, subdivision =

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

, nation =

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 ...

, year_start = , event_end =

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 Polish ...

, year_end = , image_map = ProwincjaMalopolska.png , image_map_caption = Lesser Poland Province, 1635 (in red) , capital =

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, political_subdiv = 11 voivodeships and one duchy , today = , common_name = Lesser Poland Province ( pl, Prowincja małopolska, la, Polonia Minor) was an administrative division of the

Crown of the Kingdom of Poland 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, includ ...

from 1569 until 1795 and the biggest province of 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 ...

. The name of the province comes from historic land of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

. The name of the province did not imply its size, but rather seniority. It had two administrative seats one

Sudova Vyshnia Sudova Vyshnia ( uk, Судова Вишня) is a town in the Yavoriv district of the Lviv Oblast (region) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Sudova Vyshnia urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population is . The town h ...

for Ruthenian lands, and another Nowe Miasto Korczyn for Polonian lands. The province consisted of 11 voivodeships and one duchy (see below). Polish historian Henryk Wisner in his 2002 book ''Rzeczpospolita Wazów. Czasy Zygmunta III i Władysława IV'' writes that it is not known when lands of the Polish Crown were divided into the two provinces:

"Parallel to the
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland 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, includ ...
, and 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 Li ...
, provinces existed, which should be called
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 ...
provinces, as they became visible during its sessions; mostly during election of the
Marshal of the Sejm The Marshal of the Sejm , also known as Sejm Marshal, Chairman of the Sejm or Speaker of the Sejm ( pl, Marszałek Sejmu, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th ...
, and the
royal election Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...
. These were Provinces of Lithuania,
Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...
, and Lesser Poland. First one covered the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the remaining two were artificially made, and it is not known who and in what way created them. We know that the Sejm was not involved in creation of these provinces". Henryk Wisner, Rzeczpospolita Wazów. Czasy Zygmunta III i Władysława IV. Wydawnictwo Neriton, Instytut Historii PAN, Warszawa 2002, page 26

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 popu ...

in his book ''Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland'' (1900) provides this description of the Province of Lesser Poland:

“Lesser Poland proper was made of three voivodeships: those of Krakow, Sandomierz, and Lublin, plus the
Duchy of Siewierz The Duchy of Siewierz was a Silesian duchy with its capital in Siewierz. The area was part of the original Duchy of Silesia established after the death of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138 during the times of the fragmentation of Poland. Si ...
, purchased in the 15th century by Bishop of Krakow
Zbigniew Olesnicki Zbigniew () is a Polish masculine given name, originally Zbygniew . This West Slavic name is derived from the Polish elements ''Zby-'' (from ''zbyć, zbyć się, or pozbyć się'', meaning "to dispel", "to get rid of") and ''gniew'', meaning "ang ...
. Furthermore, to Lesser Poland belonged thirteen towns of
Spiš Spiš (Latin: ''Cips/Zepus/Scepus/Scepusia'', german: Zips, hu, Szepesség/Szepes, pl, Spisz) is a region in north-eastern Slovakia, with a very small area in south-eastern Poland (14 villages). Spiš is an informal designation of the territory ...
, located behind the
Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...
. Altogether, Lesser Poland had the area of 1,046 sq. miles, which was 6 sq. miles less than
Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...
. In the mid-16th century, the three voivodeships of Lesser Poland (without Siewierz and Spis) had 922 Roman-Catholic parishes, 205 towns and 5,500 villages.

The locations of the

Crown Tribunal The Crown Tribunal ( pl, Trybunał Główny Koronny, la, Iudicium Ordinarium Generale Tribunalis Regni) was the highest appellate court in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland for most cases. Exceptions were if a noble landowner was threatened with ...

for the Lesser Poland Province were initially

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

and Łuck (

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Luts ...

), after 1590 only Lublin, after the

Convocation Sejm (1764) The Convocation Sejm of 1764 was a session of the Sejm (parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It took place in Warsaw from 7 May to 23 June, and was a confederated convocation sejm, tasked with preparing a new royal election to fil ...

also Lwów (

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

), and again after 1768 only Lublin.

Lesser Poland Province

Following the 1569

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 pe ...

, the lands of

Red Ruthenia Red Ruthenia or Red Rus' ( la, Ruthenia Rubra; '; uk, Червона Русь, Chervona Rus'; pl, Ruś Czerwona, Ruś Halicka; russian: Червонная Русь, Chervonnaya Rus'; ro, Rutenia Roșie), is a term used since the Middle Ages fo ...

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

were added to Royal domain (the Crown), joining the Province of Lesser Poland. As a result, Lesser Poland consisted of eleven voivodeships, three duchies and three lands. #

Bełz Voivodeship Bełz Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo bełskie, la, Palatinatus Belzensis) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from 1462 to the Partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. Together with the Ruthenian Voivodeship it ...

(województwo bełzkie, Bełz oday_Belz,_Ukraine.html"_;"title="Belz.html"_;"title="oday_Belz">oday_Belz,_Ukraine">Belz.html"_;"title="oday_Belz">oday_Belz,_Ukraine #_Bracław_Voivodeship.html" ;"title="Belz">oday_Belz,_Ukraine.html" ;"title="Belz.html" ;"title="oday Belz">oday Belz, Ukraine">Belz.html" ;"title="oday Belz">oday Belz, Ukraine # Bracław Voivodeship">Belz">oday_Belz,_Ukraine.html" ;"title="Belz.html" ;"title="oday Belz">oday Belz, Ukraine">Belz.html" ;"title="oday Belz">oday Belz, Ukraine # Bracław Voivodeship (województwo bracławskie, Bracław [Bratslav]) # Czernichów Voivodeship, Czernihów Voivodeship (województwo czernichowskie, Czernihów [Chernihiv]) # Kijów Voivodeship (województwo kijowskie, Kijów [Kyiv]) # Kraków Voivodeship (województwo krakowskie,

), together with the

Duchy of Oświęcim The Duchy of Oświęcim ( pl, Księstwo Oświęcimskie), or the Duchy of Auschwitz (german: Herzogtum Auschwitz), was one of many Duchies of Silesia, formed in the aftermath of the fragmentation of Poland. It was established about 1315 on the Le ...

Duchy of Zator The Duchy of Zator was one of many Duchies of Silesia. It was split off the Duchy of Oświęcim, when after eleven years of joint rule the sons of Duke Casimir I in 1445 finally divided the lands among themselves, whereby his eldest son Wenc ...

, and the thirteen towns of

Spiš Spiš (Latin: ''Cips/Zepus/Scepus/Scepusia'', german: Zips, hu, Szepesség/Szepes, pl, Spisz) is a region in north-eastern Slovakia, with a very small area in south-eastern Poland (14 villages). Spiš is an informal designation of the territory ...

, #

Lublin Voivodeship The Lublin Voivodeship, also known as the Lublin Province (Polish: ''województwo lubelskie'' ), is a voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in southeastern part of the country. It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Lublin, Che� ...

(województwo lubelskie,

), together with the Łuków Land, #

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 ...

(województwo podlaskie,

Drohiczyn Drohiczyn () ( lt, Drohičinas/Drogičinas, be, Дарагічын, ua, Дорогочин, Дорогичин, ''Dorohochyn'', ''Dorohychyn'') is a town in Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. The town has a population of 2,11 ...

) #

Podole Voivodeship The Podolian Voivodeship, uk, Подільське воєводство or Palatinate of Podolia was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland, since 1434 until 1793, except for the period of Ottoman occup ...

(województwo podolskie, Kamieniec Podolski nowiki/> nowiki/>Kamianets-Podilskyi">Kamianets-Podilskyi.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Kamianets-Podilskyi">nowiki/>Kamianets-Podilskyi #_Ruthenian_Voivodeship.html" ;"title="Kamianets-Podilskyi.html" ;"title="Kamianets-Podilskyi.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Kamianets-Podilskyi">nowiki/>Kamianets-Podilskyi">Kamianets-Podilskyi.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Kamianets-Podilskyi">nowiki/>Kamianets-Podilskyi # Ruthenian Voivodeship">Ruś Voivodeship (województwo ruskie, Lwów [

]), together with Chełm Land and Halych Land (ziemia), Halicz Land (Halych), # Sandomierz Voivodeship (województwo sandomierskie, Sandomierz) # Wołyń Voivodeship (1569–1795), Wołyń Voivodeship (województwo wołyńskie, Łuck [

]) #

Duchy of Siewierz The Duchy of Siewierz was a Silesian duchy with its capital in Siewierz. The area was part of the original Duchy of Silesia established after the death of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138 during the times of the fragmentation of Poland. Si ...

(Księstwo Siewierskie,

Siewierz Siewierz is a town in southern Poland, in the Będzin County in the Silesian Voivodeship, seat of Gmina Siewierz. History Siewierz was first mentioned in 1125, and was administered by the Castellan of Bytom. In 1177, Casimir II of Poland grante ...

)

Sources

External links

Prowincya Malopolska (Polonia Minor)
description by Zygmunt Gloger (link to website) {{coord missing, Poland 1795 disestablishments in Poland Kingdom of Poland History of Lesser Poland Subdivisions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Political history of Poland Early Modern history of Ukraine