The Inflanty Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo inflanckie),
or ''Livonian Voivodeship'', also known as Polish Livonia, was an administrative division and local government in 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 Crown of the Kingdom of ...
, since it was formed in the 1620s out of the
Wenden Voivodeship
Wenden Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wendeńskie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Duchy of Livonia, part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was formed in 1598 by King Sigismund III Vasa, out of Wenden ...
and lasted until the
First Partition of Poland in 1772. The Inflanty Voivodeship was one of the few territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to be ruled jointly by
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 ...
and
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
.
Overview
The Inflanty Voivodeship, also called the ''Duchy of Inflanty'', due to a 1667 bill of the
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
, was the minority remainder of the
Duchy of Livonia
The Duchy of Livonia ( or ; lt, Livonijos kunigaikštystė; la, Ducatus Ultradunensis; et, Liivimaa hertsogkond; lv, Pārdaugavas hercogiste; german: Herzogtum Livland), also referred to as Polish Livonia or Livonia ( pl, link=no, Inflanty) ...
, which had been conquered by the
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...
during the
Polish–Swedish War of 1621–1625. The seat of the
voivode
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...
was Dyneburg (
Daugavpils
Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...
).
The name ''Inflanty'' is derived through
Polonization
Polonization (or Polonisation; pl, polonizacja)In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэя ...
of ''Livland'', the German name for
Livonia
Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...
. In modern times the region is known as
Latgalia
Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...
in the Republic of
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
.
Culture and Customs of the Baltic States By Kevin O'Connor; p. 14
Zygmunt Gloger
Zygmunt Gloger (3 November 1845 in Tybory-Kamianka – 16 August 1910 in Warsaw) was a Polish historian, archaeologist, geographer and ethnographer, bearer of the Wilczekosy coat of arms. Gloger founded the precursor of modern and widely popul ...
in his monumental book ''Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland'' provides this description of Inflanty Voivodeship:
Voivodes
This is a list of the voivodes for Inflanty:
# Jerzy Farensbach
# Maciej Demblński
# Krzysztof Słuszka
# Teodor Doenhoff
# Joachim Tarnowski
# Tomasz Sapieha
# Paweł Sapieha
# Mikołaj Korft
# Przecław Leszczyński
# Alexander Morszlyn
# Jan Teodor
# Jerzy Płatem
# Otto Fryderyk Felkierzamb
# Jan Koss
# Jędrzej Głębocki
# Piotr Przebendowski
# Antozi Morsztyn
# Wilhelm Płatem
# Jan Borch
# Stanisław Brzostowski
# Jozafat (Jan) Zyberg
# Gaspar Rogaliński
# Adam Falkierzamb
References
{{coord, 55.873170, 26.517017, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark
Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Organisations based in Livonia
1621 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1772 disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth