Landkreis Leobschütz (Leobschütz district) was a Prussian district in Silesia, from 1743 to 1945, with its capital at Leobschütz. Its historical roots lie in the Duchy of Leobschütz.
After most of Silesia fell under Prussian rule, King Frederick the Great introduced Prussian administrative structures in Lower Silesia in 1742 and in Upper Silesia in 1743.[1] In the course of the Prussian Reform Movement, the district of Leobschütz was assigned to Regierungsbezirk Oppeln in the Province of Silesia.[2]
During the district reform of 1 January 1818 in Regierungsbezirk Oppeln, the district boundaries were changed as follows:[3] [4]
On 8 November 1919 the province of Silesia was dissolved. The new Province of Upper Silesia was formed from Regierungsbezirk Oppeln. In the Upper Silesia plebiscite held on 20 March 1921, 99.6% of the voters in the Leobschütz district voted for Germany and 0.4% voted for Poland. Consequently, the district remained in Germany in the interwar period. On 1 April 1938 the provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia were merged to form the Province of Silesia. On 18 January 1941, the province of Silesia was dissolved again and the province of Upper Silesia was formed, including territories annexed from Poland. In the spring of 1945, the Red Army captured the district and placed it under Polish administration, after which the German population of the district was expelled.
The district had a majority German population, with significant Czech and Polish minorities.
| 1843 | 1855 | 1858 | 1861 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germans | 45,117 | 77.9% | 55,263 | 79.5% | 58,611 | 80.5% | 61,379 | 81.3% | 64,391 | 81.9% | |
| Czechs | 7,760 | 13.4% | 10,166 | 14.6% | 11,038 | 15.2% | 11,567 | 15.3% | 12,428 | 15.8% | |
| Poles | 5,060 | 8.7% | 4,090 | 5.9% | 3,151 | 4.3% | 2,572 | 3.4% | 1,775 | 2.3% | |
| Total | 57,937 | 69,519 | 72,800 | 75,518 | 78,594 | ||||||
In 1936, several communities in the Leobschütz district were renamed: