Kreis Schwetz was a Prussian district that existed from 1818 to 1920, with its capital at Schwetz. The district was located on the western bank of the Vistula river in the part of West Prussia that fell to Poland after the First World War through the Treaty of Versailles in 1920.
The area of the Schwetz district belonged to the State of the Teutonic Order since 1309 until 1466, after which the region became part of Royal Prussia, which was under the Polish Crown.[1] In 1569, Royal Prussia was fully integrated into the Kingdom of Poland.[2]
The area of the Schwetz district became part of the Kingdom of Prussia with the First Partition of Poland in 1772 and belonged to the Konitz district until 1818. In 1815, the area became part of Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder in the province of West Prussia. As part of a comprehensive district reform, the new Schwetz district was formed on April 1, 1818, with its capital at Schwetz.
With the signing of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, the Schwetz district had to be ceded by Germany to Poland on January 10, 1920 for the purpose of establishing the Polish Corridor. After the invasion of Poland in 1939 and the annexation of the territory by Nazi Germany, the district became part of the new Regierungsbezirk Bromberg in Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia. Towards the end of World War II, the district was occupied by the Red Army in the spring of 1945 and was restored to Poland.
The district of Schwetz had a mixed population of Germans and Poles.[3]
| 1855 | 1861 | 1900 | 1910 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German (includes local Jews) | 25,673 | 57.5% | 32,722 | 54.1% | 34,648 | 53.3% | 37,021 | 44.7% | 42,233 | 47.1% | |
| Polish / Bilingual / Other | 18,977 | 42.5% | 27,784 | 45.9% | 30,310 | 46.7% | 45,754 | 55.3% | 47,479 | 52.9% | |
| Total | 44,650 | 60,506 | 64,958 | 82,775 | 89,712 | ||||||
In the German Empire, the Schwetz district formed the Marienwerder 5 Reichstag constituency. In all Reichstag elections, this constituency was closely contested between German and Polish candidates. The respective winners only prevailed with narrow majorities:[4]
In 1912, the Schwetz district included the two towns of Neuenburg in Westpreußen and Schwetz, as well as 151 rural communities:[5]
|
|
|
|