Lublin Voivodeship (1919–1939)


Lublin Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division of the Second Polish Republic between the two world wars, in the years 1919–1939. The province's capital and biggest city was Lublin.

Location and area

The Voivodeship was founded by the decree of Polish Parliament Sejm of 14 August 1919. In the years 1919–1939, Lublin Voivodeship covered the central part of interwar Poland – the heartland of the country – bordering Białystok Voivodeship to the north, Warsaw Voivodeship and Kielce Voivodeship to the west, Lwów Voivodeship to the south and Polesie Voivodeship as well as Volhynian Voivodeship to the east. Its area, after April 1, 1938 was 26,555 km². Landscape was flat and hilly in the south, forests covered only 16.6% of the area.

Demographics

According to the Polish census of 1921 which was the First General Census in the Second Polish Republic following World War I, the population of Lublin Voivodeship could be categorized by both location and religious beliefs in the following way.
#CountyRoman CatholicEastern OrthodoxJewishOther
1Biała37,239 9,551 11 550 1 180
2Biłgoraj65,889 15,883 9,056 188
3Chełm68,770 24,701 19,912 8,092
4Garwolin117,391 126 17,772 2,488
5Hrubieszów50,735 38,468 13,967 671
6Janów117,368 697 13,407 30
7Konstantynów53,667 4,012 7,241 135
8Krasnystaw102,016 4,149 10,493 422
9Lubartów83,732 1,197 9,669 1,645
10Lublin 55,610 514 37,337 951
11Lublin 128,303 910 9,608 1,079
12Łuków107,604 932 14,185 552
13Puławy129,281 206 19,296 238
14Radzyń70,976 1,862 14,765 778
15Siedlce76,446 851 18,821 2,345
16Sokołów67,224 420 8,294 141
17Tomaszów57,869 22,389 12,154 397
18Węgrów68,985 185 9,325 4,277
19Włodawa40,881 20,104 13,562 2,171
20Zamość119,769 5,441 17,225 179
TOTAL1,619,755 152,598 287,639 27,959 -

Population breakdown by religious denomination in the 1931 national census:
#CountyRoman CatholicEastern OrthodoxJewishOther
1Biała82,647 18,192 14,288 1,139
2Biłgoraj82,614 20,913 12,938 486
3Chełm88,488 37,530 22,852 13,470
4Garwolin139,128 6718,741 2,006
5Hrubieszów63,365 49,128 15 785 1,679
6Janów135,182 1,159 15,317 1,060
7Krasnystaw113,442 4,853 12,127 3,737
8Lubartów94,356 1,544 9,652 2,439
9Lublin 71,542 703 38,937 1103
10Lublin 149,192 125 12,049 2,136
11Łuków113,549 7614,736 722
12Puławy149,060 182 21,949 1,076
13Radzyń80,520 1,840 15,548 1,181
14Siedlce125,018 657 23,069 2,667
15Sokołów74,941 145 8,334 529
16Tomaszów73,021 33,059 14,204 840
17Węgrów76,511 408,888 3,349
18Włodawa57,939 33,382 18,188 4,057
19Zamość125,249 6,778 16,738 783
TOTAL1,895,764 210,373 314,340 44,459 -

Ethnic groups

According to the 1931 Polish census, the population was 2,116,200. Poles made up 85.1% of population, Jews 10.5%, and Ukrainians 3%. The Jews preferred to live in the cities and towns, especially in Lublin itself.
Due to ruthless Russification policies throughout the preceding century leading to general absence of schools in the Voivodeship, 24.6% of population was still illiterate as of 1931, although rapidly decreasing from 46.8% in 1921.

Industry

The Voivodeship's biggest industrial center was the city of Lublin. Other than that, it lacked significant industry centers. In mid-1930s Polish government started a huge public works program, called Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy, which was a great boost to overpopulated and poor counties. It covered southwestern part of the Voivodeship, with the town of Kraśnik. The railroad density was 4.0 km. per 100 km²..

Cities and administrative divisions

Lublin Voivodeship in mid-1939 consisted of 16 powiats 29 cities and towns and 228 villages. The counties were:
According to the 1931 census, biggest cities were: