Folwark

Folwark is a Polish word derived from the German Vorwerk. A Folwark or Vorwerk is an agricultural estate or a separate branch operation of such an estate, historically a serfdom-based farm and agricultural enterprise (a type of latifundium), often very large. The term has changed its meaning several times throughout history and can therefore be used in various ways.

Originally, the associated agricultural estates were usually located outside fortifications or castles and directly in front of them, and were therefore often referred to as Folwark or, in German-speaking regions, Vorwerk, meaning advanced work or outwork, a kind of outlying defensive outpost. In place names and field names, the word can still be present in this meaning.

Later, the term was used for outposts of manor farms with estate operations or individual tenant farms. On larger estates with extensive land areas, there were often smaller and more remote branch operations in addition to the main operation. From around the end of the 18th century, these were also frequently referred to as Folwark or, in German-speaking regions, Vorwerk. In this sense, Folwark or Vorwerk appears as a name or part of a name for a variety of settlements, especially in the northern and eastern parts of Germany.

A term occasionally used in official documents for a Folwark or Vorwerk is "pertinentia" (accessory).