Prussian CrusadeThe Prussian Crusade was a series of 13th-century campaigns of Roman Catholic crusaders, primarily led by the Teutonic Knights, to Christianize under duress the pagan Old Prussians. Invited after earlier unsuccessful expeditions against the Prussians by Christian Polish kings, the Teutonic Knights began campaigning against the Prussians, Lithuanians and Samogitians in 1230.
WarmiaWarmia (Warmia; Latin: Varmia, Warmia; ; Warmian: Warńija; Varmė; Old Prussian: Wārmi) is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia. Its historic capitals were Frombork and Lidzbark Warmiński and the largest city is Olsztyn. Varmia is currently the core of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (province). The region covers an area of around and has approximately 350,000 inhabitants.
Polish CorridorThe Polish Corridor (Polnischer Korridor; Pomorze, Polski Korytarz), also known as the Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia (Pomeranian Voivodeship, eastern Pomerania, formerly part of West Prussia), which provided the Second Republic of Poland (1920–1939) with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany (Weimar Republic) from the province of East Prussia. At its narrowest point, the Polish territory was just 30 km wide.
Duchy of PrussiaThe Duchy of Prussia (Herzogtum Preußen, Księstwo Pruskie, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (Herzogliches Preußen; Prusy Książęce) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until the Protestant Reformation in 1525. The duchy became the first Protestant state when Albert, Duke of Prussia formally adopted Lutheranism in 1525.
German minority in PolandThe registered German minority in Poland (Niemcy w Polsce) at the 2011 national census consisted of 148,000 people, of whom 64,000 declared both German and Polish ethnicities and 45,000 solely German ethnicity. At a 2002 census there were 152,900 people declaring German ethnicity. The German language is spoken in certain areas in Opole Voivodeship, where most of the minority resides, and in Silesian Voivodeship. German-speakers first came to these regions (present-day Opole and Silesian Voivodeships) during the Late Middle Ages.
GiżyckoGiżycko gJi'życko (former Lec or Łuczany; ; Leičių pilis) is a town in northeastern Poland with 28,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated between Lake Kisajno and Lake Niegocin in the region of Masuria, and has been within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999, having previously been in the Suwałki Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the seat of Giżycko County. Giżycko is a popular summer tourist destination due to its location within the Masurian Lake District and possesses numerous historical monuments, including a 14th-century Teutonic castle.
DziałdowoDziałdowo d͡ʑau̯ˈdɔvɔ (Soldau) (Old Prussian: Saldawa) is a town in northern Poland with 20,935 inhabitants as of December 2021, the capital of Działdowo County. As part of Masuria, it is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), Działdowo belonged previously to Ciechanów Voivodeship (1975–1998). The town is a major railroad junction connecting the capital city of Warsaw with Gdańsk and Olsztyn to the north. The first settlement in the vicinity, known as Sasinowie in Polish and Sassen in German, was established by the Old Prussians, an indigenous Baltic tribe.
Lithuania MinorLithuania Minor (Mažoji Lietuva; Kleinlitauen; Litwa Mniejsza; Ма́лая Литва́), or Prussian Lithuania (Prūsų Lietuva; Preußisch-Litauen, Litwa Pruska), is a historical ethnographic region of Prussia, where Prussian Lithuanians (or Lietuvininkai) lived, now located in Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. Lithuania Minor encompassed the northeastern part of the region and got its name from the territory's substantial Lithuanian-speaking population.
Curzon LineThe Curzon Line was a proposed demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and the Soviet Union, two new states emerging after World War I. Based on a suggestion by Herbert James Paton, it was first proposed in 1919 by Lord Curzon, the British Foreign Secretary, to the Supreme War Council as a diplomatic basis for a future border agreement. The line became a major geopolitical factor during World War II, when the USSR invaded eastern Poland, resulting in the split of Poland's territory between the USSR and Nazi Germany along the Curzon Line.
Masurian dialectsThe Masurian ethnolect (Masurian: mazurská gádkä; mazurski; Masurisch), according to some linguists, is a dialect group of the Polish language; others consider Masurian to be a separate language, spoken by the Masurian people in northeastern Poland. From the 14th century, some settlers from Masovia started to settle in southern Prussia, which had been devastated by the crusades of the Teutonic Knights against the native Old Prussians.
