, la, Palatinatus Minscensis) was a unit of administrative division and local government in
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 Lit ...
since 1566Stanisław Kutrzeba: Historia ustroju Polski w zarysie, Tom drugi: Litwa. Lwów i Warszawa: 1921, s. 88. and later in
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 Poland and Lithuania ru ...
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
and subordinate to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the region continued the traditions – and shared the borders – of several previously existing units of administrative division, notably a separate Duchy of Minsk, annexed by Lithuania in the 13th century. It was replaced with
Minsk Governorate
The Minsk Governorate (russian: Минская губерния, Belarusian: ) or Government of Minsk was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partitio ...
in 1793.
Geography
The voivodeship was stretched along the
Berezina
The Berezina or Biarezina ( be, Бярэ́зіна; ) is a river in Belarus and a right tributary of the Dnieper. The river starts in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. The length of the Berezina is 613 km. The width of the river is 15-20 m, the ...
and
Dneper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine ...
rivers, with the earlier river having both its source and its estuary within the limits of the voivodeship, as well as most of its basin. To the north east it bordered
Polotsk
Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...
,
Vitebsk
Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest c ...
and Mscislaw voivodeships. To the east it bordered with the lands of
Chernigov
Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within t ...
(on both sides of the Dneper and
Sozh
The Sozh, or Sož ( be, Сож, ; russian: Сож, uk, Сож) is an international river flowing in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It is a left bank tributary of the Dnieper. The Sozh passes through Gomel, the second largest city in Belarus.
T ...
rivers), while to the south-east it was delimited by the river
Snov
The Snov (; ) is a river in Bryansk Oblast in Russia and Chernihiv Oblast in Ukraine, right tributary of the Desna River (Dnieper basin).
The length of the river is 253 km. The area of its drainage basin is 8,700 km2.land of Kiev. Across the basin of the
Pripyat river
The Pripyat or Prypiat ( , uk, Прип'ять, ; be, Прыпяць, translit=Prypiać}, ; pl, Prypeć, ; russian: Припять, ) is a river in Eastern Europe, approximately long. It flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and Ukraine ag ...
Ubort
The Ubort (Russian and Ukrainian: Уборть; , ''Ubarć'') is a river in the Zhytomyr Oblast (Ukraine) and the Homiel Voblast (Belarus), a right tributary to the Pripyat in the Dnieper river basin. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
Th ...
Ptsich
The Ptsich, or Pcič official transliteration ( be, Пціч, ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It flows south through Belarus, taking its source near Minsk, and draining into the Pripyat, being its left tributary. It is long, and has a drainage b ...
river). Further northwards it was bordering the capital of the Grand Duchy, the
Vilnius Voivodeship
pl, Województwo wileńskie
, conventional_long_name = Vilnius Voivodeship
, common_name = Vilnius
, subdivision = Voivodeship
, nation = Grand Duchy of Lithuania (part of the federative Polish–Lithuani ...
.
History
Minsk had been a capital of a semi-independent duchy at least since 1067. Raided on a yearly basis by Lithuanian tribes, by the 12th century it was made a fief and in the 14th century it was directly incorporated into the Grand Duchy. In 1441 the city of Minsk was granted with a city charter, by the 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 ...
. His son,
Alexander Jagiellon
Alexander Jagiellon ( pl, Aleksander Jagiellończyk, lt, Aleksandras Jogailaitis; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) of the House of Jagiellon was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and later also King of Poland. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV Jag ...
extended the privilege in 1496 and granted the town with
Magdeburg Law
Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...
s. Since then, the entire region shared the fate of its capital city. In 1773 a post-Jesuit academy had been founded in Minsk by the
Commission of National Education
The Commission of National Education ( pl, Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, KEN; lt, Edukacinė komisija) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and King Stanisław II August on October 1 ...
.
Politics
All voivodeships played an important role within the Polish political system, extended to Lithuania by the Polish–Lithuanian unions. Following the final
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 per ...
of 1569, the Minsk Voivodeship received two seats within the Senate. The seats were held ''ex officio'' by the voivod and the castellan of Minsk. Each of the three powiats organized its own
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 ...
, which had a right to elect two members of
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 ...
each, and two deputies to the
Lithuanian Tribunal
The Lithuanian Tribunal (; pl, Trybunał Główny Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego) was the highest appellate court for the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was established by King Stephen Báthory in 1581 as the counterpart to the Cr ...
.
The three cities were also entitled to house local courts. Since 1599, the Tribunal of Lithuania did also held sessions in Minsk (every three years, other cities it visited were Vilnius and
Navahrudak
Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus.
In the Middle ...
). The court held there served the role of the highest juridical authority for all of ''Ruthenian voivodeships'', that is Minsk, Nowogródek, Vitebsk, Mstislav and Kiev. Following the first partition of Poland in 1775, the tribunal abandoned Minsk and held its sessions in
Hrodna
Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...
Massalski 200px, Coat of Arms of the Massalski family
The House of Massalski (Plural: Massalscy, feminine form: Massalska), sometimes Masalski , Massalsky or Mosalsky, is a Polish-Lithuanian, Russian-Lithuanian princely family of Ruthenian origin from the ...
(1638–43)
* Andriusz
Massalski 200px, Coat of Arms of the Massalski family
The House of Massalski (Plural: Massalscy, feminine form: Massalska), sometimes Masalski , Massalsky or Mosalsky, is a Polish-Lithuanian, Russian-Lithuanian princely family of Ruthenian origin from the ...
Tadeusz Burzyński
''Tadeusz'' is a Polish first name, derived from Thaddaeus.
Tadeusz may refer to:
* Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski (1895–1966), Polish military leader
* Tadeusz Borowski (1922–1951), Polish writer and The Holocaust survivor
* Tadeusz Boy-Żeleń ...
Much like other Ruthenian lands, the Minsk voivodeship signed its documents with the
Pogoń
The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is ...
(Chase) coat of arms. The flag was Or, in field Gules a chase Carnation. The official uniform was a crimson kontusz and
żupan
Żupan (; lt, žiponas, cz, župan, sk, župan, hu, kabát, be, жупан, uk, жупан) is a long lined garment of West or Central Asian origin which was worn by almost all males of the nobility in the multi-ethnic Polish–Lithuanian ...
, with a navy blue collar. The powiat of Rechytsa adopted a white żupan with white collar.