Lubusz Land
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Lubusz Land, (Polish: ziemia lubuska, German: Land Lebus, Czech: Lubušsko) is a historical ziemia region in Poland, on the Oder river. Historically at times Polish, the Imperial Bishopric of Lebus, east of Brandenburg, west of Greater Poland, south of Pomerania and north of Silesia. Presently the Lubusz Land is split by the Oder, eastern part lies within the Polish Lubusz Voivodeship, the other part called Land Lebus including its historical capital Lebus lies in Brandenburg, Germany, west of the Oder river.
[edit] History
This territory belonged to Poland at the time of Prince Mieszko I of Poland, the founder of Poland. It was soon erected to a bishopric. In 1124-1125 records note the new Bishop of Lebus nominated by Boleslaus III Wrymouth under the Archbishopric of Gniezno. The Archbishopric of Magdeburg, however, also tried to obtain control of Lebus. In 1252, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg and Brandenburg bought the bishopric from the petty Polish Prince Boleslaus Rogatka. It was later incorporated into Brandenburg - the new Neumark with the administrative center in Küstrin was created on border between Pomerania and Great Poland and expanded further to the East on the forest areas between Pomerania and Great Poland. In 1276 the site of the bishopric was moved to Gorzyca, east of the Oder river. In 1325 Ladislaus II of Poland allied with bishop Stephan II and Brandenburg raided the area, burning the cathedral in Gorzyca. The see of the bishopric was moved again, this time to a new cathedral in Lebus. In 1373 the bishopric was again devastated by an army of Bohemian Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. The see of the bishopric now moved to Fürstenwalde.
In 1424 the bishopric was moved from the overlordship of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg leaving Polish province of the church. The last Catholic bishop was Georg von Blumenthal, who died in 1550 after a heroic non-military counter-reformationary campaign. Since 1555-1598 the bishopric was secularised and became a Lutheran diocese and the area was called East Brandenburg. At this time, all official links with Poland had been cut. Since 1701 the area belonged to the Kingdom of Prussia, since 1871 to Germany. The most numerous Polish minority was in the town of Kalau (Polish: Kalawa), although the great majority (90+%) of the population was German.
Most of the Lubusz Land was transferred to Poland in 1945 while the Germans retained areas west of the Oder river including town Lebus, the historical capital of the region. The biggest city of the Polish part of Lubus Land is Gorzow Wielkopolski (German: Landsberg (Warthe)).
