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    • Main contributor: Craig Kanalley
    West Prussia in the German Empire
    West Prussia in the German Empire (1878)

    West Prussia genealogy relates to the study of family history research in the former province of the Kingdom of Prussia, known as Westpreußen in German. The territory existed from 1772 through 1829, and from 1878 until 1920 as part of the German Empire. Between 1829 and 1878, it united with East Prussia as the province of Prussia.

    West Prussia was dissolved in 1920, following World War I, dividing up into other Prussian provinces. After World War II, it became part of modern-day Poland.

    The capital of West Prussia alternated between Marienwerder (today Kwidzyn, Poland) and Danzig (today Gdańsk, Poland) at various points of its history.

    Those who lived in West Prussia were a mixture of ethnicities: German, Polish, Dutch, Kashubians, Mennonites, and Jews among them.

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    History of West Prussia

    old coin with Friedrich I, King of Prussia
    An old coin featuring Friedrich I (1657-1713), the first King of Prussia

    A Slavic people lived around the Baltic going back several centuries. They were known as Preussen and were kin to the Lithuanians and Latvians.[1] Christianity was brought to the region in the 1200s by the Teutonic Order and had an important role in its development. German peasants came to farm the land and by the mid-14th century, the majority of the population was German.[1]

    The old territory of West Prussia was part of the Kingdom of Poland from 1466 to 1701. Friedrich I crowned himself King in 1701, formally beginning the Kingdom of Prussia. The first partition of Poland in 1772 led to the birth of West Prussia as a province.

    West Prussia briefly lost Danzig during the Napoleonic Wars, as well as territory around Thorn and Culm, but it was returned to the province after the conflict in the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815).

    The population of West Prussia was about 700,000 in 1831 with 50% identifying as Polish, 47% German, and 3% Jews.[2] Religiously, it was about an even split between Protestant and Catholic with a smaller population of Jews and Mennonites.[2]

    West Prussia disappeared from the map in 1920, as it dissolved into other Prussian provinces. The old territory of West Prussia became part of Poland after World War II.

    Geography of West Prussia

    graudenz vistula river
    The Vistula River around Graudenz (Grudziadz)

    The land of West Prussia is situated along the Baltic Sea, with the Vistula running through the heart of its territory and several other waterways connecting its various towns. The largest settlements were along the Vistula, Nogat or Elbag rivers.[3]

    It is made up of vast swaths of countryside, a scenic region known as the "Kashubian Switzerland", and extensive forest areas including the Tuchola Forest.[3] In the south, West Prussia consisted of hills and lakes.

    Its seaports, notably centered around Danzig (Gdansk), were vital to the region and have played a part in migration and trade over the centuries. Danzig itself reached its peak as one of the most prosperous ports on the Baltic during the Renaissance period (15th-16th century).[4]

    Administrative districts

    West Prussia was made up of two administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke): Danzig and Marienwerder. These were divided into smaller Kreise (districts):

    Danzig Marienwerder
    Berent Briesen
    Danziger Höhe Culm
    Danziger Niederung Deutsch Krone
    Stadtkreis Danzig Flatow
    Dirschau Graudenz (Land & Stadt)
    Elbing (Land & Stadt) Konitz
    Karthaus Löbau
    Marienburg Marienwerder
    Neustadt Rosenberg
    Preußisch Stargard Schlochau
    Putzig Schwetz
    Strasburg
    Stuhm
    Thorn (Land & Stadt)
    Tuchel
    The old town hall in Marienwerder
    The old town hall in Marienwerder (Kwidzyn)

    The Kreis can be useful for genealogical research. Determine the Kreis for the town or village of interest at Meyers Gazetteer. Look for locations with "Westpreussen" beside them. Check the Ecclesiastical tab for the Catholic parish and Protestant parish, when it is known.

    The territory of West Prussia belongs today to five different Polish voivodeships (administrative districts), with most territory belonging to the first two listed:

    • Pomorskie
    • Kujawsko-Pomorskie
    • Zachodnio-Pomorskie
    • Wielkopolskie
    • Warminsko-Mazurskie

    Archives and libraries

    The West Prussian Regional Museum (Westpreußisches Landesmuseum) is dedicated to preserving the history and culture of West Prussia. Its website has useful information on the region and the museum can be contacted or visited for more details.

    The Mennonite Archival Information Database has various West Prussian records available, like this collection of Kreis Schwetz records (1788-1827) and this one for Graudenz (1803-1806), including digitized scans of images.

    Evangelisches Zentralarchiv Berlin
    The Evangelisches Zentralarchiv in Berlin contains records for West Prussia.

    The following archives and libraries should also be consulted:

    Surnames of West Prussia

    Both German surnames and Polish surnames are commonly found in West Prussian records. Some popular surnames in the region include:

    Notable people from West Prussia

    Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
    Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) of Danzig, famous for his thermometer advancements

    Well-known people who are from the former territory of West Prussia include:

    Types of records

    Church records, civil registrations, and census records for the former West Prussia may contain valuable information for genealogists. Check the archives listed above to find these records or view some of the databases for online records below.

    Danzig West Prussia
    The port of Danzig (Gdansk) in the old territory of West Prussia

    West Prussian land records for 1772-1773 are digitized online by the German-Russian Genealogical Library, Odessa. Additional land records (1793-1794) for West Prussia are hosted by the Black Sea German Research.

    These digitized databases contain millions of civil and church records for West Prussia:

    • Namensindex der Standesamtsregister: Searchable list of names in civil records (birth, marriage & death) for both West Prussia and East Prussia with links to digitized scans.
    • Geneteka: A volunteer-built index of baptisms, marriages & burials from church records in Poland, including West Prussia. Navigate to the appropriate modern-day Polish province, like Kujawsko-Pomorskie, to search for your family.
    • Poznan Project: A valuable marriage index that contains marriages that took place in the former West Prussian territory. Both church & civil records are included, so you may find some of the same couples twice. Parents' names are often provided for more recent records.

    Protestant church records for West Prussia may be found at Archion.de under its Berlin section.

    A large number of West Prussian families are documented in MyHeritage family trees. Search those in the box below.

    Search Family Trees on MyHeritage for West Prussian families

    See also

    Explore more about West Prussia genealogy

    References

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Kingdom of Prussia is Founded. History Today. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/kingdom-prussia-founded
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Andree, Karl (1831). Polen: in geographischer, geschichtlicher und culturhistorischer Hinsicht. pg. 212.https://books.google.com/books?id=xgUEAAAAYAAJ&pg=P212#v=onepage&q&f=false
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Geographical information about West Prussia. Westpreussisches Landesmuseum. https://westpreussisches-landesmuseum.de/en/museum-2/geographical-information-about-west-prussia/
    4. ↑ Gdańsk (Danzig). Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/place/Gdansk


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