The Treaty of Soldin transferred Pomerelia and Danzig to the Teutonic Order, reshaping Baltic power and triggering centuries of Polish-Teutonic conflict.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 13 September 1309
- Purchase price
- 10,000 silver Mark
- Territories transferred
- Danzig, Dirschau, Schwetz and hinterlands
- Imperial confirmation
- 1311 by Emperor-elect Henry VII
- Polish recognition date
- Treaty of Kalisz, 1343
- Order HQ relocation
- Venice to Marienburg (Malbork), same year
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In 1308, the Teutonic Order helped expel Brandenburgian forces from Danzig on behalf of Poland, then seized the city for themselves after a dispute over garrison rights. Brandenburg held contested legal claims to Danzig and Pomerelia, and the Order needed a legitimate legal title to justify its occupation of the region.
On 13 September 1309 at Soldin, Margrave Waldemar of Brandenburg-Stendal sold the Order the rights to Danzig and most of Pomerelia — including Dirschau and Schwetz with their hinterlands — for 10,000 silver Mark. The transaction gave the Teutonic Order a formal, if legally questionable, basis for possessing the territory it had already taken by force.
The treaty gave the Teutonic Order control of the lower Vistula, direct Baltic Sea access through Danzig, and a continuous land corridor to the Holy Roman Empire. Polish rulers repeatedly challenged the treaty's legality, fuelling the Polish-Teutonic Wars, until King Casimir III finally recognised the territorial changes in the Treaty of Kalisz in 1343.
Political Outcome
Brandenburg sold its rights to Danzig and most of Pomerelia to the Teutonic Order for 10,000 silver Mark, giving the Order legal title to the lower Vistula region and Baltic access.
Brandenburg held nominal claims over Danzig and Pomerelia; Poland contested control of the region.
Teutonic Order gained legal possession of Danzig and Pomerelia, controlling the lower Vistula and Baltic Sea access.