__NOTOC__ Gmina Grabówka is a

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...

, Poland, located within the

Białystok County Białystok County () 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 of the Polish local government refo ...

. Its seat of government is in the village of Zaścianki, while it names comes from Grabówka. The municipality has an area of 64.64 km², and as of 2025, has the population of 10,047 people. It was created in 2025.

History

Between 1 January 1973 and 30 June 1976, the area used to belong to the municipality of Zaścianki, which had its seat of government in the village of Zaścianki. The local population postulated for secession from the municipality of

Supraśl Supraśl (; ; ) is a town and former episcopal see in Białystok County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Supraśl. It is situated on the Supraśl (river), Supraśl River, about northeast of Białyst ...

since the early 2000s. Main reasons where lack of funding from the municipal government, for projects such as road and sewage construction, as well as the fact that the area was cut off from the rest of the municipality of by Knyszyn Forest. In 2001, in a

public consultation Public consultation, public comment, or simply consultation, is a process by which members of the public are asked for input on public issues. This can occur in public meetings open to all (such as town hall meetings) in written form (such as in ...

non-binding plebiscite, 1305 people (84.65%) voted positively for the creation of the new municipality. In a 2015 referendum, held on 24 May, 3122 people (45%) voted again positively, with the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

of 62%. However, 78% of population of the villages in question voted yes. On 28 July 2015, the

Sejm of Poland The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the transition of government i ...

passed a resolution, which envisioned the creation of the municipality of Grabówka on 1 January 2016, from the southern portion of the municipality of Supraśl. Its seat of government would be set in Sobolewo. However, it was cancelled with a resolution of the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

from 28 December 2015, citing the referendum results. On 1 June 2017, the Constitutional Tribunal declared that such action was against the constitution and the law of municipal governance. The idea to create the municipality was brought back in 2024, with the Council of Ministers approving it on 1 October. It was created on 1 January 2025.

Administration

The municipality is governed by a mayor (

wójt A wójt is the highest administrative officer of a Polish ''rural gmina'', i.e., of a commune (''gmina'') comprising only villages. (The head of a town or city is called, respectively, the ''burmistrz'' or "president".) History and etymology T ...

), and council with 15 members. Its seat is located in Zaścianki. It also includes villages of Grabówka, Henrykowo, Sobolewo, and Sowlany, as well as hamlets of Drukowszczyzna, Izoby,

Krasny Las Krasny Las is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Grabówka, within Białystok County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south of Supraśl and north-east of the regional capital Białystok. Unti ...

, Majówka, Stary Majdan, and Zielona.

References

{{Białystok County Grabowka Białystok County 2025 establishments in Poland Populated places established in 2025 Separatism in Poland States and territories established in 2025