Warmia

Warmia (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. Important landmarks include the Cathedral Hill in Frombork, the bishops' castles at Olsztyn and Lidzbark, the medieval town of Reszel and the sanctuary in Gietrzwałd, a site of Marian apparitions. Geographically, it is an area of many lakes and lies at the upper Łyna river and on the right bank of Pasłęka, stretching in the northwest to the Vistula Bay. Varmia has a number of architectural monuments ranging from Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque to Classicism, Historicism and Art Nouveau. Varmia is part of a larger historical region called Prussia, which was inhabited by the Old Prussians and later on was populated mainly by Germans and Poles. Varmia has traditionally strong connections with neighbouring Mazuria, but it remained Catholic and belonged directly to Poland between 1454/1466 and 1772, whereas Mazuria was a part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Order and Ducal Prussia, which became predominantly Protestant. Varmia has been under the dominion of various states over the course of its history, most notably the Old Prussians, the Teutonic Knights, the Kingdom of Poland and the Kingdom of Prussia. The history of the region is closely connected to that of the Archbishopric of Warmia (formerly Prince-Bishopric of Warmia). The region is associated with the Prussian tribe, the Varmians, who settled in an approximate area. According to folk etymology, Varmia is named after the legendary Prussian chief Warmo, and Ermland derives from his widow Erma. By the early Middle Ages the Warmians, an Old Prussian tribe, inhabited the area. In the 13th century the area became a battleground in the Northern Crusades.