| Gmina Michałowo Michałowo Commune | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gmina | ||
| ||
 Location within Białystok County | ||
| Coordinates(Michałowo): 53°2′12″N23°36′13″E / 53.03667°N 23.60361°E Coordinates: 53°2′12″N23°36′13″E / 53.03667°N 23.60361°E | ||
| Country |  | |
| Voivodeship | Podlaskie | |
| County | Białystok County | |
| Seat | Michałowo | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 409.19 km2 (157.99 sq mi) | |
| Population (2006) | ||
| • Total | 7,263 | |
| • Density | 18/km2 (46/sq mi) | |
| Website | http://michalowo.anawoj.org/ | |
Gmina Michałowo is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Białystok County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. Its seat is the town of Michałowo, which lies approximately 31 kilometres (19 mi) east of the regional capital Białystok. (Michałowo gained town status on 1 January 2009 – prior to that the district was classed as a rural gmina.)
The gmina is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. As of 2010 there were 2,478 gminy throughout the country. The word gmina derives from the German word Gemeinde, meaning "community".
Białystok County is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. 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 Białystok, although the city is not part of the county. The county contains nine towns: Łapy, 25 km (16 mi) south-west of Białystok, Czarna Białostocka, 22 km (14 mi) north of Białystok, Wasilków, 11 km (7 mi) north of Białystok, Choroszcz, 13 km (8 mi) west of Białystok, Supraśl, 16 km (10 mi) north-east of Białystok, Michałowo, 13 km (8 mi) east of Białystok, Zabłudów, 16 km (10 mi) south-east of Białystok, Tykocin, 29 km (18 mi) west of Białystok, and Suraż, 23 km (14 mi) south-west of Białystok.
Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and Marijampolė to the northeast, and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia to the north.
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The gmina covers an area of 409.19 square kilometres (158.0 sq mi), and as of 2006 its total population is 7,263, out of which the population of Michałowo is 3,343.
The gmina contains part of the protected area called Knyszyń Forest Landscape Park.
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international organizations involved.
