Pomerania is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian, Pomeranian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeships of Poland, while the western part belongs to the German states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg.
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French comté denoting a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count (earl) or a viscount. Literal equivalents in other languages, derived from the equivalent of "count", are now seldom used officially, including comté, contea, contado, comtat, condado, Grafschaft, graafschap, and zhupa in Slavic languages; terms equivalent to 'commune' or 'community' are now often instead used.
A voivodeship is the highest-level administrative division of Poland, corresponding to a province in many other countries. The term has been in use since the 14th century and is commonly translated into English as "province".
A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term "powiat" is most often translated into English as "county" or "district". In historical contexts, this may be confusing because the Polish term hrabstwo (an administrative unit administered/owned by a hrabia is also literally translated as "county".
Białystok Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from 1975 to 1998, when it was superseded by the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Its capital city was Białystok. It was formed in 1975 from part of the existing Białystok Voivodeship. The region was 10,055 km2 (3,882 sq mi), and its population in 1994, about 700 000 inhabitants. It was divided into 20 cities and 50 municipalities. It bordered with four Voivodeships: Suwałki, Łomża, Siedlce and Biała Podlaska and until 1991 with the Soviet Union, and later with Belarus.
Kreis Wirsitz was one of 14 or 15 Kreise in the northern administrative district of Bromberg, in the Prussian province of Posen. The county existed with essentially the same boundaries beginning in 1815 as a German Kreise then from 1919 as a Polish Powiat until 1975. Its administrative center was the town of Wyrzysk (Wirsitz). The county contained additional municipalities such as Bialosliwie, Lobzenica (Lobsens), Miasteczko Krajeńskie (Friedheim), Mrocza (Mrotschen), Nakło nad Notecią (Nakel), Sadki and Wysoka (Wissek) plus over 100 villages. Many villages that had Germanic names were changed to completely different Polish names following World War II, such as Radzicz. In 1954 the central government abolished the commune as the smallest unit of government, dividing the county into 28 clusters. In 1973 municipalities were restored. After the administrative reform of 1975, the territory of the county was divided between the new (lower) region of Bydgoszcz and the region Piła. The territory of the defunct county was annexed by Naklo County, Kujavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and Pila County, Greater Poland Voivodeship. Wyrzysk was incorporated into Piła County.
The gmina is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. As of 1 January 2019, there were 2,477 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. Nine hundred and forty gminy include cities and towns, with 302 among them constituting an independent urban gmina consisting solely of a standalone town or one of the 107 cities, the latter governed by a city mayor.
The Malbork Voivodeship, after Partitions of Poland also referred to as the Malbork Land, was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland from 1454/1466 until the Partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. Its capital was at Malbork.
Suwałki Region is a historical region around the city of Suwałki in northeastern Poland near the border with Lithuania. It encompasses the powiats of Augustów, Suwałki, and Sejny, and roughly corresponds to the southern part of the former Suwałki Governorate.
Subdivisions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth evolved over for centuries of its existence from the signing of the Union of Lublin to the third partition.
Cieszyn County is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Czech and Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998.
Łuków County is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland. It was established on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Łuków, which lies 76 kilometres (47 mi) north of the regional capital Lublin. The only other town in the county is Stoczek Łukowski, lying 30 km (19 mi) west of Łuków.
Bielsk County is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Bielsk Podlaski, which lies 39 kilometres (24 mi) south of the regional capital Białystok. The only other town in the county is Brańsk, lying 25 km (16 mi) west of Bielsk Podlaski.
Limanowa County is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Limanowa, which lies 54 kilometres (34 mi) south-east of the regional capital Kraków. The only other town in the county is Mszana Dolna, lying 27 km (17 mi) west of Limanowa.The county is divided between Gorals in the territories of gmina Mszana Dolna and gmina Niedziewiedź and Lachs in the rest of the territory.
Congress Poland was subdivided several times from its creation in 1815 until its dissolution in 1918. Congress Poland was divided into departments, a relic from the times of the French-dominated Duchy of Warsaw. In 1816 the administrative divisions were changed to forms that were more traditionally Polish: voivodeships, obwóds and powiats. Following the November Uprising, the subdivisions were again changed in 1837 to bring the subdivisions closer to the structure of the Russian Empire when guberniyas (governorates) were introduced. In this way, Congress Poland was gradually transformed into the "Vistulan Country". Over the next several decades, various smaller reforms were carried out, either changing the smaller administrative units or merging/splitting various guberniyas.
Subdivisions of the Second Polish Republic became an issue immediately after the creation of the Second Polish Republic in 1918. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had been partitioned in the late 18th century. The various parts of what was now Polish territory had belonged to different states with different administrative structures: Austria-Hungary, the German Empire and the Russian Empire.
A city with powiat rights is in Poland a designation denoting 66 of the 107 cities which exercise also the powers and duties of a county, thus being an independent city. They have roughly the same status as former county boroughs in the United Kingdom.
Map showing voivodeships of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the Two Nations (1569–1795)
Administrative division of Congress Poland, 1907
Polish voivodeships, 1922–1939.
Polish voivodeships, 1975–1998
Map of Poland Division into voivodeships, powiats and gminas (2013)
