Pomeranian Province

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Prussian Province of
Pomerania
flag coat of arms
Flag of the Pomeranian Province Coat of arms of the Pomeranian Province
Situation in Prussia
Red: Location of the province of Pomerania in Prussia (blue)
Consist 1815-1945
Provincial capital Szczecin
surface 38,401 km² (1939)
Residents 2,393,844 (1939)
Population density 62 inhabitants / km²
administration 3 administrative districts
License Plate IH
Arose from Duchy of Pomerania
Today part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
West Pomeranian
Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship
map
Map of the Pomeranian Province

The province of Pomerania , located in the north German lowlands , was the Prussian province formed from the Duchy of Pomerania in 1815 after the Congress of Vienna . It consisted of the west of the Oder located Pomerania and Pomerania . Pomerania's capital was Szczecin .

As national anthem , the had Pommernlied established. It was created around 1850 and goes back to the theologian and poet Adolf Pompe .

In the Second World War , after the conquest of Pomerania , the Soviet Union surrendered the areas east of the Oder-Neisse line to the People's Republic of Poland in 1945 . The western allies confirmed this in the Potsdam Agreement .

The largest part of Western Pomerania that remains with Germany forms the eastern part of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . A smaller part of Western Pomerania around the city of Gartz is in the state of Brandenburg . Pomerania including the west of the Oder located - originally belonging to Vorpommern cities of Szczecin and Swinoujscie on Usedom , the island of Wolin, the so-called Szczecin Strip - make up the largest part of the Polish West Pomeranian Voivodeship . The easternmost part of the Pomerania region is in the Pomeranian Voivodeship .

Area and population development

In 1905 the province of Pomerania was 30,120 km² and had a population of 1,684,326 (= 56 / km²). Including 1,616,550 Protestants, 50,206 Catholics and 9,960 Jews. The province was one of the most sparsely populated areas in Prussia and Germany. Only East Prussia had an even lower population density.

After an area of ​​6.64 km² in size, which previously belonged to the eastern districts of Bütow, Lauenburg and Stolp and had a total of 224 inhabitants in 1910, had to be ceded to the Polish Pomeranian Voivodeship , the area became due to the Versailles Treaty of 1919 the province of Pomerania, without the Szczecin Lagoon, the Bodden and other parts of the sea, in 1925 with 30,208 km² and the population with 1,878,780.

In 1905 14.162 people lived in the province (0.84%) with Polish and on Lebasee and at Garder See total of 310 individuals with Kashubian language. Ten years earlier it was 9913 (0.66%) and 704 respectively, of which 5631 (1.01%), Stettin 3207 (0.43%) and Stralsund 1075 (0.52%) were in the administrative districts of Köslin.

year Residents
1819 729.834
1846 1,165,073
1871 1,431,633
1880 1,540,034
1890 1,520,889
1900 1,634,832
1905 1,684,326
1910 1,716,921
1925 1,878,780
1933 1,920,897
1939 2,393,844

history

Through the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Hinterpommern became part of Brandenburg and Vorpommern became Swedish Pomerania . Although the Brandenburg Elector Friedrich Wilhelm I succeeded in conquering all of Swedish Pomerania in 1678, under pressure from France in the Peace of Saint-Germain (1679), he had to forego most of the conquered territories. After the end of the Great Northern War (1700–1721), the part of Western Pomerania south of the Peene became part of Prussia ( Old Western Pomerania ). With the territorial reorganization of Europe in 1815, the part of Western Pomerania that was last Swedish, with the island of Rügen, also became Prussian ( New Western Pomerania ). At the same time, Pomerania received the Dramburg and Schivelbein districts and the northern parts of the Arnswalde district with the town of Nörenberg von der Neumark , which otherwise remained with the Province of Brandenburg .

In the last democratic Reichstag election in March 1933 , the NSDAP in Pomerania achieved the second largest share of the vote in a constituency of the German Reich with 56.3% after East Prussia . Together with the votes of the DNVP , 73.3% of the electorate voted for right-wing extremist parties. The highest value in a constituency. For comparison: In the constituency of Cologne-Aachen, all right-wing extremist parties achieved 35.7%.

From March 1945, Western Pomerania, including the area around Stettin, was placed under provisional Polish administration , but was de facto administratively incorporated into the Polish state. The residents were driven out ; Eastern Pomerania, which was settled with Poland from 1945 , has also belonged to Poland under international law since 1992 . The remaining part of Western Pomerania became part of the Soviet occupation zone in 1945 . The history of the Prussian province of Pomerania ended with the formation of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in early July 1945. The GDR recognized the new border with Poland diplomatically as early as 1950, the Federal Republic of Germany indirectly in 1972 and finally only with the German-Polish border treaty .

The administrative structure in the province of Pomerania from 1816 to 1945

Administrative division of Pomerania in 1913: Stralsund district, Stettin district, Köslin district



Administrative division of Pomerania in 1939

In 1816 the province of Pomerania consisted of the three administrative districts of Köslin , Stettin and Stralsund . In the period up to 1945, the territorial administrative structure in the predominantly agriculturally structured province of Pomerania changed repeatedly.

In the 19th century, two large districts were divided: The Lauenburg-Bütow district was divided into the Lauenburg i. Pom. and Bütow . The Fürstenthum district was divided into the districts of Köslin , Kolberg-Körlin and Bublitz in 1872 .

Conversely, during the Weimar Republic , two small districts were incorporated into larger ones: The Bublitz district, which was only formed in 1872, was incorporated into the Köslin district in 1932 , with the district boundaries being partially changed. In 1932 the Schivelbein district was incorporated into the Belgard district. Also in 1932 the Stralsund administrative district was dissolved and its district was added to the Szczecin administrative district.

During the period of National Socialism extensive reorganisations took place. On October 1, 1938, the boundaries of the Prussian province of Pomerania were redrawn: The province of Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia was dissolved and, with most of its districts, integrated into the province of Pomerania as the new administrative district Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia, based in Schneidemühl . In addition, the districts of Arnswalde and Friedeberg (Neumark) from the province of Brandenburg and the Pomeranian districts of Dramburg and Neustettin were incorporated into the new administrative district.

The province of Pomerania underwent a final change in its district structure in 1939 with the Greater Stettin Act : The district of Randow was completely dissolved and its communities were assigned to the surrounding districts, which primarily increased the urban district of Stettin (see district of Randow # Cities and Towns 1939 ) .

Newly founded city districts

In addition to the urban district of Szczecin , which already existed in 1816, the following additional urban districts were created over time:

Name of the city ​​district founding year previous county
Stralsund 1874 Franzburg-Barth district
Stumble 1898 District of Stolp
Stargard 1901 Stargard County
Greifswald 1913 Greifswald district
Kolberg 1920 Kolberg-Körlin district
Koslin 1923 District of Köslin

Administrative division of the Province of Pomerania 1945

As of 1945, the province of Pomerania was structured as follows:

Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia district

The administrative region Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia consisted of one urban district and eight administrative districts:

City districts
  1. Schneidemühl
Counties
  1. Arnswalde district
  2. Deutsch Krone district
  3. District of Dramburg
  4. Flatow district
  5. District of Friedeberg Nm.
  6. Netzekreis (seat: Schönlanke )
  7. Neustettin district
  8. Schlochau district

Administrative region of Köslin

The administrative district of Köslin consisted of three urban districts and ten rural districts:

City districts
  1. Koslin
  2. Kolberg
  3. Stumble
Counties
  1. Belgard (Persante) county
  2. District of Bütow
  3. District of Greifenberg i. Pom.
  4. District of Köslin
  5. District of Kolberg-Körlin (seat: Kolberg)
  6. District of Lauenburg i. Pom.
  7. Regenwalde district (seat: Labes)
  8. Rummelsburg i. Pom.
  9. District of Schlawe i. Pom.
  10. District of Stolp

District of Szczecin

The administrative district of Szczecin consisted of four urban districts and thirteen rural districts:

City districts
  1. Greifswald
  2. Stargard i. Pom.
  3. Szczecin
  4. Stralsund
Counties
  1. Anklam district
  2. District of Cammin i. Pom.
  3. Demmin district
  4. District of Franzburg-Barth (seat: Barth)
  5. District of Greifenhagen
  6. Greifswald district
  7. Grimmen district
  8. Naugard district
  9. Pyritz district
  10. Rügen district (seat: Bergen on Rügen)
  11. District of Saatzig (seat: Stargard i. Pom.)
  12. Ueckermünde district
  13. District of Usedom-Wollin (seat: Swinemünde)

politics

Building of the government of the administrative district of Szczecin on the hook terrace in Szczecin, today the seat of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship Administration

Chief President

With the Prussian administrative reform (1815), the office of Upper President was created with its seat in Stettin. By 1945, Pomerania had 15 high presidents:

Provincial Association

→ Main article: Provincial Association of Pomerania

From 1876 to 1945, the Pomeranian Provincial Association existed as a higher municipal association in the area of ​​the Pomeranian Province . The provincial parliament of the provincial association was initially elected by the districts and independent cities, then from 1921 to 1933 directly by the citizens of the province. The provincial association existed formally until 1945. However, his independent position was eliminated as early as 1933 and 1934 within the scope of the Gleichschaltung .

Development of the railway network

The province of Pomerania was largely developed by the Berlin-Stettiner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (BStE), which opened its first line from Berlin to Stettin in 1843 and on to Stargard in 1846 . Here the Stargard-Poznan Railway Company joined in 1847 . In 1851/52 it was transferred to the state Prussian Eastern Railway , whose first main line began in 1851 in the then West Prussian Kreuz and led via Schneidemühl to Bromberg . The connection from Frankfurt (Oder) came about in 1857. From Schneidemühl it went on in the direction of Konitz - Dirschau . Further branch lines and cross connections with the Neustettin junction followed in 1877/78.

1878 Subsequently, the Hinterpommersche Eisenbahn, part of the network of the Berlin-Stettiner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, was taken over by the state and incorporated into the Royal Railway Directorate of the Eastern Railway; as early as 1859 it had continued the railway line from Stargard to Köslin along with a Belgard - Kolberg branch and in 1869/70 reached the west Prussian capital Danzig via Stolp .

In 1863, the Berlin-Stettiner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft ran routes from Stettin and Angermünde to Western Pomerania , west of the Oder , which united in Pasewalk and ended via Anklam - Greifswald in Stralsund . From 1877/78 the Berlin Northern Railway , a railway line via Neubrandenburg and Demmin, also led there .

The main route along the Oder between Küstrin and Stettin was built in 1876/77 by the Breslau-Schweidnitz-Freiburg Railway Company .

In 1882 the Altdamm-Colberger Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft and the Stargard-Cüstriner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft started operations.

In the following years, the Prussian State Railroad took over all of these private railway companies and added branch lines to them.

In addition, just in Pomerania - after the creation of the legal requirements - numerous small railroad companies emerged in many districts up to the First World War , in which the state, provinces, districts, cities and private interested parties - mostly Lenz & Co GmbH as a builder and operator - were involved were. You opened up with z. T. narrow-gauge railways of simple construction the rural areas. From 1910 they united to a joint management under the direction of the small railway department of the provincial association, since 1937 in the state railway directorate Pomerania . Finally, in 1940, all small railways were brought together in a public corporation under the name Pommersche Landesbahnen .

See also

literature

  • Julius Heinrich Biesner: History of Pomerania and Rügen with attached special history of the Eldena monastery . Greifswald 1839. (online)
  • Heinrich Berghaus : Land book of the Duchy of Pomerania and the Principality of Rügen . Part II. Volume 1, Anklam 1865. (online) ; Part II. Volume 3. Anklam 1868. (online) ; Part II. Volume 4. Anklam 1868. (online) ; III. Part. Volume 1. Anklam 1867. (online) ; IV. Part. Volume 2. Anklam 1868. (online)
  • Hermann Hoogeweg : The founders and monasteries of the province of Pomerania. Two volumes. Léon Saunier, Stettin 1924 and 1925.
  • Johann Georg Heinrich Hassel (arr.): Complete and most recent description of the earth of the Prussian monarchy and the Free State of Krakow. Geographisches Institut, Weimar 1819, pp. 174–210. (on-line)
  • Gerhard Köbler : Historical lexicon of the German countries. The German territories from the Middle Ages to the present. 7th, completely revised edition. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-54986-1 .
  • Friedrich Gottlob Leonhardi (ed.): Earth description of the Prussian monarchy. Volume 3, Halle 1794, pp. 523-923. (on-line)
  • Dirk Mellies: Modernization in the Prussian Province? The administrative district of Stettin in the 19th century (= critical studies on historical science . Volume 201). Göttingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-525-37023-0 .
  • Friedrich von Restorff : Topographical description of the province of Pomerania with a statistical overview. Nicolai, Berlin and Stettin 1827. (online)
  • Berthold Schulze: The reform of the administrative districts in Brandenburg and Pomerania 1809-1818 , Berlin 1931.
  • Otto Sommer: The Province of Pomerania (= regional studies of Prussia, vol. 10). W. Spemann, Stuttgart and Berlin, 2nd edition 1913.
  • Thomas Stamm-Kuhlmann (Ed.): Pomerania in the 19th century. State and social development in a comparative perspective (= publications of the Historical Commission for Pomerania. Volume 43). Cologne et al. 2007, ISBN 978-3-412-22806-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Statistical Yearbook for the German Reich 1939/40 (digitized version)
  2. ↑ Meyer's Large Conversation Lexicon. 6th edition. 16th volume. Leipzig / Vienna 1909, p. 134.
  3. ↑ Dirk Schleinert (text), Heiko Wartenberg: The old Pommern life and work on the flat country . Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2010, ISBN 978-3-356-01471-6 , p. 3 .
  4. ↑ The Big Brockhaus. 15th edition. 14th volume, Leipzig 1933, pp. 741-744.
  5. ↑ Meyer's Large Conversation Lexicon. 6th edition. Volume 16, Leipzig / Vienna 1909, p. 134.
  6. ↑ See Royal Statistical Bureau (Hrsg.): Statistisches Handbuch für den Prussischen Staat. Volume III, Publishing House of the Royal Statistical Bureau, Berlin 1898, p. 128 f.
  7. ^ Statistisches Bureau zu Berlin (Ed.): Contributions to the statistics of the Prussian state . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1821 ( digitized version ).
  8. ↑ Royal Statistical Bureau (ed.): Mittheilungen des Statistisches Bureau's in Berlin, Volume 2 . Population of the districts. ( Digitized version ).
  9. ^ Michael Rademacher: German administrative history from the unification of the empire in 1871 to the reunification in 1990. p_pommern.html. (Online material for the dissertation, Osnabrück 2006).
  10. ^ Reichstag elections, constituency Pomerania . www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de Retrieved on January 11, 2017.
  11. ↑ territorial.de. Retrieved October 21, 2012 .
  12. ↑ Dieter Grusenick, Erich Morlok, Horst Regling: The Angermünde-Stralsund Railway including branch lines . transpress, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-71095-1 , pp. 7-15 .