__NOTOC__ Starogard County ( pl, powiat starogardzki, csb, Starogarda kréj) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (

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 ...

) in

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province ( Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. Th ...

, northern

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 ...

. The name is a combination of two terms: stari which is Slavic for ''old'' and gard which is

Pomeranian language ), East Low German, East Pomeranian dialect The Pomeranian language ( Polish: ''pomorszczyzna'' or ''język pomorski'', German: ''Pomoranisch'' or ''die pomoranische Sprache'') is in the Pomeranian group of Lechitic languages ( Polish: ''grupa ...

stands for ''town'', ''city'', ''fortified settlement''. In this meaning, the term gard (also spelled as gôrd) is still being used in the only surviving dialect of the Pomeranian,

Kashubian language Kashubian or Cassubian (Kashubian: ', pl, język kaszubski) is a West Slavic language belonging to the Lechitic subgroup along with Polish and Silesian.Stephen Barbour, Cathie Carmichael, ''Language and Nationalism in Europe'', Oxford Univer ...

. The county came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the

Polish local government reforms The administrative division of Poland since 1999 has been based on three levels of subdivision. The territory of Poland is divided into ''voivodeships'' (provinces); these are further divided into ''powiats'' (counties or districts), and these i ...

passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is

Starogard Gdański Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; csb, Starogarda; formerly german: Preußisch Stargard) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. It is ...

, which lies south of the regional capital

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

. The county contains three other towns:

Skarszewy Skarszewy ( csb, Skarszewò, german: Schöneck in Westpreußen) is a small town south of Gdańsk in Starogard Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It is located between Kościerzyna and Tczew. Population: 6 809 (30 June 2 ...

, north-west of Starogard Gdański,

Skórcz Skórcz (german: Skurz, 1942-45: Großwollental) is a town in Starogard County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, with 3,609 inhabitants (2017). It is located in the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in the historic region of Pomerania ...

, south of Starogard Gdański, and

Czarna Woda Czarna Woda (; formerly german: Schwarzwasser) is a town in Starogard County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,735 inhabitants as of December 2021. The town's name translates to "Black Water". Gallery File:Most kolejowy Chojnice - Tcz ...

, south-west of Starogard Gdański. Starogard County is part of the area traditionally inhabited by the

Kociewiacy Kociewie is an ethnocultural region in the eastern part of Tuchola Forest, in northern Poland, Pomerania, south of Gdańsk. Its cultural capital is Starogard Gdański, the biggest town is Tczew, while other major towns include Świecie, Pelplin, ...

ethnic group. The county covers an area of . As of 2019 its total population is 127,676, out of which the population of Starogard Gdański is 47,775, that of Skarszewy is 6,994, that of Skórcz is 3,625, that of Czarna Woda is 2,786, and the rural population is 66,496.
''Starogard County on a map of the counties of Pomeranian Voivodeship'' Starogard County is bordered by Gdańsk County to the north, Tczew County to the east,

Świecie County __NOTOC__ Świecie County ( pl, powiat świecki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local ...

to the south,

Tuchola County __NOTOC__ Tuchola County ( pl, powiat tucholski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local ...

to the south-west, and

Chojnice County __NOTOC__ Chojnice County ( csb, Chòniczzi kréz, pl, powiat chojnicki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Po ...

and

Kościerzyna County __NOTOC__ Kościerzyna County ( csb, Kòscérsczi kréz, pl, powiat kościerski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999 as a result of ...

to the west.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into 13

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 (three urban, one urban-rural and nine rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

References

{{Pomeranian Voivodeship Starogard