Wilno Land was a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

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 ...

, with capital in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, that existed from 13 April 1922 until 20 January 1926. The territory was formed in 1922 from territories of the

Republic of Central Lithuania The Republic of Central Lithuania ( pl, Republika Litwy Środkowej, ), commonly known as the Central Lithuania, and the Middle Lithuania ( pl, Litwa Środkowa, , be, Сярэдняя Літва, translit=Siaredniaja Litva), was an unrecognize ...

incorporated into Poland,''Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - Tom VII, Część I - Województwo Nowogródzkie'', Główny Urząd Statystyczny Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, Warszawa 1923 and a 3

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 ...

from Nowogródek Voivodeship. In 1926, the territory was transformed into the Wilno Voivodeship, becoming the last

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 ...

of the Second Polish Republic to be formed. It had an area of and in 1925, it was inhabited by 973,404 people.

History

Wilno Land was formed on 13 April 1922, from territories of

, following its incorporation by

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 ...

. The annexation itself was decided in the bill signed on 6 April 1922. The annexed lands included the city of

as well as the territories of

Brasław Braslaw or Braslav ( be, Браслаў, Braslaŭ; russian: Браслав, Braslav) is a town in the Vitebsk Region Vitebsk Region or Vitebsk Oblast or Viciebsk Voblasts ( be, Ві́цебская во́бласць, ''Viciebskaja voblasć'', ...

Oszmiana Ashmyany ( be, Ашмя́ны; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Łacinka: ''Ašmiany''; russian: Ошмя́ны; lt, Ašmena; pl, Oszmiana; yi, אָשמענע, ''Oshmene'') is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus, located at 50 km from Vilnius. The ...

, Święciany,

Troki Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. ...

and Wilno Counties. Additionally to territory were added Duniłowicze,

Dzisna Dzisna ( be, Дзісна, russian: Дисна, lt, Dysna, pl, Dzisna) is a town in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus. It is located on the left bank of the Daugava River, near the confluence of Dysna. It has 1,500 inhabitants (2017 estimate) wh ...

and Wilejka Counties from neighbouring Nowogródek Voivodeship. Between 1923 and 1924,

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

and Troki Counties were combined into Wilno-Troki County, tough ''de facto'' they acted as singular county since 1921. On 1 January 1926, Duniłowicze County was transformed into Postawy County. On 20 January 1926, following the bill from 22 December 1925, Wilno Land was transformed into the Wilno Voivodeship, becoming the last

of the Second Polish Republic to be formed.

Administrative division

Wilno Land was divided into 8

that were divided into the 118 municipilaties, 13 of which were cities.

Counties

( city county) * Brasław County * Duniłowicze County (1922–1925) * Dzisna County * Oszmiana County * Postawy County (1926) * Święciany County * Troki County (''de jure'' 1922–1922/23, ''de facto'' 1921) * Wilejka County * Wilno County (''de jure'' 1921–1923/24, ''de facto'' 1921) * Wilno-Troki County (''de jure'' 1923/24–1926, ''de facto'' 1921–1926)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* ''Zeszyt VII. Spis ludności na terenach administrowanych przez Zarząd Cywilny Ziem Wschodnich (grudzień 1919)''. Lviv/Warsaw. Książnica Polska T-wa Naucz. Szkół Wyższych. 1920, p. 50, series: ''Prace geograficzne wydawane'' by Eugenjusz Romer. * ''Zarząd Cywilny Ziem Wschodnich (19 lutego 1919 – 9 września 1920)'' by Joanna Gierowska-Kałłaur, 1st edition. Warsaw. Wydawnictwo Neriton. Instytut Historii PAN. 2003. p. 447. ISBN 83-88973-60-6. {{coord missing, Poland States and territories established in 1922 States and territories disestablished in 1926 1922 establishments in Poland 1926 disestablishments in Poland Districts of the Second Polish Republic Wilno Voivodeship (1926–1939) Western Belorussia (1918–1939) History of Vilnius