Połock Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo połockie, be, Полацкае ваяводства) was a unit of 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 ...

(

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 ...

) since the 15th century 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 ...

in 1793. The voivodeship history can be traced to the

Principality of Polotsk The Principality of Polotsk ( be, По́лацкае кня́ства, ''Polackaje kniastva''; la, Polocensis Ducatus), also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality of the Early East Slavs. The origin and ...

, conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania around late 14th / early 15th centuries. From 1504 the former Principality was recognized 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 ...

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 monumental book Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland provides this description of the Połock Voivodeship: “Połock, in Latin Polocia, Polocium, lies on the right bank of the Dvina, and is regarded as one of the oldest gords of Rus’. In the 13th century, the

was ruled by Kievan princes, but in app. 1225 it was seized by the Lithuanians under Duke

Mindaugas Mindaugas (german: Myndowen, la, Mindowe, orv, Мендог, be, Міндоўг, pl, Mendog, c. 1203–1263) is the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or r ...

(...) 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 ...

named the first

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 ...

of Połock, and in app. 1500, the starosta was renamed into 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 ...

of Połock, while the Duchy was turned into a voivodeship, divided into halves by the Dvina (...) The voivodeship had two senators, who were the Voivode and the Castellan of Połock (...) Since it was not too large and its population was not numerous, furthermore, its capital was located in the middle, the voivodeship was not divided into counties. Its courts were located in Połock, where the

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 Pol ...

s also took place. Połock Voivodeship had two envoys in 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 ...

, and two deputies to the Lithuanian Tribunal”.

Other names

* lt, Polocko vaivadija, russian: Полоцкое воеводство, la, Palatinatus Polocensis

Population

* 109 848 in 1790↑ Tabela: Summaryusz Generalny wszelkich dochodów Rzeczypospolitey tak w Koronie iako i w Litwie z kalkulacyą mil kwadratowych, tak со do dymów, podatków, iako i ludzi, w: Dziennik rządowo-ekonomiczno handlowy. Zaymuiący różne Wiadomości, Rządowe, Handlowe, Ekonomiczne, Fabryczne, Kontraktowe na Dobra, Summy, i Produkta. Zajmujący 3 miesiące kwiecień may czerwiec 1790. R.5. T. II. Warszawa 1790.

Administration

Voivodeship Governor (

Wojewoda 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 ...

) seat: * Połock Administrative division: * this voivodeship was not divided into counties Number of Senators: * 2 Number of envoys in the

: * 2

Voivodes

Stanisław Hlebowicz Stanislav and variants may refer to: People * Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, C ...

Olbracht Gasztołd The name Olbracht refers to several people: * Jan I Olbracht, English ''John I Albert'' (1459–1501), King of Poland * Ivan Olbracht, born ''Karel Zeman'' (1882–1952), Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic ...

Stanisław Ościk Stanislav and variants may refer to: People * Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, C ...

Piotr Kiszka Piotr Kiszka (died in 1534) was a noble of the House of Kiszka from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to the military census of 1528, he was the 10th wealthiest magnate in the Grand Duchy. In case of war he had to provide 224 fully equipp ...

Jan Hlebowicz Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

Stanisław Dowojno Stanislav and variants may refer to: People * Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, C ...

Mikołaj Dorohostajski 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 ...

Andrzej Sapieha Andrzej Sapieha (1539 – October 11, 1621) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman ('' szlachcic'') of the Sapieha family, who served as the Great Royal Deputy Cup-bearer of Lithuania (''Podczaszy wielki litewski''), castellan of Minsk, and Voivo ...

* Michał Drucki-Sokoliński *

Janusz Kiszka Janusz Kiszka (born 1600 in Krzywicze (today Belarus) – 1653) was a Polish politician and magnate in the 17th century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Last of the Kiszka family. Royal Rotmistrz, starosta of Parnawa from 1610, Voivode of Po ...

* Aleksander Ludwik Radziwiłł *

Jan Karol Kopeć Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

* Kazimierz Jan Sapieha * Jan Jacek Ogiński * Dominik Michał Słuszka *

Stanisław Ernest Denhoff Stanisław Michał Ernest Denhoff (; ; c. 1673 – 2 August 1728) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth aristocrat, Grand Master of the Hunt of Lithuania (from 1697), Grand Chorąży of the Crown (1704–1721), voivode of Połock (1721–1728 ...

* Aleksander Michał Sapieha * Józef Sylwester Sosnowski * Tadeusz Żaba

References

Bibliography

Polock Voivodeship, description by Zygmunt Gloger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polock Voivodeship Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Former voivodeships of Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1504 establishments in Lithuania 1793 disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Early Modern history of Belarus Polotsk