pl, Województwo wołyńskie
uk, Волинське воєводство , 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 ...

(1566–1569)
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 = 1566 , event1 = To

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 ...

, date_event1 = 1569 , event_end = Annexed by Russia , year_end = 1795 , date_end = 24 October , p1 = Grand Duchy of Lithuania , image_p1 = Coat of arms of Lithuania

, s1 = Volhynian Governorate , image_s1 = COA of Volin gubernia

, image_coat = Herbarz Kaspra Niesieckiego Волынское.svg , image_map = RON województwo wołyńskie map.svg , image_map_caption = The Volhynian Voivodeship (red) 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 ...

, 1635 , capital = Lutsk ( pl, Łuck) , stat_area1 = 38324 , stat_year1 = , stat_pop1 = , political_subdiv =

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 ...

: 3 , footnotes = ¹ Voivodeship of the Kingdom of Poland in the

. Voivodeship 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 ...

before 1569. Volhynian Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wołyńskie, la, Palatinatus Volhynensis, uk, Волинське воєводство, ''Volynske voievodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division and local government in the

from 1566 until 1569 and of the

within the

from the 1569

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 ...

until the

Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polish ...

in 1795. It was part of 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 lands in the Lesser Poland Province.

Description

The voivodeship was established based on the Luck (

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lu ...

) Eldership (starostvo) in 1566 with the

. Following the 1569

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 ...

, it was ceded to the Crown of Poland as part of the Lesser Poland (Malopolska) Province. The capital of the voivodeship was in

Luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...

, and it had three senators in the Senate of the Commonwealth. These were the Bishop of Luck, 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 Volhynia 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 Volhynia. Volhynian Voivodeship was divided into three counties: Luck, Wlodzimierz and

Krzemieniec Kremenets ( uk, Крем'янець, Кременець, translit. ''Kremianets'', ''Kremenets''; pl, Krzemieniec; yi, קרעמעניץ, Kremenits) is a city in Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center o ...

. Local starostas resided in the three capitals of the counties, while

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 at Luck. The voivodeship had two deputies in the Polish

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 one deputy in the Lesser Poland Tribunal in

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 ...

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 Volhynian Voivodeship:

"After
Liubartas Demetrius of Liubar or Liubartas (also ''Lubart'', ''Lubko'', ''Lubardus'', baptized ''Dmitry''; died ) was Prince of Lutsk and Liubar (Volhynia) (1323–1383), Prince of Zhytomyr (1363–1374), Grand Prince of Volhynia (1340–1383), Grand Princ ...
seized northern Volhynia, the Kingdom of Poland captured
Red Ruthenia Red Ruthenia or Red Rus' ( la, Ruthenia Rubra; '; uk, Червона Русь, Chervona Rus'; pl, Ruś Czerwona, Ruś Halicka; russian: Червонная Русь, Chervonnaya Rus'; ro, Rutenia Roșie), is a term used since the Middle Ages fo ...
. A conflict between Poland and Lithuania began, complicated by the fact that in Ruthenian lands there were no well-defined boundaries of duchies and provinces. In 1366, King Casimir the Great confirmed his rule over the upper
Bug river uk, Західний Буг be, Захо́дні Буг , name_etymology = , image = Wyszkow_Bug.jpg , image_size = 250 , image_caption = Bug River in the vicinity of Wyszków, Poland , map = Vi ...
, capturing
Wlodzimierz Wolynski Volodymyr ( uk, Володи́мир, from 1944 to 2021 Volodymyr-Volynskyi ( uk, Володи́мир-Воли́нський)) is a small city located in Volyn Oblast, in north-western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Volodymyr R ...
. The conflict with Lithuania continued, as both sides wanted to control whole Volhynia, together with Luck (...) After the death of Svitrigaila, the vast Volhynian land became direct property of the
Jagiellonian dynasty The Jagiellonian dynasty (, pl, dynastia jagiellońska), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty ( pl, dynastia Jagiellonów), the House of Jagiellon ( pl, Dom Jagiellonów), or simply the Jagiellons ( pl, Jagiellonowie), was the name assumed by a cad ...
. King
Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the m ...
decided that Volhynia should become part of 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 ...
, but the Polish-Lithuanian conflict continued until the 1569
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 ...
, when Volhynia was transferred to Poland, and became a voivodeship. Its first voivode was Prince Aleksander Czartoryski (...) Upon the decision 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 ...
, Volhynia was part of the Province of
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 ...
. Its legal system was based on the
Statutes of Lithuania The Statutes of Lithuania, originally known as the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were a 16th-century codification of all the legislation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its successor, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Stat ...
, with local residents allowed to make changes to the statutes. Legal position of Ruthenian ruling class ( knyaz) was equal to the Polish
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
, and in 1578, Polish government offices were established in Volhynia, followed by an infux of Polish settlers (...) In the 16th century, Volhynian Voivodeship had the area of 750 sq. miles, half of which was made by the Luck County. It had 68 towns, and in 1583, the number of villages was as follows: 777 in Luck County, 294 in Wlodzimierz County, and 562 in Krzemieniec County. During the reign of
Stefan Batory 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 ...
, there were 65 castles and forts (...) Boundaries of Volhynian Voivodeship did not include whole historic Volhynia, as
Zytomierz Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...
and
Owrucz Ovruch ( uk, Овруч, pl, Owrucz, yi, , russian: О́вруч) is a city in Korosten Raion, in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, it was the administrative center of the former Ovruch Raion (district). It has ...
, commonly regarded as Volhynian towns, belonged to
Kiev Voivodeship The Kiev Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kijowskie, la, Palatinatus Kioviensis, uk, Київське воєводство, ''Kyjivśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. Historic Volhynia reached deep into Kiev,
Braclaw Bratslav ( uk, Брацлав; pl, Bracław; yi, בראָצלעוו, ''Brotslev'', today also pronounced Breslev or '' Breslov'' as the name of a Hasidic group, which originated from this town) is an urban-type settlement in Ukraine, located ...
and
Podolian Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...
Voivodeships, but its boundaries were never precise. Volhynian Voivodeship was sparsely populated, reduced by frequent wars and raids".

Administration

Seat of Voivodeship Governor and regional sejmik: *

Regional council (

sejmik generalny 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 ...

) for all Ruthenian lands * Sądowa Wisznia

Administrative division

Counties (powiats)

Luck County Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at an ...

(Powiat Łucki),

Łuck Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding L ...

* Wlodzimierz County (Powiat Włodzimirski), Włodzimierz *

Krzemieniec County Kremenets ( uk, Крем'янець, Кременець, translit. ''Kremianets'', ''Kremenets''; pl, Krzemieniec; yi, קרעמעניץ, Kremenits) is a city in Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center o ...

(Powiat Krzemieniecki),

Free royal cities Royal free city or free royal city (Latin: libera regia civitas) was the official term for the most important cities in the Kingdom of Hungary from the late 12th centuryBácskai Vera – Nagy Lajos: Piackörzetek, piacközpontok és városok Mag ...

Kowel Kovel (, ; pl, Kowel; yi, קאוולע / קאוולי ) is a city in Volyn Oblast (province), in northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion (district). Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runi ...

* Milanowicze *

Ratno Ratne (; ; yi, ראטנא ''Ratno'') is an urban settlement (town) in Volyn Oblast (province), located in the historic region of the Volhynia. Population: History Ratne is mentioned in old Ruthenian documents at the end of 12th - beginning of ...

* Świniuchy * Włodzimierz * Wyszniwka

Selected voivodes

Janusz Ostrogski Prince Janusz Ostrogski () (1554 – 17 September 1620 in Tarnów) was a Polish-Lithuanian noble and statesman. He served as a voivode of Volhyn (1584-1593), as a castellan of Kraków (from 1593 on), and as a starosta of Bohuslav (from 1591), B ...

(since 1558) *

Aleksander Ostrogski Prince Aleksander Ostrogski ( be, Аляксандар Астрожскi ) (c. 1571–1603) was a szlachta, nobleman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Son of voivode of Troki and Hetman Prince Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski and Zofia Tarnowska ...

(since 1593) *

Adam Aleksander Sanguszko Adam Aleksander Sanguszko (1590–1653), of Pogoń Litewska, was a Ruthenian noble of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.Kubiĭovych, Volodymyr and Husar, Danylo Struk (editors) (1993) "Sanguszko, Adam Oleksander" ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine: Vol ...

(1630–1653) *

Mikołaj Hieronim Sieniawski Mikołaj Hieronim Sieniawski (1645–1683) was a Polish noble (szlachcic), military leader and politician. Early life and family He was the son of the starost of Lwów Adam Hieronim Sieniawski and Wiktoria Elżbieta Potocka, the daughter ...

(since 1679) *

Franciszek Salezy Potocki Franciszek Salezy Potocki (1700–1772) was a Polish nobleman, diplomat, politician and knight of the Order of the White Eagle, awarded on August 3, 1750 in Warsaw. Potocki was the wealthiest magnate of his time and the owner of large propert ...

(in 1755 only) *

Józef Kanty Ossoliński Józef Jan Kanty Ossoliński (1707–1780) was a magnate in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Supported Stanisław Leszczyński, although abandoned him in 1733 when his cause looked worse and from 1735 he became a supporter of August III the ...

(1757-1775 (resigned))

Sources

Volhynian Voivodeship, description by Zygmunt Gloger''Central European Superpower''
Henryk Litwin, ''BUM Magazine'', October 2016.