Lower Silesian Voivodeship
| Lower Silesian Voivodeship Województwo dolnośląskie |
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| — Voivodeship — | |||
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| Coordinates(Wrocław): | |||
| Country |  Poland |
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| Capital | Wrocław | ||
| Counties |
3 cities, 26 land counties *
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| Area | |||
| - Total | 19,946 km² (7,701.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Total | 2,884,248 | ||
| - Density | 144.6/km² (374.5/sq mi) | ||
| - Urban | 2,047,151 | ||
| - Rural | 837,097 | ||
| Car plates | D | ||
| * further divided into 169 gminas | |||
| Website: http://www.umwd.pl/ | |||
Lower Silesian Voivodeship (also known as Lower Silesian Province, or by its Polish name of województwo dolnośląskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ dɔlnɔˈɕlɔ̃skʲɛ] or simply Dolnośląskie) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is currently divided. It lies in south-western Poland, corresponding roughly to the region of Lower Silesia (the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia), which passed to Poland from Germany at the end of the Second World War. Its capital and largest city is Wrocław (German: Breslau), on the middle Odra (Oder) river.
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History and geography
The voivodeship was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra Voivodeships, pursuant to the 1998 Local Government Reorganization Act. It covers an area of 19,946 square kilometres (7,701 sq mi), and as at 2006 has a total population of 2,884,248, comprising an urban population of 2,047,151 and rural population of 837,097.
Although much of the region is relatively low-lying, as it name implies, it also includes part of the Sudetes mountain range running along the Polish/Czech border. Popular ski resorts in Lower Silesian Voivodeship include Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba in the Karkonosze mountains. The town of Kudowa Zdrój, also in the Sudetes (west of Kłodzko near the Czech border), is a traditional spa town often visited by heart patients. Other important tourist destinations in the voivodeship include the chief city, Wrocław, as well as the towns of Jelenia Góra and Legnica.
Lower Silesian Voivodeship is bordered by Lubusz Voivodeship to the north-west, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the north-east, Opole Voivodeship to the south-east, the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to the west.
Cities and towns
The voivodeship contains 91 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2006 [1]):
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1. Wrocław (635,280) |
32. Trzebnica (12,180) |
63. Jaworzyna Śląska (5,240) |
Administrative division
Lower Silesian Voivodeship is divided into 29 counties (powiats): 3 city counties and 26 land counties. These are further divided into 169 gminas.
The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).
| English and Polish names |
Area (km²) |
Population (2006) |
Seat | Other towns | Total gminas |
| City counties | |||||
| Wrocław | 293 | 635,280 | 1 | ||
| Legnica | 56 | 105,485 | 1 | ||
| Jelenia Góra | 109 | 86,663 | 1 | ||
| Land counties | |||||
| Wałbrzych County powiat wałbrzyski |
514 | 184,594 | Wałbrzych | Boguszów-Gorce, Głuszyca, Szczawno-Zdrój, Jedlina-Zdrój, Mieroszów | 9 |
| Kłodzko County powiat kłodzki |
1,643 | 166,447 | Kłodzko | Nowa Ruda, Bystrzyca Kłodzka, Kudowa-Zdrój, Polanica-Zdrój, Stronie Śląskie, Lądek-Zdrój, Szczytna, Duszniki-Zdrój, Międzylesie, Radków | 14 |
| Świdnica County powiat świdnicki |
743 | 160,337 | Świdnica | Świebodzice, Strzegom, Żarów, Jaworzyna Śląska | 8 |
| Lubin County powiat lubiński |
712 | 105,582 | Lubin | Ścinawa | 4 |
| Dzierżoniów County powiat dzierżoniowski |
478 | 104,852 | Dzierżoniów | Bielawa, Pieszyce, Piława Górna, Niemcza | 7 |
| Oleśnica County powiat oleśnicki |
1,049 | 103,366 | Oleśnica | Syców, Twardogóra, Bierutów, Międzybórz | 8 |
| Wrocław County powiat wrocławski |
1,116 | 101,913 | Wrocław * | Sobótka, Kąty Wrocławskie, Siechnice | 9 |
| Zgorzelec County powiat zgorzelecki |
838 | 94,408 | Zgorzelec | Bogatynia, Pieńsk, Zawidów, Węgliniec | 7 |
| Bolesławiec County powiat bolesławiecki |
1,303 | 88,343 | Bolesławiec | Nowogrodziec | 6 |
| Głogów County powiat głogowski |
443 | 87,651 | Głogów | 6 | |
| Trzebnica County powiat trzebnicki |
1,026 | 77,285 | Trzebnica | Oborniki Śląskie, Żmigród, Prusice | 6 |
| Oława County powiat oławski |
524 | 71,118 | Oława | Jelcz-Laskowice | 4 |
| Ząbkowice Śląskie County powiat ząbkowicki |
801 | 69,297 | Ząbkowice Śląskie | Ziębice, Złoty Stok, Bardo | 7 |
| Jelenia Góra County powiat jeleniogórski |
628 | 63,817 | Jelenia Góra * | Kowary, Szklarska Poręba, Piechowice, Karpacz | 9 |
| Polkowice County powiat polkowicki |
780 | 61,138 | Polkowice | Chocianów, Przemków | 6 |
| Lubań County powiat lubański |
428 | 57,061 | Lubań | Olszyna, Leśna, Świeradów-Zdrój | 7 |
| Legnica County powiat legnicki |
745 | 52,995 | Legnica * | Chojnów, Prochowice | 8 |
| Jawor County powiat jaworski |
581 | 52,058 | Jawor | Bolków | 6 |
| Środa Śląska County powiat średzki |
704 | 49,208 | Środa Śląska | 5 | |
| Lwówek Śląski County powiat lwówecki |
710 | 48,144 | Lwówek Śląski | Gryfów Śląski, Mirsk, Wleń, Lubomierz | 5 |
| Wołów County powiat wołowski |
675 | 47,445 | Wołów | Brzeg Dolny | 3 |
| Kamienna Góra County powiat kamiennogórski |
396 | 46,470 | Kamienna Góra | Lubawka | 4 |
| Złotoryja County powiat złotoryjski |
575 | 45,744 | Złotoryja | Wojcieszów, Świerzawa | 6 |
| Strzelin County powiat strzeliński |
622 | 44,146 | Strzelin | Wiązów | 5 |
| Milicz County powiat milicki |
715 | 36,845 | Milicz | 3 | |
| Góra County powiat górowski |
738 | 36,556 | Góra | Wąsosz | 4 |
| * seat not part of the county | |||||
Protected areas
Protected areas in Lower Silesian Voivodeship include two National Parks and 12 Landscape Parks. These are listed below.
- Karkonosze National Park (part of a UNESCO trans-border biosphere reserve)
- Table Mountains National Park
- Barycz Valley Landscape Park (partly in Greater Poland Voivodeship)
- Bóbr Valley Landscape Park
- Bystrzyca Valley Landscape Park
- Chełmy Landscape Park
- Jezierzyca Valley Landscape Park
- Książ Landscape Park
- Owl Mountains Landscape Park
- Przemków Landscape Park
- Rudawy Landscape Park
- Ślęża Landscape Park
- Śnieżnik Landscape Park
- Sudety Wałbrzyskie Landscape Park
Most popular surnames in the region
- Nowak: 13,217
- Kowalski: 9,429
- Wójcik: 7,046
See also
External links
- Województwo Dolnośląskie Official website
- Website of the government of Lower Silesia
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