a rapid growth brought about by mixed Slavic-Prussian colonization. In effect, new villages had emerged, and from them many have survived up to now under unchanged names. In a space of one hundred years, the Slavic settlements reached the line Płonia Wielka, Cedry Wielkie, Ostaszewo, Lubieszewo, Świerki, Malbork. On the other hand, Żuławy Wiślane drew numerous Dutch and German immigrants. After the Partitions of Poland In the aftermath of the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, the Żuławy Wiślane settlements were incorporated into the Prussian Kingdom as two districts: Danziger Niederung and Danziger Höhe. After Poland regained independence in 1918, the settlements neither stayed in Germany nor were they included in the new Polish state; instead, they became part of the Free City of Danzig. When Hitler came into power in Germany, the Free City of Danzig in due course fell into the influence zone of Germany. When World War II was finally over, the two Żuławy Wiślane were turned over to the Polish state in 1945. Almost all of the German inhabitants have been expelled, and the region has been resettled with Polish people. Historically part of Royal Prussia and then West Prussia, since 1999 the area covers the easternmost part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Kursenieki While today the Kursenieki, also known as Kuršininkai are a nearly extinct Baltic ethnic group living along the Curonian Spit, in 1649 Kuršininkai settlement spanned from Memel (Klaipėda) to Danzig (Gdańsk), including in the area of the Nemunas Delta. The Kuršininkai were eventually assimilated by the Germans, except along the Curonian Spit where some still live. The Kuršininkai were considered Latvians until after World War I when Latvia gained independence from the Russian Empire, a consideration based on linguistic arguments. This was the rationale for Latvian claims over the Curonian Spit, Memel, and other territories of East Prussia which would be later dropped. Geography Żuławy is traditionally divided, according to the historical ownership, into: Żuławy Gdańskie - the western part, from Gdańsk to the Vistula Żuławy Malborskie or Żuławy Wielkie (Greater Zulawy) - the part between Vistula and its right arm Nogat Żuławy Elbląskie - on the eastern bank of the Nogat. Terrain seems to look strikingly flat, but a topographic map states otherwise. For instance, land slopes down at some points below sea level. Depressions account for 28% of the overall area of the delta. The lowest point, 1.8 m below the