__NOTOC__
Sandomierz County ( pl, powiat sandomierski) 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
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship
The Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, also known as the Świętokrzyskie Province, and the Holy Cross Voivodeship ( pl, województwo świętokrzyskie ) is a voivodeship (province) of Poland situated in southeastern part of the country, in the histo ...
, south-central
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
Sandomierz
Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Provi ...
, which lies east of the regional capital
Kielce
Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...
. The county also contains the towns of
Koprzywnica
Koprzywnica is a town in Sandomierz County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,546 inhabitants (2004). Koprzywnica lies on the Koprzywianka river, in Lesser Poland. It is one of the oldest urban centers of the province, located along t ...
, lying south-west of Sandomierz, and
Zawichost
Zawichost is a small town (ca. 1,800 inhabitants ) in Sandomierz County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland. It is located by the Vistula River in Lesser Poland, near Sandomierz. It is first mentioned in historical documents from around 1148. I ...
, north-east of Sandomierz.
The county covers an area of . As of 2019 its total population is 77,352, out of which the population of Sandomierz is 23,494, that of Koprzywnica is 2,470, that of Zawichost is 1,771, and the rural population is 49,617.
Neighbouring counties
Sandomierz County is bordered by
Kraśnik County
__NOTOC__
Kraśnik County ( pl, powiat kraśnicki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland. It was established on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reform ...
to the north-east,
Stalowa Wola County
__NOTOC__
Stalowa Wola County ( pl, powiat stalowowolski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish lo ...
to the east, the city of
Tarnobrzeg
Tarnobrzeg is a city in south-eastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), on the east bank of the river Vistula, with 49,419 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Polish: ''Województwo podkarpackie'') sinc ...
and
Tarnobrzeg County
__NOTOC__
Tarnobrzeg County ( pl, powiat tarnobrzeski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local ...
to the south, and
Staszów County
__NOTOC__
Staszów County ( pl, powiat staszowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local g ...
and
Opatów County
__NOTOC__
Opatów County ( pl, powiat opatowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gov ...
to the west.
Administrative division
The county is subdivided into nine
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 (one urban, two urban-rural and six rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.
History of the area
The recorded history of the Sandomierz County area dates back to the mid-14th century, when King
Kazimierz Wielki
Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He ...
(reigned 1333–1370) reformed the territorial structure of Poland. Since Sandomierz had already been one of the most important cities of the kingdom, and the seat of a
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 ...
, the castellany was replaced by a county. Until the
first partition of Poland in 1772 Sandomierz County had the area of 6290 sq. kilometers. Stretched along both banks of the
Vistula
The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
, in 1667 it included such towns, as
Opatow,
Polaniec,
Staszow,
Wachock,
Rudnik nad Sanem
Rudnik nad Sanem (until 1997 ''Rudnik'', yi, רודניק ''Ridnik'') is a town in Nisko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,765 (02.06.2009). The town is located next to the river San, hence the "nad Sanem" (on ...
,
Zawichost
Zawichost is a small town (ca. 1,800 inhabitants ) in Sandomierz County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland. It is located by the Vistula River in Lesser Poland, near Sandomierz. It is first mentioned in historical documents from around 1148. I ...
,
Nowa Slupia
Nowa (german: Neuen) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Bolesławiec, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Gmina Bolesławiec, within Bolesławiec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was in Germ ...
,
Mielec
Mielec ( yi, מעליץ-Melitz) is the largest city and seat of Mielec County. Mielec is located in south-eastern Poland (Lesser Poland), in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo Podkarpackie). The population of Mielec in December 2021 wa ...
and
Ozarow.
Sandomierz County also formed 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 ...
, 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 ...
(as part of the
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 ...
), and of 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 ...
(as part of the
Kielce Voivodeship (1919–39)).
References
{{Authority control
Sandomierz
Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Provi ...