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.
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.
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:
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:
Regions forming part of Poland since the Late Middle Ages and the Jagiellonian dynasty:
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:
Regions first included within Poland under the Jagiellonian dynasty (1386–1572), also by the Polish–Lithuanian union, are:
Regions first under Polish suzerainty under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth:
Łask is a town in central Poland with 16,925 inhabitants (2020). It is the capital of Łask County, and is situated in Łódź Voivodeship. The Polish Air Force's 32nd Air Base is located nearby. It is located in the Sieradz Land.
Red Ruthenia, or Red Rus or Red Russia, is a term used since the Middle Ages for the south-western principalities of the Kievan Rus', namely the Principality of Peremyshl and the Principality of Belz. Nowadays the region comprises parts of western Ukraine and adjoining parts of south-eastern Poland. It has also sometimes included parts of Lesser Poland, Podolia, Right-bank Ukraine and Volhynia. Centred on Przemyśl and Belz, it has included major cities such as: Chełm, Zamość, Rzeszów, Krosno and Sanok, as well as Lviv and Ternopil.
The Ruthenian Voivodeship was a voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1434 until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, with its center in the city of Lwów. Together with a number of other voivodeships of southern and eastern part of the Kingdom of Poland, it formed Lesser Poland Province, with its capital city in Kraków. Following the Partitions of Poland, most of Ruthenian Voivodeship, except for its northeastern corner, was annexed by the Habsburg monarchy, as part of the province of Galicia. Today, the former Ruthenian Voivodeship is divided between Poland and Ukraine.
Sanok Land was a historical administrative division unit (ziemia) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 14th-18th centuries. It consisted of land that now belongs to the powiats (counties) of: Sanok, Brzozów, Lesko and partially Krosno and Rzeszów. Ziemia Sanocka was a part of the Ruthenian Voivodeship with the capital at Lwów.
Lubusz Land is a historical region and cultural landscape in Poland and Germany on both sides of the Oder river.
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.
Šilutė is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County in western Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar capital of Šilutė County and is currently the capital of Šilutė District Municipality.
Ovruch is a city in Korosten Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. Until 2020, it was the administrative center of the former Ovruch Raion, until it was merged into Korosten Raion. It has a population of approximately 15,250, and is home to the Ovruch air base.
Kulm law, Culm law or Chełmno Law was a legal constitution for a municipal form of government used in several Central European cities in the Middle Ages and early modern period.
The borders of Russia changed through military conquests and by ideological and political unions from the 16th century.
Dobrzyń Land is a historical region in central-northern Poland. It lies northeast of the Vistula River, south of the Drwęca, and west of the Skrwa. The territory approximately corresponds with the present-day powiats of Lipno, Rypin, and half of Golub-Dobrzyń within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, although it encompasses parts of other counties as well. Totally, it has about 3,000 km2 and 200,000 inhabitants. Its historic capital is Dobrzyń nad Wisłą, which gave its name to the entire region. Its largest town is Rypin.
Nowe is a town in Świecie County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,270 inhabitants (2004). It is located within the ethnocultural region of Kociewie.
Poland is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the ninth largest in Europe.
Polish regions are regions that are in present-day Poland but are not identified in its administrative division.
Krzywosądz is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dobre, within Radziejów County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland.
Kretingalė is a small town in Klaipėda County, in northwestern Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 936 people. It is located 14 km northeast of Klaipėda and 7 km southwest of Kretinga.
Throughout its early history, the area comprising the current day Podlaskie Voivodeship was inhabited by various tribes of different ethnic roots. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the area was likely inhabited by Lechitic tribes in the west and south, Baltic (Yotvingian) tribes in the north, and East Slavic tribes in the east. Between the 10th and 13th centuries, the area was mostly divided between Poland, Ruthenian principalities and the Yotvingians, and by the 14th century, it was divided between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1569, after the Union of Lublin, most of the current voivodeship was reintegranted with the Kingdom of Poland.
Pryazovia or literally Cis-Azov region is usually used to refer to the geographic area of the north coast of the Sea of Azov, mostly located in south-eastern Ukraine, with a small part in Russia. It is located in the southern part of the Azov-Kuban Lowland within the East European Plain, which surrounds the Sea of Azov for most of the stretch of coastline. In a more general sense it may mean the Azov Sea littoral, and conversely, to be more specific, it may also be referred to as the Northern Priazovye.
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