Voivodeship (Poland)

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The voivodeship,[1] or province[2] (in Polish, województwo [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ]; plural: województwa), has been a high-level administrative subdivision of Poland since the 14th century.

The Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998, which went into effect on 1 January 1999, created sixteen new voivodeships. These replaced the 49 former voivodeships that had existed from 1 July 1975.

Today's voivodeships are mostly named after historical and geographical regions, while those prior to 1998 generally took their names from the cities on which they were centered. The new units range in area from under 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) (Opole Voivodeship) to over 35,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi) (Masovian Voivodeship), and in population from one million (Lubusz Voivodeship) to over five million (Masovian Voivodeship).

Administrative authority at voivodeship level is shared between a government-appointed governor called a voivode (Polish wojewoda), an elected assembly called a sejmik, and an executive chosen by that assembly. The leader of that executive is called the marszałek województwa (voivodeship marshal). Voivodeships are further divided into powiats (counties) and gminas (communes or municipalities): see Administrative divisions of Poland.

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Voivodeships since 1999

Map of Polish voivodeships since 1999.

Administrative powers

Competences and powers at voivodeship level are shared between the voivode (governor), the sejmik (regional assembly) and the executive. In most cases these institutions are all based in one city, but in Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Lubusz Voivodeship the voivode's offices are in a different city from those of the executive and the sejmik. Voivodeship capitals are listed in the table below.

The voivode is appointed by the Prime Minister and is the regional representative of the central government. The voivode acts as the head of central government institutions at regional level (such as the police and fire services, passport offices, and various inspectorates), manages central government property in the region, oversees the functioning of local government, coordinates actions in the field of public safety and environment protection, and exercises special powers in emergencies. The voivode's offices collectively are known as the urząd wojewódzki.

The sejmik is elected every four years, at the same time as the local authorities at powiat and gmina level. It passes bylaws, including the voivodeship's development strategies and budget. It also elects the marszałek and other members of the executive, and holds them to account.

The executive (zarząd województwa), headed by the marszałek, drafts the budget and development strategies, implements the resolutions of the sejmik, manages the voivodeship's property, and deals with many aspects of regional policy, including management of European Union funding. Its offices collectively are known as the urząd marszałkowski.

List of voivodeships

Polish voivodeships since 1999
Abbr. Coat of
arms		 Teryt.
code		 Car
plates		 Voivodeship Polish name Capital cities Area
(km²)		 Population
(December 31, 2012)		 Pop.
per km²		 Marshall Coalition
DS 02 D Lower Silesian dolnośląskie Wrocław 19,947 2,914,362 146 Rafał Jurkowlaniec (PO) PO, SLD, PSL
KP 04 C Kuyavian-Pomeranian kujawsko-pomorskie Bydgoszcz ¹,
Toruń ²		 17,972 2,096,404 117 Piotr Całbecki (PO) PO, PSL
LU 06 L Lublin lubelskie Lublin 25,122 2,165,651 86 Krzysztof Hetman (PSL) PSL, PO
LB 08 F Lubusz lubuskie Gorzów Wielkopolski ¹,
Zielona Góra ²		 13,988 1,023,317 73 Elżbieta Polak (PO) PO, PSL
LD 10 E Łódź łódzkie Łódź 18,219 2,524,651 139 Witold Stępień (PO) PO, PSL
MP 12 K Lesser Poland małopolskie Kraków 15,183 3,354,077 221 Marek Sowa (PO) PO, PSL
MA 14 W Masovian mazowieckie Warsaw 35,558 5,301,760 149 Adam Struzik (PSL) PO, PSL
OP 16 O Opole opolskie Opole 9,412 1,010,203 107 Andrzej Buła (PO) PO, MN, PSL
PK 18 R Subcarpathian podkarpackie Rzeszów 17,846 2,129,951 119 Władysław Ortyl (PiS) PiS
PD 20 B Podlaskie podlaskie Białystok 20,187 1,198,690 59 Jarosław Dworzański (PO) PO, PSL
PM 22 G Pomeranian pomorskie Gdańsk 18,310 2,290,070 125 Mieczysław Struk (PO) PO, PSL
SL 24 S Silesian śląskie Katowice 12,333 4,615,870 374 Mirosław Sekuła (PO) PO, PSL
SK 26 T Świętokrzyskie świętokrzyskie Kielce 11,711 1,273,995 109 Adam Jarubas (PSL) PSL, PO
WM 28 N Warmian-Masurian warmińsko-mazurskie Olsztyn 24,173 1,450,697 60 Jacek Protas (PO) PO, PSL
WP 30 P Greater Poland wielkopolskie Poznań 29,826 3,462,196 116 Marek Woźniak (PO) PO, PSL
ZP 32 Z West Pomeranian zachodniopomorskie Szczecin 22,892 1,721,405 75 Olgierd Geblewicz (PO) PO, PSL
(¹) Seat of voivode. (²) Seat of sejmik and marszałek.
Map of Polish voivodeships (1975–1988).

Former voivodeships

Poland's voivodeships 1975–1998

Administrative division of Poland between 1979 and 1998 included 49 voivodeships upheld after the establishment of the Third Polish Republic in 1989 for another decade. 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
Abbr. Voivodeship Polish name Capital Area
km² (1998)		 Population
(1980)		 No. of
cities		 No. of
communes
bp Biała Podlaska Voivodeship bialskopodlaskie Biała Podlaska 5 348 286 400 6 35
bk Białystok Voivodeship białostockie Białystok 10 055 641 100 17 49
bb Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship bielskie Bielsko-Biała 3 704 829 900 18 47
by Bydgoszcz Voivodeship bydgoskie Bydgoszcz 10 349 1 036 000 27 55
ch Chełm Voivodeship chełmskie Chełm 3 865 230 900 4 25
ci Ciechanów Voivodeship ciechanowskie Ciechanów 6 362 405 400 9 45
cz Częstochowa Voivodeship częstochowskie Częstochowa 6 182 747 900 17 49
el Elbląg Voivodeship elbląskie Elbląg 6 103 441 500 15 37
gd Gdańsk Voivodeship gdańskie Gdańsk 7 394 1 333 800 19 43
go Gorzów Voivodeship gorzowskie Gorzów Wielkopolski 8 484 455 400 21 38
jg Jelenia Góra Voivodeship jeleniogórskie Jelenia Góra 4 378 492 600 24 28
kl Kalisz Voivodeship kaliskie Kalisz 6 512 668 000 20 53
ka Katowice Voivodeship katowickie Katowice 6 650 3 733 900 43 46
ki Kielce Voivodeship kieleckie Kielce 9 211 1 068 700 17 69
kn Konin Voivodeship konińskie Konin 5 139 441 200 18 43
ko Koszalin Voivodeship koszalińskie Koszalin 8 470 462 200 17 35
kr Kraków Voivodeship krakowskie Kraków 3 254 1 167 500 10 38
ks Krosno Voivodeship krośnieńskie Krosno 5 702 448 200 12 37
lg Legnica Voivodeship legnickie Legnica 4 037 458 900 11 31
le Leszno Voivodeship leszczyńskie Leszno 4 254 357 600 19 28
lu Lublin Voivodeship lubelskie Lublin 6 793 935 200 16 62
lo Łomża Voivodeship łomżyńskie Łomża 6 684 325 800 12 39
ld Łódź Voivodeship łódzkie Łódź 1523 1 127 800 8 11
ns Nowy Sącz Voivodeship nowosądeckie Nowy Sącz 5 576 628 800 14 41
ol Olsztyn Voivodeship olsztyńskie Olsztyn 12 327 681 400 21 48
op Opole Voivodeship opolskie Opole 8 535 975 000 29 61
os Ostrołęka Voivodeship ostrołęckie Ostrołęka 6 498 371 400 9 38
pi Piła Voivodeship pilskie Piła 8 205 437 100 24 35
pt Piotrków Voivodeship piotrkowskie Piotrków Trybunalski 6 266 604 200 10 51
pl Płock Voivodeship płockie Płock 5 117 496 100 9 44
po Poznań Voivodeship poznańskie Poznań 8 151 1 237 800 33 57
pr Przemyśl Voivodeship przemyskie Przemyśl 4 437 380 000 9 35
ra Radom Voivodeship radomskie Radom 7 295 702 300 15 61
rz Rzeszów Voivodeship rzeszowskie Rzeszów 4 397 648 900 13 41
se Siedlce Voivodeship siedleckie Siedlce 8 499 616 300 12 66
si Sieradz Voivodeship sieradzkie Sieradz 4 869 392 300 9 40
sk Skierniewice Voivodeship skierniewickie Skierniewice 3 959 396 900 8 36
sl Słupsk Voivodeship słupskie Słupsk 7 453 369 800 11 31
su Suwałki Voivodeship suwalskie Suwałki 10 490 422 600 14 42
sz Szczecin Voivodeship szczecińskie Szczecin 9 981 897 900 29 50
tg Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship tarnobrzeskie Tarnobrzeg 6 283 556 300 14 46
ta Tarnów Voivodeship tarnowskie Tarnów 4 151 607 000 9 41
to Toruń Voivodeship toruńskie Toruń 5 348 610 800 13 41
wb Wałbrzych Voivodeship wałbrzyskie Wałbrzych 4 168 716 100 31 30
wa Warsaw Voivodeship warszawskie Warsaw
(Warszawa		 3 788 2 319 100 27 32
wl Włocławek Voivodeship włocławskie Włocławek 4 402 413 400 14 30
wr Wrocław Voivodeship wrocławskie Wrocław 6 287 1 076 200 16 33
za Zamość Voivodeship zamojskie Zamość 6 980 472 100 5 47
zg Zielona Góra Voivodeship zielonogórskie Zielona Góra 8 868 609 200 26 50
Map of Polish voivodeships (1957–1975).

Poland's voivodeships 1945–1975

After World War II, the new administrative division of the country within the new national borders was based on the prewar one and included 14 (+2) voivodeships, then 17 (+5). The voivodeships 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 new 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 1957, three more cities were granted voivodeship status: Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań.

Polish administrative division 1945-1975
Car plates
(since 1956)		 Voivodeship
(Polish name)		 Capital Area
in 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
? Kraków (city) ² Kraków 230 520 100
F łódzkie Łódź 17 064 1 665 200
I Łódź (city) Łódź 214 744 100
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
? Poznań (city) ² Poznań 220 438 200
R rzeszowskie Rzeszów 18 658 1 692 800
M szczecińskie Szczecin 12 677 847 600
T warszawskie Warsaw 29 369 2 453 000
W Warszawa (city) Warsaw 446 1 252 600
X wrocławskie Wrocław 18 827 1 967 000
? Wrocław (city) ² Wrocław 225 474 200
Z zielonogórskie ¹ Zielona Góra 14 514 847 200
(¹) New voivodeships created in 1950. (²) Cities separated in 1957.
Map of Polish voivodeships (1921–1939)
Poland's prewar and postwar borders, 1939–1945

Poland's voivodeships 1921–1939

The administrative division of Poland in the interwar period included 16 voivodeships and Warsaw (with voivodeship rights).

They were very similar to the current voivodeships.

 Polish voivodeships in the interbellum (data as per April 1, 1937)
Car plates
(since 1937)		 Voivodeship Polish name Capital city Area
in km² (1930)		 Population
(1931)
20–24 Białystok białostockie Białystok 26 000 1 263 300
25–29 Kielce kieleckie Kielce 22 200 2 671 000
30–34 Kraków krakowskie Kraków 17 600 2 300 100
35–39 Lublin lubelskie Lublin 26 600 2 116 200
40–44 Lwów lwowskie Lwów 28 400 3 126 300
45–49 Łódź łódzkie Łódź 20 400 2 650 100
50–54 Nowogródek nowogródzkie Nowogródek 23 000 1 057 200
55–59 Polesie poleskie Brześć nad Bugiem 36 700 1 132 200
60–64 Pomeranian pomorskie Toruń 25 700 1 884 400
65–69 Poznań poznańskie Poznań 28 100 2 339 600
70–74 Stanisławów stanisławowskie Stanisławów 16 900 1 480 300
75–79? Silesian śląskie Katowice 5 100 1 533 500
80–84 Tarnopol tarnopolskie Tarnopol 16 500 1 600 400
85–89 Warsawian warszawskie Warsaw 31 700 2 460 900
00–19 Warsaw (city) Warszawa Warsaw 140 1 179 500
90–94 Wilno wileńskie Wilno 29 000 1 276 000
95–99 Wołyń wołyńskie Łuck 35 700 2 085 600

Congress Poland 1816–1837

Voivodeships 1816-1820
Further information: Administrative division of Congress Poland

From 1816 to 1837 there were 8 voivodeships in Congress Poland.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569–1795

Further information: Administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Voivodes of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Voivodeships of the Republic ("Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth").
Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1635

Greater Poland (Wielkopolska)

Lesser Poland (Małopolska)

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

  • Wilno Voivodship (województwo wileńskie, Wilno)
  • Troki Voivodship (województwo trockie, Troki)
  • Nowogrodek Voivodship (województwo nowogrodzkie, Nowogródek)
  • Brest-Litovsk Voivodship (województwo brzesko-litewskie, Brześć Litewski)
  • Minsk Voivodship (województwo mińskie, Mińsk)
  • Mscislaw Voivodship (województwo mścisławskie, Mscislaw)
  • Smolensk Voivodship (województwo smoleńskie, Smoleńsk)
  • Vitebsk Voivodship (województwo witebskie, Witebsk)
  • Polock Voivodship (województwo połockie, Połock)
  • Duchy of Samogita (księstwo żmudzkie, Miedniki-Wornie)

Duchy of Livonia

  • Wenden Voivodship (województwo wendeńskie, Wenden) since 1598 till 1620s
  • Dorpat Voivodship (województwo dorpackie, Dorpat) since 1598 till 1620s
  • Parnawa Voivodship (województwo parnawskie, Parnava) since 1598 till 1620s
  • Inflanty Voivodeship (województwo inflanckie Dyneburg) since 1620s
  • Duchy of Courland and Semigalia (księstwo Kurlanii i Semigalii), Mitawa)

Etymology and use of "voivodeship"

Some English-language sources, in historic contexts, speak of "palatinates" rather than "voivodeships"; the former term traces back to the Latin palatinus ("palatine"). More commonly used now is "voivodeship", a loanword-calque hybrid formed on the Polish "województwo". Other sources refer instead to "provinces" (Polish singular: "prowincja"), though in pre-1795 contexts this may be confusing because the cognate Polish "prowincyja" (as it was then spelled) was idiosyncratically applied, until the last of the three Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in 1795, to each of the three main Regions (Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, and Lithuania) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, each of those Regions in turn comprising a number of województwa (plural of "województwo").

The Polish "województwo", designating a second-tier Polish or Polish–Lithuanian administrative unit, derives from "wojewoda" (etymologically, a "war leader" or "leader of warriors", like the Latin dūx "duke", but now simply the governor of a województwo like "duchy") and the suffix "-stwo" (a "state or condition"). Today it could be called a "governorate", but decentralization gives more power to the regional council of the voivodeship and the local state-level head is just named a "voivode" (like a governor, a high commissary, or a prefet in other countries).

The English "voivodeship", which is a hybrid of the loanword "voivode" and "-ship" (the latter a suffix, likewise meaning a "state or condition", that calques the Polish "-stwo"), has never been much used and is absent from many dictionaries. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it first appeared in 1792, spelled "woiwodship", in the sense of "the district or province governed by a voivode." The word subsequently also appeared in 1886 in the sense of "the office or dignity of a voivode."[3]

An official Polish body, the Commission on Standardization of Geographic Names outside the Republic of Poland, recommends the spelling "voivodship", without the e. This is consistently reflected in publications and in the international arena, e.g., at the United Nations.

Notes

  1. ↑ Other English renderings include "voivodship," "voievodship," "voievodeship".
  2. ↑ The word "voivodeship" appears in some large English dictionaries such as the OED and Webster's Third New International Dictionary but is not in common English usage. Hence the word "province" is a recommended translation: "Jednostki podziału administracyjnego Polski tłumaczymy tak: województwo—province..." ("Polish administrative units are translated as follows: województwo—province..."). Arkadiusz Belczyk, "Tłumaczenie polskich nazw geograficznych na język angielski" ("Translation of Polish Geographical Names into English"), 2002-2006. Examples: New Provinces of Poland (1998), Map of Poland, English names of Polish provinces. More examples:
    • "Following the reform of the administrative structure in 1973-1975, the number of provinces (województwa) was increased from 22 to 49... [I]ncreasing the number of provinces meant the reduction of each in size. In this way Warsaw was able to dilute the political importance of the provincial party chiefs." "Poland", The Encyclopedia Americana, 1986, volume 22, p. 312.
    • "Poland is divided into 49 provinces." "Poland", The Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, edited by Paul Lagassé, Columbia University Press, 2000, p. 2256.
    • "Local government in Poland is organized on three levels. The largest units, at the regional level, are the województwa (provinces)..." "Poland", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, 2010, Macropaedia, volume 25, p. 937.
    • "GOVERNMENT... Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular–wojewodztwo)..." "Poland," in Central Intelligence Agency, The CIA World Factbook 2010, New York, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2009, ISBN 9781602397279, p. 546. The same information appears in the current online CIA World Factbook --> "Poland --> Administrative divisions". Note that in this source, where "English translations" of province names are given, they are in the noun ("Silesia"), not the adjective ("Silesian"), form.
  3. ↑ "Voivodeship," The Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, volume XIX, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1989, p. 739.

References

  • "Poland", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, 2010, Macropaedia, volume 25, p. 937.
  • "Poland", The Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, edited by Paul Lagassé, Columbia University Press, 2000, p. 2256.
  • "Poland", The Encyclopedia Americana, 1986, volume 22, p. 312.
  • "Poland," in Central Intelligence Agency, The CIA World Factbook 2010, New York, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2009, ISBN 9781602397279, p. 546.
  • "Voivodeship," The Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, volume XIX, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1989, p. 739.

External links

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See also

Polish terms for country subdivisions
Current
Historical
See also
First-level administrative divisions in Europe
Sovereign states
1 Has part of its territory outside Europe. 2 Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in Western Asia. 3 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the border.
Voivodeships of Poland
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