Voivodeships of Poland (1975–1998)


The voivodeships of Poland from 1975–1998 were created as part of a two-tier method for administering the country and its regions. Between June 1, 1975, and December 31, 1998, pursuant to a law proclaimed on May 28, 1975, Poland was administratively divided into 49 voivodeships, consolidating and eliminating the intermediate administrative level of counties.
The scheme meant that most voivodeships had fewer than 1,000,000. Each voivodeship took its name from a small- or medium-sized town situated near its centre, which would become its capital.

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.
On the date the system took effect, the 49 voivodeships were further subdivided into 2,343 municipalities plus 814 cities, including four cities with special statusWarsaw, 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.
In the Polish administrative reform of 1999 Poland introduced a further reform of local government administration, establishing the present 16 voivodeships with new districts.

Cities

In 1975 many towns that had previously been large communal villages were incorporated as cities.
During the second half of the 1970s eight towns lost their civic rights and were merged into neighbouring cities, while several cities that had previously lost their identity and absorbed into metropolitan conurbations regained their independence: Poręba, Sławków, Międzyzdroje, Bieruń, Lędziny, Wojkowice, Rydułtowy, Pszów, Miasteczko Śląskie, Imielin, Radlin, Radzionków and Zagórz.

List of voivodeships

From 1975 until 1998 Poland was divided into the following voivodeships:
Map
location
VoivodeshipProvincial
capital
Area, km2
Population
CitiesGmina
Biała Podlaska
Voivodeship
Biała Podlaska5,348309,900635
Białystok
Voivodeship
Białystok10,055701,4001749
Bielsko-Biała
Voivodeship
Bielsko-Biała3,704927,5001859
Bydgoszcz
Voivodeship
Bydgoszcz10,3491,136,9002755
Chełm
Voivodeship
Chełm3,866248,800425
Ciechanów
Voivodeship
Ciechanów6,362437,400945
Częstochowa
Voivodeship
Częstochowa6,182779,6001749
Elbląg
Voivodeship
Elbląg6,103495,1001537
Gdańsk
Voivodeship
Gdańsk7,3941,469,4001943
Gorzów Wielkopolski
Voivodeship
Gorzów,
Wielkopolski
8,484514,3002138
Jelenia Góra
Voivodeship
Jelenia Góra4,379523,7002428
Kalisz
Voivodeship
Kalisz6,512724,8002053
Katowice
Voivodeship
Katowice6,6503,894,9004346
Kielce
Voivodeship
Kielce9,2111,131,7001769
Konin
Voivodeship
Konin5,139480,8001845
Koszalin
Voivodeship
Koszalin8,470527,6001735
Kraków
Voivodeship
Kraków3,2541,245,0001038
Krosno
Voivodeship
Krosno5,702510,1001237
Legnica
Voivodeship
Legnica4,037525,6001131
Leszno
Voivodeship
Leszno4,154399,5001928
Lublin
Voivodeship
Lublin6,7921,027,3001662
Łomża
Voivodeship
Łomża6,684352,9001239
Łódź
Voivodeship
Łódź1,5241,099,700811
Nowy Sącz
Voivodeship
Nowy Sącz5,576747,5001441
Olsztyn
Voivodeship
Olsztyn12,327778,2002148
Opole
Voivodeship
Opole8,5351,022,1002961
Ostrołęka
Voivodeship
Ostrołęka6,498411,600938
Piła
Voivodeship
Piła8,205496,9002435
Piotrków
Voivodeship
Piotrków Trybunalski6,266642,2001051
Płock
Voivodeship
Płock5,117520,900944
Poznań
Voivodeship
Poznań8,1511,363,6003357
Przemyśl
Voivodeship
Przemyśl4,437415,600935
Radom
Voivodeship
Radom7,294763,3001561
Rzeszów
Voivodeship
Rzeszów4,397648,9001341
Siedlce
Voivodeship
Siedlce8,499661,4001266
Sieradz
Voivodeship
Sieradz4,868411,500940
Skierniewice
Voivodeship
Skierniewice3,960423,700836
Słupsk
Voivodeship
Słupsk7,453429,7001131
Suwałki
Voivodeship
Suwałki10,490489,2001442
Szczecin
Voivodeship
Szczecin9,982995,2002950
Tarnobrzeg
Voivodeship
Tarnobrzeg6,283609,1001446
Tarnów
Voivodeship
Tarnów4,151700,800941
Toruń
Voivodeship
Toruń5,348674,8001341
Wałbrzych
Voivodeship
Wałbrzych4,168733,0003130
Warszawa
Voivodeship
Warsaw3,7882,419,8002732
Włocławek
Voivodeship
Włocławek4,402434,7001430
Wrocław
Voivodeship
Wrocław6,2871,136,7001633
Zamość
Voivodeship
Zamość6,980489,300547
Zielona Góra
Voivodeship
Zielona Góra8,868679,3002650