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— CH. 1 · FOUNDATIONS OF PIAST POLAND —

Territorial evolution of Poland

~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
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  • In 966, Mieszko I of Poland accepted Christianity and established the first independent Polish state. This decision placed a nucleus between the Oder and Vistula rivers on the North-Central European Plain into the broader Christian world. During his long reign from roughly 960 to 992, most territories inhabited by Polish tribes were added to his territory into a single Polish state. By 981 he lost the Czerwień Cities in the south-east to the Kyivan Rus'. The last of his conquests included Silesia and south-western Lesser Poland that were incorporated some time before 990. In 1025, Bolesław the Brave succeeded in obtaining papal permission to crown himself king. Relations with the Holy Roman Empire deteriorated during his rule, resulting in wars between 1002 and 1018. Poland took control of the Lusatia region in the south-west and briefly held Miśnia. After conflicts ended with the Peace of Bautzen in 1018, Bolesław retained control of Lusatia. He also retook the Czerwień Cities during an expedition to Kiev in 1018. The first Piast monarchy collapsed after the death of Bolesław's son Mieszko II in 1034. Deprived of government, Poland was ravaged by an anti-feudal and pagan rebellion. King Bretislav of Bohemia invaded in 1039, causing territorial losses and disrupting the Gniezno archdiocese. Duke Casimir I returned from exile in 1039 to rebuild the Polish monarchy. He recovered Masovia from Miecław in 1047 and Silesia from the Czechs in 1050. His successor Bolesław II the Generous restored most of the country's strength and crowned himself king in 1076. By 1076 he had recaptured Brześć.

  • In 1569, Poland cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This act formed the Polish, Lithuanian Commonwealth, which became one of the largest and most populous countries in 16th- and 17th-century Europe. In 1492, the territory covered approximately 815,000 square kilometers, making it the largest state in Europe at that time. The Commonwealth featured a political system often called Noble's Democracy or Golden Freedom. Laws reduced the sovereign's power while the legislature known as the Sejm remained controlled by the nobility. Religious tolerance marked the state during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In 1410, the bulk of Gdańsk Pomerania returned to Poland after defeating Teutonic forces. In February 1454, the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation asked Casimir IV Jagiellon to reincorporate Gdańsk Pomerania and Chełmno Land. King Casimir signed an act of incorporation in Kraków in March 1454. A Thirteen Years' War followed, ending with the Treaty of Wehlau in 1635. This treaty renounced Polish suzerainty over Ducal Prussia. During the Deluge, Swedish forces invaded from 1655 to 1660. The Khmelnytsky Uprising began in 1648, leading to Russian invasion. By 1772, the Commonwealth lost about 30% of its territory. The population dropped from 14 million to roughly 9 million people. In 1561, the Livonian Confederation was dismantled. Territories of modern Latvia and southern Estonia were ceded to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Riga became a major port city under Polish control until 1660.

  • In February 1772, an agreement for the partition of the Polish, Lithuanian Commonwealth was signed in Vienna. Early in August, Russian, Prussian, and Austrian troops simultaneously entered the Commonwealth. By the first partition, Poland lost about 211,000 square kilometers. This represented 30% of its territory and one-third of its population. Austria annexed a large portion of southern Poland with the major city of Lwów. Russia took territories in the north-east and east. Prussia annexed Warmia, Powiśle, northern Greater Poland, and most of Polish Pomerania except Gdańsk. A second treaty of Partition was signed in St Petersburg on the 23rd of January 1793. Russia and Prussia took so much territory that only one-third of the 1772 population remained. On the 24th of October 1795, representatives of partitioning powers signed a treaty dividing the remaining territories. The independent Polish state disappeared from maps entirely. Napoleon established the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807 from lands ceded by Prussia. Volunteer Polish legions attached themselves to Bonaparte's armies hoping for independence. The Duchy held in personal union by King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony. In 1809, a short war with Austria started. Although the Duchy won the Battle of Raszyn, Austrian troops entered Warsaw. French forces then captured Kraków and Lwów. Following Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia, the duchy was occupied until 1815. Congress Poland was created out of the Duchy at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Grand Duchy of Posen existed between 1815 and 1848 as part of Prussia. Free City of Cracow was created in 1815 but annexed by Austria after an uprising in 1846. By April 1848, the Prussian army suppressed Polish militias and downgraded the region to a Province.

  • On the 11th of November 1918, Poland proclaimed independence after liberating parts of southern and central Poland. Cities like Tarnów and Kraków were liberated on October 31, reaching Warsaw on November 11. The West Ukrainian People's Republic declared sovereignty over Eastern Galicia including Lviv on the 1st of November 1918. A battle erupted in Lviv where Ukrainians claimed the city despite Poles constituting over 60% of inhabitants. In the 27th of December 1918, the Polish people rose up in the Greater Poland Uprising in Poznań. Fighting continued until 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles recreated the nation. Most of the Prussian province of Posen was granted to Poland. Seventy percent of West Prussia became the so-called Polish corridor. Sixty percent of residents voted for German citizenship while 40 percent voted for Poland in Upper Silesia. The area was divided accordingly. On the 17th of July 1919, a ceasefire ended the Polish, Ukrainian War with the West Ukrainian People's Republic. East Galicia transferred to Poland under Supreme Allies Council decision. The Polish, Soviet War lasted from February 1919 to March 1921. Lenin called the outcome a gigantic defeat in a secret report dated the 20th of September 1920. The Treaty of Riga signed in March 1921 established eastern borders. On the 31st of August 1938, Poland annexed Trans-Olza following the Munich Agreement. At noon on October 1, Czechoslovakia agreed to evacuate troops and police. Polish military groups began assimilation of the population introducing Polish as the only official language.

  • In 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland pursuant to the Molotov, Ribbentrop Pact. Germany annexed lands lost to reformed Poland including the Polish Corridor and Free City of Danzig. Two decrees by Adolf Hitler divided annexed areas into administrative units like Reichsgau Wartheland. Eastern areas became part of either Soviet Belarus or Soviet Ukraine. Vilnius was seized by the Soviet Union and returned to Lithuania. At the Tehran Conference of 1943, Allies accepted changes to Poland's territorial extent. Territories east of the Curzon Line were permanently annexed by the Soviet Union. Poland lost over 20% of its pre-war borders. Most Polish inhabitants were expelled from these regions. Poland received former German territory east of the Oder, Neisse line. This included southern two thirds of East Prussia and most of Pomerania. The town of Swinemünde now Świnoujście joined Poland. The city of Stettin now Szczecin also came under Polish control via Potsdam Agreement. From June until mid-July, Polish military and militia expelled nearly all residents immediately east of rivers Oder-Neisse. New borders between post-war German states and Poland were reaffirmed in Treaty of Zgorzelec with East Germany in 1950. A border agreement signed the 16th of August 1945 restored western portion of Byelorussian SSR to Poland. Belastok Region divided into Soviet Brest Region, Grodno Region, and Polish Białystok Voivodeship.

  • On the 20th of May 1945, an agreement for return to 1938 borders was signed in Trstena between Czechoslovakia and Poland. Fighting occurred between Polish and Czechoslovak militias before calming with arrival of Polish troops on the 17th of July 1945. Soviets decided to hand Trans-Olza region to Czechoslovakia despite Polish demands. All sides signed a treaty the 21st of September 1945 accepting the 31st of December 1937 boundary as current frontier. In 1948, the village of Medyka near Przemyśl transferred to Poland after minor correction. In 1949, modest exchange of territory occurred between Polish People's Republic and German Democratic Republic. Linken Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania transferred from Poland to GDR in return for narrow strip connecting settlements. On the 15th of February 1951, Aleksander Zawadzki and Andrey Vyshinsky signed Treaty No. 6222 exchanging sectors of state territories. A small area on Usedom Island ceded from East Germany to Poland included water pumping station for Świnoujście. Agreement concerning final demarcation of state frontier between Czechoslovakia and Poland signed the 13th of June 1958 confirmed border at line of the 1st of January 1938. March 1975 saw modification along Dunajec river permitting dam construction in Czorsztyn region southeast of Krakow. the 22nd of May 1989 completed delimitation of territorial waters in Gulf of Szczecin between East Germany and Poland. In 2002, Poland and Slovakia made further minor border adjustments confirming stability.

Common questions

When did Mieszko I of Poland accept Christianity and establish the first independent Polish state?

Mieszko I of Poland accepted Christianity in 966 to establish the first independent Polish state. This decision placed a nucleus between the Oder and Vistula rivers on the North-Central European Plain into the broader Christian world.

What happened to the Polish, Lithuanian Commonwealth during the partitions of 1772 and 1795?

In February 1772, an agreement for the partition of the Polish, Lithuanian Commonwealth was signed in Vienna, causing Poland to lose about 30% of its territory. On the 24th of October 1795, representatives of partitioning powers signed a treaty dividing the remaining territories until the independent Polish state disappeared from maps entirely.

How did World War II affect the borders of Poland regarding the Soviet Union and Germany?

Poland lost over 20% of its pre-war borders when territories east of the Curzon Line were permanently annexed by the Soviet Union. Poland received former German territory east of the Oder, Neisse line which included southern two thirds of East Prussia and most of Pomerania.

When did Poland proclaim independence after liberating parts of southern and central Poland in 1918?

On the 11th of November 1918, Poland proclaimed independence after liberating parts of southern and central Poland. Cities like Tarnów and Kraków were liberated on October 31, reaching Warsaw on November 11.

What border agreements were signed between Poland and Czechoslovakia or Slovakia in the mid-20th century?

On the 20th of May 1945, an agreement for return to 1938 borders was signed in Trstena between Czechoslovakia and Poland. Agreement concerning final demarcation of state frontier between Czechoslovakia and Poland signed the 13th of June 1958 confirmed border at line of the 1st of January 1938.

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All sources

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