklopedia Szkolna. Warszawa 1993. Page 670
  2. "Lands of Partitioned Poland 1795-1918"Piotr Stefan Wandycz Washington University Press 1974
  3. Historia. Encyklopedia Szkolna. Warszawa 1993. Page 670
  4. Historia. Encyklopedia Szkolna. Warszawa 1993. Page 670
  5. Historia 1789-1871 Page 255. Anna Radziwiłł and Wojciech Roszkowski.
  6. Historia 1789-1871 Page 278. Anna Radziwiłł and Wojciech Roszkowski.
  7. Historia 1789-1871 Page 278. Anna Radziwiłł and Wojciech Roszkowski.
  8. Historia 1789-1871 Page 278. Anna Radziwiłł and Wojciech Roszkowski.
  9. Historia 1789-1871 Page 224. Anna Radziwiłł and Wojciech Roszkowski.
  10. Historia. Encyklopedia Szkolna. Warszawa 1993. Page 670
  • Robert Alvis, Religion and the Rise of Nationalism: A Profile of an East-Central European City, Syracuse 2005
  • Gazeta Wielkiego Księstwa Poznańskiego
  • Konstanty Kościnski, Przewodnik pod Poznaniu i Wielkim Księstwie Poznańskiem, Poznań 1909
  • T. Dohnalowa, Z dziejów postępu technicznego w Wielkopolsce w pierwszej połowie XIX wieku, in: S.Kubiak, L.Trzeciakowski (ed.), Rola Wielkopolski w dziejach narodu polskiego
  • F. Genzen, Z.Grot, F.Paprocki, Zabór pruski w Powstaniu Styczniowym. Materiały i dokumenty, Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków 1968
  • B. Grześ, J.Kozłowski, A.Kramarski, Niemcy w Poznańskiem wobec polityki germanizacyjnej 1815-1920, Poznań 1976
  • Witold Jakóbczyk, Przetrwać nad Wartą 1815-1914. Dzieje narodu i państwa polskiego, vol. III-55, Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Warszawa 1989
  • Witold Jakóbczyk (ed.), Studia nad dziejami Wielkopolski w XIX w., vol.I-III, Poznań 1951-1967
  • Witold Jakóbczyk (ed.), Wielkopolanie XIX w., Poznań 1969
  • Witold Jakóbczyk (ed.), Wielkopolska. Wybór źródeł, t. I 1815-1850, Wrocław 1952
  • Witold Jakóbczyk (ed.), Wielkopolska. Wybór źródeł, t. II 1851-1914, Wrocław 1954
  • T. Klanowski, Germanizacja gimnazjów w Wielkim Księstwie Poznańskim i opór młodzieży polskiej w latach 1870-1814, Poznań 1962
  • Czesław Łuczak, Życie społeczno-gospodarcze w Poznaniu 1815-1918, Poznań 1965
  • K. Malinowski (ed.), X wieków Poznania, Poznań-Warszawa 1956
  • Witold Molik, Kształtowanie się inteligencji wielkopolskiej w Wielkim Księstwie Poznańskim 1840-1870, Warszawa-Poznań 1979
  • F. Paprocki, Wielkie Księstwo Poznańskie w okresie rządów Flottwella (1830-1842), Poznań 1970
  • L. Plater, Opisanie historyczno-statystyczne Wielkiego Księstwa Poznańskiego, wyd. J. N. Bobrowicz, Leipzig 1846
  • B. Pleśniarski, Poglądy Wielkopolan na sprawy wychowawcze i oświatowe w świetle prasy Księstwa Poznańskiego 1814-1847,
  • A. Skałkowski, Bazar Poznański. Zarys stuletnich dziejów (1838-1938), Poznań 1938
  • L. Słowiński, Nie damy pogrześć mowy. Wizerunki pedagogów poznańskich XIX wieku, Poznań 1982
  • J. Stoiński, Szkolnictwo średnie w Wielkim Księstwie Poznańskim w I połowie XIX wieku (1815-1850), Poznań 1972
  • J. Topolski (ed.), Wielkopolska przez wieki, Poznań 1973
  • S. Truchim, Geneza szkół realnych w Wielkim Księstwie Poznańskim, Warszawa 1936
  • S. Truchim, Historia szkolnictwa i oświaty polskiej w Wielkim Księstwie Poznańskim 1815-1915, Łódź 1967
  • Lech Trzeciakowski, Kulturkampf w zaborze pruskim, Poznań 1970
  • Lech Trzeciakowski, Pod pruskim zaborem 1850-1914, Warszawa 1973
  • Lech Trzeciakowski, Walka o polskość miast Poznańskiego na przełomie XIX i XX wieku, Poznań 1964
  • Lech Trzeciakowski, W dziewiętnastowiecznym Poznaniu, Poznań 1987
  • Wielkopolski Słownik Biograficzny, 2nd edition, Warszawa-Poznań 1983
Territories and provinces of Prussia (1525–1947)
Before 1701
After 1701
Post-Congress of
Vienna (1814–15)
Territorial reforms
after 1918
Became Province of Posen in 1848.    From the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg.
Historical administrative divisions of Greater Poland
12–13th century
until 1768
until 1793
until 1806
until 1815
  • until 1837
  • 1848
until 1918
until 1939
until 1945
until 1975
until 1998
since 1999
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