Posen district - Definition and Overview

Posen District was the southern of two administrative districts (German: Regierungsbezirk, Polish:Rejencja, ) of the Province of Posen (1849-1918) by the Prussian administration and its predecessor the semi-autonomous Grand Duchy of Poznan (1815-1849).

It was bordered on the north by the Bromberg district, to the west by Brandenburg, to the south by Silesia and to the east by Congress Poland.

The Posen district was inhabited mainly by Poles and had a smaller percentage of German settlers, and was therefore less Protestant.

Divisions

Note: Prussian provinces were subdivided into units called "Kreise" (singular "Kreis", abbreviated "Kr.", English "circle"), which were similar to large counties in US terms. Cities would have their own "Stadtkreis" (English: "municipal county") and the surrounding rural area would be named for the city, but referred to as a "Landkreis" (English: "rural county"). In the case of Posen, the Landkreis was split into two: Landkreis Posen West, and Landkreis Posen East. The district was originally divided into 16 larger Kreise, which were later divided into the final 27 Kreise, the larger ones spinning off smaller units.

Data is from Prussian censuses, during a period state-sponsored germanization, and includes military garrisons. It is commonly critisized for lack of authenticity.

Article Map

This article is part of the Prussia portion of the Wikipedia Project "Historical States" which is structured upon the administrative organization of the Prussian government as it existed just before unification in 1871.

• Kingdom of Prussia (between 1815 and 1871, part of the German Confederation; between 1871 and 1920, inside the German Empire)
  • Province of Posen
    • Admin. districts ("Regierungsbezirke") - usually two or three per province <== YOU ARE HERE
      • Counties ("Kreise") - around 30 - 40 per province
        • Civil registration districts ("Standesämter"), similar to a township - usually 5 - 10 per Kreis.