Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its
Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
-
voivodeship in 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 populou ...
. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the
Sieradz,
Piotrków Trybunalski and
Skierniewice Voivodeships and part of
Płock Voivodeship, pursuant to the
Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. The province is named after its capital and largest city,
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...
, pronounced .
Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships:
Masovian to the north and east,
Świętokrzyskie to the south-east,
Silesian to the south,
Opole
Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ;
* Silesian:
** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole''
** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole''
* Silesian German: ''Uppeln''
* Czech: ''Opolí''
* Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city l ...
to the south-west,
Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest cit ...
to the west, and
Kuyavian-Pomeranian for a short stretch to the north. Its territory belongs to three historical provinces of Poland –
Masovia (in the east),
Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest cit ...
(in the west) and
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 ...
(in the southeast, around
Opoczno).
Cities and towns
The voivodeship contains 46 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 31 December 2020):
Administrative division
Łódź Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties (
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 "''powiat ...
s): 3 city counties and 21 land counties. These are further divided into 177
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.
The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).
Protected areas
Protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
s in Łódź Voivodeship include seven
Landscape Parks, as listed below.
*
Bolimów Landscape Park
Bolimów Landscape Park (''Bolimowski Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in central Poland, established in 1986, covering an area of .
The Park is shared between two voivodeships: Łódź Voivodeship and Masovian Voivod ...
(partly in
Masovian Voivodeship)
*
Łódź Hills Landscape Park
Łódź Hills Landscape Park (''Park Krajobrazowy Wzniesień Łódzkich'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in central Poland, established in 1996, covering an area of .
The Park lies within Łódź Voivodeship: in Brzeziny County ( Gmina Br ...
*
Przedbórz Landscape Park (partly 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 his ...
)
*
Spała Landscape Park
*
Sulejów Landscape Park
Sulejów Landscape Park (''Sulejowski Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in central Poland, established in 1994 and covering an area of . It takes its name from the town of Sulejów.
The Park lies within Łódź Voivodeshi ...
*
Warta-Widawka Landscape Park
Warta-Widawka Landscape Park (''Park Krajobrazowy Międzyrzecza Warty i Widawki'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in central Poland.
The Park lies within Łódź Voivodeship: in Łask County ( Gmina Widawa), Sieradz County (Gmina Burzeni ...
*
Załęcze Landscape Park
Załęcze Landscape Park (''Załęczański Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in central Poland.
The Park is shared between two voivodeships
A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several c ...
(partly in
Silesian Voivodeship)
Economy
The
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is of ...
(GDP) of the province was 26.7 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 6.0% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 19,800 euros or 66% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was also 66% of the EU average.
History
The capital of the Łódź Voivodeship has always been Łódź, but the area of land which it comprises has changed several times. The first was a unit of administrative division and local government in 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 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...
in the years 1921–1939. In 1938 some western counties were ceded to
Greater Poland Voivodeship (see:
Territorial changes of Polish Voivodeships on April 1, 1938
{{cleanup, reason=Polish words should be translated or linked to an explanatory article, or capitalized if they are proper nouns, and linked to the English Wikipedia article about them., date=March 2019
On 1 April 1938, borders of several western a ...
).
After the change, Łódź Voivodeship's area was , and its population (as for 1931) was 2,650,100. It consisted of 15 powiats (
counties):
*
Brzeziny county,
*
Końskie
Końskie ( yi, Kinsk, קינצק / קינסק) is a town in south-central Poland with 20,328 inhabitants (2008), situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Historically, Końskie belongs to the province of Lesser Poland, and since its found ...
county,
*
Kutno county,
*
Łask county,
*
Łęczyca county,
*
Łowicz
Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,896 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999); previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a m ...
county,
* city of
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...
county (powiat łódzki grodzki),
*
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...
county,
*
Opoczno county,
*
Piotrków Trybunalski county,
*
Radomsko
Radomsko is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been in Piotrków Trybunalski Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the county sea ...
county,
*
Rawa Mazowiecka county,
*
Sieradz county,
*
Skierniewice
Skierniewice is a city in central Poland with 47,031 inhabitants (2021), situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), previously capital of Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Skierniewice County. The town is situate ...
county,
*
Wieluń county.
The largest cities of the voivodeship were (population according to the 1931 census):
* Łódź (pop. 604,600),
* Piotrków Trybunalski (pop. 51,300),
* Pabianice (pop. 45,700),
* Tomaszów Mazowiecki (pop. 38,000),
* Zgierz (pop. 26,600),
* Kutno (pop. 23,400),
* Radomsko (pop. 23,000).
Source: Mały rocznik statystyczny 1939, Nakładem Glownego Urzędu Statystycznego, Warszawa 1939 (Concise Statistical Year-Book of Poland, Warsaw 1939).
The next incarnation existed from 1945 until 1975 (although the city of Łódź was excluded as a separate City Voivodeship). This Łódź Voivodeship was then broken up, superseded by Łódź (see below),
Sieradz,
Piotrków Trybunalski,
Skierniewice
Skierniewice is a city in central Poland with 47,031 inhabitants (2021), situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), previously capital of Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Skierniewice County. The town is situate ...
and partly
Płock Voivodeships.
Łódź Voivodeship, also known as Łódź Metropolitan Voivodeship (''województwo miejskie łódzkie''), existed from 1975 until 1998, after which it was incorporated into today's Łódź Voivodeship. Until 1990, the mayor of the city of Łódź was also the voivodeship governor.
As of 1995, major cities and towns in Łódź Metropolitan Voivodeship included (with their 1995 populations):
*
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...
(825,600);
*
Pabianice
Pabianice is a city in central Poland with 63,023 inhabitants (2021). Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the capital of Pabianice County. It lies about southwest of Łódź and belongs to the metropolitan area of that city. It is the ...
(75,700);
*
Zgierz (59,100);
*
Ozorków
Ozorków ( yi, אוזורקוב, translit=Ozorkov) is a town on the Bzura River in central Poland, with 19,128 inhabitants (2020). It has been situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (Lodz Province) since 1919.
History
The city's history dates ba ...
(21,900);
*
Aleksandrów Łódzki (20,400).
Culture and education
The basic cultural activities in the Łódź Region are: monitoring activities of seven regional self-government cultural institutions, i.e., the
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish-American pianist. Łódź Philharmonic, Museum of Art in Łódź (having one of the biggest modern art collections in Europe), the Opera House,
Stefan Jaracz
Stefan Jaracz (24 December 1883 – 11 August 1945) was a Polish actor and theater producer. He served as the artistic director of Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw during the interwar period (1930–32), and within a short period raised its reputation ...
Theater, the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography, the
Józef Piłsudski Regional and Municipal Public Library in Łódź, the Chamber of Culture in Łódź but also: supporting NGO’s, protection of monuments, awarding scholarships to young artists and rewards for the prominent artists. What is more, infrastructural projects are being undertaken. Among the most important investments are: the creation of four regional scenes in
Stefan Jaracz Theatre
The Stefan Jaracz Theatre in Łódź, Poland is the oldest theatre in the region. It is a repertory theatre subordinate to the Marshall Office of the Łódź Voivodeship. During the years 1888-1949 (when the theatre chose Stefan Jaracz as its ...
, opening the new section of the
Museum of Art in Łódź
Muzeum Sztuki, or the Museum of Art in Łódź, is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Łódź, Poland, whose main goal is to research and display avant-garde art, as well as progressive artistic interventions.
The institution is housed in ...
- ms² or the reconstruction of
medieval settlement in Tum in the vicinity of
Łęczyca.
As of 2020, there were 76,897 students in various institutions of higher education in Łódź Voivodeship.
The major universities in the voivodeship are:
*
University of Łódź
*
Lodz University of Technology
*
National Film School in Łódź
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
*
Medical University of Łódź
*
Higher School of National Economy in Kutno
*
Academy of Fine Arts In Łódź
The Academy of Fine Art in Łódź is a public university in Łódź for artists.
Created in 1945, it was one of seven academies of Fine Arts in Poland. The academy was renamed in honor of one of its founders, Władysław Strzemiński, in 1988.
Th ...
*
Jan Kochanowski University in
Piotrków Trybunalski
The excellent scientific staff of the higher education establishments in Łódź is complemented by Łódź’s scientists from the Institute of the
Polish Academy of Sciences
The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society o ...
(PAN) and scientific ministerial institutes working within the field of the occupational medicine, textile, paper and leather industries.
References
External links
Województwo ŁódzkieOfficial website
www.lodzkie.travel – tourists attractions of łódź voivodeship a website produced by the Regional Tourist Organisation of the Łódź Voivodeship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodz Voivodeship
States and territories established in 1999