__NOTOC__ Bielsko 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 "''powia ...

) in

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian ...

, southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It came into being on January 1, 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 is the city of

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The county contains three towns:

Czechowice-Dziedzice Czechowice-Dziedzice (, szl, Czechowice-Dziydzice), previously known until 1958 as Czechowice, is a town in Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 35,684 inhabitants as of December 2021. It lies on the northeastern edge of t ...

, north-west of Bielsko-Biała,

Szczyrk Szczyrk (german: Schirk) is a town in the Beskid Śląski mountains of southern Poland, situated in the valley of the Żylica river. It is part of the Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously being part of the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship (19 ...

, south of Bielsko-Biała, and

Wilamowice Wilamowice (earlier ''Willamowice'', german: Wilmesau, Wymysorys: ''Wymysoü'') is a rural town in southern Poland, situated in the Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town is inhabited by a Germanic ethnic group of Vilamovians, who speak ...

, north-east of Bielsko-Biała. The county covers an area of . As of 2019 its total population is 165,374, out of which the population of Czechowice-Dziedzice is 35,926, that of Szczyrk is 5,734, that of Wilamowice is 3,100, and the rural population is 120,614.

Neighbouring counties

Apart from the city of

, Bielsko County is also bordered by

Pszczyna County __NOTOC__ Pszczyna County ( pl, powiat pszczyński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government re ...

and

Oświęcim County __NOTOC__ Oświęcim County ( pl, powiat oświęcimski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gove ...

to the north,

Wadowice County __NOTOC__ Wadowice County ( pl, powiat wadowicki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government ...

to the east,

Żywiec County __NOTOC__ Żywiec County ( pl, powiat żywiecki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Slovakia, Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of ...

to the south, and

Cieszyn County __NOTOC__ Cieszyn County ( pl, powiat cieszyński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Czech and Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result o ...

to the west.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into 10

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...

s (one urban, two urban-rural and seven rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

References

{{Coord, 49, 49, N, 19, 02, E, region:PL_type:city, display=title

Bielsko Bielsko (german: Bielitz, cs, Bílsko) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that tow ...

Neighbouring counties

Administrative division

See also

References