Subdivisions of the Polish People's Republic

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The subdivisions of the Polish People's Republic changed several times from the Republic's inception in 1946 to the latest revision in 1999. The first subdivisions of the Republic involved the territories that were acquired in the west after World War II. They were subsequently reformed in 1946, 1950, 1957 and 1975. The 1975 division survived the fall of communism in 1990. The current administrative subdivisions were finalised in 1999. While they closely resemble the 1945–75 scheme, they have different names since the Communists tended to simply name the voivodeships after their capitals, whereas the current ones use more historical names. In some cases, there were border adjustments.

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After World War II, Poland lost 77,000 km2 (30,000 sq mi) of eastern regions (Kresy), gaining instead the smaller but much more industrialized so-called "Regained Territories" east of the Oder–Neisse line. This annexation of German territory was agreed by the Allied Powers at the Potsdam Conference in 1945.

The Polish People's Republic was divided into several voivodeships (the Polish unit of administrative division). After World War II, the new administrative divisions were based on the pre-war ones. The areas in the East that were not annexed by the Soviet Union had their borders left almost unchanged. Newly acquired territories in the west and north were organised into the voivodeships of Szczecin, Wrocław, Olsztyn and partially joined to Gdańsk, Katowice and Poznań voivodeships. Two cities were granted voivodeship status: Warsaw and Łódź.

In 1950 new voivodeships were created: Koszalin—previously part of Szczecin, Opole—previously part of Katowice, and Zielona Góra—previously part of Poznań, Wrocław and Szczecin voivodeships. [1] In addition, three other cities were granted voivodeship status: Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań.

In 1973, Polish voivodeships were changed again. This reorganization of administrative division of Poland was mainly a result of local government reform acts of 1973 to 1975. A three-level administrative division (voivodeship, county, commune) was replaced with a two-level administrative division (49 small voivodeships and communes). The three smallest voivodeships: Warsaw, Kraków and Łódź had a special status of municipal voivodeship; the city president (mayor) was also province governor.

The system of division remained in effect after the fall of the People's Republic, until 1999, when a system of larger voivodeships and powiats was again introduced (see Administrative divisions of Poland). [2]

Poland's voivodeships 1945–1975 (14+2 voivodeships, then 17+5)

After World War II, the new administrative division of the country was based on the prewar one. The areas in the east that had not been annexed by the Soviet Union had their borders left almost unchanged. The newly acquired territories in the west and north were organized into the voivodeships of Szczecin, Wrocław and Olsztyn, and partly joined to Gdańsk, Katowice and Poznań voivodeships. Two cities were granted voivodeship status: Warsaw and Łódź. [3]

Poland administrative division 1957 literki.PNG

In 1950, new voivodeships were created: Koszalin (previously part of Szczecin), Opole (previously part of Katowice), and Zielona Góra (previously part of Poznań, Wrocław and Szczecin voivodeships). In addition, three more cities were granted voivodeship status: Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań.

Polish administrative divisions 1945–1975
Car plates
(since 1956)
VoivodeshipCapitalArea
km2 (1965)
Population
(1965)
A Białystok Białystok 23,1361,160,400
B Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz 20,7941,837,100
G Gdańsk Gdańsk 10,9841,352,800
S Katowice Katowice 9,5183,524,300
C Kielce Kielce 19,4981,899,100
E Koszalin¹ Koszalin 17,974755,100
K Krakow Kraków 15,3502,127,600
F Łódz Łódź 17,0641,665,200
L Lublin Lublin 24,8291,900,500
O Olsztyn Olsztyn 20,994956,600
H Opole ¹ Opole 9,5061,009,200
P Poznań Poznań 26,7232,126,300
R Rzeszów Rzeszów 18,6581,692,800
M Szczecin Szczecin 12,677847,600
T Warsaw Warsaw 29,3692,453,000
X Wrocław Wrocław 18,8271,967,000
Z Zielona Góra ¹ Zielona Góra 14,514847,200
car plates
(since 1956)
Separate cityArea
km2 (1965)
Population
(1965)
I Łódź 214744,100
W Warsaw 4461,252,600
K Kraków ²230520,100
P Poznań ²220438,200
X Wrocław ²225474,200
1 – new voivodeships created in 1950; 2 – cities separated in 1957

Poland's voivodeships 1975–1989 (49 voivodeships)

Poland administrative division 1975 literki.png

This reorganization of the administrative division of Poland was mainly a result of the local government reform acts of 19731975. In place of the three-level administrative division (voivodeship, county, commune), a new two-level administrative division was introduced (49 small voivodeships, and communes). The three smallest voivodeships—Warsaw, Kraków and Łódź—had the special status of municipal voivodeships; those cities' presidents (mayors) were also their provincial governors.

Polish voivodeships and separate cities 1975–1998
AbbreviationVoivodeshipCapitalArea
km2 (1998)
Population
(1980)
No. of citiesNo. of communes
bp Biała Podlaska Voivodeship Biała Podlaska 5,348286,400635
bk Białystok Voivodeship Białystok 10,055641,1001749
bb Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship Bielsko-Biała 3,704829,9001847
by Bydgoszcz Voivodeship Bydgoszcz 10,3491,036,0002755
ch Chełm Voivodeship Chełm 3,865230,900425
ci Ciechanów Voivodeship Ciechanów 6,362405,400945
cz Częstochowa Voivodeship Częstochowa 6,182747,9001749
el Elbląg Voivodeship Elbląg 6,103441,5001537
gd Gdańsk Voivodeship Gdańsk 7,3941,333,8001943
go Gorzów Voivodeship Gorzów Wielkopolski 8,484455,4002138
jg Jelenia Góra Voivodeship Jelenia Góra 4,378492,6002428
kl Kalisz Voivodeship Kalisz 6,512668,0002053
ka Katowice Voivodeship Katowice 6,6503,733,9004346
ki Kielce Voivodeship Kielce 9,2111,068,7001769
kn Konin Voivodeship Konin 5,139441,2001843
ko Koszalin Voivodeship Koszalin 8,470462,2001735
kr Kraków Voivodeship Kraków 3,2541,167,5001038
ks Krosno Voivodeship Krosno 5,702448,2001237
lg Legnica Voivodeship Legnica 4,037458,9001131
le Leszno Voivodeship Leszno 4,254357,6001928
lu Lublin Voivodeship Lublin 6,793935,2001662
lo Łomża Voivodeship Łomża 6,684325,8001239
ld Łódź Voivodeship Łódź 1,5231,127,800811
ns Nowy Sącz Voivodeship Nowy Sącz 5,576628,8001441
ol Olsztyn Voivodeship Olsztyn 12,327681,4002148
op Opole Voivodeship Opole 8,535975,0002961
os Ostrołęka Voivodeship Ostrołęka 6,498371,400938
pi Piła Voivodeship Piła 8,205437,1002435
pt Piotrków Voivodeship Piotrków Trybunalski 6,266604,2001051
pl Płock Voivodeship Płock 5,117496,100944
po Poznań Voivodeship Poznań 8,1511,237,8003357
pr Przemyśl Voivodeship Przemyśl 4,437380,000935
rs Radom Voivodeship Radom 7,295702,3001561
rz Rzeszów Voivodeship Rzeszów 4,397648,9001341
se Siedlce Voivodeship Siedlce 8,499616,3001266
si Sieradz Voivodeship Sieradz 4,869392,300940
sk Skierniewice Voivodeship Skierniewice 3,959396,900836
sl Słupsk Voivodeship Słupsk 7,453369,8001131
su Suwałki Voivodeship Suwałki 10,490422,6001442
sz Szczecin Voivodeship Szczecin 9,981897,9002950
tg Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship Tarnobrzeg 6,283556,3001446
ta Tarnów Voivodeship Tarnów 4,151607,000941
to Toruń Voivodeship Toruń 5,348610,8001341
wb Wałbrzych Voivodeship Wałbrzych 4,168716,1003130
wa Warsaw Voivodeship Warsaw 3,7882,319,1002732
wl Włocławek Voivodeship Włocławek 4,402413,4001430
wr Wrocław Voivodeship Wrocław 6,2871,076,2001633
za Zamość Voivodeship Zamość 6,980472,100547
zg Zielona Góra Voivodeship Zielona Góra 8,868609,2002650

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References

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