duchy · Poland, Lithuania and Russia

Duchy of Siewierz

1443 CE – 1790 CE · capital Siewierz

A small Silesian duchy owned for almost 350 years by the bishops of Krakow, who styled themselves dukes of Siewierz.

Origins

Siewierz, on the border of Silesia and Lesser Poland, belonged to the Silesian duchies under Bohemian overlordship. In 1443 Bishop Zbigniew Olesnicki of Krakow bought it from Duke Wenceslaus I of Cieszyn, and from then on the bishops of Krakow ruled it as secular princes.

Rule and society

The duchy was a small territory with its own laws, courts and officials, ruled from a castle at Siewierz. Its position between Poland and Silesia led to disputes about whether it belonged to the Polish Crown or the Kingdom of Bohemia. Its iron and lead workings brought income to the bishops, who added the ducal title to their own.

Decline and legacy

In 1790 the Great Sejm incorporated Siewierz into the Polish Crown, ending the bishops' secular rule. After the Third Partition in 1795 it passed to the Kingdom of Prussia, and later to the Duchy of Warsaw and Congress Poland.

Lineage

Duchy of Cieszyn 1290 CE – 1918 CEDuchy of SiewierzPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569 CE – 1795 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Siewierz. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-siewierz
MLA
“Duchy of Siewierz.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-siewierz. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Siewierz.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-siewierz.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Siewierz’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-siewierz (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻