A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

(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 A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

in western medieval states, much as the title of voivode was equivalent to that of a

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. Other roughly equivalent titles and areas in medieval

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

included ban (bojan, vojin or bayan) and banate. In a modern context, the word normally refers to one of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

s () of Poland. , Poland has 16 voivodeships.

Terminology

A voi(e)vod(e) (literally, "leader of warriors" or "war leader", equivalent to the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

"''Dux Exercituum''") was originally a military commander who stood, in a state's structure, next to the ruler. Later the word came to denote an administrative official. Words for "voivodeship" in various languages include the ; the ; the ; the Bulgarian: ''voivoda'' (войвода); the Serbian: ''vojvodina'' (војводина), ''vojvodstvo'' (војводство) or ''vojvodovina'' (војводовина); the ; the (''vajаvodstva''); the . Some of these words, or variants of them, may also be used in English. Named for the word for "voivodeship" is the autonomous

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

. Though the word "voivodeship" (other spellings are "voievodship" and "voivodship") appears in English dictionaries such as the

OED The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

and

Webster's ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the US English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by Noah Webster (1758–1843), a US lexicographer, as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's n ...

, it is not in common general usage, and voivodeships in Poland and elsewhere are frequently referred to as "

s"."''Jednostki podziału administracyjnego Polski tłumaczymy tak: województwo''—province..." ("Polish administrative units are translated as follows: ''województwo''—

..."). Arkadiusz Belczyk, ("

Translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

of Polish Geographical Names into English"), 2002-2006. For examples se
New Provinces of Poland (1998)Map of Poland
; . Depending on context, historic voivodeships may also be referred to as "duchies", "palatinates" (the

word "''palatinatus''" was used for a voivodeship in Poland), "administrative districts" or "regions".

Historical voivodeships

in Southeastern Europe

In the territory of modern

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, the regions of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

and

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

were formerly voivodeships. The region of

Maramureș ( ; ; ; ) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, along parts of the upper Tisza River drainage basin; it covers the Maramureș Depression and the ...

, now split between Romania and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, also used to be its own voivodeship, the

Voivodeship of Maramureș The Voivodeship of Maramureș (, or ), was a Romanian voivodeship centered in the region of the same name within the Kingdom of Hungary. It was the most powerful and well-organized Romanian entity in the broader area of Transylvania during th ...

. Historical voivodeships in the territory of modern

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

include the Voivodeship of Salan (9th–10th centuries), Voivodeship of Sermon (11th century), and Voivodeship of Syrmia of Radoslav Čelnik (1527–1530). A voivodeship called

Serbian Vojvodina The Serbian Vojvodina () was a short-lived self-proclaimed autonomous province within the Austrian Empire during the Revolutions of 1848, which existed until 1849 when it was transformed into the new (official) Austrian province named Voivodes ...

was established in 1848–1849; this was transformed into the

Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat The Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, or Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat (, , , ), was a crownland of the Austrian Empire that existed between 1849 and 1861, centered in Temeschwar. It was created by reorganization of admini ...

, a land within the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

from 1849 to 1860. This is the origin of the name of the present-day Serbian autonomous province of

In Poland and Lithuania

For more information about the divisions of Polish lands in particular periods, see Administrative divisions of Poland ("Historical").

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Voivodeships in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

(1569–1795): *In the Polish Crown Lands: *

Poznań Voivodeship Poznań Voivodeship was the name of several former administrative regions (''województwo'', rendered as ''voivodeship'' and usually translated as "province") in Poland, centered on the city of Poznań, although the exact boundaries changed over t ...

* Kalisz Voivodeship * Gniezno Voivodeship *

Sieradz Voivodeship Sieradz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Łódź Voivodeship. A Voivodeship is an area administered by a voivode (Governor), and the Sieradz Voivodesh ...

Łęczyca Voivodeship Łęczyca Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from the 14th century until the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of Greater Poland Province, and its capital was in Łęczyca. The voivod ...

Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship The Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland (later Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), from the 14th century to the Second Partition of Poland in 1793. It was part of th ...

Inowrocław Voivodeship Inowrocław Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the First Partition of Poland in 1772. Together with the neighbouring Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship it was part of the Kuyavia ...

Chełmno Voivodeship The Chełmno Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland since 1454/1466 until the Partitions of Poland in 1772/1793. Its capital was at Chełmno. Together wi ...

* Malbork Voivodeship *

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship ( ; ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk Voivo ...

Płock Voivodeship Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

Rawa Voivodeship Rawa Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland since 15th century until the partitions of Poland in 1795. It was part of the Greater Poland Province. Together with the Plock and Masovian V ...

Masovian Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship or Mazowieckie Province (, ) and any variation thereof, is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, containing Poland's capital Warsaw. Masovian Voivodeship has an area of and had a 2019 po ...

* Kraków Voivodeship *

Sandomierz Voivodeship Sandomierz Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Poland region and the Lesser Poland Province. Originally Sandomier ...

Lublin Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in the southeastern part of the country, with its capital being the city of Lublin. The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lu ...

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...

Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (; ; ) was a voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1434 until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, with its center in the city of Lwów (lat. Leopolis) (modern day Lviv). Together with a number of ot ...

(until 1772; Chełm Voivodeship thereafter) * Bełz Voivodeship * Wolhynia Voivodeship * Podolian Voivodeship *

Bracław Voivodeship The Bracław Voivodeship (; ; , ''Braclavśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Created in 1566 as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, it was passed to the Crown of the Kingdom of Pola ...

Kijów Voivodeship The Kiev Voivodeship (; ; ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1471 until 1569 and of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1569 until 1793, as part of Lesser Poland Province of ...

* Czernihów Voivodeship *In the historical

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

: *

Vilnius Voivodeship The Vilnius Voivodeship (, , , ) was one of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's voivodeships, which existed from the voivodeship's creation in 1413 to the destruction of the Lithuanian state in 1795. This voivodeship was Lithuania's largest, most p ...

* Trakai Voivodeship * Nowogródek Voivodeship * Brest-Litovsk Voivodeship *

Minsk Voivodeship Minsk Voivodeship (; ; ; ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1566Stanisław Kutrzeba: Historia ustroju Polski w zarysie, Tom drugi: Litwa. Lwów i Warszawa: 1921, s. 88. and later in Pol ...

* Mścisław Voivodeship * Smolensk Voivodeship * Vitebsk Voivodeship * Połock Voivodeship *In the historical

Duchy of Livonia The Duchy of Livonia, also referred to as Polish Livonia or Livonia, was a territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that existed from 1561 to 1621. It corresponds to the present-day areas of northe ...

: **

Wenden Voivodeship Wenden Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Duchy of Livonia, part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was formed in 1598 by King Sigismund III Vasa, out of Wenden Presidency (Province), whi ...

(1598–1620) ** Dorpat Voivodeship (1598–1620) ** Parnawa Voivodeship (1598–1620) **

Inflanty Voivodeship The Inflanty Voivodeship (), or Livonian Voivodeship (), also known as Polish Livonia, was an administrative division and local government in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, since it was formed in the 1620s out of the Wenden Voivodeship and ...

(from the 1620s)

Congress Poland (1816–37)

Voivodeships in

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 ...

1816–37. * Augustów Voivodeship * Kalisz Voivodeship * Kraków Voivodeship *

Second Polish Republic

Poland administrative division 1922 literki

Voivodeships of Poland, 1921–1939: *

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...

() * Białystok Voivodeship () * Kielce Voivodeship () * Kraków Voivodeship () *

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced . Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...

() *

Lwów Voivodeship Lwów Voivodeship () was an administrative unit of interwar Poland (1918–1939). Because of the Nazi invasion of Poland in accordance with the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, it became occupied by both the Wehrmacht and the Red Army in Septem ...

() * Nowogródek Voivodeship () *

Polesie Voivodeship Polesie Voivodeship () was an administrative unit of interwar Poland (1918–1939), named after the historical region of Polesia. It was created by the Council of Ministers of the Second Polish Republic on February 19, 1921, as a result of peac ...

() *

() * Stanisławów Voivodeship () *

Tarnopol Voivodeship Tarnopol Voivodeship (; ) was an administrative region of Second Polish Republic, interwar Poland (1918–1939), created on 23 December 1920, with an area of 16,500 km2 and provincial capital in Tarnopol (now ''Ternopil'', Ukraine). The Voi ...

() * Warsaw Voivodeship () * Wilno Voivodeship () * Volhynian Voivodeship ()

Poland 1945–75

Voivodeships of Poland, 1945–1975: * Białystok Voivodeship *

Bydgoszcz Voivodeship Bydgoszcz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Statistics Capital city: Bydgoszcz Area: 10,359 Statistics (1998): P ...

* Gdańsk Voivodeship *

Katowice Voivodeship Katowice Voivodeship () can refer to one of two political entities in Poland: Katowice Voivodeship (1), initially "Silesian-Dabrowa Voivodeship" (), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the years 1946–1975. It was super ...

* Kielce Voivodeship * Koszalin Voivodeship * Kraków Voivodeship *

Olsztyn Voivodeship Olsztyn Voivodeship () was an administrative division and unit of local government in Poland in the years 1946–75, and a new territorial division between 1975–1998, superseded by Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Olszty ...

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship ( , , ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Silesia. A relatively lar ...

* Rzeszów Voivodeship * Szczecin Voivodeship * Warsaw Voivodeship * Wrocław Voivodeship * Zielona Góra Voivodeship

Poland 1975–98

Voivodeships of Poland, 1975–1998: * Biała Podlaska Voivodeship * Białystok Voivodeship *

Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship The Bielsko Voivodeship ( Polish: ''Województwo bielskie'') was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Bielsko-Biała. It was established on ...

* Chełm Voivodeship * Ciechanów Voivodeship *

Częstochowa Voivodeship Częstochowa Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from 1975 to 1998, superseded mainly by Silesian Voivodeship, with a few gminas attached to surrounding voivodeships. Though most of the current ter ...

* Elbląg Voivodeship * Gdańsk Voivodeship * Gorzów Voivodeship * Jelenia Góra Voivodeship * Kalisz Voivodeship *

* Kielce Voivodeship * Konin Voivodeship * Koszalin Voivodeship * Kraków Voivodeship *

Krosno Voivodeship Krosno Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975–1998, superseded by Subcarpathian Voivodeship (except Biecz Commune which is now a part of Lesser Poland Voivodeship). Its capital ci ...

* Legnica Voivodeship * Leszno Voivodeship *

Łomża Voivodeship Łomża Voivodeship () was an administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975 to 1998, superseded by the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Its capital city was Łomża. Cities and towns Major cities and towns (population in 1998 ...

* Nowy Sacz Voivodeship *

* Ostrołęka Voivodeship * Piotrków Voivodeship * Piła Voivodeship *

* Przemyśl Voivodeship *

* Radom Voivodeship * Rzeszów Voivodeship * Siedlce Voivodeship *

* Skierniewice Voivodeship * Suwałki Voivodeship * Szczecin Voivodeship * Słupsk Voivodeship *

Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship The Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975-1998, superseded in parts by Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship and Lublin Voivodeship. ...

* Tarnów Voivodeship *

Toruń Voivodeship Toruń Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Toruń. Major cities and towns (population in 1995 ...

* Warsaw Voivodeship * Wałbrzych Voivodeship * Wrocław Voivodeship *

Włocławek Voivodeship Włocławek Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998. It, along with the Bydgoszcz and Toruń Voivodeships, was superseded by the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship following the ...

Zamość Voivodeship Zamość Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government (Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship) in Poland in years 1975–1998, superseded by Lublin Voivodeship. Its capital and largest city was Zamość (population 65 ...

* Zielona Góra Voivodeship

References

{{Terms for types of administrative territorial entities Former subdivisions of Belarus Historical geography of Hungary Medieval history of Romania Historical geography of Latvia Historical geography of Ukraine Historical geography of Moldova Geography of Poland Types of administrative division Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire