Voivodeships of Poland

The voivodeship, or province, called in Polish województwo [vɔjɛˈvut​͡stfɔ] (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 division of Poland.

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.

Map and table of voivodeships

Polish voivodeships since 1999

Abbreviation	Coat of arms	code	car plates	Voivodeship	Capital	Area km²	Population (December 31, 2003)	Population (June 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)	Bydgoszcz¹ Toruń²	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 Wielkopolski¹ Zielona Góra²	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	File:POL województwo małopolskie COA.svg	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	Opolskie	Opole	9 412.47	1 055 667	1 053 723
PK		18	R	Podkarpackie	Rzeszów	17 926.28	2 097 248	2 097 325
PD		20	B	Podlaskie (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 voivode, (²) – seat of sejmik and marszałek

Template:Politics of Poland See also:

• Map of Polish Regions
• Administrative division of Poland (from Commission on Standardization of Geographical Names Outside Poland website, in English)
• Official map by Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography

Former voivodeships

Poland's voivodeships 1975–1998

See also: Administrative division of People's Republic of Poland and Voivodeships of Poland (1975-1988)

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
Abbreviation	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	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

Poland's voivodeships 1945–1975

See also: Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Poland

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 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 1921–1939

Further information: [[Administrative division of Second Polish Republic]]

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

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)	Map
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 ?	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

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.

• Augustów Voivodeship
• Kalisz Voivodeship
• Kraków Voivodeship
• Lublin Voivodeship
• Mazowsze Voivodeship
• Płock Voivodeship
• Podlasie Voivodeship
• Sandomierz Voivodeship

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 of the Two Nations ("Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth").

Voivodeships of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations in 1635

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)
• Podlaskie 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, Czernihów)

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, Varniai then called Medininkai)

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
• Inflanty Voivodeship (województwo inflanckie, Dyneburg) since the 1620s
• Duchy of Courland and Semigalia (księstwo Kurlandii 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", but now simply the governor of a województwo) and the suffix "-stwo" (a "state or condition").

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."

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.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Voivodeships of Poland

• Voivodeships of Poland (1975–1998)
• Administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Coats of arms of Polish voivodeships
• Flags of Polish voivodeships
• ISO 3166-2:PL
• Prowincja
• Regions of Poland
• Voivodeship

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 978-60239-727-9, p. 546.
• "Voivodeship," The Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, volume XIX, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1989, p. 739.

External links

• Regions of Poland
• Toponymic Guidelines Of Poland for Map Editors and Other Users Head Office Of Geodesy And Cartography, 2002
• CIA World Factbook --> "Poland --> Administrative divisions"