Mazur
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Mazurs are members of a Polish ethnic group in the Masovian and Warmian-Masurian voivodships in Poland. The Mazurs from Mazovia are mostly Roman Catholic while the Mazurs from the Masuria region of former East Prussia are mostly Lutheran Protestants. The Mazurs from the latter region are often known as Masurians in English.
Their name derives from the Lekhitic tribe of Masovians (Mazowszanie) who gave their name to the land of Masovia (Mazowsze). In the Middle Ages the inhabitants of the northern part of Masovia were called Mazurzy. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, settlers from northern Mazovia moved to former teritories of the Old Prussians following their conquest by the knights of the Teutonic Order.
Because of the influx of Masovians into the southern Masurian Lakeland of Ducal Prussia the area started to be known as Masuria (Polish: Mazury, German: Masuren). During the Reformation Masurians, like most of Ducal Prussia, became Lutheran Protestants, while Masovia remained Roman Catholic.
Example of 19th century Germanisation:
Data from Oletzko County, a historical East Prussian county with capital in Oletzko, populated by Masurs. In the process of Germanisation, the number of Polish-speaking people decreased:
1818 - over 90% of population
1852 - 65%
1861 - 58%
1890 - 46%
1900 - 33.5% (Prussian census)
1890 - 19%
In 1888, the Polish language was completely forbidden in schools of all levels.
See Masuria for more detail
Compare Warmiak
See also:
- Andrzej Sakson - Polish sociologist researching the Mazurian ethnic group
Mazur (Masurian) is also the name of one of the five major dialects of the Polish language. Its variations are spoken in the countryside of northern Masovia and until about 1950 were commonly spoken in Masuria. After 1956 many Masurians immigrated to West Germany.
Mazur is also a traditional Polish folk dance from Masovia.
See also: Mazurka
Mazur (feminine: Mazur/Mazurowa, plural Mazurowie) is the 14th most popular surname in Poland (66,773 people)
Mazur surname in voivodships:
- Mazur : 1st in Subcarpathia (9,530),
- Mazur : 3rd in Lublin Land (8,019),
- Mazur : 3rd in Opole Silesia (2,512),
- Mazur : 3rd in Swietokrzyskie (2,512),
Famous people: