Suwałki Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of 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 was established w ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, which had its seat in the city of

Suwałki Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. A relatively young ci ...

. It covered a territory of about .

History

In 1867, the territories of the

Augustów Governorate Augustów Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire. It was created in 1837 from the Augustów Voivodship, and had the same borders and capital (Suwałki) as the voivodship. In 1 ...

and the

Płock Governorate Płock Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire. It was created in 1837 from the Płock Voivodship, and had the same borders and capital (Płock) as the voivodship. In 1867 terri ...

s were re-organised to form the Płock Governorate, the Suwałki Governorate (consisting mostly of the Augustów Governorate territories) and a recreated

Łomża Governorate Łomża Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Łomża. History In 1867 territories of the Augustów Governorate and the Płock Governorate were divided ...

. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the governorate was split between the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, mostly along ethnic lines (with an exception of the area in the proximity of

Puńsk Puńsk (; ) is a village in the Podlaskie Voivodeship in northeastern Poland, seat of the Gmina Puńsk in the Sejny County. It is located only from the border with Lithuania. History Early history The oldest traces of humans in Puńsk territo ...

and north of

Sejny Sejny (; ) is a town in north-eastern Poland and the capital of Sejny County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the northern border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area (), on the Marycha river ...

). The Polish part, known as

Suwałki Region Suwałki Region ( ; ) is a historical region around the city of Suwałki in northeastern Poland near the border with Lithuania. It encompasses the powiats of Augustów, Suwałki, and Sejny, and roughly corresponds to the southern part of the for ...

, was incorporated into the Białystok Voivodeship. The Lithuanian region of

Suvalkija Suvalkija or Sudovia ( or ''Sūduva'') is the smallest of the five cultural regions of Lithuania. Its unofficial capital is Marijampolė. People from Suvalkija (Suvalkijans) are called (plural) or (singular) in Lithuanian. It is located sout ...

was named after the governorate.

Demographics and economy

According to contemporary

statistics, from 1889 the Suwałki Governorate was predominantly Lithuanian since they comprised 57.8% of the population. Lithuanians formed a majority only in the northern part of the governorate in the counties of Kalvarija, Marijampolė, Naujamiestis, Vilkaviškis as well as the eastern part of the Sejny county. Poles were in a majority in the southern part of the governorate in the counties of Suwałki, Augustów and in the western part of the Sejny county. Before World War I, the Suwałki Governorate was economically the least developed area of Congress Poland. It was characterised by the lowest

agricultural productivity Agricultural productivity is measured as the ratio of Agriculture, agricultural outputs to inputs. While individual products are usually measured by weight, which is known as crop yield, varying products make measuring overall agricultural out ...

and profitability. In 1912, the governorate had a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of just 45 persons per km², compared to Congress' average of 103 persons per km².

Administrative divisions

It was divided into seven counties: Suwalki Governorate 1911

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suwalki Governorate Governorates of Congress Poland