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59-601: Originally the settlement area of the Lechites , the swampy area was located east of Brandenburg and west of Greater Poland , south of Pomerania and north of Silesia and Lower Lusatia . Presently its eastern part lies within the Polish Lubusz Voivodeship , the western part with its historical capital Lebus (Lubusz) in the German state of Brandenburg . When in 928 King Henry I of Germany crossed

118-611: A 983 Slavic rebellion, Duke Bolesław and King Otto III of Germany in 991 agreed at Quedlinburg to jointly conquer the remaining Lutician territory, Otto coming from the west and Bolesław starting from Lubusz in the east. However, they did not succeed. Instead Otto's successor King Henry II of Germany in the rising conflict over the adjacent Lusatian march concluded an alliance with the Lutici and repeatedly attacked Bolesław. Lubusz Land remained under Polish control even after King Mieszko II Lambert in 1031 finally had to withdraw from

177-662: A month later, by an army of 10,000 men under the leadership of Orda . In Lesser Poland the Mongols met weaker resistance, defeating and killing almost all the Kraków and Sandomierz nobility in the Battle of Tursko (13 February), and the Battles of Tarczek and Chmielnik (18 March), including the voivode of Kraków, Włodzimierz and the castellan Klement of Brzeźnica . All of Lesser Poland, including Kraków and Sandomierz, fell into

236-547: A new powerful rival prompted the previously warring parties to make peace with each other and cooperate. Bavarian forces soon entered the region, but in October 1323 Pope John XXII called Louis IV to annul the grant of Brandenburg to Louis V, declaring it unlawful. The Pope supported the dukes of Pomerania and Głogów and local bishop Stephen II, and urged the region's inhabitants to resist the Wittelsbachs. King Władysław I

295-622: A part of communist East Germany in 1949. Polish and Soviet authorities expelled most of the German population from the Polish annexed part of Lubusz Land in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement . Refugees who had fled before the Soviet forces were prevented from returning to their homes. The area was then resettled with Poles expelled from Soviet-annexed eastern Poland and migrants from central Poland. The largest cities and capitals of

354-795: Is one of the smallest towns. In the Polish part of the Lubusz Land, in Słubice , the Misplaced Pages Monument , world's first monument dedicated to the Misplaced Pages community , was unveiled in 2014. Towns on the west side of the Oder, in Germany : Towns on the east side of the Oder, in Poland : Lechites Lechites ( Polish : Lechici , German : Lechiten ), also known as

413-692: Is variously considered a Polish dialect or a language in its own right, is also part of this group. The Sorbian languages of the southern part of the Polabian area, preserved as relics today in Upper and Lower Lusatia , occupy a place between the Lechitic and Czech-Slovak groups. The name Lech or Leszek , Lestko, Leszko, Lestek, and Lechosław is a very popular name in Poland. Lech was a popular male name among members of Piast dynasty like Lestko , Leszek I

472-684: The Czech Lands ) and Rus went to the East (to create Rus' ). A variant of this legend, involving only two brothers Lech and Čech, was first written down by Cosmas of Prague of Bohemia . The legend was described by Kronika wielkopolska ("Greater Poland Chronicle"), written in 1273 in Latin, and Chronicle of Dalimil , written in Czech in 1314. Henry II the Pious Henry II

531-602: The Duchy of Pomerania and Greater Poland. The Lebus bishops tried to maintain their affiliation with Poland and in 1276 therefore moved their residence east of the Oder river to Górzyca (Göritz upon Oder) , an episcopal fief. When in 1319 the Brandenburg House of Ascania became extinct, the Lubusz Land became the subject of rivalry between the Piasts (duchies of Jawor and Żagań ), Griffins ( Duchy of Pomerania ) and

590-758: The Elbe river to conquer the lands of the Veleti, he did not subdue the Leubuzzi people settling beyond the Spree . Their territory was either already inherited by the first Polish ruler Mieszko I (~960-992) or conquered by him in the early period of his rule. After Mieszkos' death the whole country was inherited by his son Duke, and later King, Bolesław I the Brave . After the German Northern March got lost in

649-587: The Great Emigration led through the region. During World War I , a German strict regime prisoner-of-war camp for French, Russian, Belgian, British and Canadian officers was operated in Kostrzyn . Notable inmates included Leefe Robinson , Jocelyn Lee Hardy , Roland Garros and Jules Bastin , who all made unsuccessful escape attempts. It is considered the only German POW camp of World War I from which no one managed to escape. The Einsatzgruppe VI

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708-608: The Lechitic tribes ( Polish : Plemiona lechickie , German : Lechitische Stämme ), is a name given to certain West Slavic tribes who inhabited modern-day Poland and eastern Germany, and were speakers of the Lechitic languages . Distinct from the Czech–Slovak subgroup , they are the closest ancestors of ethnic Poles and of Pomeranians , Lusatians and Polabians . According to Polish legend, Mieszko I inherited

767-629: The Lendians . Wincenty Kadłubek in Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae (Chronicles of the Kings and Princes of Poland), written between 1190 and 1208, used the names Lechitae (Lechites), lechiticus (lechitic) and Lechia many times to describe all of medieval Poland. Chronicle of Greater Poland 1273 described Casimir I the Restorer as "king of Poles means Lechites". Both

826-555: The Ottoman Turkish ). In Polish literature Lech was also the name of the legendary founder of Poland. The legend describes three brothers, Lech, Čech, and Rus – who founded three Slavic nations: Poland (also known as Lechia ), Bohemia ( Čechy , now known as the Czech Republic ), and Rus ( Ruthenia ). In this legend Lech was the founder of Gniezno . Three brothers Lech, Czech and Rus were exploring

885-705: The Sachsenhausen concentration camp , whose prisoners were Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, Norwegians, French, Belgians, Germans, Jews and Dutch. Particularly infamous camps were the Oderblick labor education camp in Świecko and the Sonnenburg concentration camp in Słońsk , in which Polish, Belgian, French, Bulgarian, Dutch, Yugoslav, Russian, Italian, Ukrainian, Luxembourgish, Danish, Norwegian, Czech, Slovak and other prisoners were held, and many died. In early 1945,

944-882: The Thirteen Years’ War broke out, the Teutonic Knights sold the region to Brandenburg in order to raise funds for war against Poland. The bulk of the Lubusz Land remained part of the Bohemian (Czech) lands until 1415. In 1424 the Lebus bishopric became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Magdeburg, finally leaving the Gniezno ecclesiastical province. In 1432, the Czech Hussites captured the city of Frankfurt (Oder) . In 1518 Bishop Dietrich von Bülow bought

1003-587: The death marches of prisoners of various nationalities from the dissolved camps in Świecko and Żabikowo to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp passed through the region. On 30–31 January, the SS and Gestapo perpetrated a massacre of over 800 prisoners of the Sonnenburg concentration camp. Lubusz Land was the site of fierce fighting on the Eastern Front of World War II in 1945. In February and March

1062-541: The Ascanians ( Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg ). In 1319, the region was captured by Wartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania , in 1320 a large portion passed to Duke Henry I of Jawor , who tried to reclaim the Lubusz Land as region lost by his grandfather Bolesław II the Horned , later that year the western part was conquered by Rudolf I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg , and the eastern outskirts with Torzym were controlled by Duke Henry IV

1121-752: The Bald . In 1248 Bolesław II, then Duke of Legnica , finally sold Lubusz to Magdeburg's Archbishop Wilbrand von Käfernburg and the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg in 1249, wielding the secular reign. Duchy of Silesia 1138–1173 Duchy of Wrocław 1173–1177 Duchy of Głogów 1177–1181 Duchy of Wrocław 1181–1203 Duchy of Greater Poland 1203–1211 Duchy of Wrocław 1211–1218 Duchy of Greater Poland 1218–1230 Duchy of Wrocław 1230–1241 Duchy of Lubusz 1241–1242 [REDACTED] Duchy of Wrocław 1242–1248 [REDACTED] Duchy of Legnica 1248–1249 As to secular rule Lubusz Land

1180-561: The Battle of Lubusz. In the East, a new dangerous opponent appeared: the Mongols , under the leadership of Batu Khan , who, after the invasion of Rus' chose the Kingdom of Hungary as his next target. Batu Khan realized that he had to take control of Poland before he could take Hungary. In January 1241, Batu sent reconnaissance troops to Lublin and Zawichost . The invasion was launched

1239-607: The Bearded in 1206 signed an agreement with Duke Władysław III Spindleshanks of Greater Poland to swap it for the Kalisz Region . This agreement however did not last as it provoked the revolt of Władysław's nephew Władysław Odonic , while in addition the Lusatian margrave Conrad II of Landsberg took this occasion to invade Lubusz. Duke Henry I appealed to Emperor Otto IV and already started an armed expedition, until he

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1298-526: The Bearded named his son co-ruler. Later, Henry the Bearded took the duchies of Kraków and Silesia, and Henry the Pious was given the duchies of Silesia and Greater Poland. When Henry the Bearded died on 19 March 1238, Henry the Pious became duke of Silesia, Kraków and Greater Poland. Henry the Pious inherited Lower Silesia from his father. Southern Greater Poland and Kraków were ruled by the Piast princes, although

1357-693: The Catholic Imperial forces in the Smalkaldic War , his vassal city of Beeskow refused to obey. From 1555 the bishopric was secularised and became a Lutheran diocese and the area east of the Oder was later called Eastern Brandenburg . In 1575 King Maximilian II of Bohemia granted the Beeskow lordship of the Lebus diocese to Brandenburg as a Bohemian fief , which it remained until the First Silesian War in 1742. When in 1598

1416-586: The Chaste . Nevertheless, in 1239, Henry was compelled to resign the regency, although he remained on good terms with the Dukes of Opole and Sandomierz, and managed to retain Greater Polish Kalisz and Wieluń . The situation in the northwest was more complicated: Margrave Otto III of Brandenburg took the important Greater Polish fortress at Santok and besieged Lubusz . Henry II also inherited

1475-594: The Elbow-high of Poland also took the chance, allied with Bishop Stephen II and campaigned the Lubusz Land. In return the head of secular government in Lubusz, governor Erich of Wulkow, loyal to the new Brandenburg margrave Louis V, raided and captured the episcopal possessions in 1325, burning down the Górzyca cathedral. Bishop Stephen fled to Poland. In 1354 Bishop Henry Bentsch reconciled with Margrave Louis II and

1534-636: The Faithful of Żagań by 1322. In 1322–1323, there were heavy fights between Pomerania and Saxe-Wittenberg in the northern part of the region, around Kostrzyn nad Odrą . After the Battle of Mühldorf , the House of Wittelsbach took an interest in the region in 1323, and King Louis IV the Bavarian decided to grant the Margraviate of Brandenburg with the Lubusz Land to his son Louis V . The emergence of

1593-456: The Magdeburg administrator Joachim Frederick of Hohenzollern became Elector of Brandenburg, all official links with Poland had long been cut. In the 16th century, many Polish exports, including grain, wood, ash, tar and hemp, were floated from western Poland via Frankfurt (Oder) in Lubusz Land to the port of Szczecin , with the high Brandenburgian customs duties on Polish goods lowered in

1652-602: The Pious ( Polish : Henryk II Pobożny ; 1196 – 9 April 1241) was Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland as well as Duke of South-Greater Poland from 1238 until his death. Between 1238 and 1239 he also served as regent of Sandomierz and Opole – Racibórz . He was the son of Henry the Bearded and a member of the Silesian Piast dynasty . In October 2015, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Legnica opened up his cause for beatification, obtaining him

1711-509: The Polish Lubusz Voivodeship today are Zielona Góra and Gorzów Wielkopolski , which however were not part of the historical Lubusz Land (cf. map above), but were parts of Lower Silesia and Greater Poland (the Santok castellany) respectively. Today, the largest town of Lubusz Land is Frankfurt (Oder) , located in the German part of the region. On the Polish side the largest town is Kostrzyn nad Odrą . The region's historic capital, Lebus ,

1770-586: The White , Leszek II the Black , Leszek, Duke of Masovia , Leszek of Racibórz . The oldest part of Gniezno , in the center of Great Poland , is known as Wzgórze Lecha ("Lech's Hill") as well as Góra Królewska ("Royal Hill"). Lestko (also Lestek, Leszek), mentioned in the Gesta principum Polonorum , completed between 1112 and 1118 by Gallus Anonymus , was the second legendary duke of Poland and

1829-524: The adjacent, just conquered March of Lusatia and accept the overlordship of Emperor Conrad II . In 1125 Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland established the Bishopric of Lubusz to secure Lubusz Land. 1124-1125 records note that the new Bishop of Lubusz was nominated by Duke Bolesław under the Archbishopric of Gniezno . However, from the beginning Gniezno's role as metropolia of the Lubusz diocese

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1888-595: The battle for Kostrzyn nad Odrą (then Küstrin ) was fought, which resulted in 95% of the town being destroyed, making it the most destructed town of post-war Poland. Shortly after the liberation of the Stalag III-C POW camp in Kostrzyn, Soviet troops killed some American POWs mistaking them for German troops. In April the Battle of the Seelow Heights took place, ending in a Soviet-Polish victory. It

1947-451: The combined forces of some Knights Templar . Some sources report that European forces halted their troops near Legnica, probably fearing that the Christian Army would become an easy prey to the Mongols. The battle of Legnica took place on 9 April 1241. Henry was defeated and killed in action . The defeat was widely blamed on the European monarchs, especially Emperor Frederick II and King Béla IV of Hungary , who had refused to help, and

2006-480: The country, and shortly afterward they went through Moravia to Hungary, wanting to connect with the main army of Batu Khan . Henry's naked and decapitated body could only be identified by his wife, because of his polydactyly . He had six toes on his left foot, which was confirmed when his tomb was opened in 1832. Henry was buried in the crypt of the Franciscan Church of Sts. Vincent and Jacob in Wrocław (Breslau). Despite ruling for only three years, Henry remained in

2065-423: The disputes with Konrad of Masovia, Władysław Odonic, and with the Church, led by Pełka , Archbishop of Gniezno . The situation changed unexpectedly after the death of Władysław Odonic on 5 June 1239, who left two minor sons, Przemysł I and Bolesław the Pious . Henry II took the majority of Odonic's possessions (including Gniezno ), leaving Nakło nad Notecią and Ujście to Odonic's sons. Henry then abandoned

2124-502: The ducal throne from his father who probably ruled over two-thirds of the territory inhabited by eastern Lechite tribes. He united the Lechites east of the Oder ( Polans , Masovians , Pomeranians , Vistulans , Silesians ) into a single country of Poland . His son, Bolesław I the Brave , founded the bishoprics at Wrocław , Kołobrzeg , and Kraków , and an archbishopric at Gniezno . Bolesław carried out successful wars against Bohemia , Moravia , Kievan Rus' and Lusatia , and forced

2183-434: The early 17th century. But new links to Poland developed, because since 1618 the prince-electors of Brandenburg ruled the Duchy of Prussia , then a Polish vassal state , in personal union . In 1657 Prussia gained sovereignty, so in 1701 the electors could upgrade their simultaneously held Prussian dukedom to the Kingdom of Prussia , dropping the title of elector of the Holy Roman Empire at its dissolution in 1806. In 1815

2242-502: The episcopal possessions were returned. The see of the bishopric returned to Lebus, where a new cathedral was built. In 1373 the diocese was again devastated by a Bohemian army, when Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg took the Brandenburg margraviate from the House of Wittelsbach . It became part of the Lands of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown . The see of the bishopric now moved to Fürstenwalde (Przybór) ( St Mary's Cathedral, Fürstenwalde ). Polish monarchs still made peaceful attempts to regain

2301-440: The hands of the Mongols. Henry did not wait for the promised aid from Western rulers and began to concentrate the surviving troops of Lesser Poland and his own Silesian and Greater Poland forces in Legnica . Europe's rulers were more focused on the struggle between the Holy Roman Empire and Papacy , and they ignored Henry's requests for help. The only foreign troops who joined him were those of King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia and

2360-403: The kingdom joined the German Confederation , in 1866 the North German Confederation , which enlarged in 1871 to united Germany . By the 17th century most of the population, consisting of autochthon Poles and German settlers, had mingled and assimilated to German language . One of the main escape routes for insurgents of the unsuccessful Polish November Uprising from partitioned Poland to

2419-400: The late duke of Greater Poland and Kraków, Władysław III , had left all his lands to Henry the Bearded. The will was ignored by Duke Konrad of Masovia and Władysław's III nephew Władysław Odonic . Henry II could retain his authority as a regent over the Upper Silesian Duchy of Opole-Racibórz and the Duchy of Sandomierz during the minority of their rulers Mieszko II the Fat and Bolesław V

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2478-404: The memories of Silesia, Greater Poland and Kraków as the perfect Christian knight, lord and martyr, whose brilliant career was abruptly ended by his early death. Upon his death, the line of the Silesian Piasts fragmented into numerous dukes of Silesia , who (except for Henry's grandson Henry IV Probus ) were no longer able to prevail as Polish high dukes and subsequently came under the influence of

2537-471: The names "Poles" and "Lechites" were used in medieval Poland as adequate terms. "Laesir is the Old Norse term for the Ljachar, a people near the Vistula in Poland". Different forms of the name Lechia to designate the Polish state persist in several European languages and in some languages of Central Asia and the Middle East : "Lehia" in Romanian , "Lahestân/لهستان" in Persian (and via borrowing from Persian: "Lehastan" in Armenian , and "Lehistan" in

2596-450: The region. The northern part of the diocese of Lubusz, the Kostrzyn land, administratively became part of the New March , a peripheral region for Czech rulers who were willing to sell it. In 1402, an agreement was reached in Kraków between them and the Poles, under which Poland was purchase and reincorporate this region, however in the same year the Luxembourgs sold the region to the Teutonic Knights , Poland's arch-enemy. In 1454, after

2655-427: The royal Přemyslid dynasty allowed Henry the Pious to participate actively in international politics. Henry the Bearded quickly designated his sole surviving son as his sole heir, and from 1222, the young prince countersigned documents with his father. By 1224, he had his own seal and notary. In 1227, during a meeting of Piast dukes in Gąsawa , Henry the Bearded and High Duke Leszek I the White were ambushed. Leszek

2714-432: The secular lordship of Beeskow - Storkow , in secular respect a Bohemian fief, in religious respect mostly no part of his diocese but of the Diocese of Meissen . The castle in Beeskow became the episcopal residence. The last Catholic bishop was Georg von Blumenthal , who died in 1550 after a heroic non-military counter-reformatory campaign. However, when in 1547 Bishop Georg tried to recruit and arm troops in order to join

2773-400: The son of Siemowit , born ca. 870–880. The Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres chronicle of 10th-century Germany , written by Widukind of Corvey , noted that Mieszko I (son of Siemomysł and grandchild of Lestek), ruled over the tribe called the Licicaviki , who lived in what is now Poland and were known as "Lestkowici" - the tribe of Lestek identified by the historians with

2832-425: The title of Servant of God . Henry the Pious was the second son of High Duke Henry the Bearded of Poland and Hedwig of Andechs . His elder brother, Bolesław, died in 1206. In 1213, his younger brother Konrad the Curly died during a hunt, leaving the young Henry as the sole heir of Lower Silesia . Around 1218 his father arranged his marriage to Anne , daughter of King Ottokar I of Bohemia . This union with

2891-466: The traditional alliance of his family with the Imperial House of Hohenstaufen and supported Pope Gregory IX , immediately resolving his dispute with the Church. He then put an end to his conflicts with Konrad of Masovia by arranging the marriages of two of his daughters to two of Konrad's sons: Gertrude to Bolesław , and Constance , to Casimir I of Kuyavia . In 1239, Henry II reclaimed the Santok fortress from Margrave Otto III after Henry's victory in

2950-408: The unexpected retreat from the battle by Henry's Upper Silesian cousin Mieszko II the Fat , through a trick of the Mongols. There are two descriptions of Henry's death, one submitted by Jan Długosz (today considered dubious), and the second by C. de Brigia in his Historii Tartatorum (based on reports of direct witnesses, now considered more reliable). However, the Mongols did not intend to occupy

3009-407: The western Pomeranians to pay Poland a tribute. Shortly before his death Bolesław became the first King of Poland in 1025. The West Slavs included the ancestors of the peoples known later as Poles , Pomeranians , Czechs , Slovaks , Sorbs and Polabians . The northern so-called Lechitic group includes, along with Polish, endangered Pomeranian and Polabian , a dead language; Silesian , which

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3068-418: The wilderness to find a place to settle. Suddenly they saw a hill with an old oak and an eagle on top. Lech said: this white eagle I will adopt as an emblem of my people, and around this oak I will build my stronghold, and because of the eagle nest (Polish: gniazdo ) I will call it Gniezdno (modern: Gniezno ). The other brothers went further on to find a place for their people. Czech went to the South (to found

3127-432: Was challenged by the claims of the mighty Archbishops of Magdeburg , who also tried to make Lebus their suffragan. The Polish position was decisively enfeebled by the process of fragmentation after the death of Duke Bolesław III in 1138, when Lubusz Land became part of the Duchy of Silesia . The Duchy of Silesia was restored to the descendants of Władysław II the Exile in 1163, and Lubusz Land together with Lower Silesia

3186-406: Was finally separated from Silesia, according to canon law however, the Lubusz diocese, comprising most of Lubusz Land, remained subordinate to the Gniezno metropolis . Meanwhile, the Brandenburg margraves forwarded the incorporation of Lubusz Land into their New March , created and expanded further to the northeast after the acquisition of the Santok castellany in 1296 on the forest areas between

3245-470: Was formed in Frankfurt (Oder) before it entered several Polish cities, including Poznań , Kalisz and Leszno , to commit various crimes against Poles during the German invasion of Poland , which started World War II . During the war, the Germans operated the Stalag III-C prisoner-of-war camp for Polish, French , Serbian, Soviet, Italian , British, American and Belgian POWs in the region, and numerous forced labour camps, including several subcamps of

3304-450: Was given to his eldest son Bolesław I the Tall . In the 13th century Polish dukes in order to help develop Lubusz Land, granted some areas to different Catholic religious orders , such as the Cistercians , Canons Regular and Knights Templar . Among those orders possessions were Łagów , Chwarszczany , Lubiąż (today's Müncheberg ) and Dębno . Lubusz remained under the rule of the Silesian Piasts , though Bolesław's son Duke Henry I

3363-414: Was killed and Henry was seriously wounded. Henry the Pious acted as interim duke. In 1229, Henry the Bearded was captured by Duke Konrad I of Masovia , and again young Henry the Pious acted as interim duke. During 1229–30, he led a military expedition to recover and secure the possession of Lubusz Land , and in 1233–34 he actively supported his father's affairs in Prussia and Greater Poland. In 1234, Henry

3422-461: Was once again able to secure his possession of the region after Margrave Conrad had died in 1210. Nevertheless, the resistance against the Imperial expansion waned as the Silesian territories were again fragmented after the death of Duke Henry II the Pious at the Battle of Legnica in 1241. His younger son Mieszko then held the title of a " Duke of Lubusz ", but died only one year later, after which his territory fell to his elder brother Bolesław II

3481-422: Was one of the last battles before the capitulation of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II in Europe . The portion of Lubusz Land east of the Oder River became again part of Poland by the 1945 Potsdam Conference, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the 1980s, whereas the western portion with the historical capital Lebus remained under Soviet occupation and became

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