A sołectwo (
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
plural: ''sołectwa'') is an administrative unit 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 populous ...
, an optional subdivision of a
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 ...
. The actions and organs of the sołectwo are decided by the gmina council. On 31 December 2018 Poland had 40 740 sołectwa.
Government and politics
The legislative organ in a sołectwo is a (village meeting) and the executive is a
sołtys
A sołtys () is a head of a sołectwo elected by its permanent citizens in a village meeting (''zebranie wiejskie''). According to data from 2010, Poland had 40 thousand sołtys, 30.7% of which were women.
Role and powers
Since 1990, a soł ...
. A sołectwo council (''rada sołecka'') provides support to the sołtys. The sołtys and the council are elected by permanent citizens of the sołectwo.
A zebranie wiejskie is an example of a
direct democracy
Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislator, elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently establishe ...
, as the most important concerns of the citizens are addressed. Citizens' participation in these events varies a lot. The national average is 15%.
From 2010, sołectwa can use their own budget independently if the gmina council agrees to let them to do so. In 2013 half of all gminy with sołectwa adapted to the change.
Structure
A sołectwo usually contains one settlement (
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
, przysiółek or
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
), but sometimes it contains more than one or a city has a few sołectwa inside itself.
In cities
The equivalent of a sołectwo in a city is often an
osiedle
Osiedle (Polish plural: ''osiedla'', from German ''Ansiedlung'' meaning ''settlement'') is a term used in Poland to denote a designated subdivision or neighbourhood of a city or its dzielnica, or of a town, with its own council and executive. Lik ...
or a
dzielnica
In the Poland, Polish system of local administration, a dzielnica (Polish plural ''dzielnice'') is an administrative subdivision or quarter (country subdivision), quarter of a city or town. A dzielnica may have its own elected council (''rada dzi ...
. There are examples where sołectwa are established within city limits. As of the year 2013, 49 sołectwa were functioning in 12 city gminy. Sołectwa were used as city districts in the cities of
Krasnystaw
Krasnystaw ( uk, Красностав, Krasnostav) is a town in southeastern Poland with 18 630 inhabitants (31 december 2019). Situated in the Lublin Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Chełm Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital o ...
,
Orzesze
Orzesze (german: Orzesche, Silesian: ''Ôrzeszŏ'') is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – metropolis with the population of 2 million. Located in the Silesian Highlands.
I ...
,
Jastrzębie-Zdrój
Jastrzębie-Zdrój (; german: Bad Königsdorff-Jastrzemb, originally ''Jastrzemb'', cs, Lázně Jestřebí, szl, Jastrzymbie-Zdrōj or ''Jastrzymbje-Zdrůj'') is a city in south Poland with 86,632 inhabitants (2021). Its name comes from the Poli ...
,
Mikołów
Mikołów (german: Nikolai, szl, Mikołōw) is a town in Silesia, in southern Poland, near the city of Katowice. It borders the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of over 2 million, and is within a greater Silesia ...
,
Pieszyce
Pieszyce (german: Peterswaldau) is a town in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) Gmina Pieszyce.
Geography
It is situated in the historic Lower Silesia ...
,
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 ...
,
Suwałki
Suwałki ( lt, Suvalkai; yi, סואוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Suwałki ...
,
Kalisz
(The oldest city of Poland)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town
, image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...
,
Czarna Woda
Czarna Woda (; formerly german: Schwarzwasser) is a town in Starogard County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces ...
,
Miasteczko Śląskie,
Woźniki,
Sejny
Sejny ( lt, Seinai) is a town in north-eastern Poland and the capital of Sejny County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the northern border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area ( pl, Pojezi ...
and
Świnoujście
Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning "Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands o ...
. Until 2013, three sołectwa existed in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
's district of
Białołęka
Białołęka (, from ''biały'' - ''white'' and ''łąka'' - ''meadow'') is one of 18 districts of Warsaw, located in the northern part of the city. Until October 27, 2002 Białołęka was a gmina. The name ''Białołęka'' comes from a nobleman ...
.
See also
*
Wąchock jokes
*
Settlement geography
Settlement geography is a branch of human geography that investigates the earth's surface's part settled by humans. According to the United Nations' Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements (1976), "human settlements means the totality of the h ...
*
Municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
*
Schultheiß
In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a ''Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county (' ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solectwo
Subdivisions of Poland