A city with powiat rights (Polish : miasto na prawach powiatu) is in Poland a designation denoting 66 of the 107 cities (the urban gminas which are governed by a city mayor or prezydent miasta) which exercise also the powers and duties of a county (Polish : powiat), thus being an independent city. [1] [2] Sometimes, such a city will also be referred to in Polish as city county (Polish : powiat grodzki); this term however is not official (it was used during the interwar times of the Second Polish Republic). The contemporary term city with powiat rights should not be used interchangeably with the interwar city county.
Such cities are distinct from and independent of the 314 regular powiats (sometimes referred as 'land counties' (Polish : powiaty ziemskie), again a term that was used in the interwar period and is not used in modern Polish law).
Pomerania is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to the German states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg, while the eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian, Pomeranian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeships of Poland. Its historical border in the west is the Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian border Urstromtal which now constitutes the border between the Mecklenburgian and Pomeranian part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while it is bounded by the Vistula River in the east. The easternmost part of Pomerania is alternatively known as Pomerelia, consisting of four sub-regions: Kashubia inhabited by ethnic Kashubians, Kociewie, Tuchola Forest and Chełmno Land.
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes in certain modern 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/community are now often instead used.
Rybnik is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km from the Czech border. It is one of the major cities of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area with a population of 5.3 million and the main city of the so-called Subregion Zachodni, previously also known as the Rybnik Coal Area. With a population of 135,994 as of January 1, 2022, it is the 25th most-populous city in Poland.
Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshall, it is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional Assembly. Historically, most of the province's territory was part of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and the Ruthenian Voivodeship. In the interwar period, it was part of the Lwów Voivodeship.
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".
Mrągowo is a resort town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship of northeastern Poland, with 21,889 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Mrągowo County and the seat the Gmina Mrągowo. The town is located in the historical region of Masuria, within the Masurian Lake District, about 60 km (37 mi) east of Olsztyn.
Karkonosze County is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998.
Olecko is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, located in Masuria near Ełk and Suwałki. It is situated at the mouth of the Lega river which flows into the Great Olecko Lake on its south-western shore. Olecko is the seat of Olecko County.
The gmina is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. As of 1 January 2019, there were 2477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminas 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.
Dzierzgoń is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. It is located in Sztum County east of Malbork and south of Elbląg on the river Dzierzgoń. Dzierzgoń has a population of 5,242, while the city and its environs have a combined population of about 10,000.
Starostwo is an administrative unit established from the 14th century in the Polish Crown and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until the partitions of Poland in 1795. Starostwos were established in the crown lands (królewszczyzna). The term is also used in modern Poland.
The administrative division of Poland since 1999 has been based on three levels of subdivision. The territory of Poland is divided into voivodeships (provinces); these are further divided into powiats, and these in turn are divided into gminas. Major cities normally have the status of both gmina and powiat. Poland currently has 16 voivodeships, 380 powiats, and 2,478 gminas.
Berézne is a city in Rivne Oblast, Ukraine, located on the Sluch River north of Rivne. It is the administrative centre of the Berezne Raion. Population: 13,280
Bydgoszcz County is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Bydgoszcz, although the city is not part of the county. The only towns in Bydgoszcz County are Solec Kujawski, which lies 17 km (11 mi) east of Bydgoszcz, and Koronowo, 23 km (14 mi) north of Bydgoszcz.
Polesie Voivodeship was an administrative unit of interwar Poland (1918–1939), named after the historical region of Polesia. It was created by the Council of Ministers of the Second Polish Republic on February 19, 1921, as a result of peace agreement signed with the Russian and Ukrainian SSRs in Riga. Polesie Voivodeship was the largest province of interwar Poland. It ceased to function in September 1939, following the Nazi-German and Soviet invasion of Poland in accordance with a secret protocol of the Nazi–Soviet Pact of non-aggression.
The National Electoral Commission is the only permanent election commission in Poland. The second permanent electoral organs are komisarze wyborczy, which number is 51.
LGBT-free zones or LGBT ideology-free zones are municipalities and regions of Poland that have declared themselves unwelcoming of what they described as "LGBT ideology", in order to ban equality marches and other LGBT events. By June 2020, some 100 municipalities (map) and five voivodeships, encompassing a third of the country, had adopted resolutions which have been characterized as "LGBT-free zones". In September 2021, four of the voivodeships withdrew the measures, after the EU threatened to withhold funding. Poland's Human Rights Ombudsman challenged several LGBT-free zone resolutions and on 28 June 2022, a top Polish appeals court upheld lower court rulings that had annulled these resolutions, abolishing them in four municipalities. Supporters argue that the zones defend traditional family values, while opponents argue that the zones undermine the rights of LGBT people.