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58-759: Masurians are mostly descendants of colonists from Mazovia , but many of them have their roots in Germany , Lithuania , France , Austria , Scotland , the Netherlands and Russia . Some research also indicate the admixture of the remains of the Old Prussians . These settlers moved to the Duchy of Prussia during and after the Protestant Reformation . They spoke the Masurian dialects . Since

116-649: A Masurian Institute was founded by Masurian activists in Radość near Warsaw in 1943. Andreas Kossert regards these claims as a presumption completely disregarding the actual conditions of the Masurian people. Along with the majority of ethnic German East Prussians, many Masurians fled to western Germany as the Soviet Red Army approached East Prussia in 1945 in the final European campaigns of World War II . The post-war Potsdam Conference placed Masuria – and

174-539: A group of Poles. In all German geographical atlases published at the beginning of the 20th century, the southern part of East Prussia was marked as an ethnically Polish area, with the number of Poles estimated at 300,000. There was resistance among the Masurians towards Germanization efforts, the so-called Gromadki movement was formed which supported use of Polish language and came into conflict with German authorities; while most of its members viewed themselves as loyal to

232-479: A result of the fragmentation of Poland after the death of Polish monarch Bolesław III Wrymouth , in 1138 the Duchy of Mazovia was established, and during the 12th and 13th centuries it joined temporarily various adjacent lands and endured invasions of Prussians , Yotvingians , and Ruthenians . To protect its northern section Conrad I of Mazovia called in the Teutonic Knights in 1226 and granted them

290-552: Is Pałac Kultury i Nauki . Masovia also boasts 11 Historic Monuments of Poland : Historical monuments elsewhere include the manor house in Żelazowa Wola where composer Frédéric Chopin was born and his museum is located nowadays. Płock, once the seat of the Mazovian princes, and Łowicz , the residence of the archbishops of Gniezno , are noted for their cathedrals . There are also palaces and parks in Nieborów and Arkadia,

348-460: Is Płock , where large petrochemical plants PKN Orlen operate. The rest of Mazovia belongs to the poorest parts of Poland. In agriculture the most typical Mazovian crops are potatoes and rye , but the most popular (as in the whole of Poland) is wheat. Others are barley , sugar beets , fruits (with their biggest Polish basin in the south of the region), and vegetables. Pigs are commonly bred, often also cows and chickens. Kampinos National Park

406-556: Is 33,500 km . It has population of 5 million (3 million of them inhabit the metropolis of Warsaw ). Inhabited by the various Lechitic West Slavic tribes, Vistula Veneti and with other people who had settled here such as the Wielbark people. The historical region of Mazovia ( Mazowsze ) in the beginning encompassed only the territories on the right bank of Vistula near Płock and had strong connections with Greater Poland (through Włocławek and Kruszwica ). In

464-579: Is no specific regional cuisine of Mazovia. Formerly, dairy foods dominated the peasant cuisine. Nobles used poultry, geese, chickens and ducks. The most separate Mazovian culinary regions are Kurpie and Łowicz , where traditional dishes survive to the present day. In Kurpie, traditional dishes are prepared with ingredients collected in the forest: berries, honey and mushrooms. There are several traditional Polish dishes like flaki (tripes), kluski (noodles and dumplings), which are prepared in different way than in other parts of Poland. Mazovian Voivodeship

522-768: Is one of Poland's largest national parks and is popular with tourists making day trips from Warsaw to hike among the park's primeval forests, sand dunes, and marshland. The main cultural centre of the region, and, alongside Kraków , in all of Poland, is Warsaw, which is home to dozens of theatres, the National Philharmonic, the National Opera House, the National Library, the National Museum, Centrum Nauki Kopernik , Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego , Temple of Divine Providence , and

580-670: Is ranked decidedly first in Poland according to the Gross Domestic Product . This is thanks to Warsaw, which is a financial centre of East-Central Europe . The majority of state enterprises are headquartered in this metropolis . It is a hub for both rail and vehicular traffic, with access throughout Poland and across Europe. Warsaw Chopin Airport is the nation's busiest. There are many branches of industry and services well developed in this city. The other economical center

638-606: The Baltic Old Prussians , whom the Teutonic Knights had conquered in the 13th and 14th centuries). The northern part of this state was soon settled by settlers from Germany and thus became Germanised. On the other hand, Protestants coming from the Duchy of Masovia , which was independent until 1526, partially Polonised a southern part of the Duchy of Prussia , later Kingdom of Prussia . Only in Allenstein, now Olsztyn , Catholics remained, because it belonged to

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696-593: The Chełmno Land as a fief. After the reunification of the Polish state by Władysław I in the early 14th century, Mazovia became its fief in 1351. In the second half of 15th century western Mazovia and in 1526/1529 the main part (with its capital in Warsaw) was incorporated into the Polish state. In the 15th century the eastern part of the region ( Łomża ) was settled, mainly by the yeomanry ( drobna szlachta ). Mazovia

754-659: The Far North . Numerous sites were looted . The Palmiry massacres carried out by Nazi Germany in the village of Palmiry near Warsaw, were one of the largest massacres of Poles committed during the Intelligenzaktion and AB-Aktion , whereas many Poles from north-eastern Mazovia were among the victims of the Soviet-perpetrated Katyn massacre . Despite such circumstances, the Polish resistance

812-537: The Masurian dialect for their political rallies during the campaigning. The government of Nazi Germany changed the names of several Masurian towns and villages from their original Slavic or Baltic Prussian names to new German names in 1938. During World War II the Nazis persecuted and killed Polish speakers in Masuria and imprisoned Polish teachers as well as children who learned Polish. The Nazis believed that in future,

870-1043: The Modlin Fortress , castles in Czersk , Pułtusk , Ciechanów , Opinogóra , Rawa Mazowiecka , Sochaczew and Liw , as well as churches in Niepokalanów , Góra Kalwaria , Warka , Skierniewice , Czerwińsk , Wyszogród , Zakroczym , Szreńsk , Przasnysz , Ostrołęka , Łomża , Szczuczyn , Wizna , Brok , Zuzela , Rostkowo , and Boguszyce . Interesting folklore is found in the subregion of Kurpie ; another skansen has been established in Sierpc . Successful sports teams in Masovia include association football teams Legia Warsaw , Polonia Warsaw and Wisła Płock , basketball teams Polonia Warsaw , Legia Warsaw and Znicz Pruszków , and handball teams Wisła Płock and KS Warszawianka . The following table lists

928-488: The Prince-Bishopric of Ermland or Warmia . Because of the influx of Masovians into the southern lakeland , the area started to be known as " Masuria " from the 18th century. During the Protestant Reformation , the Masurians, like most inhabitants of Ducal Prussia, became Lutheran Protestant , while the neighboring Masovians remained Roman Catholic . In 1525, the Duchy of Prussia , a Polish fief until 1657,

986-694: The Sanctuary of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko . Warsaw has many magnificent historic buildings and monuments, including those in the Old Town and the New Town, both of which were almost completely demolished during World War II but were meticulously restored and were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1980. Several important edifices has been built at the adjacent street Krakowskie Przedmieście . There are also royal palaces and gardens of Łazienki and Wilanów . The most interesting building from post-war period

1044-505: The Vistula river and its confluence with Narew and Bug . Forests (mainly coniferous) cover one-fifth of the region, with the large Kampinos Forest , Puszcza Biała and Puszcza Zielona . In the north Mazovia borders on the Masurian subregion of former Prussia , in the east on Podlachia , in the south on Lesser Poland and in the west on Greater Poland (subregions of Łęczyca Land , Kujawy and Dobrzyń Land ). The area of Mazovia

1102-485: The 1840s, the folklorist Gustaw Gizewiusz (Gustav Gisevius) collected Masurian folk songs which were later included in Oskar Kolberg 's compilation Dzieła Wszystkie . According to Andrzej Chwalba or Henryk Samsonowicz, Polish national activists and Masurians already were engaged in cooperation in 1848 when Poles from Pomerania supported Masurian attempts to elect their representative Gustaw Gizewiusz who defended

1160-598: The 1870s, Imperial German officials restricted the usage of languages other than German in Prussia's eastern provinces. The German authorities undertook several measures to Germanise the Masurians or to separate them culturally from neighboring Poles by creating a separate identity. After 1871 Masurians who expressed sympathy for Poland were deemed "national traitors" by German nationalists (this increased especially after 1918). According to Wojciech Wrzesinki, Masurians did not receive any assistance or help from Polish movements at

1218-549: The 19th century as "Polish Prussians" or as "Staroprusaki" (Old Prussians). Masurians showed considerable support for the Polish uprising in 1831, and maintained many contacts with Russian-held areas of Poland beyond the border of Prussia, the areas being connected by common culture and language; before the uprising people visited each other's country fairs and much trade took place, with smuggling also widespread. Some early writers about Masurians – like Max Toeppen – postulated them as mediators between German and Slav cultures. During

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1276-770: The Bretons (not to mention the Alsatians) became French." The Masurians evinced strong support for Germany during World War I . In 1920, the League of Nations supervised the East Prussian plebiscite – with British, French and Italian troops stationed in Masuria – to determine the new border between the Second Polish Republic and German East Prussia . The plebiscite was organized by the local German authorities. Polish ethnographer Adam Chętnik stated that

1334-481: The German authorities performed abuses and falsifications during the plebiscite, and Stefan Berger writes that the Masurians were subjected to huge psychological pressure and physical violence by German side to vote for Germany. Kossert admits irregularities during the referendum, but asserts that in general, its results truthfully reflected the overwhelmingly pro-German sentiment in southern East Prussia. In Masuria proper

1392-404: The German language. This ethnically, but not nationally Polish identity was a repeated source of consternation for Polish national activists, and decidedly pro-Polish political parties and press never gained widespread influence among the general populace. Richard Blanke summarised this long-standing attachment, going back to the late Middle Ages, as "Masurians became Prussian, in other words, before

1450-711: The Germans handed over north-eastern Mazovia with Łomża and Zambrów to the Soviet Union in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . Under German occupation , the population was subjected to mass arrests, executions, expulsions and deportations to forced labour , concentration camps and Nazi ghettos , whereas under Soviet occupation the population was subjected to mass arrests, executions, deportation to forced labour in Siberia , Central Asia and

1508-756: The Holocaust . In the winter of 1942–1943, the Germans buried some 300 kidnapped Polish children from another region of occupied Poland in the Łąck forests, after the children froze to death in a freight train . Since 1943, the Sicherheitspolizei also carried out deportations of Poles including teenage boys from Płock and Łomża to the Stutthof concentration camp . Germany operated several prisoner-of-war camps , including Oflag 73, Stalag 319, Stalag 324, Stalag 333 and Stalag 368 with several subcamps, for Polish, Italian , Soviet and Romanian POWs in

1566-426: The Masurians as a separate non-German entity would disappear, while those who would cling to their "foreignness", as one Nazi report mentioned, would be deported. Poles and Jews were considered by Nazis to be "untermenschen", subject to slavery and extermination, and Nazi authorities murdered Polish activists in Masuria. Those who were not killed were arrested and sent to concentration camps. In 1943, "Związek Mazurski"

1624-570: The Prussian state, some of them joined the Pro-Polish faction of Masurians. In general, popular resistance against linguistic Germanisation cannot be easily equated with anti-German sentiment or a strong attachment to the Polish national movement. Most of Masuria's small Polish-speaking intelligentsia remained decisively pro-Prussian, often adhering to an older, multi-ethnic model of Prussian identity, centred on loyalty to their king, not so much on

1682-708: The arguments of German nationalists were simply aimed at gathering as much territory as possible into the German Reich. Mother tongue of the inhabitants of Masuria , by county, during the first half of the 19th century: Before World War I many Masurians emigrated to the Ruhr Area , especially to Gelsenkirchen . Here, Masurians were not distinguished apart from the Poles and both groups were seen as inferior to Germans, culturally or even racially. Despite those official efforts, German scholars usually considered Masurians as

1740-675: The capital of Poland. From 1138, Mazovia was governed by a separate branch of the Piast dynasty and when the last ruler of the independent Duchy of Mazovia died, it was fully incorporated to the Polish Crown in 1526. During the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over 20% of Mazovian population was categorized as petty nobility . Between 1816 and 1844, the Mazovian Governorate was established, which encompassed

1798-687: The centuries, Mazovia developed a separate sub-culture featuring diverse folk songs, architecture, dress and traditions different from those of other Poles . Historical Mazovia existed from the Middle Ages until the partitions of Poland and consisted of three voivodeships with the capitals in Warsaw , Płock and Rawa . The main city of the region was Płock , which was even capital of Poland from 1079 to 1138; however, in Early Modern Times Płock lost its importance to Warsaw, which became

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1856-631: The cities in Mazovia with a population greater than 20,000 (2015): Max Toeppen Max Pollux Toeppen , surname sometimes spelled Töppen (4 April 1822 in Königsberg – 3 December 1893 in Elbing ) was a German historian and educator. He studied classical philology and history at the University of Königsberg , where he received his doctorate (1843) and habilitation (1848). From 1854 he

1914-611: The duchy and converted. Roman Catholic Warmiaks and Masovians were not affected, as they inhabited parts that formally belonged to the Kingdom of Poland . After World War II , many Masurians were classified as Germans and therefore mostly expelled along with them or emigrated after 1956 from what was now Poland to post-war Germany . Although most of them left for the West , some also ended up in East Germany . Conclusion of

1972-518: The economic situation and the undemocratic – communist – system in Poland to the shrinking prospect of a return of Masuria to Germany. Mazur remains the 14th most common surname in Poland , with almost 67,000 people bearing the name. According to ethnographer Adam Chętnik , the Masurians were most closely related to the Kurpie branch of the Poles. A group of Masurians migrated south and became one of

2030-444: The larger Greater Poland Province . The Polish- Lithuanian Union of Lublin (1569) established Mazovia as the central region of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , with Warsaw rising to prominence as the seat of the state legislature ( sejm ). In 1596 King Sigismund III Vasa moved the Polish capital from Kraków to Warsaw . During the 17th and 18th centuries Swedish, Transylvanian, Saxon, and Russian invasions wreaked havoc on

2088-651: The last Polish anti-communist partisans, Stanisław Marchewka  [ pl ] , killed by the communists in Jeziorko in 1957. Particularly large anti-communist protest occurred in the region in 1976 . During and following the Korean War , in 1951–1959, Poland admitted 200 North Korean orphans in Gołotczyzna and Otwock in Mazovia. Those times Warsaw Voivodeship was still roughly similar to historical Mazovia and used to be informally called so, but in 1975 it

2146-616: The main components of the Lasowiacy , who live in the northern part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship . Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( Polish : Mazowsze [maˈzɔfʂɛ] ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland . It spans the North European Plain , roughly between Łódź and Białystok , with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout

2204-579: The mid-19th century, High German was increasingly used among Masurians as opposed to Low German used by most of East Prussia's German population. Many Masurians were often bilingual in German and Polish languages. In the 19th century, the Masuria region of East Prussia was named after the Masurians. Like most of the East Prussian population, they favored Protestantism and adopted Lutheranism in 1525 when Albert, Duke of Prussia secularized

2262-543: The period of the rule of the first Polish monarchs of the Piast dynasty , Płock was one of their seats, and on the Cathedral Hill (Wzgórze Tumskie) they raised palatium . In the period 1037–1047 it was the capital of the independent, Mazovian state of Masław . Between 1079 and 1138 this city was de facto the capital of Poland . Since 1075 it has been the seat of the Diocese of Płock encompassing northern Mazovia;

2320-514: The region. The population of Warsaw decreased sharply as a result of executions, the extermination of the city's Jews, the deaths of some 200,000 inhabitants during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, and the deportation of the city's left-bank population following the uprising. Some 40,000–50,000 Poles were murdered in the Wola massacre alone, one of the largest massacres of Poles. Shortly after

2378-533: The region. In 1793 western Mazovia, and two years later the rest of the region were annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the Second and Third Partitions of Poland, while the south-eastern portion was annexed by Austria . In 1807 it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw . In 1815 the region was incorporated into the Congress Kingdom of Poland , which was dependent on Russia . In the 19th century Mazovia

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2436-452: The rest of southern East Prussia – under Polish administration. Many Masurians who were classified as Germans were expelled with military force. After 1956, many who had remained in Poland emigrated to West Germany . As of 2003, approximately 5,000 Masurians still lived in the area, many of them as members of the German minority . Speculations about the reasons of this emigration vary, from

2494-578: The south formed the archdeaconate of Czersk belonging to Poznań , and the Duchy of Łowicz was part of the Archdiocese of Gniezno (this division remained as long as until the Partitions of Poland ). During the 9th century Mazovia was perhaps inhabited by the tribe of Mazovians , and it was incorporated into the Polish state in the second half of 10th century under the Piast ruler Mieszko I . As

2552-641: The south of the region along with Łęczyca Land and south-eastern Kuyavia . The former inhabitants of Mazovia are the Masurians , who since the Late Middle Ages settled in neighboring southern Prussia , a region later called Masuria , where they converted to Protestantism in the Reformation era, thus leaving Catholicism , to which their relatives from Mazovia still adhered. The borders of contemporary Mazovian Voivodeship (province), which

2610-594: The time. According to Stefan Berger, after 1871 the Masurians in the German Empire were seen in a view that while acknowledging their "objective" Polishness (in terms of culture and language) they felt "subjectively" German and thus should be tightly integrated into the German nation-state; to Berger this argument went directly against the German nationalist demands in Alsace where Alsacians were declared German despite their "subjective" choice. Berger concludes that such

2668-431: The uprising, Adolf Hitler ordered German troops to destroy the city . In 1944–1945, the region was occupied by the Soviet Red Army , and gradually restored to Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which then stayed in power until the Fall of Communism in the 1980s. The rebuilding of the Polish capital was the main task of the postwar period. The Polish resistance remained active, with one of

2726-461: The use of Polish language and traditions. For Piotr Wandycz the events of 1848 led to Polish national awakening in Masuria. By contrast, Andreas Kossert writes that Polish interest in Masuria was inspired by a single poem published in 1872, "O Mazurach" by Wojciech Kętrzyński and that the unsuccessful attempts to create a Polish national spirit in Masuria were financed by Polish Nationalists from Posen (Poznan), Lemberg (Lviv) and Warsaw. Beginning in

2784-403: The vast majority (99.32%) opted to remain in Prussia . Attempts to create schools teaching Polish in interwar Germany were met with terror and violence. The time of the liberal Weimar republic saw a strong trend of conversion from the Polish language to the German language among the Masurians. Support for the Nazi Party was high in Masuria, especially in elections in 1932 and 1933. Nazis used

2842-476: The victorious Battle of Warsaw . During the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland , which started World War II in September 1939, Mazovia was invaded by the German Army, and the Einsatzgruppen IV and V followed to commit various crimes against Poles . The largest massacres were committed in Zambrów , Śladów and Zakroczym , in which over 200, over 300 and around 600 Polish prisoners of war and civilians were murdered, respectively. On 25–29 September,

2900-453: The war and ensuing resettlements saw an ethnic conflict between leaving Masurians and incoming Kurpie mainly on religious (Protestant–Catholic) grounds. In the Middle Ages , the inhabitants of the Duchy of Masovia were called Mazur(z)y in Polish. Between the 14th and 17th centuries, Polish settlers from northern Masovia moved to the southern territories of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (these lands had previously belonged to

2958-516: Was considered underdeveloped in comparison with Greater Poland and Lesser Poland , with the lowest urban population. In the Early Modern Times Mazovia was known for exporting grain, timber, and fur. It was also distinct because there was no reformation here. Mazovia was divided into three voivodeships, each of them divided into lands ( Polish : ziemie , Latin : terrae ), each of them divided into counties ( Polish : powiaty , Latin : districtus ) and all three voivodeships formed part of

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3016-415: Was created in 1999, do not exactly reflect the original size of Mazovia, as they do not include the historically Mazovian cities of Łomża and Łowicz , but include the historically Lesser Polish cities of Radom and Siedlce . Mazovia has a landscape without hills (in contrast to Lesser Poland ) and without lakes (in contrast to Greater Poland ). It is spread over the Mazovian Lowland , on both sides of

3074-419: Was director of the "progymnasium" in Hohenstein , followed by administrative positions at schools in Marienwerder (1869–1882) and Elbing (1882–1893). Known for his scholarly investigations on Prussian history , he was co-editor of Scriptores rerum Prussicarum (1861-1874, 5 volumes), and editor of Acten der Ständetage Preußens unter der Herrschaft des Deutschen Ordens (Acts of Prussian "Ständetage" under

3132-400: Was divided into several little voivodeships. However, in 1999 Mazovian Voivodeship was created as one of 16 administrative regions of Poland . The Mazovian language probably existed as a separate dialect until the 20th century. The ethnonym Mazur has given the name for a phonetic phenomenon known as mazurzenie (although it is common in the Lesser Polish dialect as well). There

3190-428: Was founded from the secularized order's territory and became the first ever officially Protestant state. The small minority of Protestant Masovians in southern Catholic Masovia inside Poland emigrated later to Prussian Masuria. Masuria became part of the Kingdom of Prussia at the Kingdom's founding in 1701, and part of the Prussian-led German Empire at the Empire's founding in 1871. Masurians referred to themselves in

3248-453: Was organized and active in the region. Following the Operation Barbarossa in 1941, Germany also occupied north-eastern Mazovia. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest German-established Jewish ghetto in occupied Europe, and other sizeable ghettos in the region were located in Otwock , Płońsk , Łomża and Płock , with the surviving Jews eventually deported by the occupiers to the Treblinka , Auschwitz and other extermination camps during

3306-455: Was reactivated secretly by Masurian activists of the Polish Underground State in Warsaw and led by Karol Małłek. Związek Mazurski opposed Nazi Germany and asked Polish authorities during the war to liquidate German property after victory over Nazi Germany to help in agricultural reform and settlement of Masurian population, Masurians opposed to Nazi Germany requested to remove German heritage sites "regardless of their cultural value". Additionally

3364-433: Was the site of large Polish uprisings ( November Uprising and January Uprising ) against Russian rule. In that era pre-partition Mazovia was divided among Warsaw , Płock and Augustów (the last one replaced later by Łomża ). Since 1918 Mazovia has been a part of the resurrected Poland, being roughly equivalent to the Warsaw Voivodeship . In 1920, Mazovia was invaded by Soviet Russia , but Poland secured its freedom in

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