Duchess of Auschwitz
| Duchy of Oświęcim | ||||||||||
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Księstwo Oświęcimskie (pl) Herzogtum Auschwitz (de) |
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| Silesian duchy | ||||||||||
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 Silesian duchies in 1309-1311, Oświęcim before its separation from the Duchy of Teschen (yellow)
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| Capital | Oświęcim | |||||||||
| Government | Principality | |||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||
| • | Partitioned from Cieszyn |
1315 | ||||||||
| • | Vassalized by Bohemia |
1327 | ||||||||
| • | Split off Zator | 1445 | ||||||||
| • | Sold to Poland | 1457 | ||||||||
| • | Incorporated into Kraków Voivodeship |
1564 | ||||||||
| • | Seized by Habsburg | 1772 | ||||||||
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Coat of arms of the Austrian Dukes of Auschwitz, 1890
The Duchy of Oświęcim (Polish: Księstwo Oświęcimskie), or the Duchy of Auschwitz (German: Herzogtum Auschwitz), was one of many Duchies of Silesia, formed in the aftermath of the fragmentation of Poland.
It was established about 1315 on the Lesser Polish lands east of the Biała river held by the Silesian branch of the Polish royal Piast dynasty. Briefly semi-autonomous, with its capital in Oświęcim, it was finally sold to the Kingdom of Poland in 1457. Annexed by the Habsburg Empire in 1772, the remaining ducal title ceased to exist in 1918 with the lands being reincorporated into the Second Polish Republic.
The duchy was created in 1315 in the aftermath of the ongoing 12th century fragmentation of Poland on these southeastern estates of the original Duchy of Silesia, which the Polish High Duke Casimir II the Just had split off the Seniorate Province and granted to the Silesian duke Mieszko IV Tanglefoot in 1177. From 1281 onwards, the area had been part of the Silesian Duchy of Teschen (Cieszyn) until after the death of Duke Miezsko I in 1315, the lands of Oświęcim east of the Biała were split off from it as a separate duchy for Mieszko's son Władysław. In 1327 his heir Duke Jan I the Scholastic paid homage to King John of Bohemia and likewise many other Silesian duchies, Oświęcim became a vassal of the Bohemian Crown.
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Wikipedia