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112-539: The castle was erected by the Teutonic Knights as a stronghold against the Baltic Prussians between 1346 and 1353. It is made up of one wing to the north-east of the courtyard and was initially surrounded by a line of fortifications and a ditch which lead to the Łyna River with a bascule bridge . The south-east wing of the castle was built in the 15th century. The 40-meter tower dating back to

224-760: A bailiwick headed by a Landkomtur . All of the Teutonic Knights' possessions were subordinate to the Grand Master, whose seat was in Bad Mergentheim. There were twelve German bailiwicks: Outside of German areas were the bailiwicks of The Order gradually lost control of these holdings until, by 1809, only the seat of the Grand Master at Mergentheim remained. Following the abdication of Albert of Brandenburg, Walter von Cronberg became Deutschmeister in 1527, and later Administrator of Prussia and Grand Master in 1530. Emperor Charles V combined

336-872: A new Kingdom of Poland . Early in 1917 the Germans requested the Chief of the Civil Administration in Warsaw to arrange for the Warszawskie Towarzystwo Artystyczne (Warsaw Society of Artists) to organise a competition of designs, by Polish designers, for a series of definitive stamps for this planned Kingdom of Poland. One of the conditions of this competition was that the stamps be inscribed "KROLESTWO POLSKIE" (literally: Polish Kingdom, i.e. Kingdom of Poland). Monetary prizes were offered from 150 marks to 1000 marks. The closing date

448-555: A 25 fen stamp was issued by surcharging the 7½ value with "25". Due to the haste with which these stamps were produced there are many errors and varieties to be found. The overprinting was done by the "Kopytowski i Ska" private printing works in Warsaw. On 7 December 1918 the Ministry of Post and Telegraph announced in the daily newspapers that German stamps and postcards without the overprint "Poczta Polska" would not be accepted for postage as from 16 December 1918. On 5 November 1918

560-585: A Prussian Landmeister Heinrich von Plötzke , evicted the Brandenburgers from Gdańsk in September 1308 but then refused to yield the town to the Poles, and according to some sources massacred the town's inhabitants ; although the exact extent of the violence is unknown, and widely recognized by historians to be an unsolvable mystery. The estimates range from 60 rebellious leaders, reported by dignitaries of

672-713: A black cross. A cross pattée was sometimes used as their coat of arms ; this emblem was later used for military decoration and insignia by the Kingdom of Prussia and Germany as the Iron Cross . The motto of the Order was: "Helfen, Wehren, Heilen" ("Help, Defend, Heal"). In 1143 Pope Celestine II ordered the Knights Hospitaller to take over management of a German hospital in Jerusalem , which, according to

784-544: A contract to run the postal service for five years. When giving the contract the King, Stefan Batory , introduced a uniform postal rate of 4 groszy per letter not exceeding 1 łut (about 12.66 grams) for any distance in Poland. This was the first uniform postal rate to be introduced in the world. Sebastiano Montelupi died in 1600 aged 84 and Valerio Montelupi continued to run the postal service till his death in 1613. In 1815

896-772: A military order. The Order was founded in Acre, and the Knights purchased Montfort Castle , northeast of Acre, in 1220. This castle, which defended the route between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea , was made the seat of the Grand Masters in 1229, although they returned to Acre after losing Montfort to Muslim control in 1271. The Order received donations of land in the Holy Roman Empire (especially in present-day Germany and Italy ), Frankokratia , and

1008-645: A miniature sheet, a book "400 Lat Poczty Polskiej" , a stamp exhibition in Warsaw and a number of commemorative postmarks. The earliest record of a postal system in Poland is, from the year 1387, of merchants who organised a private system and introduced horse riders to replace foot letter carriers. In 1530 a monthly postal service from Kraków to Rome was introduced by the Fugger bankers of Venice . On 17 October 1558 Sigismund II Augustus appointed Prospero Provano , an Italian merchant living in Kraków, to organise

1120-477: A notice from Congress Poland that they would be setting up a post office in Kraków. Protests brought no result. In August 1836 the Free City of Kraków came to an agreement with Congress Poland to cease operating their own post office and to rent their post office building to them from 1837. In return Kraków was to receive an annual fee of 12,000 złoty. The Prussian post office used three different date stamps (1)

1232-592: A number of castles ( Ordensburgen ) from which it could defeat uprisings of Old Prussians , as well as continue its attacks on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, with which the Order was often at war during the 14th and 15th centuries. Major towns founded by the Order included Thorn (Toruń) , Kulm (Chełmno) , Allenstein (Olsztyn) , Elbing (Elbląg) , Memel (Klaipėda) , and Königsberg , founded in 1255 in honor of King Otakar II of Bohemia on

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1344-431: A postal service in Poland. He was paid 1,500 thalers per annum by the royal treasury to run the postal service. He merged all the private postal services into a single postal service. Royal mail and mail from some monastic orders was carried free. All other mail was paid for. Meanwhile, since 1516, the house of Thurn and Taxis had been running an international postal delivery service. The Polish King decided to transfer

1456-522: A stake would be driven into their bodies or the knight would be flayed. Lithuanian pagan customs included ritualistic human sacrifice, the hanging of widows, and the burying of a warrior's horses and servants with him after his death. The knights would also, on occasion, take captives from defeated Lithuanians, whose condition (as that of other war captives in the Middle Ages) was extensively researched by Jacques Heers. The conflict had much influence in

1568-516: A strong economic base which enabled them to hire mercenaries from throughout Europe to augment their feudal levies, and they also became a naval power in the Baltic Sea . In 1410, a Polish-Lithuanian army decisively defeated the Order and broke its military power at the Battle of Grunwald . However, the Knights successfully defended their capital in the following Siege of Marienburg ( Malbork ) and

1680-545: A two line handstamp, (2) a two ring cancel and (3) a single ring cancel – all with KRAKAU and the date. The Austrian post office used a single line handstamp with the text CRACAU . The Congress Poland post office used two datestamps one with a single outer ring and one with a double outer ring with text KRAKÓW . From 1815 the postmarks were in Polish. From 1860 the postmarks were in Russian and Polish. From 1871

1792-677: Is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society c.  1190 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 the Holy Land and to establish hospitals . Its members have commonly been known as the Teutonic Knights , having historically served as a crusading military order for supporting Catholic rule in

1904-529: Is no record of a public announcement or any instruction being given to post offices invalidating Austrian stamps. Local overprints are known as follows, the status of all of these is unknown Three values (10 hal, 20 hal and 45 hal) of the Austro-Hungarian K und K Military Post Imperial Welfare Fund stamps were overprinted in Lublin with POLSKA at top, Polish eagle in centre and POCZTA at

2016-709: The Crusader states ), controlling the port tolls of Acre. After Christian forces were defeated in the Middle East, the Order moved to Burzenland (southeastern Transylvania ) in 1211 to help defend the south-eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Cumans . The Knights were expelled by force of arms by King Andrew II of Hungary in 1225, after attempting to build their own state within Transylvania and Pope Honorius III's papal bull claiming authority over

2128-794: The Habsburg monarchy during the Ottoman wars in Europe . The military history of the Teutonic Knights was to end in 1805 by the Article XII of the Peace of Pressburg , which ordered the German territories of the Knights converted into a hereditary domain and gave the Austrian Emperor responsibility for placing a Habsburg prince on its throne. These terms had not been fulfilled by the time of

2240-733: The Holy Roman Empire and Livonia , although the Livonian branch retained considerable autonomy. Many of the Imperial possessions were ruined in the German Peasants' War from 1524 to 1525 and subsequently confiscated by Protestant territorial princes. The Livonian territory was then partitioned by neighboring powers during the Livonian War ; in 1561 the Livonian Master Gotthard Kettler secularized

2352-623: The Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit . In 1815, following Napoleons' defeat in 1813, the Congress of Vienna , created Congress Poland out of the Duchy of Warsaw and also established the Free City of Kraków . Congress Poland was placed under the control of Russia and the postal service was given autonomy in 1815. In 1851 the postal service was put under the control of

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2464-598: The Neman River , with as many as twenty forts and castles between Seredžius and Jurbarkas alone. A dispute over the succession to the Duchy of Pomerelia embroiled the Order in further conflict at the beginning of the 14th century. The Margraves of Brandenburg had claims to the duchy which they asserted after the death of King Wenceslaus of Poland in 1306. Duke Władysław I the Elbow-high of Poland also claimed

2576-589: The Nogat River , outside the reach of secular powers. The position of Prussian Landmeister was merged with that of the Grand Master. The Pope began investigating misconduct by the knights, but no charges were found to have substance. Along with the campaigns against the Lithuanians, the knights faced a vengeful Poland and legal threats from the Papacy. The Treaty of Kalisz of 1343 ended the open war between

2688-465: The Treaty of Schönbrunn in 1809, and therefore Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the Knights' remaining territory to be disbursed to his German allies, which was completed in 1810. Postage stamps and postal history of Poland Poczta Polska , the Polish postal service, was founded in 1558 and postal markings were first introduced in 1764. The three partitions of Poland in 1772, 1793 and 1795 saw

2800-1003: The Vistula River Valley and the Brandenburg Neumark were ravaged by the Hussites during the Hussite Wars . Some Teutonic Knights were sent to battle the invaders but were defeated by the Bohemian infantry. The Knights also sustained a defeat in the Polish-Teutonic War (1431–1435) . In 1440, the Prussian Confederation was founded by gentry and burghers of the State of the Teutonic Order. In 1454, it rose up against

2912-708: The cloister . The castle became the Museum of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in 1946; apart from various exhibitions the museum also hosts the Olsztyn Artistic Summer ( Olsztyńskie Lato Artystyczne ). The Olsztyn Castle was depicted on a postage stamp issued by the Poczta Polska in 1971 as part of a series of stamps featuring places associated with Nicolaus Copernicus. Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order

3024-547: The first Mongol invasion of Poland . The combined Polish-German army was crushed by the Mongol army and their superior tactics, with few survivors. In 1337, Emperor Louis IV allegedly granted the Order the imperial privilege to conquer all Lithuania and Russia. During the reign of Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode (1351–1382), the Order reached the peak of its international prestige and hosted numerous European crusaders and nobility. King Albert of Sweden ceded Gotland to

3136-413: The "Gen. Gouv. Warschau" stamps had been left behind by the Germans. These were collected up and overprinted with obliterating bars and "Poczta Polska". On 5 December 1918 eight different values (3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 and 60 fen) were put on sale in post offices and shops. The supply of 5 fen stamps ran out after two days, so stamps with a face value of 2½ and 3 fen were surcharged "5". In addition to this

3248-430: The "Gen.-Gouv. Warschau" overprint. Stamped to order postal stationery was also produced with the "Russisch-Polen" overprint. Items produced were – three different values of postcards (3pf, 5pf, 10pf); five different values of pre paid envelopes (3pf, 5pf, 10pf, 20pf, 40pf); and one 3pf newspaper wrapper . The postcards and envelopes were produced with and without an illustration. In 1916, Germany and Austria declared

3360-409: The "Russisch-Polen" and the "Gen.-Gouv. Warschau" stamps with "Poczta Polska", "Na Skarb Narodowy" etc. Local overprints, on the "Russisch-Polen" and the "Gen.-Gouv. Warschau" stamps, are known from the following locations. The first stamps to be issued by newly established Polish Ministry of Post and Telecommunications in Warsaw were on 17 November 1918. Unissued stamps, which had been produced for

3472-520: The 12th century in the Kingdom of Jerusalem . After the loss of Jerusalem in 1187, some merchants from Lübeck and Bremen took up the idea and founded a field hospital for the duration of the Siege of Acre in 1190, which became the nucleus of the order; Pope Celestine III recognized it in 1192 by granting the monks Augustinian Rule . However, based on the model of the Knights Templar , it

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3584-451: The 14th century was placed in the eastern corner of the courtyard and reconstructed in the early 16th century, giving the castle a circular look in a square formation. During the reconstruction of the tower, the castle's fortifications were raised to 12 meters in height. This made the castle a major bastion located on the borders of Olsztyn, securing its entrance. The castle belonged to the chapter of Diocese of Warmia , which until 1454

3696-564: The Congress Kingdom and to Russia. Letters to other countries had to be paid for in cash and unstamped. It is believed that some three million of these stamps were printed. When the stamps were withdrawn from use on 1 April 1865 (Gregorian calendar) a total of 208,515 stamps were destroyed; Russian stamps had to be used from that day onwards. In 1915 the Congress Kingdom was occupied by the Central Powers . Austria occupied

3808-461: The Free City of Kraków had a population of 95,000, of whom 23,000 were actually in Kraków, the remainder in the surrounding area. Under the constitution that it had been given the city was responsible for the post. A central post office was already in existence, from the period when Kraków was part of the Duchy of Warsaw. On 1 June 1816 the Post Office of the Free City of Kraków took control of

3920-804: The German Lords"), Deutschritterorden ("Order of the German Knights"), Marienritter ("Knights of Mary "), Die Herren im weißen Mantel ("The lords in white capes"), etc. . The Teutonic Knights have been known as Zakon Krzyżacki in Polish ("Order of the Cross") and as Kryžiuočių Ordinas in Lithuanian, Vācu Ordenis in Latvian, Saksa Ordu or, simply, Ordu ("The Order") in Estonian. The fraternity which preceded

4032-424: The German landowners and were gradually assimilated. Peasants in frontier regions, such as Samland , had more privileges than those in more populated lands, such as Pomesania . The crusading knights often accepted baptism as a form of submission by the natives. Christianity along western lines slowly spread through Prussian culture. Bishops were reluctant to have pagan Prussian religious practices integrated into

4144-615: The German-occupied area. On 1 August 1916, after the fall of Warsaw and the complete occupation of central Poland, a set 11 stamps overprinted "Gen.-Gouv. Warschau" was issued. They remained in use until November 1918. These stamps only ensured delivery to the post office and not to the addressee. In addition to stamps, postal stationery items were also overprinted and made available. One postcard and one reply postcard were issued overprinted "Russisch-Polen". Three different postcards and two different reply postcards were issued with

4256-705: The Holy Land and the Northern Crusades during the Middle Ages , as well as supplying military protection for Catholics in Eastern Europe . Purely religious since 1810, the Teutonic Order still confers limited honorary knighthoods . The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order , a Protestant chivalric order , is descended from the same medieval military order and also continues to award knighthoods and perform charitable work. The name of

4368-569: The Kingdom of Jerusalem. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor , elevated his close friend Hermann von Salza to the status of Reichsfürst , or "Prince of the Empire", enabling the Grand Master to negotiate with other senior princes as an equal. During Frederick's coronation as King of Jerusalem in 1225, Teutonic Knights served as his escort in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ; von Salza read

4480-550: The Knights Hospitallers in Rhodes and later in Malta . To make up for losses from the plague and to replace the partially exterminated native population, the Order encouraged immigration from the Holy Roman Empire (mostly Germans , Flemish , and Dutch ) and from Masovia ( Poles ), the later Masurians . These included nobles, burghers, and peasants, and the surviving Old Prussians were gradually assimilated through Germanization . The settlers founded numerous towns and cities on former Prussian settlements. The Order itself built

4592-441: The Order and asked Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon to incorporate the region into the Kingdom of Poland , to which the King agreed and signed an act of incorporation in Kraków . Mayors, burghers and representatives from the region pledged allegiance to the Polish King during the incorporation in March 1454 in Kraków . This marked the beginning of the Thirteen Years' War between the Teutonic Order and Poland. The main cities of

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4704-460: The Order as a pledge (similar to a fiefdom ), with the understanding that they would eliminate the pirating Victual Brothers from this strategic island base in the Baltic Sea . An invasion force under Grand Master Konrad von Jungingen conquered the island in 1398 and drove the Victual Brothers out of Gotland and the Baltic Sea. In 1386, Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania was baptised into Christianity and married Queen Jadwiga of Poland , taking

4816-562: The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem is in German : Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus der Heiligen Maria in Jerusalem and in Latin Ordo domus Sanctae Mariae Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum . Thus the term "Teutonic" echoes the German origins of the order ( Theutonicorum ) in its Latin name. German-speakers commonly refer to the Deutscher Orden (official short name, literally "German Order"), historically also as Deutscher Ritterorden ("German Order of Knights"), Deutschherrenorden ("Order of

4928-475: The Order state the Prussians would "roast captured brethren alive in their armour, like chestnuts, before the shrine of a local god". The native nobility who submitted to the crusaders had many of their privileges confirmed by the Treaty of Christburg . After the Prussian uprisings of 1260–83, however, much of the Prussian nobility emigrated or were resettled, and many free Prussians lost their rights. The Prussian nobles who remained were more closely allied with

5040-403: The Order was saved from collapse. In 1515, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I made a marriage alliance with Sigismund I of Poland-Lithuania. Thereafter, the empire did not support the Order against Poland. In 1525, Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg resigned and converted to Lutheranism , becoming Duke of Prussia as a vassal of Poland. Soon after, the Order lost Livonia and its holdings in

5152-492: The Order won a great victory over the Lithuanians in the Battle of Strėva , severely weakening them. In 1370 it won a decisive victory over Lithuania in the Battle of Rudau . Warfare between the Order and the Lithuanians was particularly brutal. It was common practice for Lithuanians to torture captured enemies and civilians. It is recorded by a Teutonic chronicler that they had the habit of tying captured knights to their horses and having both of them burned alive, while sometimes

5264-416: The Order's higher dignitaries fell on the battlefield. The Polish–Lithuanian army then began the Siege of Marienburg ( Malbork ), the capital of the Order, but was unable to take Marienburg owing to the resistance of Heinrich von Plauen . When the First Peace of Thorn was signed in 1411, the Order managed to retain essentially all of its territories, although the Knights' reputation as invincible warriors

5376-431: The Order's remaining Prussian territories and assumed from his uncle Sigismund I the Old , King of Poland, the hereditary rights to the Duchy of Prussia as a personal vassal of the Polish Crown, the Prussian Homage . Ducal Prussia retained its currency, laws and faith. The aristocracy was not present in the Sejm. Although it had lost control of all of its Prussian lands, the Teutonic Order retained its territories within

5488-429: The Order's territory in Transylvania and its tax exemption toward the king. In 1230, following the Golden Bull of Rimini , Grand Master Hermann von Salza and Duke Konrad I of Masovia launched the Prussian Crusade , a joint invasion of Prussia intended to Christianize the Baltic Old Prussians . The Knights had quickly taken steps against their Polish hosts and with the Holy Roman Emperor 's support, had changed

5600-428: The Polish lands of Pomerelia (also Pomorze Gdańskie or Pomerania), Kuyavia , and Dobrzyń Land . The Order theoretically lost its main purpose in Europe with the Christianization of Lithuania . However, it initiated numerous campaigns against its Christian neighbours, the Kingdom of Poland , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , and the Novgorod Republic (after assimilating the Livonian Order ). The Teutonic Knights had

5712-451: The Polish postal system to the Taxis family and did this on 11 July 1562. Christopher Taxis received the same annual salary as Provano. He ran the system as a commercial venture and because of his extravagance the postal system deteriorated. Sigismund II Augustus terminated the contract with the Taxis family. On 9 January 1564 Peter Moffon was appointed postmaster general by the Polish King. Moffon, another Italian merchant living in Kraków,

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5824-484: The Post and Telegraph Administration in Lublin issued the first instructions regarding the organising of the post in the Congress Poland area formerly occupied by the Austrians. All the post office were instructed to follow existing rules and regulations and to use existing Austrian stamps in stock. Three post offices on their own initiative overprinted Austrian stamps and the Lublin Post and Telegraph Administration supplied overprinted Austrian stamps in December 1918. There

5936-432: The Prince inherited the Kingdom, petitioned Pope Honorius III to be placed directly under the authority of the Papal See , rather than that of the King of Hungary. This was a grave mistake, as King Andrew, angered and alarmed at their growing power, responded in 1225 by expelling the Teutonic Knights, although he allowed the ethnically German commoners and peasants settled here by the Order to remain and these became part of

6048-476: The Protestant areas of Germany. The Order did keep its considerable holdings in Catholic areas of Germany until 1809, when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its dissolution and the Order lost its last secular holdings. However, the Order continued to exist as a charitable and ceremonial body. It was outlawed by Nazi Germany in 1938, but re-established in 1945. Today it operates primarily with charitable aims in Central Europe . The Knights wore white surcoats with

6160-427: The Prussian Government set up a post office and a mail delivery from Kraków to Prussia. Despite protests from the Free City the Prussians continued. On 16 May 1818 the Austrians followed suit, set up a post office and a mail delivery to Galicia. In the first full financial year, 1816/17, the Kraków post office had a profit of 18,887 złoty. By 1822/23, because of the competition, this had reduced to 2,802 złoty, despite

6272-423: The Russian post office department regional office in St Petersburg . In 1855 control was restored for a while to the Congress Kingdom but following the uprising in 1863 again came under Russian control from 1866 and continued until World War I . In November 1918 the Second Polish Republic was created. 1958 was the 400th anniversary of the Polish postal service and was commemorated with an issue of seven stamps,

6384-411: The Semigallians in 1290. The Order suppressed a major Estonian rebellion in 1343–1345, and in 1346 purchased the Duchy of Estonia from Denmark . The Teutonic Knights began to direct their campaigns against pagan Lithuania (see Lithuanian mythology ), due to the long existing conflicts in the region (including constant incursions into the Holy Roman Empire's territory by pagan raiding parties) and

6496-424: The Teutonic Knights and Poland. The Knights relinquished Kuyavia and Dobrzyń Land to Poland, but retained Chełmno Land and Pomerelia with Gdańsk (Germanized as Danzig ). In 1236, the Knights of Saint Thomas , an English order, adopted the rules of the Teutonic Order. A contingent of Teutonic Knights of indeterminate number is traditionally believed to have participated at the Battle of Legnica in 1241 during

6608-403: The Teutonic Knights assimilated the smaller Order of Dobrzyń , which had been established earlier by Christian , the first Bishop of Prussia. The conquest of Prussia was accomplished with much bloodshed over more than fifty years, during which native Prussians who remained unbaptised were subjugated, killed, or exiled. Fighting between the Knights and the Prussians was ferocious; chronicles of

6720-491: The Teutonic Knights use of Chełmno Land as a base for their campaign. This being a time of widespread crusading fervor throughout Western Europe, Hermann von Salza considered Prussia a good training ground for his knights for the wars against the Muslims in Outremer . With the Golden Bull of Rimini , Emperor Frederick II bestowed on the Order a special imperial privilege for the conquest and possession of Prussia, including Chełmno Land, with nominal papal sovereignty. In 1235

6832-405: The Teutonic Order was obliged to swear an oath of allegiance to the reigning Polish king within six months of taking office. The Grand Master became a prince and counselor of the Polish king and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Polish–Teutonic War (1519–1521) , the Order was completely ousted from Prussia when Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg converted to Lutheranism in 1525. He secularized

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6944-494: The Teutons were expanding into their territory. By 1220, the Teutonics Knights had built five castles, some of them made of stone. Their rapid expansion made the Hungarian nobility and clergy, who were previously uninterested in those regions, jealous and suspicious. Some nobles claimed these lands, but the Order refused to share them, ignoring the demands of the local bishop. After the Fifth Crusade , King Andrew returned to Hungary and found his kingdom full of resentment because of

7056-560: The Warsaw Local Post in 1916, were overprinted with the value in "fen" at the top and "Poczta Polska" at the bottom. This is the first known occasion, in the world, on which local stamps were utilised to produce state stamps. They were in use for only a few weeks. The most common postmark to be found on these stamps is "Warschau", "Warszawa" and "Łódź", stamps postmarked "Bendzin" and "Sosnowice" are also known. The four stamps which were produced were: The original stamps had been designed by Professor Edward Trojanowski and printed lithograph at

7168-409: The artists, who took part in the 1917 competition, Edward Trojanowski and Edmund Bartłomiejczyk, were asked to modify their designs for use by the new Republic of Poland. The occupying forces did not provide any local delivery service; they left it to town council set up local delivery services. Some of these councils produced stamps for providing this service others used cachets, which were stamped on

7280-418: The autonomous province of Royal Prussia within the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland . The Teutonic Order had endangered the town of Olsztyn once more, and for the last time in 1521 . In the years of 1516 to 1521, the administrator of the castle was Nicolaus Copernicus , who organized and led the Polish defense of the castle during a Teutonic siege . During his stay at the castle Copernicus made an inventory of

7392-415: The castle was the headquarters of the French command during the Eylau campaign . Napoleon Bonaparte visited the Castle on February 3, 1807, before the battle of Allenstein . In 1845, the bridge connecting the castle to the town was replaced with a levee , the ditch was removed. Between 1901 and 1911, the castle underwent various renovations; this included the change in floor levels, and arched windows in

7504-454: The chronicler Jean d'Ypres, accommodated the countless German pilgrims and crusaders who could neither speak the local language nor Latin ( patriæ linguam ignorantibus atque Latinam ). Although formally an institution of the Hospitallers, the pope commanded that the prior and the brothers of the domus Theutonicorum (house of the Germans) should always be Germans themselves, so a tradition of a German-led religious institution could develop during

7616-404: The contemporary Russian stamps with the arms of the Congress Kingdom in the centre. The engraving was done by the Polish Bank engraver Henryk Mejer. The drawings he used were found in the archives at St Petersburg but the name of the artist remains unknown. The stamps were printed by the government printers in Warsaw on the orders of the Congress Kingdom postal service. The letterpress machine used

7728-489: The defeated Order renounced any claims to the territories of Gdańsk/Eastern Pomerania and Chełmno Land , which were reintegrated with Poland, and the region of Elbląg and Malbork, and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia , which were also recognized as part of Poland, while retaining the eastern territories in historic Prussia, but as a fief and protectorate of Poland, also considered an integral part of "one and indivisible" Kingdom of Poland. From now on, every Grand Master of

7840-429: The duchy, based on inheritance from Przemysław II , but he was opposed by some Pomeranians nobles. They requested help from Brandenburg, which subsequently occupied all of Pomerelia except for the citadel of Gdańsk in 1308. Because Władysław was unable to come to the defense of Gdańsk, the Teutonic Knights, then led by Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen , were called to expel the Brandenburgers. The Order, under

7952-502: The emperor's proclamation in both French and German . However, the Teutonic Knights were never as influential in Outremer as the older Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller . Teutonic Order domains in the Levant: In 1211, Andrew II of Hungary accepted the services of the Teutonic Knights and granted them the district of Burzenland in Transylvania , where they would be exempt from fees and duties and could administer their own justice. Andrew had been involved in negotiations for

8064-404: The entire castle archive, wrote an economic treatise, and conducted astronomical observations and mathematical calculations, which became the basis for his heliocentric model of the universe. In the castle there is a preserved astronomical table, made in 1517 by Copernicus. It is the world's only preserved astronomical instrument made and used by Nicolaus Copernicus. In the 16th century, the castle

8176-522: The existing central post office. Its staff consisted of a director, four secretarial staff, two postmen and a conductor. Two post stations were established in Krzeszowice and Cło . Post routes to and from each of the three Polish areas, Galicia, Congress Poland and Prussia were soon established. Under the constitution the Free City had the exclusive right to private mail. The three powers could only transport official mail. However, on 1 December 1816

8288-403: The expenses and losses of the failed military campaign. When the nobles demanded that he cancel the concessions made to the Knights, he concluded that they had exceeded their task and that the agreement should be revised, but did not revert the concessions. However, Prince Béla, heir to the throne, was allied with the nobility. In 1224, the Teutonic Knights, seeing that they would have problems when

8400-534: The formation of the Order was formed in the year 1191 in Acre by German merchants from Bremen and Lübeck . After the capture of Acre they took over a hospital in the city in order to take care of the sick and began to describe themselves as the Hospital of St. Mary of the German House in Jerusalem. Pope Clement III approved it and the Order started to play an important role in Outremer (the general name for

8512-598: The housing of the Bishops of Warmia became less favourable. In 1758, a direct entrance from Olsztyn was built, and a palace wing was built; the expansion meant that many of the fortifications were deconstructed. In 1779, Prince-Bishop and leading 18th-century Polish poet Ignacy Krasicki stayed at the castle. After the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the castle was controlled by the Prussian state. In 1807,

8624-540: The incorporated territory were authorized by Casimir IV to mint Polish coins. Much of Prussia was devastated in the war, during the course of which the Order returned Neumark to Brandenburg in 1455 to raise funds for war. Because Marienburg Castle was handed over to mercenaries in lieu of their pay, and eventually passed to Poland, the Order moved its base to Königsberg in Sambia . In the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) ,

8736-412: The increase in population and increase in traffic. The delivery of letters was undertaken by two postmen, they collected 4 groszy for each letter delivered or 8 groszy if it was a money letter. In 1825 these fees were reduced by half. In the year 1833/4 the Kraków post office dealt with a total of 66,910 letters, an average of 185 per day. In December 1834 the senate of the Free City of Kraków received

8848-483: The independent nation of Poland disappear. The postal services in the areas occupied by Germany and Austria were absorbed into those countries' postal services. In 1772 the area occupied by Austria was created into the Kingdom of Galicia , a part of the Austrian Empire . This lasted till 1918. The Duchy of Warsaw was created briefly, between 1807 and 1813, by Napoleon I of France , from Polish lands ceded by

8960-405: The lack of a proper area of operation for the Knights, after the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at Acre in 1291 and their later expulsion from Hungary. At first the knights moved their headquarters to Venice , from which they planned the recovery of Outremer; this plan was, however, soon abandoned, and the Order later moved its headquarters to Marienburg, so it could better focus its efforts on

9072-541: The lands of Prussia , Pomerelia , Samogitia , Courland , Livonia , Estonia , Gotland , Dagö , Ösel , and the Neumark , pawned by Brandenburg in 1402. In 1410, at the Battle of Grunwald a combined Polish–Lithuanian army, led by Władysław II Jagiełło and Vytautas , decisively defeated the Order in the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War . Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen and most (50 out of 60) of

9184-560: The larger group of the Transylvanian Saxons. Lacking the military organization and experience of the Teutonic Knights, the Hungarians failed to replace them with adequate defence against the attacking Cumans. Soon, the steppe warriors would be a threat again. In 1226, Konrad I , Duke of Masovia in north-eastern Poland , appealed to the Knights to defend his borders and subdue the pagan Baltic Old Prussians , allowing

9296-540: The letters. Most of the stamps which were issued, were produced without permission of the occupying authorities. None of these were valid for use once Polish stamps had been issued in November 1918. The list of local postal services which used stamps and/or handstamps for local deliveries is as follows: The generally accepted date of the independence of Poland is 11 November 1918. This date really only applies to General-Gouvernement Warschau. The area occupied by Austria

9408-559: The majority of brothers remained Catholic. The Teutonic Knights became tri-denominational, with Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed bailiwicks. The Grand Masters, often members of the great German families (and, after 1761, members of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine ), continued to preside over the Order's considerable holdings in Germany. Teutonic Knights from Germany, Austria, and Bohemia were used as battlefield commanders leading mercenaries for

9520-540: The margraves for 10,000 marks on 13 September 1309. Control of Pomerelia allowed the Order to connect their monastic state with the borders of the Holy Roman Empire. Crusading reinforcements and supplies could travel from the Imperial territory of Hither Pomerania through Pomerelia to Prussia, while Poland's access to the Baltic Sea was blocked. While Poland had mostly been an ally of the knights against

9632-488: The marriage of his daughter with the son of Hermann, Landgrave of Thuringia , whose vassals included the family of Hermann von Salza. Led by a brother called Theoderich or Dietrich, the Order defended the south-eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against the neighbouring Cumans . Many forts of wood and mud were built for defence. They settled new German peasants among the existing Transylvanian Saxon inhabitants. The Cumans had no fixed settlements for resistance, and soon

9744-488: The name Władysław II Jagiełło and becoming King of Poland. This created a personal union between the two countries and a potentially formidable opponent for the Teutonic Knights. The Order initially managed to play Władysław II Jagiełło and his cousin Vytautas against each other, but this strategy failed when Vytautas began to suspect that the Order was planning to annex parts of his territory. The baptism of Jogaila began

9856-531: The new Grand Master was unable to revive the Order's fortunes. After the Gollub War the Knights lost some small border regions and renounced all claims to Samogitia in the 1422 Treaty of Melno . Austrian and Bavarian knights feuded with those from the Rhineland , who likewise bickered with Low German -speaking Saxons , from whose ranks the Grand Master was usually chosen. The western Prussian lands of

9968-587: The new faith, while the ruling knights found it easier to govern the natives when they were semi-pagan and lawless. After fifty years of warfare and brutal conquest, the end result was that most of the Prussian natives were either killed or deported. The Order ruled Prussia under charters issued by the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor as a sovereign monastic state , comparable to the arrangement of

10080-472: The next decades the Order focused on the subjugation of the Curonians and Semigallians . In 1260 it suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Durbe against Samogitians , and this inspired rebellions throughout Prussia and Livonia. After the Knights won a crucial victory in the Siege of Königsberg from 1262 to 1265, the war had reached a turning point. The Curonians were finally subjugated in 1267 and

10192-480: The official conversion of Lithuania to Christianity. Although the crusading rationale for the Order's state ended when Prussia and Lithuania had become officially Christian, the Order's feuds and wars with Lithuania and Poland continued. The Lizard Union was created in 1397 by Prussian nobles in Chełmno Land to oppose the Order's policy. In 1407, the Teutonic Order reached its greatest territorial extent and included

10304-430: The pagan Prussians and Lithuanians, the capture of Pomerelia turned the kingdom into a determined enemy of the Order. The capture of Gdańsk marked a new phase in the history of the Teutonic Knights. The persecution and abolition of the powerful Knights Templar, which began in 1307, worried the Teutonic Knights, but control of Pomerelia allowed them to move their headquarters in 1309 from Venice to Marienburg (Malbork) on

10416-438: The political situation of the region and was the source of many rivalries between Lithuanians or Poles and Germans; the degree to which it impacted the mentalities of the time can be seen in the lyrical works of men such as the contemporary Austrian poet Peter Suchenwirt . Overall, the conflict lasted over 200 years (although with varying degrees of active hostility during that time), its front line extending along both banks of

10528-403: The postmarks were with Russian inscriptions only. The different types of standard postmarks that were used are as follows: Other rare non-standard postmarks are also known. The first Polish stamp was issued for the Congress Kingdom on 1 January 1860 ( Gregorian calendar ). Because 1 January was a Sunday the stamp was not actually available until the following day. The design was similar to

10640-400: The printing works of Jan Cotty in Warsaw. The overprinting was done at the "Kopytowski i Ska" printing works in Warsaw. Each of the four stamps is known with inverted overprint. The total number of stamps originally printed in 1916, per the invoice from the printers, was as follows About 20,000 of each of these were not used for overprinting with "Poczta Polska" in 1918. A large stock of

10752-462: The proposed colours on 5 sheets. These stamps were mounted in folders and circulated amongst the various German embassies and legations in existence at the time. The artists include the following: M Bystydzieński, Henyk Oderfeld, Nikodem Romanus, Józef Tom, Apoloniusz Kędzierski, Ludwik Gardowski, Ludwik Sokołowski, Zygmunt Beniulis, Jan Ogorkiewicz, Edmund John, Edward Trojanowski and Mieczysław Neufeld. When in 1918 Poland became independent, two of

10864-441: The region and Knight chroniclers, to 10,000 civilians, a number cited in a papal bull (of dubious provenance) that was used in a legal process installed to punish the Order for the event; the legal dispute went on for a time, but the Order was eventually absolved of the charges. In the Treaty of Soldin , the Teutonic Order purchased Brandenburg's supposed claim to the castles of Gdańsk, Świecie , and Tczew and their hinterlands from

10976-406: The region of Prussia. Because " Lithuania Propria " remained non-Christian until the end of the 14th century, much later than the rest of eastern Europe, the conflicts were dragged out over a longer time, and many Knights from western European countries, such as England and France , journeyed to Prussia to participate in the seasonal campaigns ( reyse ) against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1348,

11088-670: The site of a destroyed Prussian settlement. After suffering a devastating defeat in the Battle of Saule , the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were absorbed by the Teutonic Knights in 1237. The Livonian branch subsequently became known as the Livonian Order . Attempts to expand into Rus' failed when the Knights suffered a major defeat in 1242 in the Battle of the Ice at the hands of Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod . Over

11200-456: The southern Livonian possessions of the Order to create the Duchy of Courland , also a vassal of Poland. After the loss of Prussia in 1525, the Teutonic Knights concentrated on their possessions in the Holy Roman Empire. Since they held no contiguous territory, they developed a three-tiered administrative system: holdings were combined into commanderies that were administered by a commander ( Komtur ). Several commanderies were combined to form

11312-593: The southern part of Congress Poland; no special stamps were issued; Austrian stamps were made available. Austrian field post offices were set up which used postmarks with Polish town names. The stamps that were made available were: In addition one postcard from Bosnia and Herzegovina and four postcards of the Austro-Hungarian Military Post general issues were made available Russian datestamps were replaced with Austrian datestamps. The postmarks were inscribed K. u. K. ETAPPENPOSTAMT at

11424-502: The status of Chełmno Land (also Ziemia Chełmińska or Kulmerland), to which they had been invited by the Polish Duke, into their own property. Starting from there, the Order created the independent State of the Teutonic Order , adding continuously the conquered Prussians' territory, and subsequently conquered Livonia . Over time, the kings of Poland denounced the Order for expropriating their lands, specifically Chełmno Land and later

11536-562: The top and the Polish town name at the bottom. The list of post office with these datestamps are as under, names in bracket are changes in name which took place later The area occupied by Germany was named "General Government Warsaw" (General-Gouvernement Warschau). On 12 May 1915, five contemporary German stamps, overprinted "Russisch-Polen", by the Imperial Printing Works in Berlin, were first issued for use in

11648-666: The two positions in 1531, creating the title Hoch- und Deutschmeister , which also had the rank of Prince of the Empire . A new Grand Magistery was established in Mergentheim in Württemberg , which was attacked during the German Peasants' War. The Order also helped Charles V against the Schmalkaldic League . After the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, membership in the Order was open to Protestants, although

11760-409: Was 1 December 1917. A total of 32 artists submitted some 148 designs by the closing date. Essays of all of these 148 designs were printed on sheets in black, brown, green and blue. A booklet was also published on 11 January 1918 containing all these designs. Thirteen of these designs were chosen and the Imperial Printing Works in Berlin engraved all of the designs. The 13 chosen designs were printed in

11872-578: Was also used as the seat for two Warmian Bishops, which at the same time were two writers: Johannes Dantiscus ( Father of Polish Diplomacy ); and Marcin Kromer who wrote numerous hymns in Latin , as well as scientific documents and literature in Polish. In 1580, Bishop Marcin Kromer consecrated the Chapel of Saint Anne at the castle. Over time, the castle's militaristic importance diminished and its role for

11984-641: Was freed on 29 October 1918. The Wielkopolska area was held by the Germans till 27 December 1918 and the Pomorze area till 10 February 1919. Each area had a different philatelic history until stamps were issued to cover the whole country. Following the Armistice on 11 November 1918 the Polish authorities set to work to organise a postal service. Instructions were issued to temporarily use existing stamps and modify or replace cancelling machines with Polish place names. Many offices, on their own initiative, overprinted

12096-463: Was given the postal contract for five years. On 15 June 1569 he was replaced by Sebastiano Montelupi . When King Sigismund Augustus died in 1572, Montelupi continued the service at his own expense for two years. The public postal service then ceased for a period of some 11 years, although a system reserved to royal use was rebuilt from 1574 onwards. On 29 January 1583 Sebastiano Montelupi and his nephew (and adopted heir), Valerio Montelupi , were given

12208-549: Was invented by Izrael Abraham Staffel (1814–1884) for printing in two colours. The machine was capable of printing 1,000 sheets per hour and it had a counting device which ensured an accurate count. Apart from these facts very little more is known about the machine. The printing was done without consultation of the Russian postal service. The regional office in St Petersburg only approved afterwards, on 4 March 1860 (Gregorian calendar). These stamps could only be used within

12320-450: Was irreparably damaged. While Poland and Lithuania were growing in power, that of the Teutonic Knights dwindled through infighting. They were forced to impose high taxes to pay a substantial indemnity but did not give the cities sufficient requested representation in the administration of their state. The authoritarian and reforming Grand Master Heinrich von Plauen was forced from power and replaced by Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg , but

12432-642: Was protected by the Teutonic Order. This made the building and Olsztyn a strategic place during the Polish-Teutonic Wars . In 1410, during the Battle of Grunwald , the castle had surrendered itself to the Polish Army without a battle, however, in 1414 the castle was seized after a siege lasting a few days. During the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66) , the castle was being captured multiple times by both powers, and afterwards became part of

12544-537: Was transformed into a military order in 1198 and the head of the order became known as the Grand Master ( magister hospitalis ). It received papal orders for crusades to take and hold Jerusalem for Christianity and defend the Holy Land against the Muslim Saracens . During the rule of Grand Master Hermann von Salza (1209–1239) the Order changed from being a hospice brotherhood for pilgrims to primarily

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