Warmia (Ermland) is a Roman Catholic enclave within East Prussia and has a long history of independence. During the conquest of the Old Prussian country by the Teutonic Order, four bishoprics came into being: Culm, Pomesania, Samia and Warmia. Only Ermland was not subjected to the order. The residence of the bishop and cathedral chapter was Frauenburg (today Frombork). During the crisis of the order, Warmia opposed the Order and belonged from 1466 to 1772 to the Polish crown. At the introduction of the Reformation in the Duchy of Prussia it therefore remained Roman Catholic. As a consequence, its politics and religious issues underwent an independent development. The same is also true for some aspects of folk culture (country buildings, folk costumes). This is why there still was, especially in Allenstein (today Olsztyn), a larger Polish-speaking minority in the 20th century.
After the end of World War II, Warmia became part of the People’s Republic of Poland and is today the core of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.
Illustration:
The pilgrimage church in Święta Lipka
The most important pilgrimage place for the people of Warmia was not in Warmia itself, but a few miles outside, in ducal Prussia. One of the most important Baroque church buildings in East Prussia was built here between 1688 and 1730.