Kielce Voivodeship Kielce Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kieleckie) is a former unit of administrative division and the local government in Poland. It was originally formed during Poland's return to independence in the aftermath of World War One, and recreated within ...

( pl, województwo kieleckie) - a unit of administrative division and local government in

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 ...

in years 1921–1939. At that time, it covered northern counties of the historic 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 ...

, including such cities as

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975� ...

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (adm ...

and

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Indus ...

. On 1 April 1938, its borders changed, see: Territorial changes of Polish Voivodeships on 1 April 1938. Capital city:

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the ban ...

Location and area

In early 1939, Voivodeship's area was 22 204 square kilometers. It was located in central Poland, bordering Germany and

Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one' ...

to the west,

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a province- voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sier ...

and Warsaw Voivodeship to the north,

Lublin Voivodeship The Lublin Voivodeship, also known as the Lublin Province ( Polish: ''województwo lubelskie'' ), is a voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in southeastern part of the country. It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Lublin, C ...

and

Lwów Voivodeship Lwów Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo lwowskie) was an administrative unit of interwar Poland (1918–1939). Because of the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland in accordance with the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, it became occupied by both the Weh ...

to the east and Kraków Voivodeship to the south. Landscape was flat in the northern part and hilly in mid and south, with the

Świętokrzyskie Mountains The Świętokrzyskie Mountains ( pl, Góry Świętokrzyskie, ), often anglicized to Holy Cross Mountains, are a mountain range in central Poland, near the city of Kielce. The Świętokrzyskie Mountains are some of the oldest mountains in Europ ...

located in the heart of the area. Forests covered 21.2%, with the national average 22.2% (as for January 1, 1937).

Population

According to the 1931 Polish census, the population was 2 671 000. Poles made 88.9% of population,

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

- 10.7%. The latter preferred to live in the cities and towns - in 1931 Jews made 28.7% of Voivodeship's cities inhabitants. Illiterate (in 1931) was 25.7%, higher than the national average of 23.1%.

Industry

Kielce Voivodeship was very divided in industrial terms. Its western part, with such cities as Częstochowa, Sosnowiec or Będzin was highly industrialized and urbanized, with numerous coalmines. Also Radom, located in the north, was a big industrial center, together with newly built or newly industrialized nearby towns

Pionki Pionki is a town in Radom County, Masovian Voivodeship, central Poland with 18 846 inhabitants (2016). Surrounded by the ''Kozienice'' Wilderness, Pionki is located in northern part of historic province of Lesser Poland, from Radom, and from ...

and

Starachowice Starachowice is a city in southeastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), with 49,513 inhabitants (31.12.2017). Starachowice is situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (since 1999); it was formerly in the Kielce Voivodeship (1975–1998). It ...

. Eastern part, on the other hand, was backward, with little industry and underdeveloped agriculture. In mid-1930s Polish government started a huge public works program, called Centralny Okreg Przemyslowy, which was a great boost to overpopulated and poor central and eastern counties.

Cities and administrative divisions

Between April 1, 1938, and September 1, 1939, it consisted of 18 powiats (counties). These were: *

Będzin Będzin (; also ''Bendzin'' in English; german: Bendzin; yi, בענדין, Bendin) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula). Even though pa ...

county (area 459 km², pop. 231 300), *

county (area 1 855 km², pop. 182 600), * city of Częstochowa county (powiat czestochowski grodzki), (area 48 km², pop. 117 200), *

Iłża Iłża () is a small town in Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. In 2006 Iłża had approximately 5,165 inhabitants. The town belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland, and from its foundation until 1795, it was part of Lesser Poland’s Sa ...

county (area 1 835 km², pop. 162 400), * Jędrzejów county (area 1 277 km², pop. 108 800), *

county (area 2 052 km², pop. 244 100), *

Kozienice Kozienice (; yi, קאזשניץ ''Kozhnits''; german: Koschnitz) is a town in eastern Poland with 21,500 inhabitants (1995). Located four miles from the Vistula, it is the capital of Kozienice County. Even though Kozienice is part of Lesser ...

county (area 1 857 km², pop. 143 100), *

Miechów Miechów is a town in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, about north of Kraków. It is the capital of Miechów County. Population is 11,852 (2004). Miechów lies on the Miechówka river, along European route E77. The area of the town is ...

county (area 1 353 km², pop. 153 700), *

Olkusz Olkusz ( yi, עלקיש ''Elkish'', german: 1941-45 Ilkenau) is a town in southern Poland with 36,607 inhabitants (2014). Situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998), it is the capita ...

county (area 1 361 km², pop. 151 300), *

Opatów Opatów (; yi, אַפּטאַ, אַפּט) is a town in southeastern Poland, within Opatów County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Province). Historically, it was part of a greater region called Lesser Poland. In 2012 the populati ...

county (area 1 639 km², pop. 186 500), *

Pińczów Pińczów is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. Population is 12,304 (2005). Pińczów belongs to the historic Polish province of Lesser Poland, a ...

county (area 1 148 km², pop. 126 000), *

county (area 2 095 km², pop. 166 900), * city of Radom county (powiat radomski grodzki) (area 25 km², pop. 77 900), *

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Prov ...

county (area 1 186 km², pop. 124 400), * city of

county (powiat sosnowiecki grodzki) (area 33 km², pop. 109 000), * Stopnica county (area 1 590 km², pop. 153 200), *

Włoszczowa Włoszczowa is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about west of Kielce. It is the capital of Włoszczowa County. Population is 10,756 (2004). Włoszczowa lies in historic Lesser Poland, and from its foundation until 1795 ...

county (area 1 446 km², pop. 101 600), *

Zawiercie Zawiercie is a city in the south of Poland located in the Silesian Voivodeship with 49,334 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland near the source of the Warta River. The town lies near the historical region of Sile ...

county (area 945 km², pop. 131 000). According to the 1931 census, biggest cities in Kielce Voivodeship were: * Częstochowa (pop. 117 200), * Sosnowiec (pop. 109 000), * Radom (pop. 77 900), * Kielce (pop. 58 200), * Będzin (pop. 47 600), * Dąbrowa Górnicza (pop. 36 900), * Zawiercie (pop. 32 900), * Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (pop. 25 900).

Voivodes

* Stanisław Franciszek Pękosławski 19 November 1919 – 31 May 1923 * Adam Kroebl 1 July 1923 – 31 August 1923 (acting) * Mieczysław Bilski 1 September 1923 – 6 May 1924 * Ignacy Manteuffel 24 May 1924 – 17 August 1927 * Adam Kroebl 20 August 1927 – 20 October 1927 (acting) * Władysław Korsak 21 October 1927 – 28 February 1930 * Jerzy Paciorkowski 18 February 1930 – 15 May 193 * Stanisław Jarecki 17 May 1934 – 9 July 1934 (acting) * Władysław Dziadosz 9 July 1934 – September 1939

References