History
An unstated reason for the reform was the desire of the Polish Central Committee to strengthen control over lower layers of the state apparatus. After Edward Gierek replaced Władysław Gomułka as first secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party, his clique maintained power by dividing the Politburo.
Through administrative reorganization and the new territorial division, Gierek was able to nominate his supporters to provincial committees and break the hold of older elements of the party. [1]
On the date the system took effect (1 June 1975), the 49 voivodeships were further subdivided into 2,343 municipalities plus 814 cities, including four cities with special status — Warsaw, Łódź, Kraków and Wrocław — for a total of 3,157 municipal governments serving as secondary administrative units.
Warsaw Voivodeship had the status of a metropolitan voivodeship, and the Łódź and Kraków Voivodeships were called urban voivodeships . The appointed mayor of each voivodeship's capital city also served as the provincial governor. Initially, the city of Wrocław was a separate administrative division within the Wrocław Voivodeship.
During 1991 and 1992 the large municipalities were restructured, significantly changing the division of powers between the provincial cities and the surrounding rural communities (Laws of 1991, ch. 2, sec. 9, ch. 3, sec. 12 and ch. 87, sec. 397).
In the Polish administrative reform of 1999 Poland introduced a further reform of local government administration, establishing the present 16 voivodeships with new districts.
Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia, with Katowice serving as its capital.
A voivodeship is the highest-level administrative division of Poland, corresponding to a province in many other countries. The term has been in use since the 14th century and is commonly translated into English as "province".
The Masovian Voivodeship, also known as the Mazovia Province is a voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, with its capital located in the city of Warsaw, that also serves as the capital of the country. It has an area of 35,579 square kilometres (13,737 sq mi), and in 2019, it had the population of 5,411,446, making it the biggest and the most populated voivodeship of Poland. Its principal cities are Warsaw in the centre of the Warsaw metropolitan area, Radom (212,230) in the south, Płock (119,709) in the west, Siedlce (77,990) in the east, and Ostrołęka (52,071) in the north.
A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval states, much as the title of voivode was equivalent to that of a duke. Other roughly equivalent titles and areas in medieval Eastern Europe included ban and banate.
The Łódź Voivodeship, also known as the Lodz Province, is a voivodeship (province) of Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sieradz, Piotrków Trybunalski and Skierniewice Voivodeships and part of Płock Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced.
The Gdańsk Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Gdańsk, and it was centered on the region of Pomerelia. It was established on 1 June 1975, from the parts of the voivodeships of Gdańsk, and Bydgoszcz, and existed until 31 December 1998, when it was incorporated into then-established Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The Polish People's Republic was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second-most populous communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe. It was also one of the main signatories of the Warsaw Pact alliance. The largest city and official capital since 1947 was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural city of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west.
The Biała Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Bielsko-Biała. It was established on 1 June 1975, from the parts of the voivodeships of Katowice, and Kraków, and existed until 31 December 1998, when it was partitioned between then-established Lesser Poland, and Silesian Voivodeships.
The Biała Podlaska Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Biała Podlaska. It was established on 1 June 1975, from the parts of the voivodeships of Lublin, and Warsaw Voivodeship, and existed until 31 December 1998, when it was partitioned between then-established Lublin, and Masovian Voivodeships.
Białystok Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from 1975 to 1998, when it was superseded by the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Its capital city was Białystok. It was formed in 1975 from part of the existing Białystok Voivodeship. The region was 10,055 km2 (3,882 sq mi), and its population in 1994, about 700 000 inhabitants. It was divided into 20 cities and 50 municipalities. It bordered with four Voivodeships: Suwałki, Łomża, Siedlce and Biała Podlaska and until 1991 with the Soviet Union, and later with Belarus.
The Zielona Góra Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Zielona Góra, and it was centered on the southern Lubusz Land, in west-centre part of the county. It was established on 1 June 1975, from the part of the Zielona Góra Voivodeship, and existed until 31 December 1998, when it was incorporated into then-established Lubusz and Greater Poland Voivodeships.
The Warsaw Voivodeship, between 1975 and 1990 known as the Warsaw Capital Voivodeship, was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Warsaw, and it was located in the central Masovia. It was established on 1 June 1975, from the part of the Warsaw Voivodeship, and a city voivodeship of Warsaw, and existed until 31 December 1998, when it was incorporated into then-established Masovian Voivodeship.
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.
Congress Poland was subdivided several times from its creation in 1815 until its dissolution in 1918. Congress Poland was divided into departments, a relic from the times of the French-dominated Duchy of Warsaw. In 1816 the administrative divisions were changed to forms that were more traditionally Polish: voivodeships, obwóds and powiats. Following the November Uprising, the subdivisions were again changed in 1837 to bring the subdivisions closer to the structure of the Russian Empire when guberniyas (governorates) were introduced. In this way, Congress Poland was gradually transformed into the "Vistulan Country". Over the next several decades, various smaller reforms were carried out, either changing the smaller administrative units or merging/splitting various guberniyas.
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.
Subdivisions of the Duchy of Warsaw were based on departments that were headed by prefects. The subsidivions were based on the French model following the erection of the Duchy of Warsaw by Napoleon. The departments were in turn subdivided into traditional Polish powiats (counties). Initially six departments were created out of the province of South Prussia in the Kingdom of Prussia. After the 1809 Polish–Austrian War, and the Treaty of Schönbrunn, their number increased to ten. Each department was named after its capital city.
The Szczecin Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Szczecin, and it was centered on the western Farther Pomerania. It was established on 1 June 1975, from the part of the Szczecin Voivodeship, and existed until 31 December 1998, when it was incorporated into then-established West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The Koszalin Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Koszalin, and it was centered on the eastern Farther Pomerania. It was established on 1 June 1975, from the part of the Koszalin Voivodeship, and existed until 31 December 1998, when it was incorporated into then-established West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
