Polish historical regions

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Polish historic regions are regions that were related to a former Polish state, or are within present-day Poland, with or without being identified in its administrative divisions.

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There are several historic and cultural regions in Poland that are called ethnographic regions. Their exact borders cannot be drawn, as the regions are not official political or administrative units. They are delimited by culture, such as country traditions, traditional lifestyle, songs, tales, etc. To some extent, the regions correspond to the zones of Polish language dialects. The correspondence, however, is by no means strict.

Historical lands of Poland against the background of modern administrative borders (names in Polish) Krainy-historyczne-Polski.png
Historical lands of Poland against the background of modern administrative borders (names in Polish)

Historical regions within the current Polish state

The following historic regions within Poland's modern borders belonged to the Polish state during most of its existence, inhabited by a majority or a sizeable Polish- or Cashubian-speaking population, thus forming the core Polish territory:

Coat of arms of Greater Poland and the Kalisz Land POL wojewodztwo kaliskie IRP COA.svg
Coat of arms of Greater Poland and the Kalisz Land
Coat of arms of Kuyavia POL wojewodztwo brzeskokujawskie IRP COA alt.svg
Coat of arms of Kuyavia
Coat of arms of Mazovia POL wojewodztwo mazowieckie IRP COA.svg
Coat of arms of Mazovia
POL wojewodztwo krakowskie IRP COA.svg
POL wojewodztwo lubelskie IRP COA.svg
POL wojewodztwo sandomierskie IRP COA.svg
Coats of arms of the Kraków, Lublin and Sandomierz lands, divisions of Lesser Poland
POL Kaszuby COA.svg
POL Kociewie COA.svg
POL wojewodztwo malborskie IRP COA.svg
Coats of arms of Kashubia, Kociewie and Chełmno Land
Coat of arms of Podlachia POL wojewodztwo podlaskie IRP COA alt.svg
Coat of arms of Podlachia

Another group of territories constituted (either directly or as a fief) a part of the Polish state for varying amounts of time, ranging from episodes in the Middle Ages (e.g. Kłodzko Land, Lusatia) to several hundreds of years in the case of most, like Silesia, Warmia and Powiśle. Among them, only Warmia, Powiśle, southern Masuria, as well as Upper, Cieszyn and eastern and northern Lower Silesia retained sizeable Polish-speaking populations into the beginning of 20th century. Regions forming part of Poland since first historic rulers Mieszko I and Bolesław I the Brave of the Piast dynasty:

Coat of arms of Silesia and Lower Silesia POL wojewodztwo dolnoslaskie COA.svg
Coat of arms of Silesia and Lower Silesia
Coats of arms of Upper Lusatia and Lower Lusatia Lusatia COA.svg
Coats of arms of Upper Lusatia and Lower Lusatia
Coat of arms of Klodzko Land POL Hrabstwo klodzkie COA.svg
Coat of arms of Kłodzko Land

Regions forming part of Poland since the Late Middle Ages and the Jagiellonian dynasty:

Coat of arms of Warmia POL Ksiestwo warminskie COA.svg
Coat of arms of Warmia

Historical regions of former Polish states, currently entirely outside current Polish borders

Outside Poland are several historic regions which were once part of medieval Poland, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Second Polish Republic. While these regions are important for Polish history, calling them Polish is in some cases controversial, as most of them, with the exceptions of Vilnius Region (Polish : Wileńszczyzna) in Dzūkija, or Black Ruthenia, were either never or centuries ago predominantly populated by ethnic Poles and now lie beyond the borders of Poland.

Regions either partially or entirely first included within Poland under the Piast dynasty (10th century–1370) are:

POL wojewodztwo podolskie IRP COA.svg
POL wojewodztwo wolynskie II RP COA.svg
Coats of arms of Podolia and Volhynia during Polish rule

Regions first included within Poland under the Jagiellonian dynasty (1386–1572), also by the Polish–Lithuanian union, are:

POL Inflanty IRP COA.svg
POL wojewodztwo zmudzkie IRP COA.svg
Coats of arms of Livonia and Samogitia during Polish rule
POL wojewodztwo wilenskie II RP COA.svg
POL wojewodztwo nowogrodzkie II RP COA.svg
Coats of arms of Vilnius Region and Black Ruthenia during Polish rule

Regions first under Polish suzerainty under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth:

Bibliography

See also

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References

  1. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom X (in Polish). Warszawa. 1889. p. 301.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIV (in Polish). Warszawa. 1895. p. 497.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIV (in Polish). Warszawa. 1895. p. 201.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom VI (in Polish). Warszawa. 1885. p. 206.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XII (in Polish). Warszawa. 1892. p. 702.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom VIII (in Polish). Warszawa. 1887. p. 338.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. Nowodworski, Witold (1911). "Stosunki Rzeczypospolitej ze Szwecyą i Danią za Batorego". Przegląd Historyczny (in Polish). 12 (1): 19.
  8. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom I (in Polish). Warszawa. 1880. p. 193.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. Kołodziejczyk, Dariusz. Mówią wieki. "CZY RZECZPOSPOLITA MIAŁA KOLONIE W AFRYCE I AMERYCE?". (in Polish)