Voivodeships of Poland
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Administrative divisions of Poland |
The voivodeship (Polish: województwo) has been a second-level administrative unit in Poland since the 14th century. Pursuant to the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998, effective January 1, 1999, 16 new voivodeships were created, replacing the former 49 voivodeships that had existed from July 1, 1975.
Today's provinces ("voivodeships") are largely based on the country's historic regions, whereas those of 1975-1998 had been centered on and named for individual cities. The new units range in area from under 10,000 km² (Opole Voivodeship) to over 35,000 km² (Masovian Voivodeship), and in population from one million (Lubusz Voivodeship) to over five million (Masovian Voivodeship). Voivodeships are governed by voivod governments, and their legislatures are called voivodeship sejmiks.
Some sources, especially in historic contexts, speak of "palatinates" rather than "voivodeships."
[edit] Poland's voivodeships since 1999
Polish voivodeships since 1999 | |||||||
Abbreviation | code | car plates |
Voivodeship | Capital | Area km² |
Population (Dec. 31, 2003) |
Population (Jun. 30, 2004) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DS | 02 | D | Lower Silesian (dolnośląskie) | Wrocław | 19 947,76 | 2 898 313 | 2 895 729 |
KP | 04 | C | Kuyavian-Pomeranian (kujawsko-pomorskie) | Bydgoszcz¹ Toruń² |
17 969,72 | 2 068 142 | 2 067 548 |
LU | 06 | L | Lublin (lubelskie) | Lublin | 25 114,48 | 2 191 172 | 2 187 918 |
LB | 08 | F | Lubusz (lubuskie) | Gorzów Wielkopolski¹ Zielona Góra² |
13 984,44 | 1 008 786 | 1 009 177 |
LD | 10 | E | Łódź (łódzkie) | Łódź | 18 219,11 | 2 597 094 | 2 592 568 |
MP | 12 | K | Lesser Poland (małopolskie) | Kraków | 15 144,10 | 3 252 949 | 3 256 171 |
MA | 14 | W | Masovian (mazowieckie) | Warsaw | 35 597,80 | 5 135 732 | 5 139 545 |
OP | 16 | O | Opole (opolskie) | Opole | 9 412,47 | 1 055 667 | 1 053 723 |
PK | 18 | R | Subcarpathian (podkarpackie) | Rzeszów | 17 926,28 | 2 097 248 | 2 097 325 |
PD | 20 | B | Podlachian (podlaskie) | Białystok | 20 179,58 | 1 205 117 | 1 204 036 |
PM | 22 | G | Pomeranian (pomorskie) | Gdańsk | 18 292,88 | 2 188 918 | 2 192 404 |
SL | 24 | S | Silesian (śląskie) | Katowice | 12 294,04 | 4 714 982 | 4 707 825 |
SW | 26 | T | Świętokrzyskie | Kielce | 11 672,34 | 1 291 598 | 1 290 176 |
WM | 28 | N | Warmian-Masurian (warmińsko-mazurskie) | Olsztyn | 24 202,95 | 1 428 885 | 1 428 385 |
WP | 30 | P | Greater Poland (wielkopolskie) | Poznań | 29 825,59 | 3 359 932 | 3 362 011 |
ZP | 32 | Z | West Pomeranian (zachodniopomorskie) | Szczecin | 22 901,48 | 1 696 073 | 1 695 708 |
(¹) - seat of voivod, (²) - seat of self-government |
Voivodeships are combined into bigger regions, which are used for statistical reports.
- REGION I: 7.7 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 50.5% EU average
- Masovian Voivodeship (Mazowieckie, MA)
- Łódź Voivodeship (Łódzkie, LD)
- REGION II: 8.0 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 39.5% EU average
- Silesian Voivodeship (Slaskie, SL)
- Lesser Poland Voivodeship (Malopolskie, MP)
- REGION III: 6.8 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 28.1% EU average
- Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Świętokrzyskie, SW)
- Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Podkarpackie, PK)
- Podlachian Voivodeship (Podlaskie, PD)
- Lublin Voivodeship (Lubelskie, LU)
- REGION IV: 6.1 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 39.5% EU average
- Greater Poland Voivodeship (Wielkopolskie, WP)
- Lubusz Voivodeship (Lubuskie, LB)
- West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Zachodniopomorskie, ZP)
- REGION V: 4.0 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 38.3% EU average
- Lower Silesian Voivodeship (Dolnoslaskie, DS)
- Opole Voivodeship (Opolskie, OP)
- REGION VI: 5.7 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 35.0% EU average
- Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (Kujawsko-Pomorskie, KP)
- Pomeranian Voivodeship (Pomorskie, PM)
- Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (Warminsko-Mazurskie, WM)
Voivodeships of Poland | |
---|---|
Greater Poland | Kuyavia-Pomerania | Lesser Poland | Lower Silesia | Lublin | Lubusz | Łódź | Masovia | Opole | Podlachia | Pomerania | Silesia | Subcarpathia | Świętokrzyskie | Warmia and Masuria | West Pomerania | |
Principal cities: Warsaw | Łódź | Kraków | Wrocław | Poznań | Gdańsk | Szczecin | Bydgoszcz | Lublin | Katowice | Białystok | Częstochowa | Gdynia | Toruń | Olsztyn | Radom | Kielce | Rzeszów | Opole | Gorzów Wielkopolski |
-
- See also:
[edit] Poland's voivodeships 1975-1998 (49 voivodeships)
(since 1989, the Third Polish Republic)
This reorganization of administrative division of Poland was mainly a result of local government reform acts of 1973-1975. In place of the three-level administrative division (voivodeship, county, commune), a new two-level administrative division was introduced (49 small voivodeships, and communes). The three smallest voivodeships – Warsaw, Kraków and Łódź – had the special status of municipal voivodeship; the city president (mayor) was also provincial governor.
Polish voivodeships and separate cities 1975-1998 | ||||||
Abbreviation | Voivodeship | Capital | Area km² (1998) |
Population (1980) |
No. of cities | No. of communes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
bp | Biała Podlaska Voivodeship | Biała Podlaska | 5348 | 286 400 | 6 | 35 |
bk | Białystok Voivodeship | Białystok | 10 055 | 641 100 | 17 | 49 |
bb | Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship | Bielsko-Biała | 3 704 | 829 900 | 18 | 47 |
by | Bydgoszcz Voivodeship | Bydgoszcz | 10 349 | 1 036 000 | 27 | 55 |
ch | Chełm Voivodeship | Chełm | 3 865 | 230 900 | 4 | 25 |
ci | Ciechanów Voivodeship | Ciechanów | 6 362 | 405 400 | 9 | 45 |
cz | Częstochowa Voivodeship | Częstochowa | 6 182 | 747 900 | 17 | 49 |
el | Elbląg Voivodeship | Elbląg | 6 103 | 441 500 | 15 | 37 |
gd | Gdańsk Voivodeship | Gdańsk | 7 394 | 1 333 800 | 19 | 43 |
go | Gorzów Voivodeship | Gorzów Wielkopolski | 8 484 | 455 400 | 21 | 38 |
jg | Jelenia Góra Voivodeship | Jelenia Góra | 4 378 | 492 600 | 24 | 28 |
kl | Kalisz Voivodeship | Kalisz | 6 512 | 668 000 | 20 | 53 |
ka | Katowice Voivodeship | Katowice | 6 650 | 3 733 900 | 43 | 46 |
ki | Kielce Voivodeship | Kielce | 9 211 | 1 068 700 | 17 | 69 |
kn | Konin Voivodeship | Konin | 5 139 | 441 200 | 18 | 43 |
ko | Koszalin Voivodeship | Koszalin | 8 470 | 462 200 | 17 | 35 |
kr | Kraków Voivodeship | Kraków | 3 254 | 1 167 500 | 10 | 38 |
ks | Krosno Voivodeship | Krosno | 5 702 | 448 200 | 12 | 37 |
lg | Legnica Voivodeship | Legnica | 4 037 | 458 900 | 11 | 31 |
le | Leszno Voivodeship | Leszno | 4 254 | 357 600 | 19 | 28 |
lu | Lublin Voivodeship | Lublin | 6 793 | 935 200 | 16 | 62 |
lo | Łomża Voivodeship | Łomża | 6 684 | 325 800 | 12 | 39 |
ld | Łódź Voivodeship | Łódź | 1523 | 1 127 800 | 8 | 11 |
ns | Nowy Sącz Voivodeship | Nowy Sącz | 5 576 | 628 800 | 14 | 41 |
ol | Olsztyn Voivodeship | Olsztyn | 12 327 | 681 400 | 21 | 48 |
op | Opole Voivodeship | Opole | 8 535 | 975 000 | 29 | 61 |
os | Ostrołęka Voivodeship | Ostrołęka | 6 498 | 371 400 | 9 | 38 |
pi | Piła Voivodeship | Piła | 8 205 | 437 100 | 24 | 35 |
pt | Piotrków Voivodeship | Piotrków Trybunalski | 6 266 | 604 200 | 10 | 51 |
pl | Płock Voivodeship | Płock | 5 117 | 496 100 | 9 | 44 |
po | Poznań Voivodeship | Poznań | 8 151 | 1 237 800 | 33 | 57 |
pr | Przemyśl Voivodeship | Przemyśl | 4 437 | 380 000 | 9 | 35 |
rs | Radom Voivodeship | Radom | 7 295 | 702 300 | 15 | 61 |
rz | Rzeszów Voivodeship | Rzeszów | 4 397 | 648 900 | 13 | 41 |
se | Siedlce Voivodeship | Siedlce | 8 499 | 616 300 | 12 | 66 |
si | Sieradz Voivodeship | Sieradz | 4 869 | 392 300 | 9 | 40 |
sk | Skierniewice Voivodeship | Skierniewice | 3 959 | 396 900 | 8 | 36 |
sl | Słupsk Voivodeship | Słupsk | 7 453 | 369 800 | 11 | 31 |
su | Suwałki Voivodeship | Suwałki | 10 490 | 422 600 | 14 | 42 |
sz | Szczecin Voivodeship | Szczecin | 9 981 | 897 900 | 29 | 50 |
tg | Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship | Tarnobrzeg | 6 283 | 556 300 | 14 | 46 |
ta | Tarnów Voivodeship | Tarnów | 4 151 | 607 000 | 9 | 41 |
to | Toruń Voivodeship | Toruń | 5 348 | 610 800 | 13 | 41 |
wb | Walbrzych Voivodeship | Wałbrzych | 4 168 | 716 100 | 31 | 30 |
wa | Warsaw Voivodeship | Warsaw | 3 788 | 2 319 100 | 27 | 32 |
wl | Włocławek Voivodeship | Włocławek | 4 402 | 413 400 | 14 | 30 |
wr | Wrocław Voivodeship | Wrocław | 6 287 | 1 076 200 | 16 | 33 |
za | Zamość Voivodeship | Zamość | 6 980 | 472 100 | 5 | 47 |
zg | Zielona Góra Voivodeship | Zielona Góra | 8 868 | 609 200 | 26 | 50 |
[edit] Poland's voivodeships 1945-1975 (14+2 voivodeships, then 17+5)
After World War II, the new administrative division of the country was based on the prewar one. The areas in the east that had not been annexed by the Soviet Union had their borders left almost unchanged. The newly acquired territories in the west and north were organized into the voivodeships of Szczecin, Wrocław and Olsztyn, and partly joined to Gdańsk, Katowice and Poznań voivodeships. Two cities were granted voivodeship status: Warsaw and Łódź.
In 1950, new voivodeships were created: Koszalin (previously part of Szczecin), Opole (previously part of Katowice), and Zielona Góra (previously part of Poznań, Wrocław and Szczecin voivodeships). In addition, three more cities were granted voivodeship status: Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań.
Polish administrative division 1945-1975 | ||||
Car plates (since 1956) |
Voivodeship | Capital | Area km² (1965) |
Population (1965) |
---|---|---|---|---|
A | białostockie | Białystok | 23 136 | 1 160 400 |
B | bydgoskie | Bydgoszcz | 20 794 | 1 837 100 |
G | gdańskie | Gdańsk | 10 984 | 1 352 800 |
S | katowickie | Katowice | 9 518 | 3 524 300 |
C | kieleckie | Kielce | 19 498 | 1 899 100 |
E | koszalińskie ¹ | Koszalin | 17 974 | 755 100 |
K | krakowskie | Kraków | 15 350 | 2 127 600 |
F | Łódzkie | Łódź | 17 064 | 1 665 200 |
L | lubelskie | Lublin | 24 829 | 1 900 500 |
O | olsztyńskie | Olsztyn | 20 994 | 956 600 |
H | opolskie ¹ | Opole | 9 506 | 1 009 200 |
P | poznańskie | Poznań | 26 723 | 2 126 300 |
R | rzeszowskie | Rzeszów | 18 658 | 1 692 800 |
M | szczecińskie | Szczecin | 12 677 | 847 600 |
T | warszawskie | Warsaw | 29 369 | 2 453 000 |
X | wrocławskie | Wrocław | 18 827 | 1 967 000 |
Z | zielonogórskie ¹ | Zielona Góra | 14 514 | 847 200 |
car plates (since 1956) |
Separate city | Area km² (1965) |
Population (1965) |
|
I | Łódź | 214 | 744 100 | |
W | Warsaw | 446 | 1 252 600 | |
? | Kraków ² | 230 | 520 100 | |
? | Poznań ² | 220 | 438 200 | |
? | Wrocław ² | 225 | 474 200 | |
¹ - new voivodeships created in 1950; ² - cities separated in 1957 |
[edit] Poland's voivodeships 1921-1939 (15+1 voivodeships +1 Autonomous - Silesian)
Polish voivodeships in the interbellum (data as per April 1, 1937) |
|||||
car plates (since 1937) |
Voivodeship Separate city |
Capital | Area in 1000 km² (1930) |
Population in 1000 (1931) |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
00-19 | City of Warsaw | Warsaw | 0,14 | 1179,5 | |
85-89 | warszawskie | Warsaw | 31,7 | 2460,9 | |
20-24 | białostockie | Białystok | 26,0 | 1263,3 | |
25-29 | kieleckie | Kielce | 22,2 | 2671,0 | |
30-34 | krakowskie | Kraków | 17,6 | 2300,1 | |
35-39 | lubelskie | Lublin | 26,6 | 2116,2 | |
40-44 | lwowskie | Lwów | 28,4 | 3126,3 | |
45-49 | Łódzkie | Łódź | 20,4 | 2650,1 | |
50-54 | nowogródzkie | Nowogródek | 23,0 | 1057,2 | |
55-59 | poleskie | Brześć nad Bugiem | 36,7 | 1132,2 | |
60-64 | pomorskie | Toruń | 25,7 | 1884,4 | |
65-69 | poznańskie | Poznań | 28,1 | 2339,6 | |
70-74 | stanisławowskie | Stanisławów | 16,9 | 1480,3 | |
75-79 ? | Auton. śląskie | Katowice | 5,1 | 1533,5 | |
80-84 | tarnopolskie | Tarnopol | 16,5 | 1600,4 | |
90-94 | wileńskie | Wilno | 29,0 | 1276,0 | |
95-99 | wołyńskie | Łuck | 35,7 | 2085,6 |
[edit] Voivodeships in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569-1795
- Further information: Administrative division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Voivodes of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
[edit] Greater Poland (Wielkopolska)
- Poznań Voivodeship (województwo poznanskie, Poznań)
- Kalisz Voivodeship (województwo kaliskie, Kalisz)
- Gniezno Voivodeship (województwo gnieźnieńskie, Gniezno) from 1768
- Sieradz Voivodeship (województwo sieradzkie, Sieradz)
- Łęczyca Voivodeship (województwo łęczyckie, Łęczyca)
- Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship (województwo brzesko-kujawskie, Brześć Kujawski)
- Inowrocław Voivodeship (województwo inoworclawskie, Inowrocław)
- Chełmno Voivodeship (województwo chełmińskie, Chełmno)
- Malbork Voivodeship (województwo malborskie, Malbork)
- Pomeranian Voivodeship (województwo pomorskie, Gdańsk)
- Duchy of Warmia (Księstwo Warmińskie, Lidzbark Warmiński)
- Duchy of Prussia (Księstwo Pruskie, Lidzbark Warmiński)
- Płock Voivodeship (województwo plockie, Płock)
- Rawa Voivodeship (województwo rawskie, Rawa Mazowiecka)
- Masovian Voivodeship (województwo mazowieckie, Warszawa)
[edit] Lesser Poland (Małopolska)
- Kraków Voivodeship (województwo krakowskie, Kraków)
- Sandomierz Voivodeship (województwo sandomierskie, Sandomierz)
- Lublin Voivodeship (województwo lubelskie, Lublin)
- Podlachian Voivodeship (województwo podlaskie, Drohiczyn)
- Ruthenian Voivodeship (województwo ruskie, Lwów)
- Bełz Voivodeship (województwo belzkie, Bełz)
- Volhynian Voivodeship (województwo wołyńskie, Łuck)
- Podole Voivodeship (województwo podolskie, Kamieniec Podolski)
- Bracław Voivodeship (województwo braclawskie, Bracław)
- Kijów Voivodeship (województwo kijowskie, Kijów)
- Czernihów Voivodeship (województwo czernichowskie, Chernihóv)
[edit] Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Here the first name given is English, then in brackets - Lithuanian, and then Polish.
- Wilno Voivodeship (Vilniaus vaivadija, województwo wileńskie, Vilnius)
- Troki Voivodeship (Trakų vaivadija, województwo trockie, Trakai)
- Nowogródek Voivodeship (Naugarduko vaivadija, województwo nowogrodzkie, Nowogródek)
- Brest-Litovsk Voivodeship (Lietuvos Brastos vaivadija, województwo brzesko-litewskie, Brześć Litewski)
- Minsk Voivodeship (Minsko vaivadija, województwo mińskie, Mińsk)
- Mścisław Voivodeship (Mstslavlio vaivadija, województwo mścisławskie, Mscislaw)
- Smolensk Voivodeship (Smolensko vaivadija, województwo smoleńskie, Smoleńsk)
- Vitebsk Voivodeship (Vitebsko vaivadija, województwo witebskie, Witebsk)
- Połock Voivodeship (Polocko vaivadija, województwo połockie, Połock)
- Duchy of Samogita (Žemaičių seniūnija, księstwo żmudzkie, Medininkai-Varniai)
[edit] Duchy of Livonia
- Wenden Voivodeship (województwo wendeńskie, Wenden) since 1598 till the 1620s
- Dorpat Voivodeship (województwo dorpackie, Dorpat) since 1598 till the 1620s
- Parnawa Voivodeship (województwo parnawskie, Parnawa) since 1598 till the 1620s
- Livonian Voivodeship (województwo inflanckie, Dyneburg) since the 1620s
- Duchy of Courland and Semigalia (księstwo Kurlanii i Semigalii, Mitawa)
[edit] Etymology and usage of "voivodeship"
The Polish term województwo, designating a second-level Polish or Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth administrative unit, derives from "wojewoda" (etymologically, "war leader," but now used only for the governor of a województwo) and the suffix "-ztwo (a "state or condition").
As a second-level administrative unit, województwo is often rendered in English as "province," the term that is used for such units in most countries of the world.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word voivodeship appeared in English for the first time in 1792, spelled woiwodship, in the sense of "the district or province governed by a voivode." The word subsequently also appeared, for the first time in 1886, in the sense of "the office or dignity of a voivode."
The presence of a word in the Oxford English Dictionary attests to nothing but the word's use on at least one occasion in the history of the English language.
The English word "voivodeship," which is a hybrid of voivode and -ship (a suffix likewise meaning a "state or condition") that replicates those two elements found in the Polish original, has never been much used in English. The 2,478-page Random House Dictionary of the English Language, second edition, unabridged (1987), while including "voivode," does not list or otherwise refer to "voivodeship." It is not an acceptable word in the official Scrabble dictionary, and has never been used in the New York Times crossword puzzle.
Of Polish-English, English-Polish dictionaries, Jan Stanisławski's Great Polish-English Dictionary, 5th edition (1977), translates województwo as "province" or the "office" of a wojewoda. The English-to-Polish volume includes "voivode" but does not even list "voivodeship."
Similarly the Kościuszko Foundation Dictionary translates województwo as "province" or "the administration" of such — not as "voivodeship." The English-to-Polish volume lists neither "voivode" nor "voivodeship." In the latter volume, wojewoda appears as one of three synonyms for the English word, "governor."
In light of the foregoing, some have questioned the appropriateness of "voivodeship," rather than "province," as the English equivalent of województwo; and of "voivode," rather than "governor," as the equivalent of wojewoda. Nonetheless, the term province has not fully displaced voioideship from English usage because of the potential for confusion when discussing Poland's historical prowincjas (literally "provinces"), which were altogether different, far larger subdivisions of the country. Only three of these "provinces" comprised the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and these were themselves fragmented into several voivoideships.
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