Wałbrzych County

Wałbrzych County
Powiat wałbrzyski
County

Flag

Coat of arms

Location within the voivodeship
Country  Poland
Voivodeship Lower Silesian
Seat Wałbrzych
Gminas
Area
  Total 514.18 km2 (198.53 sq mi)
Population (2006)
  Total 184,594
  Density 360/km2 (930/sq mi)
  Urban 164,596
  Rural 19,998
Car plates DB (Wałbrzych city), DBA
Website http://www.powiat.walbrzych.pl

Wałbrzych County (Polish: powiat wałbrzyski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It was created on January 1, 1999 as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. The county covers an area of 514.2 square kilometres (198.5 sq mi). Its administrative seat is the city of Wałbrzych, and it also contains the towns of Boguszów-Gorce, Głuszyca, Szczawno-Zdrój, Jedlina-Zdrój and Mieroszów.

When the county came into being in 1999, the city of Wałbrzych was not part of its territory, although it served as the county seat. As of 2003 the city county (powiat grodzki) of Wałbrzych was incorporated into Wałbrzych County. Wałbrzych is now the largest town in Poland not to constitute a separate city county.

As at 2006 the total population of the county is 184,594, out of which the population of Wałbrzych is 125,773, that of Boguszów-Gorce is 16,687, that of Głuszyca is 6,999, that of Szczawno-Zdrój is 5,506, that of Jedlina-Zdrój is 5,116, that of Mieroszów is 4,515, and the rural population is 19,998.

Neighbouring counties

Wałbrzych County is bordered by Kamienna Góra County to the west, Jawor County to the north, Świdnica County to the north-east, Dzierżoniów County to the east and Kłodzko County to the south-east. It also borders the Czech Republic to the south.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into nine gminas (four urban, two urban-rural and three rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

Gmina Type Area
(km²)
Population
(2006)
Seat
Wałbrzych urban 84.7 125,773  
Boguszów-Gorce urban 27.0 16,687  
Gmina Głuszyca urban-rural 61.9 9,318 Głuszyca
Gmina Mieroszów urban-rural 76.2 7,560 Mieroszów
Gmina Walim rural 78.8 5,698 Walim
Szczawno-Zdrój urban 14.7 5,506  
Jedlina-Zdrój urban 17.5 5,116  
Gmina Czarny Bór rural 66.3 4,828 Czarny Bór
Gmina Stare Bogaczowice rural 86.9 4,108 Stare Bogaczowice

References


Coordinates: 50°47′N 16°17′E / 50.783°N 16.283°E