Forms of rural settlements in Poland and their transformation in the course of history

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RAZPRAVE
FORMS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN POLAND
AND THEIR TRANSFORMATION IN THE COURSE
OF HISTORY
Marek Koter and Mariusz Kulesza
Department of Political Geography and Regional Studies, University of Lodz,
ul. Kopcinskiego 31, 90-142 Lodz, Poland
e-mail: geopol@geo.uni-lodz.pl
Izvirni znanstveni članek
COBISS 1.01
Abstract
The Polish countryside has undergone various morphological transformations throughout
the history. That was resulting from unusual territorial variability of Poland and different
national status of individual historic regions, which were remaining within the structures of
neighbouring states and were influenced by their culture, various economic concepts and
patterns of rural spatial organization. As a result of that the forms of rural settlement in different
historical regions of Poland acquired some specific characteristics.
Key words: morphological forms of the villages, rural spatial organization, Poland
OBLIKE PODEŽELSKIH NASELIJ NA POLJSKEM IN NJIHOVA
PREOBRAZBA V TEKU ZGODOVINE
Izvleček
Prispevek analizira vplive političnega razvoja na oblikovanje podeželskih naselij. Podeželje
na Poljskem je v svoji zgodovini doživelo številne velike spremembe. Za evropsko raven velja
Poljska za državo, kjer se je meja pogosto spreminjala. Vse to ter številni kulturni vplivi iz
sosedstva so oblikovali zelo raznolika podeželska naselja, ki so se kljub obema svetovnima
vojnama in radikalnim prostorskim posegom v času socializma v marsičem ohranili do
danes.
Ključne besede: morfološke oblike podeželskih naselij, podeželska prostorska organizacija,
Poljska
Dela 25 ● 2006 ● 43-59

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1. POLITICO-HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF EVOLUTION
OF RURAL SETTLEMENT IN POLAND
Rural settlements in Poland have undergone various morphological transformations
throughout the history. Often, the transformation processes had quite specific character in
different regions of the country, which was a result of extremely frequent changes in Poland’s
territory. Consequently, in many historical periods different provinces of Poland were under
foreign domination and, in some cases, for centuries remained within the political structures of
neighbouring states, being influenced by their culture, economic systems and rural settlement
patterns.
It was, for instance, the case of Silesia, the province which since the 14th century belonged
to Kingdom of Bohemia, then passed to the House of Hapsburg, to be annexed later by Prussia
and then Germany. Another province that often changed hands was Western Pomerania: at
first an independent duchy, in the late Middle Ages it was taken over by Brandenburg, and
in the 17th and 18th centuries a large portion of this region, around the city of Szczecin, was
annexed by Sweden. In East Prussia the history took yet different course: this ancestral land of
Baltic Prussians (akin to Lithuanians) was ruled by the German knight order (the Order of the
Teutonic House of Mary in Jerusalem). Although since the 15th century part of this area passed
under Poland’s control (Royal Prussia) and the remainder was considered as Polish feudal
fief, nevertheless the settlement system was almost entirely established according to western
patterns. On the other hand some foreign lands have been incorporated into Poland (within its
present-day borders): in the 14th century – Red Ruthenia in south-east, and in the 16th-17th
centuries Podlasie, part of Black Ruthenia, White Ruthenia and Lithuania proper in north-east.
Here, foreign, non-Polish influences played also active part in shaping the settlement system.
Apart from changing political affiliation of different historical provinces, of considerable
importance for shaping the settlement system in Poland was immigration of foreigners, most
notably Vlachs, Dutch and Germans. Vlachs, shepherding people of Balkan origin, migrating
since the medieval times northward following the Carpathian range, in the 14th-16th centuries
gradually populated Slovak and Polish Carpathians, up to Cieszyn Silesia and Moravia.
Initially they abode on high pastures living exclusively by shepherding. In time, however,
as a result of increasingly frequent contacts with Ruthenian, Polish and Slovak population
they assimilated with the Slavs and tended to settle down in the Carpathians and piedmont
areas, forming rural settlements according to the so-called Walachian law. Dutch settlers,
mostly religious refugees (Mennonites) from the Netherlands and Friesland, as early as the
16th century brought wetlands in the Vistula River mouth into cultivation, and later, up to the
late 18th century spread over other areas in northern and central Poland. German colonization
contributed to development of rural settlement system in Poland in two historical periods.
First, in the 13th-15th centuries German settlers played important part in the process of
planned foundation of villages, mostly in Silesia and Pomerania, under the so-called German
law. Second, after the partition of Poland in the late 18th century a large group of German
newcomers appeared in Prussia-occupied areas in Greater Poland, Gdansk Pomerania and
Marek Koter, Mariusz Kulesza / Dela 25 ● 2006 ● 43-59

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Forms of rural settlements in Poland and their transformation in the ...
central Poland which resulted in establishing many rural settlements. One should mention
also Slovaks who, although in much smaller numbers, populated since the Middle Ages
mountainous areas of Zips (Spis) and Orava at the foot-hills of the Tatra Mountains.
As a result of the above-mentioned political and migrational processes – which certainly
have no parallel in other European countries – forms of rural settlement in different historical
regions of Poland acquired some specific characteristics. The political factor, however, should
not be overestimated. As a matter of fact, rural settlements in the entire territory of Poland
have been shaped following some universal patterns that had emerged in Central Europe with
accordance to specific socio-economic conditions, level of agriculture and changing concepts
of spatial organization of villages. These factors influenced modifications in spatial forms of
rural settlement, which naturally depended as well on particular environmental conditions.
Morphological alterations of rural settlements sometimes affected only some elements
of the inner structure (i.e. the layout), e.g. only the built-up area or only the field pattern. In
some cases, however, the entire spatial and economic (sometimes also social) structure was
modified which led to totally new settlement forms.
2. PHASES IN EVOLUTION OF RURAL SETTLEMENT FORMS
IN POLAND
With regard to socio-economic changes in development of rural settlements on Polish
lands – which in turn generated more or less marked morphological transformations – one can
distinguish the following phases:
• the early-medieval (pre-charter) period
• the medieval charter period
• the period of manorial and corveé economy
• the period of transition from feudalism to capitalism
• the period of morphological transformations in the 19th century
• the period of ‘socialist village’
2.1 The early-medieval (pre-charter) period
The Low Middle Ages – the period of early feudalism – lasted on Polish lands from the
6th to the middle of the 13th century. In that epoch agriculture and rural settlement underwent
significant transformations that occurred in a few stages. First of all, the slash-and-burn
farming, which involved perpetual moving in search of new farming land as the soil became
unproductive (hence the place names such as Łazy, Łazęgi, etc., whose etymology suggests
wandering) was replaced by sedentary agriculture based on ploughing with draught animals
(first ox teams, then horses). The later part of this period, since the mid-10th century, coincided
with formation of Polish statehood, emerging of magnate class and establishment of large
landed estates.

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Marek Koter, Mariusz Kulesza / Dela 25 ● 2006 ● 43-59
Frederician colony – regular street-village Large regular round-shaped green village
(After H. Szulc)
Josephinian colony A copy of the plan
colony founded in 1783
Large, regular oval-shaped green village
re-organised under the German law
(After M. Kiełczewska-Zaleska)
Regular Dutch row-village
(After M. Kiełczewska-Zaleska)
Round-shaped village (After A. Zagożdżon)

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Forms of rural settlements in Poland and their transformation in the ...
Map 1: Historical regions of Poland
1. Present-day boundry of Poland; 2. Boundaries of historical regions; 3. Main rivers
Map 2: Main historical provinces of Poland in the medieval period