The administration of rural communes in the Kingdom of Poland in the years 1815–1864

Abstract

In the Kingdom of Poland the existence of a rural commune, the entity that was created during the Duchy of Warsaw, was maintained but without the features of a commune self-governing body. The plan for the solid division of the country into communes was not enforced. The office of a Vogt was combined with the dominium, a landowner was obligatorily the Vogt, but he could nominate a Deputy who was in power to perform his duties on his behalf. Throughout the decades of the Duchy’s existence the number and the size of communes was notoriously changing. The subsequent reforms in this field implemented in 1859, and particularly in 1864, was forced by civilization changes, bureaucracy development, and politics among others. Eventually, in 1859, the process
of splintering the country into tiny communes was started, and in 1864, the Duchy’s country was deeply reorganised. Consequently, the entity of the country self-government
was created that was the one and only local self-governing body in the Kingdom of Poland to the end of its existence.