Wagria is the northeastern part of Holstein

Holstein

Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....

 in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

, corresponding roughly to the districts of Plön and Ostholstein. The word "Wagria" is derived from the Slavic Lechites

Lechites

Lechites – an ethnic and linguistic group of West Slavs, the ancestors of modern Poles and the historical Pomeranians and Polabians.-History:...

 tribe of Wagri

Wagri

The Wagri, Wagiri, or Wagrians were a tribe of Polabian Slavs inhabiting Wagria, or eastern Holstein in northern Germany, from the ninth to twelfth centuries. They were a constituent tribe of the Obodrite confederacy....

, which meant "those who live by the bays".

Geography

In the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, and as still shown on old maps, Wagria was bordered on the north and east by the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 from the Kiel Fjord

Kiel Fjord

Kiel Fjord is an approximately long fjord or firth of the Baltic Sea along the shores of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Formed by glacial movement during the last Ice Age, it lies between the Danish Wold and Wagria. It originates at the Hörn in centre-city Kiel and merges into the Bay of Kiel.The...

 to Lübeck Bay, and inland by the rivers Schwentine

Schwentine

The Schwentine is a river in the North German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is approximately 62 kilometres long and rises on the hill of Bungsberg, the highest point in the state, near the village of Kasseedorf in Ostholstein. It then runs from its source to Kiel where it flows into the Kiel...

 and Trave

Trave

The Trave is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately 124 kilometres long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Oldesloe, and Lübeck, where it is linked to the...

. Today, Wagria generally refers just to the Oldenburg Peninsula (Oldenburgische Halbinsel) in Ostholstein.

The highest elevation in the peninsula is the Bungsberg

Bungsberg

The Bungsberg is the highest point in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein . It lies in the region known as Holstein Switzerland in the municipality of Schönwalde am Bungsberg between Scheelholz and Mönchsneversdorf....

 at 168 metres.

History

The lechitic (Slavic) root of the name, Wagria, meant not only the so-called, present-day Wagrian peninsula, but the entire region between the Kiel Fjord, the middle reaches of the Trave, and the lower course of the river; a region with this name emerged at least as early as the 8th century. Wagria Castle occupied a central location in Oldenburg in Holstein (then called Starigard, or "Old Castle"); its ramparts still exist. Important settlements in Wagria were Oldenburg, Old-Lübeck

Lübeck

The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...

 (Liubice

Liubice

Liubice, also known by the German name Alt-Lübeck , was a medieval West Slavic settlement near the site of modern Lübeck, Germany. Liubice was located at the confluence of the Schwartau with the Trave across from Teerhof Island, approximately four kilometres north of Lübeck's island old town...

), and Plön

Plön

Plön is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 13,000 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on several smaller lakes, touching the town on virtually all sides...

 (Plune).

In 1143, according to the vivid account by contemporary chronicler, Helmold of Bosau, Count Adolf II of Schauenburg and Holstein introduced German settlers, not only from his own territories of Holstein

Holstein

Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....

 and Stormarn, but also from Westphalia

Westphalia

Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...

 and Holland, in order to develop the land of Wagria into a highly-profitable region as part of the German eastward expansion

Ostsiedlung

Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...

 in the High Middle Ages

High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....

:
The resident Slavs were thus also involved in this expansion or development.

Sources

• Witt, Hermann (1982). 1000 Jahre Wagrien von Luitschaburg bis Lütjenburg. Sönksen Verlag Plön.