Duchy of Karniów

Collection description

Collection

Country:: Poland

Holding institution:: State Archive of Wroclaw

Holding institution (official language):: Archiwum Państwowe we Wrocławiu

Postal address:: ul. Pomorska 2, 50-215 Wrocław

Phone number:: (+48 71) 328 81 01; (+48 71) 328 83 95

Web address:: http://www.ap.wroc.pl/

Email:: sekretariat@ap.wroc.pl

Reference number:: PL 82/4

Title:: Duchy of Karniów

Title (official language):: Księstwo karniowskie

Creator/accumulator:: Administrative authority of the Duchy of Karniów

Date(s):: 1506/1868

Language:: German; Czech; Latin

Extent:: 0.9 linear metres (102 folders)

Type of material:: Textual material

Physical condition:: good

Scope and content:: The collection consists of materials amassed by the administration of the Duchies of Karniów (Jägerndorf) and Bytom. They are divided into groups as follows:

1. The ruler’s superior rights and income: family affairs, elections, tributary affairs, privileges/charters, testaments/wills, fiscal matters, frontier affairs, postal/mailing issues, mining industry, customs, domains; 1506–1740.

2. Estates (social stratification): estate conventions, Jews, monetary affairs; 1561–1737.

3. Management of the Duchy: administrative affairs, chancellery, official registers, officials/clerks; 1548 –1663.

4. Legal and judicial system: country (land) law, contentious affairs (court cases), criminality/delinquency; 1516–1657.

5. Police: correspondence related to police affairs, pharmacy regulations; 1637–1736.

6. Finances/treasury: taxes, war indemnity (reparations), loans, excise tax, debts; 1544–1755.

7. Military affairs: reviews, supplies of troops, excesses, march-pasts; 1602–1740.

8. Statistical and reporting materials: lists of villages and (serfdom-based large-scale) manorial farms [so-called folwarks] for the Duchies of Karniów and Bytom; elemental disasters; 1690–1868.

9. Churches and foundations: Protestant (Evangelical) Church, education, monasteries/cloisters, foundations, missions, financial affairs, inspections; 1562–1805.

Jewish-related items are scarce but can be found in:

Ref. no. 42: ‘Acta betr. die Juden zu Hotzenplotz’, 1589–1624, p. 29 (former file no. II 5a).

Ref. no. 43: ‘Bericht über die verheiratheten zu Groß Peterwitz wohnenden Juden’, 1657–1737, p. 7 (former file no. II 5c).

Archival history:: The materials contained in the collection were produced and collected by the Duchy administration. Before World War 2, the resource formed part of the Staatsarchiv Breslau; in the war years, for the sake of protecting them, the files were dispersed and kept in various localities; some were destroyed, including, probably, a portion of Jewish-related items. After World War 2, the files were included in the State Archive of Wroclaw, the legal successor of the former German-owned archive.

Administrative/biographical history:: An autonomous Duchy of Karniów emerged in 1437, a result of the division of the legacy of Jan Żelazny (John II, Duke of Opava-Ratibor [John II of Troppau/John the Iron] among his sons Wenceslaus (Wacław) of Opava-Ratibor and Nicholas (Mikołaj) of Karniów. Nicholas took possession of Karniów, Bruntál, Pszczyna (Pless), Rybnik, Wodzisław (Loslau), and Żory (Sohrau). Nicholas’s sons divided in 1456 their father’s legacy between themselves: Jan becoming the lord of Karniów and Wodzisław, whilst Wacław (Wenceslaus) was to rule Rybnik, Pszczyna, and Żory. Afterwards the duchy fell under the control of Matthias Corvinus and, subsequently, Louis II Jagiellon. The latter transferred Karniów in 1523, together with the appurtenances, to Georg Hohenzollern-Ansbach, who introduced Lutheranism in the duchy. Georg became duke of Opole and Racibórz (Ratibor). In 1621, Ferdinand II Habsburg confiscated the duchy. 1613 saw a merger of the Duchy of Karniów and the Duchy of Troppau (resp. Principality of Opava). In aftermath of the Austro-Prussian war of 1740–1, Austria retained most of the Karniów duchy’s territory; Prussia received a small part of it, which administratively was made part of the Głubczyce (Leobschütz) county [poviat].

Access points: locations:: Groß Peterwitz; Hotzenplotz; Karniów

Subject terms:: Legal matters; Privileges

System of arrangement:: The collection consists of books/registers and unbound items, manuscript and printed.

Access, restrictions:: The collection is available in the reading room of the State Archive of Wroclaw.

Finding aids:: A register is available at the archives.

Yerusha Network member:: Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute

Author of the description:: Anna Grużlewska, Leszek Ziątkowski; University of Wroclaw; 2015

fullscreen: Duchy of Karniów

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