pl, Województwo Podlaskie , subdivision = Voivodeship , nation =

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 ...

(1513–1569)
and then

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 ...

(1569–1795) , year_start = 1513 , event_end = Third partition , year_end = 1795 , date_end = 24 October , p1 = Trakai Voivodeship , image_p1 = , p2 = Berestia , image_p2 = , s1 = Białystok Department , flag_s1 = Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1750-1801).svg , s2 = West Galicia , flag_s2 = Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy.svg , image_coat = Herbarz Kaspra Niesieckiego Подляшское.svg , image_map = RON województwo podlaskie map.svg , image_map_caption = The Podlaskie Voivodeship 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 ...

in 1619. , capital =

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 2,110 ...

, stat_area1 = , stat_year1 = , stat_pop1 = , political_subdiv = 3 lands, which were equivalent to

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

The Podlaskie Voivodeship was formed in 1513 by

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...

as a

voivodeship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

in 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 ...

, from a split off part of the

Trakai Voivodeship lt, Trakų vaivadija pl, Województwo trockie , conventional_long_name = Trakai Voivodeship , common_name = Trakai , subdivision = Voivodeship , nation = Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1413–1569) Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) , year_ ...

.Volumina Legum T. II s. 77Mykhailovskyi, V.
Podlaskie Voivodeship (ПІДЛЯСЬКЕ ВОЄВОДСТВО)
'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine After Lithuania's

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

with the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

in 1569 and formation of the

, the voivodeship was transferred to the

Polish Crown 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 ...

, where it belonged to the

Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown , subdivision = Province , nation = Poland , year_start = , event_end = Third Partition of Poland , year_end = , image_map = ProwincjaMalopolska.png , image_map ...

History

In ca. 1274, the historical

Podlachia Podlachia, or Podlasie, ( pl, Podlasie, , be, Падляшша, translit=Padliašša, uk, Підляшшя, translit=Pidliashshia) is a historical region in the north-eastern part of Poland. Between 1513 and 1795 it was a voivodeship with the c ...

region was added to the

. In 1391, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila attempted to transfer the region to Duke

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

' brother-in-law,

Janusz I of Warsaw Janusz I of Warsaw (pl: ''Janusz I warszawski''), also known as Janusz I the Old (pl: ''Janusz I Starszy'') (c. 1347/52 – 8 December 1429), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast in the Masovian branch, from 1373/74 Duke of Warsaw and ...

Duke of Masovia Duke of Masovia ( pl, Książę Mazowsza) was a title born by the sons and descendants of the Polish Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth. In accordance with the last will and testament of Bolesław, upon his death his lands were divided into four to five ...

, but from 1413 on Podlaskie was managed as part of Lithuania's

Formation

After the administrative reform of 1514, Podlaskie was isolated from Trakai Voivodeship as a separate voivodeship, with the capital at the town of

. King of Poland Sigismund gave a privilege to to form a government of Podlaskie Voivodeship on 29 August 1513. It originally consisted of the following former Trakai lands:

Mielnik Mielnik ( be, Мельнік, uk, Мельник) is a village in Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Mielnik. ...

, Bielsk, and

Brest Litovsk Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

. In 1566 based on Brest Litovsk lands, the separate Brest Litovsk Voivodeship was formed. In 1569, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...

transferred Podlaskie voivodeship, together with the

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, Volhynian and Bracław Voivodeships to the Polish Crown. Podlaskie remained part of Poland 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 ...

. Zygmunt Gloger gives the following description of Podlasie Voivodeship:

"Historic Podlasie stretched from north to south for some 30 miles, and was located between
Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...
and
Rus Rus or RUS may refer to: People and places * Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname * East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus' territories *** Kievan ...
principalities of
Brzesc Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...
and
Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...
(...) It was a sparsely populated province, covered by dense forests, with four major rivers: the
Biebrza Biebrza ( lt, Bebras, '' be, Bobra'', ''german: Bober'') is a river in northeastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river (near Wizna), with a length of and a basin area of 7,092 km2 (7,067 in Poland).Narew The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributary of the river Vis ...
, the Bug and the
Krzna The Krzna is a river in eastern Poland, a left tributary of The Bug River, Bug. The river is long. The watershed area of the Krzna is . The river flows through Poland's Lublin Voivodeship. The Krzna arises from the connection of two water jets fl ...
. Due to population growth in Mazovia and Rus, Podlasie became a settlement area - Mazovians settled near
Tykocin Tykocin is a small town in north-eastern Poland, with 2,010 inhabitants (2012), located on the Narew river, in Białystok County in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is one of the oldest towns in the region, with its historic center designated a His ...
, Rajgrod and Goniadz, while Ruthenians settled near Bielsk Podlaski. In northern districts of Podlasie, near Augustow, the
Yotvingians Yotvingians (also called: Sudovians, Jatvians, or Jatvingians; Yotvingian: ''Jotvingai''; lt, Jotvingiai, ; lv, Jātvingi; pl, Jaćwingowie, be, Яцвягі, ger, Sudauer) were a Western Baltic people who were closely tied to the Old Prus ...
resided (...) After the 1241 Mongol invasion of Poland, Podlasie turned into a desert, with population decimated by Asiatic hordes. Poles did not return here until the late 13th century, despite the fact that the province was already controlled by 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 ...
(...) King
Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...
created Podlasie Voivodeship, which was part of Lithuania, but in 1569 was transferred to Poland, after the
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 ...
(...) After the third partition of Poland, most of the voivodeship was annexed by the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
. When in 1815,
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 ...
was divided into new provinces, the Podlasie Voivodeship was re-created, but it covered only a small part of Podlasie itself, together with areas belonging to historic Mazovia, Polesie and
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 ...
. As a result, boundaries of Podlasie proper changed. 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 ...
, the voivodeship had two senators, who were 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 ...
and the
castellan 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 o ...
of Podlasie. It was divided into three lands, those of Drohiczyn, Bielsko and Mielnik. Each land had its own regional government, and elected two envoys to 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 ...
. Furthermore, the voivodeship sent two deputies to the Lesser Poland Tribunal at
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 ...
or
Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1 ...
".

Aftermath

In 1795, most of it was taken over by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

as part of

New East Prussia New East Prussia (german: Neuostpreußen; pl, Prusy Nowowschodnie; lt, Naujieji Rytprūsiai) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1795 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian C ...

, but these lands were later part 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 ...

. Then, parts of it belonged to

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 ...

or the Russian Empire until 1915.

Administrative Subdivisions

The Voivodeship consisted of the following

ziemia Land is a historical unit of administration in Poland and Ruthenia. In the Polish language, the term is not capitalized (''ziemia chełmińska'', Chelmno Land; not ''Ziemia Chełmińska''). All ''ziemias'' are named after main urban centers (or ...

s: *

Bielsk Land Bielsk Land, (Polish: ziemia bielska, named after the town of Bielsk Podlaski) was an administrative unit (ziemia) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Created in 1413, it originally belonged ...

( pl, ziemia bielska), Bielsk). Local

sejmik A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; lt, seimelis) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of ...

s took place in Bielsk, where the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

elected two deputies 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 ...

, *

Drohiczyn Land Drohiczyn Land ( pl, ziemia drohiczynska, also '), named after the town of Drohiczyn, was an administrative unit (ziemia) of both the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of Podlas ...

( pl, ziemia drohicka),

). Local

s took place in

, electing two deputies of parliament, *

Mielnik Land Mielnik Land (Polish: ziemia mielnicka), also known as Land of Mielnik, was an administrative unit (ziemia) of both the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. With its seat in the town (now a village) of Mielnik, it belonged to ...

( pl, ziemia mielnicka),

). Local

took place in

, where two deputies were elected.

Heraldry

Recueil d'armoiries polonaises COA of Podlaskie Voivodeship

The emblem of the region is connected by two arms of Polish and Lithuanian – an eagle without a crown on a red field, and Lithuanian knight. Województwo_podlaskie

Voivodes

The governor of the Podlaskie Voivodeship was first located in Bielsk Podlaski, but later moved to

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 ...

s included * Iwan Sapieha (ur. ok. 1450, zm. 1517) 1513 – 1517 * Janusz Kostewicz (ur. 1468, zm. 1527) 1520 – 1527 * Iwan Sapieha (ur. 1486, zm. 1546) 1529 – 1541 *

Mikołaj Pac Mikołaj is the Polish cognate of given name Nicholas, used both as a given name and a surname. It may refer to people: In Polish (or Polish-Lithuanian) nobility: * Mikołaj Firlej (died 1526), Polish nobleman, Hetman, diplomat, and expert of sout ...

(ur. 1497, zm. 1551) 1543 – 1551 * Mikołaj Narbutt (zm.1555) 1551 – 1555 * Paweł Sapieha (zm. 1579) 1555 – 1558,also the Voivode of smoleński * Bazyli Tyszkiewicz (ur. 1492, zm. 1571) 1558 – 1569, also the Voivode of smoleński *

Mikołaj Kiszka Mikołaj is the Polish cognate of given name Nicholas, used both as a given name and a surname. It may refer to people: In Polish (or Polish-Lithuanian) nobility: * Mikołaj Firlej (died 1526), Polish nobleman, Hetman, diplomat, and expert of so ...

(ur. 1524, zm. 1587) 1569 – 1587 * Stanisław Radzymiński (ur. 1552, zm. 1591) 1588 – 1591 * Janusz Zasławski (ur. 1561, zm. 1629) 1591 – 1604, also the Voivode of wołyński * Tomasz Gostomski (ur. 1569, zm. 1623) 1605 – 1605, also the Voivode of mazowiecki * Jan Zbigniew Ossoliński (ur. 1555, zm. 1623) 1605 – 1613, also the Voivode of sandomierski * Jan Wodyński ( zm. 1616) 1613 – 1616 *

Stanisław Warszycki Stanisław Warszycki of Abdank coat of arms (c. 1600 – 1680/1681) was a noble (''szlachcic'') and magnate in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Starosta of Piotrków Trybunalski, Piotrków, Voivode of Mazowsze (1630–1651), Castellan of ...

(ur. 1577, zm. 1617) 1616 – 1617 * Wojciech Niemira (zm. 1625) 1617 – 1625 * Andrzej Chądzyński (ur. 1561, zm. 1631) 1625 – 1631 * Paweł Szczawiński (zm. 1634) 1633 – 1634 * Stanisław Niemira (ur. 1597, zm. 1642/48) 1634 – 1648 * Paweł Warszycki (zm. 1660) 1649 – 1652, also the Voivode of mazowiecki * Prokop Leśniowolski (ur. 1588, zm. 1653) 1652 – 1653 * Jan Piotr Opaliński (ur. 1601, zm. 1665) 1653 – 1661, also the Voivode of kaliski * Wojciech Emeryk Mleczko (ur. ok. 1625, zm. 1673) 1665 – 1673 * Wacław Leszczyński (ur. 1626, zm. 1688) 1673 – 1688 * Marcin Oborski 1688 – 1698 *

Stefan Mikołaj Branicki Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

(ur. 1643, zm. 1709) 1699 – 1709 * Stanisław Mateusz Rzewuski (ur. 1660, zm. 1728) 1710 – 1728, also the Voivode of bełski, hetman polny koronny * Michał Józef Sapieha 1728 – 1738 * Karol Józef Hiacynt Sedlnicki 1738 – 1745, also podskarbi wielki koronny * Michał Antoni Sapieha (ur. 1711, zm. 1760) 1746 – 1752, also podkanclerzy litewski * Michał Józef Rzewuski (ur. 1699, zm. 1770) 1752 – 1762 * Bernard Stanisław Gozdzki (ur. 1704, zm. 1771) 1762 – 1771 *

Antoni Miączyński Antoni is a Catalan language, Catalan, Polish language, Polish, and Slovene language, Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton (given nam ...

(ur. 1691, zm. 1774) 1771 – 1774 * Józef Salezy Ossoliński (ur. 1744, zm. 1797) 1774 – 1790 * Tomasz Aleksandrowicz (ur. 1735, zm. 1794 1790 – 1794

References

Podlasie Voivodeship by Zygmunt Gloger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Podlaskie Voivodeship (1513-1795) Former voivodeships of Grand Duchy of Lithuania Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1513 establishments in Lithuania 1795 disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth