Voivodeships

It is worth starting to clarify the definition voivodships. This is a unit, which was separated by an administrative division. The voivodship as a unit of territorial division can be discussed from 1990 year, while as a local government unit for a year 1999.

From 1 January 1999 year, that is, from the moment when voivodeship is also a local government unit, Poland was divided into 16 provinces. Among them is the Dolnośląskie Voivodeship with the voivodeship city in Wrocław, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship with Bydgoszcz and Toruń, Lublin voivodeship with Lublin, Lubuskie voivodship with Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra, Łódź Voivodeship with Łódź, Lesser Poland Voivodeship with Krakow, Mazowieckie voivodship with Warsaw, Opolskie Voivodeship with Opole, Podkarpackie Province with Rzeszów, Podlaskie voivodeship with Białystok, Pomeranian Voivodeship with Gdańsk, Silesia Province with Katowice, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship with Kielce, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship with Olsztyn, Greater Poland Voivodeship with Poznań, as well as the West Pomeranian Voivodeship with Szczecin.

First voivodships appeared at the beginning of the 14th century. They were small and were located in the provinces. An example can be the Greater Poland commission, which included provinces: Poznan, Kalisz, Sieradz, Łęczyca, Brest, and Gniewkowskie.

In the interwar period, there was only one in the Kingdom of Poland 5 provinces: Białystok, Kielce, Lublin, Lodzkie, and also in Warsaw. Whereas in the years from 1975 year to 1998 year was in Poland until 49 provinces.