Province was the largest territorial subdivision in

medieval 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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

-era Poland, and later 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 term designated each of the two largest constituents of the state: depending on the period, including

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 ...

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 ...

and (upon the formation of the Commonwealth) 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 ...

Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...

was often counted as part of the Greater Poland;

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 ...

as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the

Ruthenia Ruthenia or , uk, Рутенія, translit=Rutenia or uk, Русь, translit=Rus, label=none, pl, Ruś, be, Рутэнія, Русь, russian: Рутения, Русь is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin as one of several terms ...

n territories were split between Lesser Poland and the Grand Duchy. Though larger than 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 ...

(''województwo''), the ''prowincja'' was less important in terms of offices and power. In most respects, it was merely a titular unit of administration. The real power lay with the voivodeship—and, to a lesser extent, with ''

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 (lands). The Polish term "''prowincja''" has not been used to denote any part of independent Poland since the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1795)—unlike "''ziemia''", which has continued to be used for certain geographical areas. Since 1795, the Polish word "''prowincja''" has been used only for certain foreign-imposed units of administration within territories of the old

Notes

{{notelist Subdivisions of Poland Types of administrative division

See also

Notes