This article covers the medieval eastward migrations of Germans. For a general view, see History of German settlement in Eastern EuropeThe presence of German speaking populations in Central and Eastern Europe is rooted in centuries of history, that of the independent German states , and later German Empire but also Austria-Hungary, Poland, and other multi-ethnic countries. In the German language, the German populations in that...
Ostsiedlung, literally "settlement in the east", also called
German eastward expansion, refers to the medieval eastward migration and settlement of
GermansThe German people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent, and speaking the German language as a mother tongue. Within Germany, Germans are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of German ancestry...
from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions of eastern
Central EuropeCentral Europe is the region lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion after the end of the Cold War, which, along with the Iron Curtain, had divided Europe politically into East and West,...
and
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. The affected area roughly stretched from
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
to
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
. In part, Ostsiedlung followed the territorial expansion of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
and the Teutonic Order.
Before and during the time of German settlement, late medieval Central and Eastern European societies underwent deep cultural changes in demography, religion, law and administration, agriculture, settlement numbers and structures. Thus Ostsiedlung is part of a process termed
Ostkolonisation ("east colonization") or
Hochmittelalterlicher Landesausbau ("late medieval land consolidation"), although these terms are sometimes used synonymously.
Central Europe before the onset of Ostsiedlung
After the
migration periodThe Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions or Völkerwanderung , was a period of human migration that occurred roughly between the years 300 to 700 CE in Europe, marking the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
, Central Europe had undergone dramatic changes. The
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
had lost its dominant position. The
FranksThe Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul...
had created an empire that, besides former Roman
GalliaGallia may refer to:*Gaul , the region of Western Europe occupied by present-day France, Belgium and other neighbouring countries...
, had united the former West Germanic tribes and adopted
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
. East Francia, an early predecessor of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, aimed to be the successor to the
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
Western Roman EmpireThe Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
, and developed into the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
. In
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
, the former North Germanic tribes entered the
Viking AgeViking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the eighth to eleventh centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
, affecting the whole of Europe through trade and raids. Some former East Germanic tribes had entered and merged into Rome, their own culture ceasing to exist. At the same time Slav cultures arose and became dominant in Eastern Europe and large parts of Central Europe.
Eastern Marches of the Frankish and Holy Roman Empires
The Slavs living within the reach of the
Frankish EmpireFrancia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
(later the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
) were termed
WendsThe term Wends or Wendish is used in Germanic languages for Slavs living near or within Germanic settlement areas after the migration period...
. They seldom formed larger political entities, but rather constituted various small tribes, dwelling as far west as to a line from the Eastern
AlpsThe Alps are one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
and
BohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic...
to the
SaaleThe Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...
and
ElbeThe River Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It originates in the Krkonose Mountains of northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
rivers. As the Frankish Empire expanded, various Wendish tribes were conquered or allied with the Franks, such as the Obodrites, who aided the Franks in defeating the West Germanic
SaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Old Germanic tribes. Their modern-day descendants in Lower Saxony and Westphalia and other German states are considered ethnic Germans ; those in the eastern Netherlands are considered to be ethnic Dutch; those in north...
. The conquered Wendish areas were organized by the Franks into
marchesMark and march refer to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales.In contrast to a buffer zone, a march could be dominated by a single given country, and rather than being demilitarized, it could be strongly fortified for defence...
, which were administered by an entrusted noble who collected the tribute, reinforced by military units. The establishing of marches was also accompanied by
missionaryA missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith;...
efforts.
Marches set up by
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe...
in the territory where the Ostsiedlung would take place included, from north to south:
- The Danish march (sometimes regarded as just a series of forts rather than a march) between the Eider
The Eider is the longest river of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the southwestern outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Baltic Sea, but flows to the west, ending in the North Sea...
and SchleiThe Schlei is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It stretches for approximately 20 miles from the Baltic near Kappeln and Arnis to the city of Schleswig. Along the Schlei are many small bays and swamps...
rivers, against the Danes;
- the Saxon or Nordalbingen march between the Eider
The Eider is the longest river of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the southwestern outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Baltic Sea, but flows to the west, ending in the North Sea...
and ElbeThe River Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It originates in the Krkonose Mountains of northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
rivers in modern HolsteinHolstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
, against the ObotritesThe Obotrites , also commonly known as the Obodrites, Abotrites, or Abodrites, were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany . For decades they were allies of Charlemagne in his wars against Germanic Saxons and Slavic...
;
- the Thuringian or Sorbian march
The Sorb March was a frontier district on the eastern border of East Francia in the 9th through 11th centuries. It was composed of several counties bordering the Sorbs. The Sorbian march seems to have comprised the eastern part of Thuringia.The Sorbian march was sometimes referred to as the...
on the SaaleThe Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...
river, against the SorbsSorbs also known as Wends, Lusatian Sorbs or Lusatian Serbs, are a Slavic people settled in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland.Sorbs are divided into two groups:...
dwelling behind the limesA limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire....
sorabicus;
- the Franconian march in modern Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk (administrative [Regierungs] region [bezirk]) of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the...
, against the Czechs;
- the Avar march
The Avar March was a frontier district established by Charlemagne against Avaria in the southeast of the Carolingian Empire.In the late 8th century, Charlemagne destroyed the Avar fortress called the Ring of the Avars and made the people tributary to him...
between EnnsEnns may refer to:* Enns , Upper Austria, Austria* Enns , a surname* Enns , a southern tributary of the Danube River...
river and WienerwaldThe Vienna Woods is a low, wooded section of the Alps in eastern Lower Austria and Vienna. The area covers over 1,000 square kilometres and includes the northernmost parts of the entire Alpine chain.-Location:...
(the later marcha Orientalis), against the AvarsThe Eurasian Avars, sometimes referred to as the European Avars, or Ancient Avars, were a highly organized and powerful confederation of a mixed ethnic background, thought to be closely related to the Mongols, Bulgars, Khazars and other Oghur Turkic peoples of the time...
;
- the Pannonian march
The March of Pannonia was a frontier march of the Carolingian Empire erected in the mid-ninth century against the threat of Great Moravia and lasting only as long as the strength of that state....
east of ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
(divided into Upper and Lower);
- the Carantanian march;
- the Friaul march
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, leaving Trieste out...
.
In most cases, the tribes of the marches were not stable allies of the empire. Frankish kings initiated numerous, yet not always successful, military campaigns to maintain their authority.
Later kings and emperors such as Otto the Great restructured and expanded the marches, creating (from north to south):
- the March of the Billungs on the Baltic coast
The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
, stretching approximately from Stettin (Szczecin) to SchleswigSchleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark...
;
- Marca Geronis
The Marca Geronis was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was created probably for Thietmar and passed to his two sons consecutively: Siegfried and Gero...
(march of Gero), a precursor of the Saxon Eastern MarchThe Saxon Eastern March or Ostmark was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century. The term "eastern march" or "ostmark" comes from the Latin term marchia Orientalis and originally could refer to either a march created on the eastern frontier of the Duchy of Saxony or...
, later divided into smaller marches (the Northern MarchThe Northern March or North March was created out of the division of the vast Marca Geronis in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the Marca and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the Wends...
, which later was re-established as Margraviate of BrandenburgThe Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
; the Lusatian March and the Meißen MarchThe March or Margraviate of Meissen was a mediæval principality, a march, of the Holy Roman Empire in the area of the modern German state of Saxony.The March of Meissen was sometimes called the Thuringian March or March of Thuringia...
in modern Free state of SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a federal state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states.Long in the heart of German-speaking Europe, Saxony became one of the new...
; the Zeitz March; the Merseburg March; the Milzener MarchThe Milceni or Milzeni were a West Slavic tribe in Upper Lusatia. They were first mentioned in the middle of the 9th century AD by the Bavarian Geographer, who wrote of 30 civitates which possibly had fortifications. They were gradually conquered by Germans during the 10th century...
around BautzenBautzen ; is a city in eastern Saxony, Germany, and administrative center of the eponymous district. It is located on the Spree River. As of 2005, its population is 42,189...
);
- March of Austria
The March or Margraviate of Austria was created in 976 out of the territory that probably formed the earlier March of Pannonia. It is also called the Bavarian Eastern March, or Ostmark in German, or marcha Orientalis in Latin....
(marcha Orientalis, the "Eastern March" or "Bavarian Eastern March" in modern lower AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
);
- the Carantania march or March of Styria
The March of Styria was originally broken off the Duchy of Carinthia before 970 as a buffer zone against the Magyars. Originally it was known as the March of Carinthia , because it was the first border territory guarding the Duchy of Carinthia, but in time it evolved to be called Styria.The march...
;
- the Drau March (Marburg
Marburg is a city in Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Its population is 78,701, and its geographical position is .- Founding and early history :...
and Pettau);
- the Sann March (Cilli);
- the Krain or Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is nowadays Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918...
march, also Windic marchThe Windic march or marca Vindica was a province of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages, corresponding more or less to modern Lower Carniola in Slovenia. In Medieval German language, the term "Windisch" was a common name for some Slavic peoples The Windic march or marca Vindica was a...
and White CarniolaWhite Carniola is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia and is the most southern part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola. Its major towns are Metlika, Črnomelj, and Semič, and the principal river is the Kolpa, which also forms part of the...
(White March), in modern SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
.
Under the rule of King
Louis the GermanLouis the German , was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.Louis II was made the King of Bavaria from 817 following the Emperor Charlemagne's practice of...
of East Francia and of
Arnulf of CarinthiaArnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887 and Holy Roman Emperor from 896 until his death.-Biography:...
, the first waves of settlement were led by
FranksThe Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul...
and
BavariiThe Bavarii were a large and powerful tribe which emerged late in Teutonic tribal times, in what is now the Czech Republic . They replaced, or perhaps are simply another phase of, the previous inhabitants - the Rugians. They swiftly expanded their influence southward, and occupied Austria and the...
, and reached the area of present-day
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
and what was then
PannoniaPannonia is an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
(present-day
BurgenlandBurgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities...
,
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
, and
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
). The pioneers were Roman Catholics.
Although the first settlements led by the Franks and Bavarii followed the conquest of the Sorbians and other
WendsThe term Wends or Wendish is used in Germanic languages for Slavs living near or within Germanic settlement areas after the migration period...
in the early 10th century, and other campaigns by
Holy Roman EmperorThe Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a Middle Ages ruler, who as German King had in addition received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope of the Holy Roman Church, and after the 16th century, the elected monarch governing the Holy Roman Empire, a Central...
s made migration possible, the beginning of a continuous
Ostsiedlung is usually dated to around the 12th century.
Slavic uprising of 983
In 983, the
Polabian SlavsPolabian Slavs is a collective term applied to a number of West Slavic tribes who lived along the Elbe, between the Baltic Sea to the north, the Saale and Limes Saxonicus to the west, the Sudetes and Franconia to the south, and Poland to the east. They have also been known as the Elbe Slavs and as...
in the March of the Billungs and the
Northern MarchThe Northern March or North March was created out of the division of the vast Marca Geronis in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the Marca and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the Wends...
stretching from the
ElbeThe River Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It originates in the Krkonose Mountains of northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
River to the
BalticThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
shore succeeded in a rebellion against the political rule and Christian mission of the Empire. In spite of their new-won independence, the Obodrite,
RaniThe Rani or Rujani were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany....
,
LiutizianThe Veleti or Wilzi were a group of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern northeastern Germany; see Polabian Slavs. In common with other Slavic groups between the Elbe and Oder Rivers, they were often described by Germanic sources as Wends...
and Hevelli tribes were soon faced with internal struggles and warfare as well as raids from the newly-constituted and expanding Piast (early
PolishPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) state from the East,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
from the North and the Empire from the West, eager to re-establish her marches.
Acquisition of Mecklenburg, Pomerania and Brandenburg
Weakened by ongoing internal conflicts and constant warfare, the independent Wendish territories finally lost the capacity to provide effective military resistance. From 1119 to 1123,
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
invaded and subdued the northeastern parts of the Liutizian lands. In 1124 and 1128, the Pomeranian duke
Wartislaw IWartislaw I was the first historical ruler of the Duchy of Pomerania and the founder of the Griffin dynasty.His date of birth is estimated to have been 1100. Between 1120 and 1123 Wartislaw was subdued by Bolesław III Wrymouth, the Duke of Poland, to whom he became a vassal...
, at that time a vassal of Poland, invited bishop Otto von Bamberg to Christianize the Pomeranians and Liutizians of his duchy. In 1147, as a campaign of the Northern Crusade, the
Wendish CrusadeThe Wendish Crusade was an 1147 campaign, one of the Northern Crusades and also a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany inside the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs ....
was mounted in the
Duchy of SaxonyThe mediæval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
to retake the marches lost in 983. The crusaders also headed for Pomeranian
DemminDemmin is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is the capital of the district Demmin.- Middle Ages :Demmin was a stronghold of the West Slav Circipanes during the Middle Ages. Due to its strategical importance, burghs were erected at the Vorwerk and Haus Demmin sites, named Dimin...
and Stettin, despite these areas having already been Christianized successfully.
After the Wendish crusade,
Albert the BearAlbert the Bear was the first Margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly Duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.- Life :...
was able to establish the
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
march on approximately the territory of former Northern March, which since 983 had been controlled by the Hevelli and Liutizian tribes, and to expand it. The
HavelbergHavelberg is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875...
bishopric was set up again to Christianize the Wends.
In 1164, after Saxon duke
Henry the LionHenry the Lion was a member of the Guelph dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
finally defeated rebellious Obodrite and Pomeranian dukes in the
Battle of VerchenThe Battle of Verchen was a battle between Saxons and West Slavic Obotrites on 6 July 1164.The Obotrites were attacked by Saxons and Danes in 1160, resulting in the death of the Obotrite prince, Niklot, and the partition of the Obotrite lands...
, the
Pomeranian duchies of Demmin and Stettin- 10th and 11th century - Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes :* 1046 mention of Zemuzil * 1113 Gallus Anonymus mentions several dukes of Pomerania: Swantibor, Gniewomir, and an unnamed duke besieged in Kołobrzeg .-Duchy of Pomerania:*1121-1135 Wartislaw I*1135-1155 Ratibor I, ancestor of the...
became Saxon fiefs, as did the Obodrite territory, which became known as
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
after its main
burghA Burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United Kingdom...
. After Henry the Lion lost an internal struggle with Emperor
BarbarossaBarbarossa may refer to:In history:*Emperor Barbarossa or Frederick I , Holy Roman Emperor**Barbarossa city, the nickname for five cities in Germany*Barbarossa I or Oruç Reis , an Ottoman-Turkish privateer and Bey of Algiers...
, Mecklenburg and Pomerania became part of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
in 1181.
Terra Mariana
Terra Mariana (Land of St. Mary) was the official name for
Medieval LivoniaLivonia was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
or
Old Livonia which was formed in the aftermath of the
Livonian CrusadeThe Livonian Crusade refers to the German and Danish conquest and colonization of medieval Livonia, the territory constituting modern Latvia and Estonia, during the Northern Crusades...
in the territories comprising present day
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
and
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
. It was established on February 2, 1207 as a principality of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
and proclaimed by Pope Innocent III in 1215 as a subject to the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
.
Medieval Livonia was intermittently ruled first by the Swordbrothers, since 1237 by the semi-autonomous branch of
Teutonic knightsThe Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem , or for short the Teutonic Order , is a German Roman Catholic religious order. It was formed to aid Catholics on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals to care for the sick and injured...
called
Livonian OrderThe Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561. After being defeated by Samogitians in the 1236 Battle of Schaulen , the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic...
and the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
. The nominal head of Terra Mariana as well as the city of Riga was the
Archbishop of RigaThe Archbishopric of Riga was an archbishopric in Medieval Livonia, a subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 as bishopric of Livonia, called Bishopric of Riga in 1202 and elevated to an Archbishopric in 1255.- Archbishops of Riga :...
as the apex of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
In 1561, during the
Livonian warThe Livonian War of 1558–1583 was a lengthy series of wars between the Tsardom of Russia and a variable coalition of Denmark–Norway, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Kingdom of Poland , and Sweden for control of medieval Livonia, the territory of the present-day Estonia and Latvia.By the late 1550s,...
, Terra Mariana ceased to exist. Its northern parts were ceded to
SwedenSweden was, between 1611 and 1718, one of the great powers of Europe. In modern historiography this period is known as the Swedish Empire, or stormaktstiden .-Sweden's emergence into a great power:...
and formed into the
Duchy of EstoniaThe Duchy of Estonia , also known as Swedish Estonia, was a dominion of Swedish Empire from 1561 until 1721, when it was ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad, following the outcome in the Great Northern War. The dominion arose when the northern parts of present-day Estonia were united under...
, its southern territories became part of the
Grand Duchy of LithuaniaThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until 1795. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the pagan Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija...
— and thus eventually of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as the
Duchy of LivoniaThe Duchy of Livonia was a territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania — and later the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth — that existed from 1561 to 1621....
and
Duchy of Courland and SemigalliaThe Duchy of Courland and Semigallia is the name of a duchy in the Baltic region that existed from 1562 to 1791 as a vassal state of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
. The island of
SaaremaaSaaremaa is the largest island belonging to Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
became part of
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
.
State of the Teutonic Order
From 997, the newly established Piast state in Poland had made attempts to conquer the lands of her northeastern neighbours, the Baltic
Old PrussiansThe Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
and
YotvingiansYotvingians or Sudovians were a Baltic people with close cultural ties to the Lithuanians and Prussians...
. In the early 13th century Konrad of Masovia and
Daniel of HalychDaniel of Galicia or Danylo Romanovych , King of Galicia , Peremyshl , and Volodymyr...
allied with the Teutonic Order, who during the Northern Crusades conquered and Christianized the Balts, with heavy losses on both sides. In return the region of
PrussiaPrussia is a historical region in Central Europe extending from the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea to the Masurian Lake District. It is now divided between Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. The former German state of Prussia derived its name from the region.-Prehistory:Parts of the Baltic...
(
Altpreussenland) was granted to the knights, who set up a
monastic stateThe State of the Teutonic Order, , also Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights or Ordensstaat , was formed during the Teutonic Knights' conquest of the pagan West-Baltic Old Prussians in the 13th century in 1224 during the Northern Crusades.The Livonian Brothers of the Sword controlling Livonia...
there in 1224. With the merger of
Livonian Brothers of the SwordBishop Albert of Riga founded the military order of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1202; Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204. The membership of the order comprised German "warrior monks"...
in 1237 the Livonian territories were incorporated with the Teutonic Order. In 1308, with the takeover of Danzig (Gdańsk), this state expanded into
PomereliaPomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia was situated in eastern Pomerania on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...
. In 1346, the Duchy of Estonia was sold by king of Denmark to the Teutonic Order.
Ostsiedlung
Though settlement had to a lower degree occurred in the Frankish marches already, massive settlement did not start until the 12th century (e.g. in East
HolsteinHolstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
, West
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
, Central and Southeastern marches), and in the early 13th century (e.g. in
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
,
RügenThe Rani or Rujani were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany....
), following the reassertion of
SaxonThe Saxons were a confederation of Old Germanic tribes. Their modern-day descendants in Lower Saxony and Westphalia and other German states are considered ethnic Germans ; those in the eastern Netherlands are considered to be ethnic Dutch; those in north...
authority over
WendishThe term Wends or Wendish is used in Germanic languages for Slavs living near or within Germanic settlement areas after the migration period...
areas (the
HolsteinHolstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
area by
Holstein CountThe Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein were titles of the Holy Roman Empire. The dynastic family came from Schauenburg near Rinteln on the Weser in Germany...
Adolf IIAdolf II was the Count of Schauenburg and Holstein from 1130 until his death, though he was briefly out of Holstein from 1137 until 1142. He succeeded his father Adolf I under the regency of his mother, Hildewa....
,
BrandenburgThe Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
by
Albert the BearAlbert the Bear was the first Margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly Duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.- Life :...
,
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
and
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
by
Henry the LionHenry the Lion was a member of the Guelph dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
) in the 1150s). The activities of the Teutonic Order accelerated settlement along the Baltic coast.
During the Ostsiedlung, Germans settled east of the
ElbeThe River Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It originates in the Krkonose Mountains of northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
and
SaaleThe Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...
rivers, regions largely inhabited by
Polabian SlavsPolabian Slavs is a collective term applied to a number of West Slavic tribes who lived along the Elbe, between the Baltic Sea to the north, the Saale and Limes Saxonicus to the west, the Sudetes and Franconia to the south, and Poland to the east. They have also been known as the Elbe Slavs and as...
. Likewise, in Styria and
CarinthiaThe Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 976 until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, and a crownland of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution in 1918...
, German communities took form in areas inhabited by Slovenes.
The emigration of inhabitants of the
ValaisThe Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
valley in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
to areas that had been settled before by the
RomansAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
had to some extent the same preconditions as the colonisation of the East.
Rural development
Medieval West European agriculture saw some advances that were carried eastward in the course of the Ostsiedlung. Most notably, Germans had advanced in
crop rotationCrop rotation or Crop sequencing is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons for various benefits such as to avoid the build up of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped...
, agricultural devices such as the mouldboard plough, and land amelioration techniques such as
drainageDrainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...
and dike or
leveeA levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial slope or wall to regulate water levels...
construction. These techniques, along with the sheer numbers of settlers, eventually changed the geography of the settled territories.
Wendish tribes preferred to settle in pockets, usually centered around a river, that were surrounded by vast unsettled woodlands and swamps separating one tribe from another. In the Ostsiedlung process, swamps were drained and most of the forests were cleared for agricultural uses. (Centuries later,
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
would drain most of the remaining swamps and settle them with colonists in a process much akin to the medieval Ostsiedlung; Prussia also would initiate some reforestation, as the Ostsiedlung clearances led to a later shortage of timber.)
Areas already used for agriculture by the Wends came to be more densely populated with settlers, and new agricultural devices and techniques were applied.
Germans also introduced the
Hufenverfassung system to divide and classify land. Farmland was divided into
Hufen, much like English
hidesThe hide was a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax, in Anglo-Saxon England from the 7th to the 11th centuries. It continued in use for some time after the Norman Conquest of England, notably in the Domesday Survey: the hide was not a fixed area of land.-Development as a...
, with one
Hufe (25 to 40
hectareA hectare is a unit of area equal to , or one square hectometre , and commonly used for measuring land area....
s depending on the region) plentifully supplying one farm. This led to new types of villages, one having the farm buildings to both sides of a single long main road with their
Hufen behind, although Wendish village types were adopted and adjusted too.
Germans also introduced new systems of taxation. While the Wendish
titheA tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a religious organization. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes could be paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
was a fixed tax depending on village size, the German
titheA tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a religious organization. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes could be paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
depended on the actual crop, leading to higher taxes being collected from settlers than from the Wends, even though settlers were at least in part exempted from taxes in the first years after the settlement was established. This was a major reason for local rulers' keenness to invite settlers.
Urban development
In the Slavic areas, town-like settlements already existed before the Ostsiedlung, as craftsmen and merchants formed
suburbSuburbs are defined in various different ways around the world. They can be the residential areas of a large city, or separate residential communities within commuting distance of a city. Some suburbs have a degree of political autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city...
s of fortified strongholds (
burg(h)sA Burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United Kingdom...
,
castra) or the Wendish-Scandinavian merchants' settlements of the Baltic coast.
Usually, a Slavic market place would be an open range with few or no permanently inhabited buildings and, after Christianization, a church. These market fields (
ring,
rynek) were in close proximity, but not within villages or fortified strongholds. The local princes held trade monopolies; the trade itself was carried out by foreign merchants (mostly Germans and Jews, but also Italians and others), who would arrive at the market with their wagons and pay the prince owning the market a fee. This system was borrowed from 10th century East Francia and persisted in the Slavic regions until the Ostsiedlung, while in the West it had already transformed into a system of towns (permanently settled market places with residential merchant guilds and an economy of their own), where the monopolies of certain trades had been handed over to the guilds in return for a tax paid to the prince.
When this type of towns was introduced in the East during the Ostsiedlung, they were established preferably on the site of former market
rings. The new towns were first termed "
schroda" or "
sroda". Local rulers (princes as well as monasteries) granted land and privileges to increase the density of towns in their realms, as these were thought to accelerate economic growth and prosperity and to function as strongholds. During the establishment of a town, the income of the ruler was ensured by selling monopolies to the merchants. Once the town was established and began to flourish, the ruler derived income from taxes.
The privileges granted to the towns were copied, sometimes with minor changes, from the
town lawGerman town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
charters of
LübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage is on UNESCO's list of World...
(Baltic coast),
MagdeburgMagdeburg , the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, is situated at the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe. Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, lived during most of his reign in the town and was buried in the cathedral after his death...
(central areas, Poland) and
NurembergNuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city. It is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich, at 49.27° N 11.5° E. The population is...
. Nearly all towns of the old Ostsiedlung area date back to this era (11th to 13th centuries), and celebrate anniversaries according to the year the town law was granted.
Soon after town law was granted and the town area settled, many towns came to care for their own interests much more than for those of the local ruler, and gained partial or full economic and military independence. Many of them joined the
Hanseatic LeagueThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
.
The settlers
Although the vast majority of the settlers are considered to be "German", this term must be taken in its medieval meaning, as today great numbers of the settlers would not be considered to be "German" anymore; most notably
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
n,
DutchThe Dutch people are the dominant ethnic group of the Netherlands.Dutch people, or descendants of Dutch people, are also found in migrant communities world wide, notably in Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and the United States....
and
FlemishFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
. To a lesser extent, the settlers were of even another origin, e.g.
DanesDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
,
ScotsThe Scots people and an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.An ethnic group, historically they emerged from an amalgamation of Picts, Gaels and Brythons....
or local
WendsThe term Wends or Wendish is used in Germanic languages for Slavs living near or within Germanic settlement areas after the migration period...
.
The settlers migrated in lines following nearly straight West to East directions, therefore the Southeast had been settled by South Germans (Bavarians, Swabians), the Northeast had been settled by
Flemish peopleThe Flemish people , the Flemings or the Flemish are the over six million people of Flanders, the northern region of the country Belgium — and the majority of all Belgians....
,
Dutch peopleThe Dutch people are the dominant ethnic group of the Netherlands.Dutch people, or descendants of Dutch people, are also found in migrant communities world wide, notably in Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and the United States....
and
SaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Old Germanic tribes. Their modern-day descendants in Lower Saxony and Westphalia and other German states are considered ethnic Germans ; those in the eastern Netherlands are considered to be ethnic Dutch; those in north...
, while in central regions
FranksThe Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul...
moved in also. As a result, the different
German dialect groupsGerman dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German with the Dutch language.-German dialects vis-à-vis varieties of standard German:...
expanded eastward along with their bearers, the "new" Eastern forms only slightly differing from their Western counterparts.
Settlers were invited by local secular rulers, such as dukes, counts, margraves, princes and, only in a few cases due to the weakening central power, the king. Also, settlers were invited by religious institutions such as monasteries and bishops, who had become mighty land-owners in the course of Christian mission. Often, a local secular ruler would grant vast woodlands and wilderness and a few villages to an order like the Cistercian monks, who would erect an abbey, call in settlers and cultivate the land.
The settlers were granted estates and privileges. Settlement was usually organised by a so-called
Lokator (
lessorLessor is the name of two places in the United States:*Lessor, Wisconsin*Lessor Township, Minnesota...
), who was granted an outstanding position such as the inheritable position of the village elder (
Schulte or
Schulze). Towns were founded and granted
German town lawGerman town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
. The agricultural, legal, administrative, and technical methods of the immigrants, as well as their successful proselytising of the native inhabitants, led to a gradual transformation of the settlement areas, as former linguistically and culturally Slavic areas became Germanised.
Beside the marches which were adjacent to the Empire, German settlement occurred in areas farther away, such as the
CarpathiansThe Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the largest mountain range in Europe...
,
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, and along the
Gulf of Riga300px|thumb|The Gulf of RigaThe Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia.The area of the Gulf of Riga is about 18,000 km². The maximum depth is 67 m....
. German cultural and linguistic influence lasted in some of these areas right up to the present day. The rulers of
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
,
BohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic...
,
SilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany....
,
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
,
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
, and
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
encouraged German settlement to promote the development of the less populated portions of the land, and promote the motivated populations who wished to till it. The
Transylvanian SaxonsThe Transylvanian Saxons are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania from the 12th century onwards.The colonization of Transylvania by Germans was begun by King Géza II of Hungary . For decades, the main task of the German settlers was to defend the southeastern border of the...
and
Baltic GermanThe Baltic Germans were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today form the countries of Estonia and Latvia. The Baltic German population had never made up more than 10% of the total. They formed the social, commercial, political and cultural elite in...
s were corporately combined and privileged.
In the middle of the 14th century, the settling progress slowed as a result of the
Black DeathThe Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but this view has recently been challenged...
; in addition, the most arable and promising regions were largely occupied. Local Slavic leaders in late Medieval
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
and
SilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany....
continued inviting German settlers to their territories. As late as the 18th century, well after the Thirty Years War had reduced Germany's population by a third,
some GermansThe Volga Germans were ethnic Germans living along the River Volga in the region of southern European Russia around Saratov and to the south. They maintained German culture, language, traditions and churches: Lutherans, Reformed, Roman Catholics, and Mennonites...
followed invitations to settle as far away as the
Volga RiverThe Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through western Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including its capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage basin...
.
Assimilation
Colonization was the pretext to assimilation processes, that went on for centuries. Assimilation occurred both ways - depending on the region, either the Germans, or the local pre-German population was assimilated.
Assimilation of Germans
The
Polonization Polonization is the acquisition or imposition of elements of Polish culture, in particular, Polish language, as experienced in some historic periods by non-Polish populations of territories controlled or substantially influenced by Poland.-Piast Poland:...
process of Germans who since the 13th century settled
PolishPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
towns like
KrakówKraków , in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow and pronounced
, is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland and a popular tourist destination. Its historic centre was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites as the first of its kind...
(
Krakau, Cracow) and
PosenPosen may refer to:Places in Europe:* Poznań, Poland * Grand Duchy of Posen, autonomous province of Prussia, 1815–1848* Province of Posen, Prussian province, 1848–1918...
(
Poznań) lasted about two centuries. The
SorbsSorbs also known as Wends, Lusatian Sorbs or Lusatian Serbs, are a Slavic people settled in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland.Sorbs are divided into two groups:...
over time assimilated German settlers, yet other Sorbs were themselves assimilated by the surrounding German population. Many
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an towns were multi-ethnic
melting potThe melting pot is an analogy for the way in which heterogeneous societies become more homogeneous, in which the ingredients in the pot are combined so as to develop a multi-ethnic society...
s.
Assimilation, treatment, involvement and traces of the Wends
Although in many areas Slavic population density was not very high compared to the
EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
and had even further declined by the extensive warfare during the 10th to 12th centuries, some of the settled areas were still to a varying degree populated with Wends.
There are also documented cases, where the Wends were driven out in order to rebuild the village with settlers. In this case, the new village would nevertheless keep its former Slavic name. As an example, in the case of the village
Böbelin in Mecklenburg it is documented, that driven-out Wendish inhabitants repeatedly invaded their former village hindering a resettlement.
Yet, discrimination of the Wends should not be mistaken for being part of a general concept of the Ostsiedlung. Rather, local Wends were subject to a different taxation level and thus not as profitable as new settlers. Wends also participated in the development of the area aside with German settlers, for new settlers were not attracted due to their ethnicity, a concept unknown in the Middle Ages, but due to their manpower and agricultural and technical know-how. Even though the majority of the settlers were Germans (
FranksThe Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul...
and Bavarians in the South,
SaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Old Germanic tribes. Their modern-day descendants in Lower Saxony and Westphalia and other German states are considered ethnic Germans ; those in the eastern Netherlands are considered to be ethnic Dutch; those in north...
and Flemings in the North), Wends and others also participated in the settlement.
Over time, most of the Wends were gradually Germanized. However, in isolated rural areas where Wends formed a substantial part of the population, they continued to use Slavic tongues and kept elements of local Wendish culture despite a strong German influx. Those were the
Drawehnopolaben of the Lüneburger Heide, the Slovincians and Kashubs of Eastern
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
and the
SorbsSorbs also known as Wends, Lusatian Sorbs or Lusatian Serbs, are a Slavic people settled in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland.Sorbs are divided into two groups:...
of
LusatiaLusatia is a historical region between the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers and the Elbe river in the eastern German states of Saxony and Brandenburg and south-western Poland ....
, the Kashubs and Sorbs even until today.
Placenames
Where Germans settled and expanded an already existing Slavic settlement, they either kept the Slavic name, translated it, renamed it or assigned a mixed German-Slavic name. In most cases, the Slavic name was kept. Sometimes, the Wends continued to live in a distinct small portion of the village, the
Kiez. Where Germans founded a village in the vicinity of an existing Slavic settlement, which decayed afterwards, the new settlement was named after the nearby Slavic one, seldom a new name was assigned. If the Slavic settlement in the vicinity of the new German one did not decay, the German and Slavic settlement were distinguished by the attributes "
Deutsch-" for the German and "
Wendisch-" for the Slavic one, or
Klein- ("little") for the old and
Groß- ("large") for the new one. If the German settlement was founded with no Slavic settlement in the vicinity ("
aus wilder Wurzel", literally "wild rooted"), the name could either be German, the Slavic toponym for the area, or mixed. Slavic-languague-rooted German placenames are not per se an indicator of preceding Slavic settlements. In some cases, as was shown for some
SudetenlandSudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia associated with Bohemia.The name is derived from the...
villages, a German and a Slavic placename describing the same settlement co-existed for several centuries.
Where German names were introduced, they usually ended with
-dorf,
-hagen in the North or
-rode and
-hain in the South. Often, the
Lokator 's name or the region where the settlers originated was made part of the name, too.
Because former Slavic site names were used to name newly established or expanded settlements, a lot (in many areas even the majority) of towns and villages in modern East Germany and the "Former eastern territories of Germany" carry names with Slavic roots. Most obvious are names ending with
-ow, -
vitz or
-witz and in many cases
-in, including
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
itself. In case of the former eastern territories of Germany, these names were Polonized or replaced by new Polish or Russian names after 1945.
Because in Germany surnames came up only after Ostsiedlung was launched, and many surnames derive from the home village or home town of an ancestor, many
German surnamesGerman family names were introduced during the late Middle Ages in the German language area. Usually, such family names are derived from nicknames. In etymology, they are generally classified into four groups, based on the origin of a nickname: given names, job designations, bodily attributes, and...
are in fact Germanized Wendish placenames.
Nordalbingen
The Nordalbingen March, occupying the territory between
HedebyHedeby , mentioned by Alfred the Great as aet Haethe , in German Haddeby and Haithabu, a modern spelling of the runic Heiðabý was an important trading settlement in the Danish-northern German borderland during the Viking Age...
and the
DanishDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
fortress of
DannevirkeThe Danevirke is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein . This important linear defensive earthwork was constructed across the neck of the Cimbrian peninsula during Denmark's Viking Age...
in the north and the
Eider RiverThe Eider is the longest river of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the southwestern outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Baltic Sea, but flows to the west, ending in the North Sea...
in the south, was part of the Empire during the reign of
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe...
. The border was later fixed at the Eider River.
Saxon Eastern MarchThe Saxon Eastern March or Ostmark was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century. The term "eastern march" or "ostmark" comes from the Latin term marchia Orientalis and originally could refer to either a march created on the eastern frontier of the Duchy of Saxony or...
While the Franks had already established a
Sorbian MarchThe Sorb March was a frontier district on the eastern border of East Francia in the 9th through 11th centuries. It was composed of several counties bordering the Sorbs. The Sorbian march seems to have comprised the eastern part of Thuringia.The Sorbian march was sometimes referred to as the...
east of the
SaaleThe Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...
river in the 9th century, king Otto I designated a much vaster area the Saxon Eastern March in 937, comprising roughly the territory between the
ElbeThe River Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It originates in the Krkonose Mountains of northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
,
OderThe Oder is a river in Central Europe. It begins in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
and
PeeneThe Peene is a river in Germany. The Westpeene, Kleine Peene and Ostpeene flow into the Kummerower See, and from there as Peene proper to Anklam and into the Oder Lagoon....
rivers. Ruled by margrave Gero I, it is also referred to as
Marca GeronisThe Marca Geronis was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was created probably for Thietmar and passed to his two sons consecutively: Siegfried and Gero...
. Ater Gero's death in 965, the march was divided in smaller districts:
Northern MarchThe Northern March or North March was created out of the division of the vast Marca Geronis in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the Marca and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the Wends...
, Lusatian March, Meißen March, and Zeitz March.
The march was settled by various
West SlavicWest Slavic can refer to:* West Slavic languages* West Slavic peoples...
tribes, the most important being
Polabian SlavsPolabian Slavs is a collective term applied to a number of West Slavic tribes who lived along the Elbe, between the Baltic Sea to the north, the Saale and Limes Saxonicus to the west, the Sudetes and Franconia to the south, and Poland to the east. They have also been known as the Elbe Slavs and as...
tribes in the north and
SorbianSorbian may refer to more than one article:*the Sorbs, a Slavic people in modern day Germany*the Sorbian language, a group of closely related West Slavic languages...
tribes in the south.
March of the Billungs and the Northern March
The March of the
BillungThe House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries.The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811...
s was constituted simultaneously with the Saxon Eastern March by king Otto I in 936. It covered the areas south of the
Baltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
not included in the Eastern March and was put under the rule of Hermann Billung.
The area was inhabited by Obodrites in the West,
RaniThe Rani or Rujani were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany....
in the Northeast and
Polabian SlavsPolabian Slavs is a collective term applied to a number of West Slavic tribes who lived along the Elbe, between the Baltic Sea to the north, the Saale and Limes Saxonicus to the west, the Sudetes and Franconia to the south, and Poland to the east. They have also been known as the Elbe Slavs and as...
tribes in the South east.
Due to the great Slavic uprising in 983, both the Billung March and the Northern March were lost for the Empire except for a small area in the West. No substantial Saxon settlement had taken place in the short existence of these marches.
Various efforts were made to re-establish Saxon rule in these territories, the most prominent being the Rethra raiding in 1068 and the
Wendish crusadeThe Wendish Crusade was an 1147 campaign, one of the Northern Crusades and also a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany inside the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs ....
in 1147. Also, there were campaigns of Piast
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
into the eastern and northern parts of the area, respectively. Also, local rulers campaigned against each other. Until the final defeat of the Slavs in the 12th century, no Ostsiedlung could take place.
The Northern March was in part re-established as
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
march during the next centuries.
In the 1164
Battle of VerchenThe Battle of Verchen was a battle between Saxons and West Slavic Obotrites on 6 July 1164.The Obotrites were attacked by Saxons and Danes in 1160, resulting in the death of the Obotrite prince, Niklot, and the partition of the Obotrite lands...
the last Obotrite army was defeated by Saxon
Henry the LionHenry the Lion was a member of the Guelph dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
. In 1168, the Rani were defeated by the Danes.
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
,
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
and
RügenRügen or Rugia is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rügen makes up the principal part of the Rügen District, which also includes the neighboring islands Hiddensee and Ummanz, as well as several small islands.- Geography :Rügen is...
from now on were under German and Danish overlordship, governed as fiefs by local dynasties of Slavic origin. These dukes called in lots of German gentry and settlers, adopted German law and
Low GermanLow German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands.-Geographical extent:-Low German in Europe:Dialects...
language. This is also called
Second Ostsiedlung due to the break of some two centuries.
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
, Principality of Rügen and PomeraniaSettlement in Pomerania started by the end of the Vistula Glacial Stage, about 13,000 years ago. Archeological traces have been found of various cultures during the Stone and Bronze Age, Veneti and Germanic peoples during the Iron Age and, in the Middle Ages, Slavic tribes and Vikings...
After Henry the Lion's defeat, Mecklenburg and Pomerania were turned from Saxon fiefs into direct parts of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
by Kaiser
BarbarossaBarbarossa may refer to:In history:*Emperor Barbarossa or Frederick I , Holy Roman Emperor**Barbarossa city, the nickname for five cities in Germany*Barbarossa I or Oruç Reis , an Ottoman-Turkish privateer and Bey of Algiers...
, while the duchy of Rügen still was Danish. During the next half century, the Empire and Denmark struggled for overlordship in Mecklenburg, Rügen and Pomerania. Most fell to Denmark. Also, the local gentry raised troops to expand their territories. When Denmark lost in the
battle of BornhövedBattle of Bornhöved can refer to:*Battle of Bornhöved, or the first battle of Bornhöved, in 798*Battle of Bornhöved , or the second Battle of Bornhöved, in 1227...
in 1227, all Pomeranian and Mecklenburg areas were again controlled by the Holy Roman Empire.
Despite ongoing border conflicts between the dukes of Pomerania, Mecklenburg, Rügen and Brandenburg, the numbers of German settlers increased rapidly. Existing and deserted villages and farms were settled up, and new villages were founded, especially by turning the vast woodlands into farmland. Large new German towns replaced the former Slavic castles' suburbia, or were founded in former wilderness.
Germans, especially Saxons and Flames, were attracted by low taxes, cheap or free land and privileges. The settlements were organised by
locators, who were assigned by the dukes to plan and settle sites, and in turn, were privileged even more as the settlers they attracted.
The adoption of German law and culture and the large numbers of settlers as well as replacement or intermarriage of the former Slavic gentry resulted in a completely new organisation and administration of settlements and agriculture.
The local Slavic population only in part participated, other parts did not enjoy any benefits and were to settle in separate "Wendish villages", "Wendish streets" or "Wendish quarters".
Most of Mecklenburg and Vorpommern, the northern parts of Hinterpommern and the mainland section of the duchy of Rügen were settled by Germans in the 12th and 13th century, the other regions of Rügen and Hinterpommern were settled about a century later. In some enclaves, especially in the East of Pomerania, there was only a minor influx of German settlers, so Slavic minorities like the Kashubs persisted.
In Eastern Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and Rügen, Ostsiedlung started after the 1164
SaxonThe mediæval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
conquest. Yet, there are only few records of Germans from the 1170s, a large influx of settlers occurred in Eastern Mecklenburg since 1210 on behalf of Duke Heinrich Borwin, in Pomerania since 1220-40 on behalf of the dukes Wartislaw III (Pomerania-Demmin) and Barnim I (Pomerania-Stettin) as well as the Cammin bishop Herrmann von der Gleichen. In the same period, massive settlement began in the mainland section of the Principality of Rügen. The island of Rügen was settled only in the 1300s.
Hohenkrug near StettinSzczecin-Struga is a municipal neighborhood of the Szczecin City, Poland situated on the right bank of Oder river, east of the Szczecin Old Town, and south-east of Szczecin-Dąbie.-History:...
is the first village clearly recorded as German (
villa teutonicorum) in 1173. At the same time, there are records about Germans in the duke's court. Settlement in urban centers is likely to have occurred even earlier (since the 1150s), Stettin's German community had its own church (St. Jacob's) erected in 1187.
In Eastern Mecklenburg, the first settlers from
HolsteinHolstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
and
DithmarschenDithmarschen is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the state of Lower Saxony , and by the North Sea.- Geography...
arrived on the isle of
PoelPoel or Poel Island ), is an island in the Baltic Sea. It builds the natural northern and eastern boundaries of the Bay of Wismar on the German coast. The northern coast of the island is also on the south side of the large gulf known as the Bay of Mecklenburg, which Wismar Bay enters in to...
. Since 1220, Ostsiedlung was coordinated by the German knights rather than the Slavic duke. German settlement in its early period focussed on the coastal region with its large woods and only few Slavic settlements. Especially towards the Southeast of Mecklenburg, settlements were established not only by Low German, but also Slavic locators. Here, local Slavs were heavily involved in the settlement process, Germans started to move in since the second half of the 13th century. The settlers originated in the areas west of Mecklenburg (Holstein,
FrieslandFriesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the bigger region known as Frisia. In order to distinguish it from the other Frisian regions, it is commonly specified as Westerlauwer Frisia, Westerlauwer Friesland, West Frisia or West Friesland...
,
Lower SaxonyLower Saxony lies in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen Bundesländer of Germany...
,
WestphaliaWestphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Bochum, Detmold, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Minden and Münster and included in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia....
), except for the terra
Land StargardBurg Stargard is a municipality in the district Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated southeast of Neubrandenburg.Burg Stargard is a small town in Mecklenburg Strelitz...
, that since 1236 was a part of the
Margraviate of BrandenburgThe Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
and settled by Germans from the Brandenburgian
AltmarkThe Altmark is a region in Germany, between Hamburg and Magdeburg, comprising the northern third of Saxony-Anhalt . The region is rural and widely covered with forests...
region.
Pomerania was settled from two directions. The West and the North, including the Principality of Rügen, were settled by people primarily from Mecklenburg, Holstein and Friesland, whereas the South (Stettin area) and the East (parts of
Farther PomeraniaFarther Pomerania, Further Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...
) were settled primarily by people from the
MagdeburgMagdeburg , the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, is situated at the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe. Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, lived during most of his reign in the town and was buried in the cathedral after his death...
area and
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. The origins of the
UsedomUsedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
settlers resemble this pattern: Most came from Mecklenburg, the
HanoverHanover or Hannover , on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, in their dignities as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg Hanover or Hannover , on the river Leine, is...
region and Brandenburg, the others came from Westphalia, Holstein, Friesland, Rhineland, and even
Prussia (region)Prussia is a historical region in Central Europe extending from the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea to the Masurian Lake District. It is now divided between Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. The former German state of Prussia derived its name from the region.-Prehistory:Parts of the Baltic...
and
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Ostsiedlung in Pomerania and Rügen differed from other settlements by the high proportion of
ScandinaviansScandinavians are a group of Germanic peoples, inhabiting Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden, as well as Iceland and the Faroe Islands, as well as Finland Swedes in Finland, as well as descendants in many other countries, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States. The...
, especially Danes and people from the than Danish
ScaniaScania is a geographical region on the southernmost tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, an occupied province in the Kingdom of Sweden, before 1658 a province in the Kingdom of Denmark and part of the historical lands of Denmark.To the north, it borders the provinces Halland, Småland and Blekinge,...
region. The highest Danish influence was on the Ostsiedlung of the than Danish Rugian principality. In the possessions of the Rugian
Eldena AbbeyEldena Abbey , originally Hilda Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery near the present town of Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany...
, settlers who opened a
tavernA tavern or pot-house is, loosely, a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and, more than likely, also be served food, though not licensed to put up guests. The word derives from the Latin taberna and the Greek ταβέρνα/taverna, whose original meaning was a shed or...
would respectively be treated according to Danish, German and Wendish law.
Wampen and Ladebow and other villages near
GreifswaldGreifswald is a town in northeastern Germany, situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It borders the Baltic Sea and is crossed by a small river called the Ryck....
are of Danish origin. Yet, many Scandinavian settlers in the Pomeranian towns were of German origin, moving from the German merchants' settlements in Sweden to the newly founded towns at the Southern Baltic shore.
The evolving large towns of the area (
LübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage is on UNESCO's list of World...
,
WismarWismar is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory...
,
StralsundStralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund ....
,
GreifswaldGreifswald is a town in northeastern Germany, situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It borders the Baltic Sea and is crossed by a small river called the Ryck....
, Stettin) attracted settlers primarily from Westphalia,
EastphaliaEastphalia is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing the eastern part of the historic Duchy of Saxony, roughly demarcated by the rivers of Leine and Saale. Today it covers the southeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony and the western part of Saxony-Anhalt.-Etymology:The name...
, the
Low CountriesThe Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers...
and the Lower
RhineThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
area.
Assimilation and treatment of the
WendsThe term Wends or Wendish is used in Germanic languages for Slavs living near or within Germanic settlement areas after the migration period...
varied according to the region and differed between urban and rural areas. In the towns, Wends took part in the settlement, yet were administered separately. In
RostockRostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
,
StralsundStralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund ....
and
Friedland- Places :Germany:* Friedland, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern* Friedland, Brandenburg* Friedland, Lower SaxonyRussia:* Pravdinsk , RussiaCzech:* Frýdlant v Čechách , Czech Republic...
, the Wends were governed by their own
voigtVoigt is a surname, and may refer to:* Andreas J. Voigt, German publicist and book author* Deborah Voigt, American opera singer* Cynthia Voigt* Edwin Edgar Voigt* Edwin de Voigt, artist and leisure manager* George Voigt, German historian...
. On the other hand, there are a few records of Wendish patricians, eg mentions of a Wendish ratsherr in
UeckermündeUeckermünde Ueckermünde Ueckermünde .- Geography :...
(1284) and Gollnow (1328). The Wends were concentrated in the suburbs, that in some cases were pre-Ostsiedlung Slavic settlements (e.g. in Stettin, where the pre-German town evolved in a Wendish suburb, in which a Wendish public bath is recorded as late as 1350), in other cases new-built settlements (eg
GreifenhagenGreifenhagen is a municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....
-Wiek). In the towns, Wends were subsequently pushed into low-skill professions like dock workers, but there are also records about better situated Wends, who for example dominated pork beef trade in Rostock or ran a bakery in Stettin.
In most of Mecklenburg, Rügen and Pomerania, the Wends were assimilated by the beginning of the 15th century. In the Principality of Rügen, the last Wendish-speaking woman died in 1404 on the
JasmundJasmund is a peninsula of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is connected to the Wittow peninsula and to the Muttland main section of Rügen by the narrow land bridges Schaabe and Schmale Heide, respectively. Sassnitz, Sagard and the Mukran international ferry terminal are on...
peninsula. In rural parts of Mecklenburg and Farther Pomerania (east of Köslin) however, Wends are still recorded in the 16th century. Most of the Wends were fishermen, peasants or shepherds, also there were a few Wendish craftsmen.
Pomerelia
In
PomereliaPomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia was situated in eastern Pomerania on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...
, Ostsiedlung was started by the Pomerelian dukes and focussed on the towns, whereas much of the countryside remained Slavic (
KashubiansKashubians/Kaszubians , also called Kashubs, Kaszubians, Kassubians or Cassubians, are a West Slavic ethnic group in Pomerelia, north-central Poland. Their settlement area is referred to as Kashubia ....
). An exception was the German settled
VistulaThe Vistula , is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is 194,424 km² , of which 168,699 km² The Vistula , is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km (651 miles) in...
delta (
Vistula GermansVistula Germans are ethnic Germans who had settled in what became known after the 1863 Polish rebellion as the Vistula Territory...
), the coastal regions, and the Vistula valley.
Mestwin II in 1271 referred to the inhabitants of the "
civitas" (town) of Danzig (Gdansk) as "
burgensibus theutonicis fidelibus" (faithful German burghers).
The settlers came from Low German areas like Holstein, the Low Countries, Flandres, Lower Saxony, Westphalia and Mecklenburg, but a few also from the Middle German
ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is located in central Germany. It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen
Bundesländer...
region.
Brandenburg March
At the time of Albert I, Margrave of Brandenburg (Albrecht "the Bear" von Ballenstedt), the North March stretched from the territory of the Askanier (Ascanians, see also
AnhaltAnhalt is a historical county in Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe in Middle Germany. It now forms part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.-Dukes of Anhalt:...
) to the Markgrafschaft
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
and therefore became part of the Empire. In 1147, Heinrich the Lion conquered the
March of the Billungs, the later
MecklenburgMecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
as a
seignoryIn English law, Seignory or seigniory , the lordship remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple....
and in 1164
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
, that lay further to the east of the
Baltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
. In 1181, Mecklenburg and Pomerania officially became parts of the Roman-German Empire.
Silesia
SilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany....
, a duchy which became independent in the 12th century during the
fragmentation of PolandIn the first centuries of its existence, the Polish nation, one of its early names was Civitas Schinesghe as recorded in the Dagome iudex, was led by a series of strong rulers who converted the Poles to Christianity, created a strong Central European state, and integrated Poland into European culture...
, was ruled by the local
Piast dynastyThe Silesian Piasts were the oldest line of the Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile, son of Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland...
. The country at this time was
sparsely populated with small hamlets and altogether not more than 150.000 people. Castles with adjacent suburbias were the centre of commerce, administration, crafts and the church. The most important of these citied suburbias, most often the seat of a duke, were Wrocław,
LegnicaLegnica is a city on the Kaczawa river in south-western Poland. According to official figures for 2006, it has a total population of 105,485....
,
OpoleOpole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 129,553 and is the capital of the Opole Voivodeship, and also the seat of Opole County. It is the historical capital of Upper Silesia...
and
RacibórzRacibórz is a town in southern Poland with 60,218 inhabitants situated in the Silesian Voivodeship , previously in Katowice Voivodeship...
. The country was fortified by the so called
Preseka, a system of dense forests.
The Ostsiedlung in Silesia was initiated by Bolesław I, who spent a part of his life in Germany, and especially by his son
Henry IHenry I the Bearded , of the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Lower Silesia from 1201. He was later also Duke of Lesser Poland and thus senior prince of all Poland - internally divided - from 1232 until his death.He was the son of Bolesław I the Tall, Duke of Wrocław, by his second...
and whose wife
HedwigSaint Hedwig of Andechs or Saint Hedwig of Silesia was a saint, the daughter of Berthold IV, Duke of Merania and his wife, Agnes of Rochlitz.She was born at Castle Andechs, Bavaria...
in the late 12th century. They became the first Slavic sovereigns outside of the Holy Roman Empire to promote German settlements on a wide base. Both began to invite German settlers in order to develop their realm economically and to extend their rule. Already in 1175 Bolesław I founded
Lubensis abbeyThe Abbatia Lubensis abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Lubiąż, Silesia. This complex is a masterpiece of Baroque Silesian architecture and a significant tourist destination.-Description:...
and staffed the monastery with monks from
Pforta AbbeyPforta, or Schulpforta, is a former Cistercian monastery, Pforta Abbey , near Naumburg on the Saale River in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is now a celebrated German public boarding school, called Landesschule Pforta...
in Saxony. The abbey, its domain and the German settlers were excluded from Polish legislation and subsequently the monks set up several German villages on their soil. During Henry I reign the systematic settlement began. In a complex system a network of towns was founded in the western and southwestern parts of Silesia. These towns, economic and judicial centers, were surrounded by standardized built villages which were often constructed on a cleared spot in the forests and thus destroyed the
Preseka. The earliest German land clearing area in Silesia appeared around 1200 in the area of Goldberg and
LöwenbergLwówek Śląski is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland. Situated on the Bóbr River, Lwówek Śląski is about 30 km NNW of Jelenia Góra and has a population of about 10,300 inhabitants...
, two settlements founded by German miners. Goldberg and Löwenberg were also the first Silesian cities to receive German town law in 1211 and 1217. This pattern of colonization was soon adopted in all other, already populated, parts of Silesia, were cities with German town law were often founded beside Slavic settlements.
In the 14th century Silesia possessed ca. 150 towns and the population more than quintupled. The townspeople were Germans, which now formed the majority of the overall population, while the Slavs usually lived outside of the cities. In a process of assimilation Lower and Middle Silesia became Germanized while Upper Silesia stayed Slavic.
Poland
Since the beginning of the 14/15th centuries, the Polish-Silesian
Piast dynastyThe Piast dynasty was the first Polish historical Royal dynasty that ruled Poland from its beginnings starting with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historically undisputed Piast ruler is Mieszko I from 10th century...
– (Ladislaus of Oppeln), reinforced German settlers on the land, who in decades founded more than 150 towns and villages under German town law, particularly under the law of the town
MagdeburgMagdeburg , the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, is situated at the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe. Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, lived during most of his reign in the town and was buried in the cathedral after his death...
(Magdeburg law). Ethnic Germans, along with German-speaking Ashkenazi Jews from the Rhineland, also formed a large part of the town population of
KrakówKraków , in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow and pronounced
, is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland and a popular tourist destination. Its historic centre was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites as the first of its kind...
.
Concurrent with the metamorphosis in the structure of the Polish State and sovereignty was an economic and social impoverishment of the country. Harassed by civil strife and foreign invasions, like that of the
MongolsThe name Mongol specifies one or several ethnic groups, now mainly located in Mongolia, China, and Russia.-Definition:...
in 1241 the small principalities became enfeebled and depopulated. The incomes of the Princes began to decrease materially. This led them to take steps toward encouraging immigration from foreign countries. A great number of German peasants, who, during the
interregnumAn interregnum is a period of discontinuity of a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next , and the concepts of interregnum and regency therefore overlap...
following the death of
Frederick IIFrederick II of Hohenstaufen was Holy Roman Emperor from his papal coronation in 1220 until his death; he was also a pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215. As such, he was King of Germany, of Italy, and of Burgundy...
, suffered great oppression at the hands of their lords, were induced to settle in Poland under certain very favorable conditions.
GermanThe German people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent, and speaking the German language as a mother tongue. Within Germany, Germans are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of German ancestry...
immigration into Poland had started spontaneously at an earlier period, about the end of the 11th century, and was the result of overpopulation in the central provinces of the Empire. Advantage of the existing tendency had already been taken by the Polish Princes in the 12th century for the development of cities and crafts. Now the movement became intensified.
Some of studies of the development of the German settlements in Poland indicate that they sprang up along the wide belt which was laid waste by the
MongolsThe name Mongol specifies one or several ethnic groups, now mainly located in Mongolia, China, and Russia.-Definition:...
in 1241. It was a stretch of land comprising present
GaliciaGalicia is a historical region in East-Central Europe, currently divided between Poland and Ukraine, named after the Ukraіniаn city of Halych. The nucleus of historic Galicia is formed of three regions of western Ukraine: Lviv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk.-Tribal area:The region has a turbulent...
and Southern Silesia. Prior to the Mongol invasion these two provinces were thickly settled and highly developed. Through them ran the commercial highways from the East and the
LevantThe Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by...
to the
BalticThe Baltic region is an ambiguous term that refers to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...
and the west of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. Kraków and Wrocław (
Breslau) were large and prosperous towns. Some historians, mostly those stressing the scale of German settlements, claim that after the Mongol barbarians retired the country was in ruins and the population either scattered or exterminated. Others, minimizing the effect of German colonisation, actually minimize the effect of the Mongol invasion, stressing that the destruction was limited mainly to Lesser Poland and mainly the third Mongol invasion. Large numbers were taken prisoners. The refugees went north and helped to colonize the sparsely inhabited areas and to clear the forests to the east of the Vistula in Mazovia. On the heels of the receding Mongols came the Germans. Theirs was a movement along the line of least resistance. The new settlers were spared the hard labour of the pioneers as the soil they occupied had been used for arable purposes centuries before. There was no need of clearing primeval forest or colonizing an utter wilderness. On the other hands, Germans were also invited to settle territories which were uninhabited before.
Literature
- Prof. Kazimierz Tymieniecki - "Niemcy w Polsce", Poznań 1934
- Prof. Barbara Czopek-Kopciuch - "Adaptacje niemieckich nazw miejscowych w języku polskim", Kraków 1995, ISBN 83-85579-33-8
- Prof. Aleksandra Cieślikowa (Cieślik) - "Nazwy osobowe pochodzenia niemieckiego", Kraków 1997, ISBN 83-85579-63-X
The decline of the Great Moravia
After the decline of the
Great MoraviaGreat Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe from the 9th century to the early 10th century. There is some controversy as to the actual location of its core territory...
in 900, whose founder
RastislawSaint Rastic or Rastiz was the second ruler of Great Moravia between 846 and 870. He was canonized in October 1994 by the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church.-Life:...
(also:
RastislavSaint Rastic or Rastiz was the second ruler of Great Moravia between 846 and 870. He was canonized in October 1994 by the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church.-Life:...
) wanted to submit the land to the Eastern Church with the help of the missionaries Kyrill and Methodius, who were summoned from
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
, Bohemian princes appeared in the Parliament, including the Přemyslidian
SpitignewSpytihněv I , Duke of Bohemia , was the eldest son of Bořivoj I.Spytihnev is known solely for his 895 alliance with Liutpold of Bavaria separating Bohemia from Great Moravia...
who came to
RegensburgRegensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
. They built a new following of the East Carolingian Empire that was however still highly controversial between the members of the Bohemian (Czech) aristocracy: in 929, the Premyslidian Boleslaw murdered his brother, the duke
WenceslasSaint Wenceslaus or Saint Wenceslas Help:IPA , was duke of Bohemia from 921 until his death. Wenceslas is best known in the English-speaking world as the subject of the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas."He was the son of Vratislav I, Duke of Bohemia from the Přemyslid dynasty...
who was still in charge, because of his following and his Christianity supported by German missionaries. The German king Henry I, the Fowler, led his army to
PraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities" , "city of a hundred spires", or Stověžatá Praha in Czech and "the golden city" or Zlaté město in Czech.Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the...
the same year to repress the rebellion against the Empire. In 950, Duke Boleslaw realized the cruelty of the German fiefdom and organized a secession in the army, in the 955 battle on Lechfeld. In 973, the diocese of Prague was founded under the aegis of
WolfgangSaint Wolfgang or Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg was bishop of Regensburg in Bavaria from Christmas 972 until his death. He is a saint of the Roman Catholic church...
, bishop of Regensburg. The first bishop of this diocese became the Saxon benedictine monk
ThietmarThietmar may refer to:* Thietmar, Count of Merseburg * Thietmar, Margrave of Meissen * Thietmar of Prague , bishop* Thietmar of Merseburg , bishop and chronicler...
. After that Bohemia was subordinated to the
archbishopric of MainzThe Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
. In 983,
AdalbertThis article is about St Adalbert of Prague. For other uses, see Adalbert .Saint Adalbert, Czech: ; , , a bishop of Prague, was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians...
, a Slav who founded the benedictine monastery St. Margaret in
BrewnowBřevnov Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Prague. It was founded by Prince Boleslav II and Saint Adalbert, bishop of Prague in 993 AD.The buildings standing today, including St Margaret's church, the conventual buildings and prelate's house, date from the 18th century and have been built in the...
, became successor of Thietmar. In 997, Adalbert was killed by Old Prussian pagans.
Henry IIHenry II , called the Holy or the Saint, was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of Germany in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004. He is the only German king to have been canonized.He was...
, who was emperor from 1014 until 1024, dislodged the Polish duke (and later king) Bolesław Chrobry who had conquered large parts of Bohemia as well as Moravia and Silesia.
BohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic...
became dependent on Germany; the Bohemian dukes were obliged to visit the hostage drama and to take part in national wars.
A monk of the Benedictine monastery Altaich of princely background, called Günter the Blessed, became a recluse in the
Bohemian ForestThe Bohemian Forest is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from South Bohemia in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in Germany. They create a natural border between the Czech Republic on one side and Germany and Austria on the other...
. The foundation of the Benedictine monastery Raigern goes back to Günter. New :de:Säumerwege - trading paths connecting Bohemia and Bavaria through the Virgin Forest - were built, with the :de:Goldener Steig (Golden Path) as the most important trade path between Bohemia and Moravia. Along those paths, a number of new - mostly
ethnic GermanEthnic Germans , also collectively referred to as the German diaspora, are those who are considered, by themselves or others, to be of German origin ethnically, not necessarily born or living within the present-day Federal Republic of Germany, holding its citizenship or speaking the German language...
- towns emerged on both sides of the Bohemian forest. The city
PrachaticePrachatice is a town in the South Bohemian Region, Czech Republic.-History:The town of Prachatice has its origins in the 11th century, following the beginning of trade on the "Golden Path"...
owes its foundation and its time of prosperity in the 14th century to the Golden Path.
In 1030,
BretislausBretislaus I , known as The Bohemian Achilles, of the house of the Přemyslids, was the duke of Bohemia from 1035 till death.Bretislaus was a son of duke Oldrich and his would-be wife Božena...
united Bohemia and Moravia after those regions had come under control of Poland. Both lands were fiefs of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
. In 1038, duke Bretislaus conquered further parts of Poland and attempted to secede from the Empire that brought about preconditions with the German emperor Henry II.
In 1063, duke
VratislausVratislaus II or Wratislaus II , the son of Bretislaus I and Judith of Schweinfurt, daughter of Henry of Schweinfurt, was the first King of Bohemia from 15 June 1085. The royal title was a grant, however, from the Holy Roman Emperor and was not hereditary. Before being raised to kingship, he had...
founded the
Archdiocese of OlmützThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Czech Republic. Not much is known about the beginnings of the Diocese of Olomouc...
; in 1085 he was crowned by Henry IV in Mainz to be King of Bohemia.
In 1142, the monastery Strahov opposite the
HradčanyHradčany , the Castle District, is the district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, surrounding the Prague Castle.The castle is said to be the biggest castle in the world at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. Its history stretches back to the 9th century...
, was founded by the monks of the
PremonstratensianThe Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
monastery
Kloster SteinfeldSteinfeld Abbey is a former Premonstratensian monastery, now a Salvatorian convent, with an important basilica, in Steinfeld in Kall, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- History :...
near
Kall, GermanyKall is a municipality in the district of Euskirchen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Eifel hills, approximatively 20 km south-west of Euskirchen.
...
. The "white monks" advanced to the position of the most important German mission foundations in Bohemia and Moravia. In 1117, duchess Richsa summoned
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s from
ZwiefaltenZwiefalten Abbey was a Benedictine monastery situated at Zwiefalten near Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- History :...
(in
WürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
) to
KladrauKladruby is a town in the Czech Republic, in the region of Plzeň, near the town Stříbro.The Abbey of Kladruby is a large Benedictine monastery first cited 1115...
.
Drang nach Osten
In the 19th century, recognition of this complex phenomenon coupled with the rise of
nationalismNationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. It is a type of collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation...
. In Germany and some Slavic countries, most notably Poland, Ostsiedlung was perceived in nationalist circles as a prelude to contemporary expansionism and
GermanisationGermanisation is either the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, or the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
efforts, the slogan used for this perception was
Drang nach OstenDrang nach Osten was a term coined in the 19th century to designate German expansion into Slavic lands. The term became a motto...
.
"The German settlement in Pomerania did, as the other migrations, not follow a certain ideology. In contrast, the settlement was characterized only by practical means. [...] Only national historiography, elapsed in the mid-19th century, in retrospect added a constructed Slavic-German clash to the Ostsiedlung process of the High Middle Ages. But that was 19th century ideology, not the ideology of the Middle Ages. [...] Called in were "cuiuscunque gentis et cuiuscunque artis homines" (people of any ethnicity and profession)." (Buchholz)
Decline and annihilation of the German settlements in the 20th century
Economic reasons led to a westward migration of Germans from eastern
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
in the late 19th and early 20th century (
OstfluchtThe Ostflucht was a movement by residents of the former eastern territories of Germany, such as East Prussia, West Prussia, Silesia and Province of Posen beginning around 1850, to the more industrialized western German Rhine and Ruhr provinces...
).
The 20th century wars and nationalist policies severely altered the ethnic and cultural composition of Eastern Europe. After
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, Germans in
reconstituted PolandThe Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; from the creation of an independent Polish state in the aftermath of World War I, to the invasion of Poland in 1939 by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic,...
were set under pressure to leave the
Polish CorridorThe Polish Corridor was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia which provided the Second Republic of Poland with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from her province of East Prussia...
and other areas. Before
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Nazis initiated the
Nazi-Soviet population transfersThe Nazi–Soviet population transfers were a series of population transfers between 1939 and 1941 of tens of thousands of ethnic Germans and ethnic Russians in an agreement according to the German–Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Demarcation between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.-...
, wiping out the old settlement areas of the Baltic Germans, the Germans in Bessarabia and others. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in line with
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
's expansion,
Generalplan OstGeneralplan Ost was a secret Nazi plan of genocide and ethnic cleansing to be realised in the territories occupied by Germany in Eastern Europe during World War II...
was drawn to expel and enslave the Slavs according to the Nazi's
Lebensraumserved as a major motivation for Nazi Germany's territorial aggression, was a reinterpretation of the by then century-old concept of Drang nach Osten...
concept. While that was prevented by the war's turn, some measures such as the
expulsion of 2 million PolesThe partitions of Poland had ended the existence of a sovereign Polish state in the 18th century. With the rise of German nationalism in the late 19th century, Poles faced increasing discrimination. The first deportation of 30,000 Poles from the German Empire took place in 1885...
and settlement of
VolksdeutscheVolksdeutsche is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to describe ethnic Germans living outside of the Reich. This is in contrast to Imperial Germans , German citizens living within Germany...
in the annexed territories were implied.
With the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
's advance and
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
's defeat in 1945, the ethnic make-up of
EasternEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and East Central Europe was radically changed, as nearly all
Germans were expelledBy the end of World War II, most of the German population fled or was expelled from areas outside the territory of post-war Germany and post-war Austria, including:...
not only from all Soviet conquered German settlement areas across Eastern Europe, but also from former territories of the Reich east of the
Oder-Neisse lineThe Oder-Neisse line was drawn in the aftermath of World War II as the eastern border of Germany and the western border of Poland. The line is formed primarily by the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, and meets the Baltic Sea west of the seaport cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście...
, mainly, the provinces of
SilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany....
,
East PrussiaEast Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia...
, East Brandenburg, and
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
. The
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
-established
People's Republic of PolandThe Polish People's Republic was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990.Although the Polish People's Republic was a sovereign state as defined by international law, its leaders were at the very least approved by the Kremlin...
annexed the majority of the lands while the northern half of
East PrussiaEast Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia...
was taken by the Soviets and made a new enclave in the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Memel region was annexed to the
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
Lithuanian SSRThe Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union. It was established after the Soviet Annexation of Lithuania in 1940 and existed until 1990...
. The former German settlement areas were resettled by ethnic citizens of the respective succeeding state, (Czechs, Slovaks and Roma in the former
SudetenlandSudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia associated with Bohemia.The name is derived from the...
and Poles,
LemkosLemkos , one of several quantitatively and territorially small ethnic groups who also call themselves Rusyns , are one of the ethnic groups inhabiting the Carpathian Mountains...
,
ethnic UkrainiansUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group primarily living in Ukraine, or more broadly—citizens of Ukraine...
in Silesia and Pomerania). However, some areas settled and Germanised in the course of the Ostsiedlung still form the northeastern part of modern eastern Germany, like the
Bundesländ----Bundesland may refer to:*States of Austria, the technically and constitutionally correct German language name for the federal states of Austria...
er Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
,
SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a federal state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states.Long in the heart of German-speaking Europe, Saxony became one of the new...
and east of the
limes SaxoniaeThe Limes Saxoniae , also known as the Limes Saxonicus or Sachsenwall , was a limes or border between the Saxons and the Slavic Obotrites, established about 810 in present-day Schleswig-Holstein....
in the
HolsteinHolstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
part of
Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the two historical duchies of Schleswig and Holstein...
.
Sources
- Horst Gründer, Peter Johanek, Kolonialstädte, europäische Enklaven oder Schmelztiegel der Kulturen?: Europäische Enklaven oder Schmelztiegel der Kulturen?, 2001, ISBN 3825836010, 9783825836016
- Paul Reuber, Anke Strüver, Günter Wolkersdorfer, Politische Geographien Europas - Annäherungen an ein umstrittenes Konstrukt: Annäherungen an ein umstrittenes Konstrukt, 2005, ISBN 3825865231, 9783825865238
- Alain Demurger, Wolfgang Kaiser, Die Ritter des Herrn: Geschichte der Geistlichen Ritterorden, 2003, ISBN 3406502822, 9783406502828
- Herrmann, Die Slawen in Deutschland
- Ulrich Knefelkamp, M. Stolpe, Zisterzienser: Norm, Kultur, Reform- 900 Jahre Zisterzienser, 2001, ISBN 354064816X, 9783540648161
- Werner Rösener, Agrarwirtschaft, Agrarverfassung und ländliche Gesellschaft im Mittelalter, 1988, ISBN 3486550241, 9783486550245
See also
- Ethnic Germans
- Drang nach Osten
Drang nach Osten was a term coined in the 19th century to designate German expansion into Slavic lands. The term became a motto...
- Limes Saxoniae
The Limes Saxoniae , also known as the Limes Saxonicus or Sachsenwall , was a limes or border between the Saxons and the Slavic Obotrites, established about 810 in present-day Schleswig-Holstein....
- Barbarian invasions
- Wends
The term Wends or Wendish is used in Germanic languages for Slavs living near or within Germanic settlement areas after the migration period...
- Wendish Crusade
The Wendish Crusade was an 1147 campaign, one of the Northern Crusades and also a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany inside the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs ....
- Northern Crusades
The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were crusades undertaken by the Christian kings of Denmark and Sweden, the German Livonian and Teutonic military orders, and their allies against the pagan peoples of Northern Europe around the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea...
- Medieval demography
Medieval demography is the study of human demography in Europe during the Middle Ages. It is an estimate of the number of people who were alive during the Medieval period, population trends and movements...
- German exonyms
Below is list of German language exonyms for former German places and places in non-German-speaking areas of the world :-Links to more extensive lists:Belgium* List of German exonyms for places in BelgiumCroatia...
- Germanisation
Germanisation is either the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, or the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
- Germanisation of Poles during Partitions
After partitioning Poland in the end of 18th century, the Kingdom of Prussia and later German Empire imposed a number of Germanisation policies and measures in the newly gained territories, aimed at limiting the Polish ethnic presence in these areas...
- History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union
The German minority in Russia and the Soviet Union was created from several sources and in several waves. The 1914 census puts the number of Germans living in Russian Empire at 2,416,290. In 1989, the German population of the Soviet Union was roughly 2 million. In the 2002 Russian census, 597,212...
- Historical migration
It is theorized that pre-historical migration of human populations began with the movement of Homo erectus out of Africa across Eurasia about a million years ago. Homo sapiens appears to have colonized all of Africa about 150 millennia ago, moved out of Africa some 80 millennia ago, and spread...
- Population transfer in the Soviet Union
Population transfer in the Soviet Union may be classified into the following broad categories: deportations of "anti-Soviet" categories of population, often classified as "enemies of workers", deportations of nationalities, labor force transfer, and organized migrations in opposite directions to...
- Expulsion of Germans after World War II
By the end of World War II, most of the German population fled or was expelled from areas outside the territory of post-war Germany and post-war Austria, including:...