__NOTOC__ Opoczno County ( pl, powiat opoczyński) 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

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a province-voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sieradz ...

, south-east

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 and largest town is

Opoczno Opoczno ) is a town in south-central Poland, in eastern part of Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Piotrków Trybunalski Voivodeship (1975–1998). It has a long and rich history, and in the past it used to be one of the most importa ...

, which lies south-east of the regional capital

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

. The only other town in the county is

Drzewica Drzewica is a town in Opoczno County, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,778 inhabitants as of December 2021. From 1975 to 1998 the town was a part of Radom Voivodeship. Located on the Drzewiczka river (a tributary to the Pilica), in the nort ...

, lying north-east of Opoczno. The county covers an area of . As of 2009 its total population is 78,467, out of which the population of Opoczno is 21,635 (2016), that of Drzewica is 3,913 (2016), and the rural population is 52,006.

Neighbouring counties

Opoczno County is bordered by

Przysucha County __NOTOC__ Przysucha County ( pl, powiat przysuski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government ...

to the east,

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

to the south,

Piotrków County __NOTOC__ Piotrków County ( pl, powiat piotrkowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government ref ...

to the west and

Tomaszów Mazowiecki County Tomaszów may refer to the following places in Poland: * Tomaszów Bolesławiecki, village in Lower Silesian Voivodeship * Tomaszów, Lublin Voivodeship, village in Puławy County * Tomaszów Lubelski County, county in Lublin Voivodeship ** Tomasz ...

to the north-west.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into eight

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

Opoczno County in the Past

The history of Opoczno County dates back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, when its present territory was divided between the

castellanies A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant of ...

of Skrzynno and Zarnow. By early 14th century, Opoczno emerged as the most important urban center of the region, and when castellanies were replaced by counties, the Opoczno County ruled by a

starosta The starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. Th ...

was created some time between 1346 – 1368. Until the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, Opoczno County belonged to

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 ...

s’

Sandomierz Voivodeship Sandomierz Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo Sandomierskie, la, Palatinatus Sandomirensis) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Poland ...

. In the 16th century, the county had the area of 2454 sq. kilometers, with such towns, as Opoczno, Gowarczow, Bialaczow, Odrzywol,

and Gielniow. In 1795 Opoczno County was annexed by the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, and in 1807, it was part of

Radom Department Radom Department (Polish: ''Departament radomski'') was a unit of administrative division and local government in Polish Duchy of Warsaw in years 1809–1815. Its capital city was Radom, and it was further divided onto 10 powiats. In 1815 it was ...

of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

. In 1837, the county became part of

Radom Governorate Radom Governorate (russian: Радомская Губерния, pl, Gubernia radomska) was a governorate of Congress Poland. History It was created in 1844 from the merger of the Sandomierz Governorate with Kielce Governorate. Its capital was ...

of Russian-controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

, and in 1867, Konskie County was carved out of southeastern part of Opoczno County. In the

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

, Opoczno County was part of Kielce Voivodeship (1919–39). On April 1, 1939, the county was moved to Lodz Voivodeship. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Opoczno County was disbanded and merged into District (Kreis) of Tomaszow Mazowiecki. After the war, in 1944 – 1950, Opoczno County belonged to Lodz Voivodeship. On July 1, 1950, it was moved to Kielce Voivodeship.

References

Polish official population figures 2006

{{Authority control

History of Lesser Poland