Discover

The 'voivodeship' or 'province' (Polish: ''województwo'') has been a second-level administrative unit in Poland since the 14th century. Pursuant to the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998, effective January 1, 1999, 16 new provinces were created, replacing the former 49 provinces that had existed from July 1, 1975.
Today's provinces ("voivodeships") are largely based on the country's historic regions, whereas those of 1975-1998 had been centered on and named for individual cities. The new units range in area from under 10,000 km² (Opole Voivodeship) to over 35,000 km² (Masovian Voivodeship), and in population from one million (Lubusz Voivodeship) to over five million (Masovian Voivodeship). Voivodeships are governed by voivod governments, and their legislatures are called voivodeship sejmiks.
Some sources, especially in historic contexts, speak of "palatinates" rather than "voivodeships."
===Poland's voivodeships since 1999===

Poland administrative division 1999 literki.png
'Polish voivodeships since 1999'
Abbreviation	code	car plates	Voivodeship	Capital	Area km²	Population (Dec. 31, 2003)	Population (Jun. 30, 2004)
DS	02	D	Lower Silesian (''dolnośląskie'')	Wrocław	19 947,76	2 898 313	2 895 729
KP	04	C	Kuyavian-Pomeranian (''kujawsko-pomorskie'')	Bydgoszcz'¹' Toruń'²'	17 969,72	2 068 142	2 067 548
LU	06	L	Lublin (''lubelskie'')	Lublin	25 114,48	2 191 172	2 187 918
LB	08	F	Lubusz (''lubuskie'')	Gorzów Wielkopolski'¹' Zielona Góra'²'	13 984,44	1 008 786	1 009 177
LD	10	E	Łódź (''łódzkie'')	Łódź	18 219,11	2 597 094	2 592 568
MP	12	K	Lesser Poland (''małopolskie'')	Kraków	15 144,10	3 252 949	3 256 171
MA	14	W	Masovian (''mazowieckie'')	Warsaw	35 597,80	5 135 732	5 139 545
OP	16	O	Opole (''opolskie'')	Opole	9 412,47	1 055 667	1 053 723
PK	18	R	Subcarpathian (''podkarpackie'')	Rzeszów	17 926,28	2 097 248	2 097 325
PD	20	B	Podlachian (''podlaskie'')	Białystok	20 179,58	1 205 117	1 204 036
PM	22	G	Pomeranian (''pomorskie'')	Gdańsk	18 292,88	2 188 918	2 192 404
SL	24	S	Silesian (''śląskie'')	Katowice	12 294,04	4 714 982	4 707 825
SW	26	T	Świętokrzyskie	Kielce	11 672,34	1 291 598	1 290 176
WM	28	N	Warmian-Masurian (''warmińsko-mazurskie'')	Olsztyn	24 202,95	1 428 885	1 428 385
WP	30	P	Greater Poland (''wielkopolskie'')	Poznań	29 825,59	3 359 932	3 362 011
ZP	32	Z	West Pomeranian (''zachodniopomorskie'')	Szczecin	22 901,48	1 696 073	1 695 708
('¹') - seat of voivod, ('²') - seat of self-government

Voivodeships are combined into bigger regions, which are used for statistical reports.

★ REGION I: 7.7 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 50.5% EU average

★
★ Masovian Voivodeship (Mazowieckie, MA)

★
★ Łódź Voivodeship (Łódzkie, LD)

★ REGION II: 8.0 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 39.5% EU average

★
★ Silesian Voivodeship (Slaskie, SL)

★
★ Lesser Poland Voivodeship (Malopolskie, MP)

★ REGION III: 6.8 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 28.1% EU average

★
★ Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Świętokrzyskie, SW)

★
★ Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Podkarpackie, PK)

★
★ Podlachian Voivodeship (Podlaskie, PD)

★
★ Lublin Voivodeship (Lubelskie, LU)

★ REGION IV: 6.1 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 39.5% EU average

★
★ Greater Poland Voivodeship (Wielkopolskie, WP)

★
★ Lubusz Voivodeship (Lubuskie, LB)

★
★ West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Zachodniopomorskie, ZP)

★ REGION V: 4.0 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 38.3% EU average

★
★ Lower Silesian Voivodeship (Dolnoslaskie, DS)

★
★ Opole Voivodeship (Opolskie, OP)

★ REGION VI: 5.7 million inhabitants, GDP per capita 35.0% EU average

★
★ Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (Kujawsko-Pomorskie, KP)

★
★ Pomeranian Voivodeship (Pomorskie, PM)

★
★ Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (Warminsko-Mazurskie, WM)
::''See also:''

★ ''Map of Polish Regions''

★ ''List of counties in Poland by voivodeships''

★ ''Administrative division of Poland (from Commission on Standardization of Geographical Names Outside Poland web-side, in English)

★ ''Official map by Head Office of Geodesy an Cartography
=== Poland's voivodeships 1975-98 (49 voivodeships)===
''(since 1989, the Third Polish Republic, see also Administrative division of People's Republic of Poland)''

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'
Abbreviation	Voivodeship	Capital	Area km² (1998)	Population (1980)	No. of cities	No. of communes
bp	Biała Podlaska Voivodeship	Biała Podlaska	5348	286 400	6	35
bk	Białystok Voivodeship	Białystok	10 055	641 100	17	49
bb	Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship	Bielsko-Biała	3 704	829 900	18	47
by	Bydgoszcz Voivodeship	Bydgoszcz	10 349	1 036 000	27	55
ch	Chełm Voivodeship	Chełm	3 865	230 900	4	25
ci	Ciechanów Voivodeship	Ciechanów	6 362	405 400	9	45
cz	Częstochowa Voivodeship	Częstochowa	6 182	747 900	17	49
el	Elbląg Voivodeship	Elbląg	6 103	441 500	15	37
gd	Gdańsk Voivodeship	Gdańsk	7 394	1 333 800	19	43
go	Gorzów Voivodeship	Gorzów Wielkopolski	8 484	455 400	21	38
jg	Jelenia Góra Voivodeship	Jelenia Góra	4 378	492 600	24	28
kl	Kalisz Voivodeship	Kalisz	6 512	668 000	20	53
ka	Katowice Voivodeship	Katowice	6 650	3 733 900	43	46
ki	Kielce Voivodeship	Kielce	9 211	1 068 700	17	69
kn	Konin Voivodeship	Konin	5 139	441 200	18	43
ko	Koszalin Voivodeship	Koszalin	8 470	462 200	17	35
kr	Kraków Voivodeship	Kraków	3 254	1 167 500	10	38
ks	Krosno Voivodeship	Krosno	5 702	448 200	12	37
lg	Legnica Voivodeship	Legnica	4 037	458 900	11	31
le	Leszno Voivodeship	Leszno	4 254	357 600	19	28
lu	Lublin Voivodeship	Lublin	6 793	935 200	16	62
lo	Łomża Voivodeship	Łomża	6 684	325 800	12	39
ld	Łódź Voivodeship	Łódź	1523	1 127 800	8	11
ns	Nowy Sącz Voivodeship	Nowy Sącz	5 576	628 800	14	41
ol	Olsztyn Voivodeship	Olsztyn	12 327	681 400	21	48
op	Opole Voivodeship	Opole	8 535	975 000	29	61
os	Ostrołęka Voivodeship	Ostrołęka	6 498	371 400	9	38
pi	Piła Voivodeship	Piła	8 205	437 100	24	35
pt	Piotrków Voivodeship	Piotrków Trybunalski	6 266	604 200	10	51
pl	Płock Voivodeship	Płock	5 117	496 100	9	44
po	Poznań Voivodeship	Poznań	8 151	1 237 800	33	57
pr	Przemyśl Voivodeship	Przemyśl	4 437	380 000	9	35
rs	Radom Voivodeship	Radom	7 295	702 300	15	61
rz	Rzeszów Voivodeship	Rzeszów	4 397	648 900	13	41
se	Siedlce Voivodeship	Siedlce	8 499	616 300	12	66
si	Sieradz Voivodeship	Sieradz	4 869	392 300	9	40
sk	Skierniewice Voivodeship	Skierniewice	3 959	396 900	8	36
sl	Słupsk Voivodeship	Słupsk	7 453	369 800	11	31
su	Suwałki Voivodeship	Suwałki	10 490	422 600	14	42
sz	Szczecin Voivodeship	Szczecin	9 981	897 900	29	50
tg	Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship	Tarnobrzeg	6 283	556 300	14	46
ta	Tarnów Voivodeship	Tarnów	4 151	607 000	9	41
to	Toruń Voivodeship	Toruń	5 348	610 800	13	41
wb	Walbrzych Voivodeship	Wałbrzych	4 168	716 100	31	30
wa	Warsaw Voivodeship	Warsaw	3 788	2 319 100	27	32
wl	Włocławek Voivodeship	Włocławek	4 402	413 400	14	30
wr	Wrocław Voivodeship	Wrocław	6 287	1 076 200	16	33
za	Zamość Voivodeship	Zamość	6 980	472 100	5	47
zg	Zielona Góra Voivodeship	Zielona Góra	8 868	609 200	26	50

=== Poland's voivodeships 1945-75 (14+2 voivodeships, then 17+5) ===
''People's Republic of Poland''
After World War II, the new administrative division of the country was based on the prewar one. The areas 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 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 addition, three more cities were granted voivodeship status: Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań.
 

'Polish administrative division 1945-1975'
Car plates (since 1956)	Voivodeship	Capital	Area 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
F	Łódzkie	Łódź	17 064	1 665 200
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
R	rzeszowskie	Rzeszów	18 658	1 692 800
M	szczecińskie	Szczecin	12 677	847 600
T	warszawskie	Warsaw	29 369	2 453 000
X	wrocławskie	Wrocław	18 827	1 967 000
Z	zielonogórskie ¹	Zielona Góra	14 514	847 200
car plates (since 1956)	Separate city		Area km² (1965)	Population (1965)
I	Łódź		214	744 100
W	Warsaw		446	1 252 600
?	Kraków ²		230	520 100
?	Poznań ²		220	438 200
?	Wrocław ²		225	474 200
¹ - new voivodeships created in 1950; ² - cities separated in 1957

=== Poland's voivodeships 1921-39 (15+1 voivodeships +1 Autonomous - Silesian)===

 

'Polish voivodeships in the interbellum (data as per April 1, 1937)'
car plates (since 1937)	Voivodeship Separate city	Capital	Area in 1000 km² (1930)	Population in 1000 (1931)
00-19	City of Warsaw	Warsaw	0,14	1179,5
85-89	warszawskie	Warsaw	31,7	2460,9
20-24	białostockie	Białystok	26,0	1263,3
25-29	kieleckie	Kielce	22,2	2671,0
30-34	krakowskie	Kraków	17,6	2300,1
35-39	lubelskie	Lublin	26,6	2116,2
40-44	lwowskie	Lwów	28,4	3126,3
45-49	łódzkie	Łódź	20,4	2650,1
50-54	nowogródzkie	Nowogródek	23,0	1057,2
55-59	poleskie	Brześć nad Bugiem	36,7	1132,2
60-64	pomorskie	Toruń	25,7	1884,4
65-69	poznańskie	Poznań	28,1	2339,6
70-74	stanisławowskie	Stanisławów	16,9	1480,3
75-79 ?	Auton. śląskie	Katowice	5,1	1533,5
80-84	tarnopolskie	Tarnopol	16,5	1600,4
90-94	wileńskie	Wilno	29,0	1276,0
95-99	wołyńskie	Łuck	35,7	2085,6

=== Voivodeships in the Congress Poland 1816-1837 ===
From 1816 to 1837 there were 8 voivodeships in the Congress Poland.

★ Augustów Voivodeship

★ Kalisz Voivodeship

★ Kraków Voivodeship

★ Lublin Voivodeship

★ Mazowsze Voivodeship

★ Płock Voivodeship

★ Podlasie Voivodeship

★ Sandomierz Voivodeship
=== Voivodeships in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569-1795 ===

Contents

Etymology and usage of "voivodeship"

External links

Greater Poland (''Wielkopolska'')

★ Poznań Voivodeship (''województwo poznańskie'', Poznań)

★ Kalisz Voivodeship (''województwo kaliskie'', Kalisz)

★ Gniezno Voivodeship (''województwo gnieźnieńskie'', Gniezno) from 1768

★ Sieradz Voivodeship (''województwo sieradzkie'', Sieradz)

★ Łęczyca Voivodeship (''województwo łęczyckie'', Łęczyca)

★ Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship (''województwo brzesko-kujawskie'', Brześć Kujawski)

★ Inowrocław Voivodeship (''województwo inowrocławskie'', Inowrocław)

★ Chełmno Voivodeship (''województwo chełmińskie'', Chełmno)

★ Malbork Voivodeship (''województwo malborskie'', Malbork)

★ Pomeranian Voivodeship (''województwo pomorskie'', Gdańsk)

★ Duchy of Warmia (''Księstwo Warmińskie'', Lidzbark Warmiński)

★ Duchy of Prussia (''Księstwo Pruskie'', Lidzbark Warmiński)

★ Płock Voivodeship (''województwo płockie'', Płock)

★ Rawa Voivodeship (''województwo rawskie'', Rawa Mazowiecka)

★ Masovian Voivodeship (''województwo mazowieckie'', Warszawa)

Lesser Poland (''Małopolska'')

★ Kraków Voivodeship (''województwo krakowskie'', Kraków)

★ Sandomierz Voivodeship (''województwo sandomierskie'', Sandomierz)

★ Lublin Voivodeship (''województwo lubelskie'', Lublin)

★ Podlachian Voivodeship (''województwo podlaskie'', Drohiczyn)

★ Ruthenian Voivodeship (''województwo ruskie'', Lwów)

★ Bełz Voivodeship (''województwo belzkie'', Bełz)

★ Volhynian Voivodeship (''województwo wołyńskie'', Łuck)

★ Podole Voivodeship (''województwo podolskie'', Kamieniec Podolski)

★ Bracław Voivodeship (''województwo bracławskie'', Bracław)

★ Kijów Voivodeship (''województwo kijowskie'', Kijów)

★ Czernihów Voivodeship (''województwo czernichowskie'', Chernihóv)

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Here the first name given is English, then in brackets - Lithuanian, and then Polish.

★ Wilno Voivodeship (''Vilniaus vaivadija'', ''województwo wileńskie'', Vilnius)

★ Troki Voivodeship (''Trakų vaivadija'', ''województwo trockie'', Trakai)

★ Nowogródek Voivodeship (''Naugarduko vaivadija'', ''województwo nowogrodzkie'', Nowogródek)

★ Brest-Litovsk Voivodeship (''Lietuvos Brastos vaivadija'', ''województwo brzesko-litewskie'', Brześć Litewski)

★ Minsk Voivodeship (''Minsko vaivadija'', ''województwo mińskie'', Mińsk)

★ Mścisław Voivodeship (''Mstslavlio vaivadija'', ''województwo mścisławskie'', Mscislaw)

★ Smolensk Voivodeship (''Smolensko vaivadija'', ''województwo smoleńskie'', Smoleńsk)

★ Vitebsk Voivodeship (''Vitebsko vaivadija'', ''województwo witebskie'', Witebsk)

★ Połock Voivodeship (''Polocko vaivadija'', ''województwo połockie'', Połock)

★ Duchy of Samogita (''Žemaičių seniūnija'', ''księstwo żmudzkie'', Medininkai-Varniai)

Duchy of Livonia

★ Wenden Voivodeship (''województwo wendeńskie'', Wenden) since 1598 till the 1620s

★ Dorpat Voivodeship (''województwo dorpackie'', Dorpat) since 1598 till the 1620s

★ Parnawa Voivodeship (''województwo parnawskie'', Parnawa) since 1598 till the 1620s

★ Livonian Voivodeship (''województwo inflanckie'', Dyneburg) since the 1620s

★ Duchy of Courland and Semigalia (''księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii'', Mitawa)

Etymology and usage of "voivodeship"

The Polish term ''województwo'', designating a second-level Polish or Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth administrative unit, derives from "''wojewoda''" (etymologically, "war leader," but now used only for the governor of a ''województwo'') and the suffix "''-ztwo'' (a "state or condition").
As a second-level administrative unit, ''województwo'' is often rendered in English as "province," the term that is used for such units in most countries of the world.
According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the word ''voivodeship'' appeared in English for the first time in 1792, spelled ''woiwodship'', in the sense of "the district or province governed by a voivode." The word subsequently also appeared, for the first time in 1886, in the sense of "the office or dignity of a voivode."
The presence of a word in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' attests to nothing but the word's use on at least one occasion in the history of the English language.
The English word "voivodeship," which is a hybrid of ''voivode'' and ''-ship'' (a suffix likewise meaning a "state or condition") that replicates those two elements found in the Polish original, has never been much used in English. The 2,478-page ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language'', second edition, unabridged (1987), while including "voivode," does not list or otherwise refer to "voivodeship." It is not an acceptable word in the official Scrabble dictionary, and has never been used in the New York Times crossword puzzle.
Of Polish-English, English-Polish dictionaries, Jan Stanisławski's ''Great Polish-English Dictionary'', 5th edition (1977), translates ''województwo'' as "province" or the "office" of a ''wojewoda''. The English-to-Polish volume includes "voivode" but does not even list "voivodeship."
Similarly the ''Kościuszko Foundation Dictionary'' translates ''województwo'' as "province" or "''the administration''" of such — not as "voivodeship." The English-to-Polish volume lists ''neither'' "voivode" nor "voivodeship." In the latter volume, ''wojewoda'' appears as one of three synonyms for the English word, "governor."
In light of the foregoing, some have questioned the appropriateness of "voivodeship," rather than "province," as the English equivalent of ''województwo''; and of "voivode," rather than "governor," as the equivalent of ''wojewoda''.
The chief impediment to the systematic rendering of ''województwo''" as "province" seems to be the fear, in some quarters, that it will cause confusion with the pre–Partitions-of-the-Polish-Lithuanian-Commonwealth use of the Polish cognate term "''prowincja''" to designate the three major subdivisions of the Commonwealth — Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, and Lithuania. That objection is, however, easily overcome by rendering "''prowincja''," in that context, by the English word, "Region."

External links

★ Map