Duchy of Oświęcim Księstwo Oświęcimskie (Polish) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1315–1564 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms of the Austrian Dukes of Auschwitz, 1890 | |||||||||
 Silesian duchies in 1309–11,Oświęcim before its separation from the Duchy of Cieszyn (yellow) | |||||||||
| Status | Silesian duchy | ||||||||
| Capital | Oświęcim | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Partitioned fromCieszyn | 1315 | ||||||||
• Vassalized byBohemia | 1327 | ||||||||
• Split offZator | 1445 | ||||||||
• Sold toPoland | 1457 | ||||||||
• Incorporated intoKraków Voivodeship | 1564 | ||||||||
| 1772 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Poland | ||||||||
TheDuchy of Oświęcim (Polish:Księstwo Oświęcimskie), or theDuchy of Auschwitz (German:Herzogtum Auschwitz), was one of theDuchies of Silesia in the lands ofLesser Poland (Małopolska), formed in the aftermath of thefragmentation of Poland, centered aroundOświęcim.
It was established about 1315 on theLesser Polish lands east of theBiała river held by theSilesian branch of the Polish royalPiast dynasty. Briefly semi-autonomous, with its capital inOświęcim, it was finally sold to theKingdom of Poland in 1457. Thanks to the annexation to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, the areas of the Duchy of Oświęcim were reunited with theKraków Land ofLesser Poland. Annexed by theHabsburg Empire in 1772 as a part ofGalicia, the remaining ducal title ceased to exist in 1918 with the lands being reincorporated into theSecond Polish Republic as a part ofKraków Voivodeship.
From the beginning, these areas were part of the Kraków Land ofLesser Poland (Małopolska). The duchy was created in 1315 in the aftermath of the 12th century fragmentation of Poland on these southeastern estates of the originalDuchy of Silesia, which the Polish High DukeCasimir II the Just had split off theSeniorate Province and granted to the Silesian dukeMieszko IV Tanglefoot in 1177. From 1281 onwards, the area had been part of the SilesianDuchy of Cieszyn until after the death of DukeMieszko I in 1315, the lands of Oświęcim east of the Biała were split off from it as a separate duchy for Mieszko's sonWładysław. In 1327 his heir DukeJan I the Scholastic paid homage to KingJohn of Bohemia and likewise many other Silesian duchies, Oświęcim became a vassal of theBohemian Crown.
In 1445 the duchies ofZator andToszek were created from some the lands of the duchy.[1] Though the Duchy of Oświęcim had fallen under the Bohemian vassalage, it was re-united with Poland in 1454, when the last duke,Jan IV, declared himself avassal of the Polish kingCasimir IV Jagiellon. Jan had no male heirs and sold his duchy to King Casimir for the price of 3,000,000Prague groschen three years later.
At the time the duchy was being sold it consisted of: two towns (Oświęcim andKęty), two ducal castles (in Oświęcim and Wołek) and 45 villages:[2]Bielany,Łęki,Babice,Lipnik,Osiek,Brzeszcze,Monowice,Dwory,Stara Polanka,Nowa Polanka,Włosienica,Poręba,Grojec,Sparowicze (considered lost),Nidek,Witkowice,Głębowice,Bulowice,Czaniec,Malec,Kańczuga,Nowa Wieś,Roczyny,Broszkowice,Brzezinka,Rajsko,Franciszowice (Pławy),Przecieszyn,Skidziń,Wilczkowice,Wilamowice,Hecznarowice,Bujaków,Kozy,Mikuszowice,Pisarzowice,Hałcnów,Biertułtowice,Komorowice,Żebracz,Bestwina,Dankowice,Stara Wieś,Jawiszowice,Harmęże.
At theGeneral sejm of 1564, KingSigismund II Augustus issued privileges of incorporation recognizing both Duchies of Oświęcim and Zator as part of thePolish Crown into theSilesian County of theKraków Voivodeship (as a part ofLesser Poland Province), although the Polish kings retained both ducal titles.
After theFirst Partition of Poland in 1772, the lands of the former duchies of Oświęcim and Zator were affiliated to the HabsburgKingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, anAustrian crown land from 1804, and joined theGerman Confederation in 1818 by virtue of its historical affiliation.[3] By the 1919Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye they were attached to the PolishKraków Voivodeship.
The Dukes of Oświęcim belonged to theSilesian branch of thePiast dynasty (see alsoDukes of Silesia). It should be added that although this area temporarily belonged to the Silesian Piast dynasty, it is the area ofLesser Poland, notSilesia.
| 1314/5-1321/4 | Władysław I (son ofMieszko I of Cieszyn, from 1290 co-regent, due to division of Oświęcim) |
| 1321/4-1372 | Jan I the Scholastic (son of Władysław I) |
| 1321/4-1325 | Euphrosyne of Masovia (wife of Władysław I, mother of Jan I, regent, d. 1329) |
| 1372-1375/6 | Jan II (son Jan I) |
| 1375/6-1405 | Jan III (son of Jan II, died childless) |
| 1405–1406 | Przemysław (also known as Przemysław the Younger (Młodszy), son ofPrzemysław I Noszak (whose uncle wasMieszko I, Duke of Cieszyn), from 1404 prince of half ofŚcinawa andGłogów, from 1405 also inToszek) |
| 1410-1433/4 | Casimir I (son of Przemysł Młodszy, due to division in 1414 of Oświęcim, Toszek andStrzelin (in Strzelin until 1427)) |
| 1433/4-1484 | Przemysław of Toszek (son of Casimir I, also prince of Toszek due to its division in 1445) |
| 1433/4-1456 | Jan IV (Janusz) (brother of Przemysław Toszecki and son of Kazimierz I, also prince of Toszek, from 1445 due to a division of Oświęcim, 1465-1482Gliwice, abdicated (Oświęcim transferred to Crown of Poland), d. 1496) |
In the aftermath of the First Partition of Poland until 1918, the HabsburgHoly Roman Emperors, from 1804Emperors of Austria held the title of aDuke of Auschwitz (German:Herzog zu Auschwitz) which constituted part of theirofficial grand title.
| Emperor | Acceded | Deceded |
| Joseph II | 1772 | 20 February 1790 |
| Leopold II | 20 February 1790 | 1 March 1792 |
| Francis I | 1 March 1792 | 2 March 1835 |
| Ferdinand I | 2 March 1835 | 2 December 1848 |
| Francis Joseph I | 2 December 1848 | 21 November 1916 |
| Charles I | 21 November 1916 | 11 November 1918 |
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| Lower Silesia | |||
| Upper Silesia | |||
| Other | |||
50°02′02″N19°14′17″E / 50.034014°N 19.238140°E /50.034014; 19.238140
