Folwark () is a
Polish word for the giant
farms (in
Latin,
latifundia, in Polish,
latyfundia) that were operated in the
Crown of Poland from the 14th century and
Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 15th century, from the second half of 16th century in the joint state
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and survived after
partitions of Commonwealth in
Russian Empire until the early 20th. Purpose of Folwarks was to produce surplus produce for
export. The first
folwarks were created on
church- and
monastery-owned grounds; later they were adopted by both nobility (
szlachta) and rich peasants (singular:
sołtys).
The term "
folwark" came into the
Polish language in the 14th century from the German "
Vorwerk" ("farmhouse before a manor or city").
Creation of the
folwarks was boosted by growing demand for
grain and the profitability of its export, both to
Western Europe and inside Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This in turn led to the creation of
serfdom, when land owners discovered that instead of
money-based
rent and
taxes it was more profitable to force the
peasantry to work on folwarks. Folwark-based grain export was an important part of the
economy of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In Poland serfdom was regulated (and increased) by the
Act of Piotrków and
Act of Toruń. With the fall of agriculture goods prices in the end of 17th century, the folwark economy was in crisis, and szlachta attempts to increase production by increasing folwarks' area (usually by appropriating peasant lands) and labour (usually by increasing work demand for peasants) only compounded the economic crisis and further worsened the fate of the peasants, who had been, until then, no poorer than their average counterparts in Western Europe.
In Lithuania serfdom was fully established during
Wallach reform in the middle of 16th century.
Until the end of the 18th century folwarks remained the basis for szlachta economic and political power. After the
abolition of serfdom in Poland (1807, by
Napoleon), folwarks used paid labor.
Folwarks were abolished by the
People's Republic of Poland with the
PKWN decree of
6 September 1944 about agricultural reform. After the end of
Second World War folwarks were
nationalised (resulting in PGRs - state-owned folwarks, Polish
Państwowe Gospodarstwo Rolne) or partitioned, usually with no or little compensation to their owners.
See also
Category:Agriculture in PolandCategory:Economic history of PolandCategory:History of Poland (1385–1569)Category:History of Poland (1569–1795)Category:SerfdomCategory:Polish words and phrasespl:Folwarkru:Фольваркuk:Фільварок
