Kraków Voivodeship (14th century – 1795)

Kraków Voivodeship
Palatinatus Cracoviensis
Województwo Krakowskie
Voivodeship of Poland
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Coat of arms

Kraków Voivodeship in
the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1635.
Capital Kraków
History
 • Established January 5, 1300
 • First partition August 5, 1772
 • Third partition October 24, 1795
Area
 • 1606 10,000 km2 (3,861 sq mi)
Population
 • 1606 320,000 
Density 32 /km2  (82.9 /sq mi)
Political subdivisions counties: 7 (as for 1662)

Kraków Voivodeship 1300–1795 (Latin: Palatinatus Cracoviensis, Polish: Województwo Krakowskie) – a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795 (see Kingdom of Poland (1320–1385), Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). Located in the southwestern corner of the country, it was part of the Little Poland province (together with two other ancient voivodeships of Poland – Sandomierz Voivodeship, and Lublin Voivodeship).

Kraków Voivodeship emerged from the Duchy of Kraków, which was created as Seniorate Province in the Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty (1138). According to Zygmunt Gloger, it was one of the richest provinces of the Kingdom of Poland, with salt mines in Bochnia and Wieliczka, silver and lead mines in Olkusz, and very fertile soil around Proszowice. Its boundaries changed little for centuries. In 1457, the Duchy of Oświęcim was incorporated into the voivodeship, in 1564 – the Duchy of Zator (the Silesian County was created out of the two), and in 1790, the Duchy of Siewierz. Among cities and towns of contemporary Poland, which were part of Kraków Voivodeship, are Będzin, Biała, Bochnia, Brzesko, Częstochowa, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Jasło, Jaworzno, Jędrzejów, Krzepice, Kłobuck, Miechów, Nowy Sącz, Nowy Targ, Oświęcim, Sosnowiec, Szczekociny, Zakopane, Zator, Zawiercie, and Żywiec. In the first partition of Poland, in 1772 Habsburg Monarchy annexed southern half of the voivodeship (south of the Vistula). In 1795, the third and final partition of Poland, Austria annexed the remaining part of the province, with the exception of its northwestern corner (around Częstochowa), which was seized by the Kingdom of Prussia, as New Silesia.

Zygmunt Gloger in his monumental book Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland gives a detailed description of Krakow Voivodeship:

Krakow Voivodeship covered Subcarpathian Lechia on the right bank of the Vistula, as well as land on the left bank of the river, between Krakow and Sieradz, where the Warta and the Pilica have their sources. Little is known about early history of southern areas of this province, and our knowledge is based on legends. We know that there was a prince named Krakus or Krak, after whom the city of Krakow was named (...) Local tribes, which remained pagan, were separated from the world by the Carpathians, so there are no documents about their origins (...) During the reign of Duke Mieszko I, the Bohemia state reached as far as Krakow, which was annexed by Boleslaw Chrobry in 999 (...)

In 1138, following the Testament of Boleslaw III Krzywousty, the Duchy of Krakow was granted to Wladyslaw, the eldest son of Krzywousty. Boundaries of the duchy were most likely the same as boundaries of Krakow Voivodeship. In 1397, three counties were created: Krakow, Proszowice and Zarnowiec. In the 16th century, there were seven counties in the voivodeship: Proszowice, Szczyrzyc, Lelow, Ksiaz Wielki, Silesian, Biecz and Nowy Sacz (...)

Boundaries of Krakow Voivodeship were as follows: in the north it partly went along the Liswarta river, crossing the Pilica between Koniecpol and Lelow. The towns of Secemin, Sobkow, Pinczow, Opatowiec, Szczurowa, Wojnicz, Tuchow, Brzostek, Kolaczyce and Jedlicze belonged to Sandomierz Voivodeship, while Lelow, Jedrzejow, Dzialoszyce, Skalbmierz, Koszyce, Szczepanow, Zakliczyn, Jodlowa, Jaslo, Dukla and Jasliska were part of Krakow Voivodeship. Southern border was marked by the mountains, beyond which lies Spis (...) In the west, Krakow Voivodeship included three Silesian duchies, namely Duchy of Oswiecim (since 1457), Duchy of Zator (since 1494) and Duchy of Siewierz (since 1443) (...)

In the 16th century, Krakow Voivodeship had the area of 3,451 square miles, with 466 Roman-Catholic parishes, 71 towns and cities, and 2,206 villages (...) It had seven senators: the Bishop of Krakow, the Castellan of Krakow, the Voivode of Krakow, the Castellan of Wojnicz, and Castellans of Nowy Sacz, Biecz and Oswiecim. Starostas resided in such locations, as Krakow, Sacz, Biecz, Spisz, Badzyn, Czchow, Czorsztyn, Debowiec, Dobczyce, Grybow, Jadowniki, Jodlowa, Jaslo, Krzeczow, Lanckorona, Lelow, Libiaz, Mszana Dolna, Nowy Targ, Olsztyn, Ojcow, Rabsztyn, Wolbrom, and others. Local sejmik took place at Proszowice, where eight deputies were elected to the Sejm and Lesser Poland Tribunal in Lublin (...)

The Duchies of Oswiecim and Zator had their own sejmik at Zator, electing two deputies. These two Duchies had 160 villages, and six towns (Oswiecim, Zator, Zywiec, Kety, Wadowice and Berwald). The Duchy of Siewierz, which belonged to Bishops of Krakow, had two towns (Siewierz and Slawkow) (...) Krakow Voivodeship was regarded as the richest part of the Kingdom of Poland. It was the favourite province of King Kazimierz Wielki, and during the reign of the Jagiellon dynasty, a great number of palaces and castles was built here. Krakow Voivodeship had plenty of old churches, chapels, tombs, and other historical buildings (...) Among popular places there were Cistercial Abbey at Mogila near Krakow, Benedictine Abbey at Tyniec, Jasna Gora Monastery at Czestochowa, Franciscan church and abbey at Stary Sacz. Among major castles were Tenczyn Castle, Lipowiec Castle, Siewierz Castle, Smolen Castle, Bobolice Castle, Czorsztyn Castle, Olsztyn Castle, Ojcow Castle, Pieskowa Skala Castle, Wojnicz Castle, Stara Lubovna Castle and others.

Voivodeship Governor (Wojewoda) seat:

Sejmiks (or territorial) seat:

Regional council (sejmik generalny) seat:

Voivodes

Administrative division

In 1397, the Voivodeship was officially divided into three counties (powiats):

In the 16th century, the number of counties rose to seven:

Also, the Duchy of Siewierz, (Księstwo Siewierskie), with capital in Siewierz, was ruled by the Bishops of Kraków, but officially, it was not part of the Voivodeship until 1792, when it was annexed into Poland.

Neighbouring Voivodeships:

Cities and towns of Kraków Voivodeship (1662)

Cities and towns of Proszowice County

Cities and towns of Szczyrzyc County

Cities and towns of Silesian County

Cities and towns of Książ County

Cities and towns of Nowy Sącz County

Cities and towns of Lelów County

Cities and towns of Biecz County

References

Coordinates: 50°03′41″N 19°56′18″E / 50.061389°N 19.938333°E / 50.061389; 19.938333

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