, settlement_type =

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, total_type = Total , image_flag = POL powiat bielski (województwo podlaskie) flag.svg , image_shield = POL powiat bielski (województwo podlaskie) COA.svg , image_map = POL powiat bielski (województwo podlaskie) map.svg , mapsize = 150px , map_caption = Bielsk County in

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest cit ...

, image_map1 = Bielsk County-Gminy.png , mapsize1 = 200px , map_alt1 = , map_caption1 = Gminy in Bielsk County , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 =

Voivodeship 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 ...

, subdivision_name1 =

Podlaskie Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest cit ...

, leader_title =

County Executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as ...

, leader_name = Slawomir Jerzy Snarski , area_total_km2 = 1385.2 , population_total = 54,590 , population_as_of = 2019 , population_density_km2 = auto , population_urban = 29057 , population_blank1_title = Rural , population_blank1 = 25533 , coor_pinpoint = Bielsk Podlaski , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST = CEST , utc_offset_DST = +2 , coordinates = , seat =

Bielsk Podlaski Bielsk Podlaski ( be, Бельск Падляскі, , yi, ביעלסק, Bielsk) is a town in eastern Poland, within Bielsk County in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 24,883. Geography Bielsk Podlas ...

, parts_type = Gminas , parts = Total 8 , p1 =

, p2 =

Brańsk Brańsk ( be, Бранск, lt, Branskas) is a town in eastern Poland. It is situated within Podlaskie Voivodeship (province). Etymology The name of the town comes from the river Bronka, a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River. Geography Lo ...

, p3 =

Gmina Bielsk Podlaski __NOTOC__ Gmina Bielsk Podlaski is a rural gmina (Polish:''gmina wiejska'') in Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is located in north-eastern Poland. Geography The gmina covers an area of Rivers Five rivers pass through the Gmina: * The ...

, p4 = Gmina Boćki , p5 = Gmina Brańsk , p6 =

Gmina Orla __NOTOC__ Gmina Orla ( be, Гміна Орля) is a rural gmina ( pl, gmina wiejska) in Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is located in north-eastern Poland. It is one of five Polish/Belarusian bilingual Gmina in Podlaskie Voivodeship ...

, p7 =

Gmina Rudka __NOTOC__ Gmina Rudka is a rural gmina (Polish:''gmina wiejska'') in Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is located in north-eastern Poland. Geography Gmina Rudka is located in the geographical region of Europe known as the ''Wysoczyzny ...

, p8 =

Gmina Wyszki __NOTOC__ Gmina Wyszki is a rural gmina (Polish:''gmina wiejska'') in Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is located in north-eastern Poland. Geography Brańsk is located in the geographical region of Europe known as the ''Wysoczyzny Podl ...

, blank_name =

Car plates A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...

, blank_info = BBI , website = http://www.powiatbielski.pl __NOTOC__ Bielsk County ( pl, powiat bielski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (

powiat A ''powiat'' (pronounced ; Polish plural: ''powiaty'') is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture ( LAU-1, formerly NUTS-4) in other countries. The term "''powiat ...

) in

, north-eastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the

Polish local government reforms 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'' (counties or districts), and these i ...

passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is

, which lies south of the regional capital

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

. The only other town in the county is

, lying west of Bielsk Podlaski. The county covers an area of . As of 2019 its total population is 54,590, out of which the population of Bielsk Podlaski is 25,290, that of Brańsk is 3,767, and the rural population is 25,533.

Neighbouring counties

Bielsk County is bordered by

Białystok County __NOTOC__ Białystok County ( pl, powiat białostocki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. It was created on 1 January 1999 as a result o ...

to the north,

Hajnówka County __NOTOC__ Hajnówka County ( pl, powiat hajnowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result ...

to the east,

Siemiatycze County __NOTOC__ Siemiatycze County ( pl, powiat siemiatycki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a res ...

to the south and

Wysokie Mazowieckie County __NOTOC__ Wysokie Mazowieckie County ( pl, powiat wysokomazowiecki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government ( powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the P ...

to the west.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into eight gminas (two urban and six rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

History

15th century

On 18 January 1493, Brańsk received a city charter based on

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

from the Grand Duke of Lithuania,

Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon ( pl, Aleksander Jagiellończyk, lt, Aleksandras Jogailaitis; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) of the House of Jagiellon was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and later also King of Poland. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV Ja ...

. It was the first city in Podlaskie to receive such a charter. On 18 November 1495, Bielsk Podlaski received a city charter based on

from the Grand Duke of Lithuania,

16th century

On 1 July 1569, the

Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin ( pl, Unia lubelska; lt, Liublino unija) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the per ...

was signed between the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

and the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

forming the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ...

. One of the terms of the treaty transferred the

from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the

Polish Crown The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includi ...

18th century

On 24 October 1795, the

Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Poli ...

assigned Bielsk County and most of Podlaskie to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

19th century

On 7–9 July 1807, the

Treaties of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, wh ...

were signed between

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. T ...

, the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental ...

and

. The treaties repartitioned former Polish territory and assigned Bielsk County and most of eastern Podlaskie from

. It was, from 1796 to 1915, subdivided into 8

Volost Volost ( rus, во́лость, p=ˈvoləsʲtʲ; ) was a traditional administrative subdivision in Eastern Europe. In earlier East Slavic history, '' volost'' was a name for the territory ruled by the knyaz, a principality; either as an absolut ...

. * włość oleksińska – Oleksin * włość dubiażyńska – Dubiażyn * włość klejnicka –

Klejniki Klejniki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czyże, within Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately north of Czyże, north-west of Hajnówka, and south-east of the regional capita ...

* włość łosińska –

Łosinka Łosinka is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Narew, within Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Narew, north of Hajnówka, and south-east of the regional capital ...

* włość maleszewska –

Malesze Malesze is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wyszki, within Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately west of Bielsk Podlaski and south of the regional capital Białystok Białystok i ...

* włość nowoberezowska –

Nowe Berezowo Nowoberezowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Hajnówka, within Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It lies approximately west of Hajnówka and south-east of th ...

* włość orleńska – Orla * włość pasynkowska – Pasynki

20th century

On 15 August 1915, the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

forces on the

Eastern Front of World War I The Eastern Front or Eastern Theater of World War I (german: Ostfront; ro, Frontul de răsărit; russian: Восточный фронт, Vostochny front) was a theater of operations that encompassed at its greatest extent the entire frontier ...

caused Bielsk County to come under the control of the German Empire. On 5 November 1916, a declaration by the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, promised the creation of the

in the areas of Poland controlled by the German Empire, including Bielsk County. On 3 March 1918, the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russia's ...

was signed between the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

and the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

. Bielsk County was assigned to the

On 28 June 1919, the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...

and the

Little Treaty of Versailles Little Treaty of Versailles or the Polish Minority Treaty was one of the bilateralism, bilateral Minority Treaties signed between minor powers and the League of Nations in the aftermath of the First World War. The Polish treaty was signed on 28 ...

were signed establishing the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

. Bielsk County was assigned to

. From 15 September 1939 to 23 September 1939 Bielsk County was occupied by German troops From 23 September 1939 to 22 June 1941 occupation by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

. Following the start of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

, 22 June 1941 to 30 July 1944, Bielsk County was occupied by the German Army. On 30 July 1944 Bielsk County was re-occupied by the

. On 5 February 1946, the

Border Agreement between Poland and the USSR of 16 August 1945 Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...

was ratified by

and the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

. The agreement assigned Bielsk County to

References

{{Podlaskie Voivodeship Bielsk