Łódź Voivodeship (1919–1939)

Łódź Voivodeship
Województwo łódzkie
Voivodeship of Poland
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Coat of arms

Łódź Voivodeship (red) on the map of Second Polish Republic
Capital Łódź
Government Voivodeship
Voivodes
 • 1919-1922 Antoni Kamieński
 • 1938-1939 Henryk Józewski
Historical era Interwar period
 • Established 14 August 1919
 • Territorial changes 1 April 1938
 • Annexed September 1939
Area
 • 1921 19,034 km2 (7,349 sq mi)
 • 1939 20,446 km2 (7,894 sq mi)
Population
 • 1921 2,252,769 
Density 118.4 /km2  (306.5 /sq mi)
 • 1931 2,650,100 
Political subdivisions 15 powiats (1939)

Łódź Voivodeship (Polish: Wojewodztwo Łódzkie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1919–1939. At that time, it covered a large portion of the mid-western part of the country, including such cities as Łódź, Piotrków Trybunalski, Sieradz and Radomsko. The capital of the Łódź Voivodeship was always Łódź, but the area of land which comprised it changed several times.

Location and area

In early 1939, the Voivodeship's area was 20,446 square kilometers. It was located in middle Poland, bordering Poznań Voivodeship to the west, Pomorze Voivodeship to the north, Warsaw Voivodeship to the east Kielce Voivodeship to the south and Germany to the southwest. Landscape was flat, forests covered only 14.7%, with the national average 22.2% (as of January 1, 1937).

In 1938 some western counties were ceded to Poznań Voivodeship (see: Territorial changes of Polish Voivodeships on April 1, 1938). After the change, it consisted of 15 powiats (counties):

The most populous cities of the Voivodeship were (population according to the 1931 Polish census):

Population

According to the 1931 Polish census, the population was 2,650,100. Poles made up 81% of the population, Jews 13.8% and Germans 4.9%. The Jews and the Germans preferred to live in the cities and towns (especially Łódź itself). In 1931 these two ethnic groups made up 37.6% of the Voivodeship's cities’ inhabitants. The illiteracy rate (in 1931) was 22.7%, slightly lower than the national average of 23.1%.

Industry

The Voivodeship's biggest industrial center was the city of Łódź with its suburbs. Apart from this, it lacked other industrial cities. The construction of a huge public works program, called Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy, which started in the second half of the 1930s, missed this part of Poland. Railroad density was 4.8 per 100 km², while the national average was 5.2. The biggest rail hubs were Koluszki, Kutno, Łowicz, Skierniewice, Zduńska Wola and Łódź.

Voivodes

See also

References

Coordinates: 51°46′27″N 19°27′27″E / 51.774305°N 19.457397°E / 51.774305; 19.457397

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