Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16

voivodeships A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieva ...

(

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 ...

s) into which

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 ...

is divided. It was created on 1 January 1999 and is situated in mid-northern Poland, on the boundary between the two historic regions from which it takes its name:

Kuyavia Kuyavia ( pl, Kujawy; german: Kujawien; la, Cuiavia), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three ...

( pl, Kujawy) and

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

( pl, Pomorze). Its two chief cities, serving as the province's joint capitals, are

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with mor ...

and

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

History

The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship was created on 1 January 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 ...

adopted in 1998. It consisted of territory from the former

and

Włocławek Włocławek (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Leslau) is a city located in central Poland along the Vistula (Wisła) River and is bordered by the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park. As of December 2021, the population of the city is 106,928. Lo ...

Voivodeships. The area now known as Kuyavia-Pomerania was previously divided between the region of

and the Polish fiefdom of Royal Prussia. Of the two principal cities of today's Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeship, one (

) was historically located in Pomerania, whilst the other (

) was an important town of Royal Prussia.

Administration and territory

The functions of regional capital are split between

and

. Bydgoszcz serves as the seat of the centrally appointed governor or

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

( pl, wojewoda), while Toruń is the seat of the elected Regional Assembly (

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 ...

), and of the executive elected by that assembly, headed by the voivodeship marshal (''marszałek województwa''). The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is bordered by five other voivodeships. These are

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 ...

to the north,

Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship or Warmia-Masuria Province or Warmia-Mazury Province (in pl, Województwo warmińsko-mazurskie, is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn. The voivodeship has an ar ...

to the north-east,

Masovian Voivodeship The Masovian Voivodeship, also known as the Mazovia Province ( pl, województwo mazowieckie ) is a voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, with its capital located in the city of Warsaw, which also serves as the capital of the country. Th ...

to the east,

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 ...

across a short boundary to the south, and

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wielkopolskie; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 ...

to the south and west.

Cities and towns

The voivodeship contains 5 cities and 47 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019):

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 21.8 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 4.4% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 17,300 euros or 57% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 64% of the EU average.

Transportation

Transportation infrastructure is of critical importance to the voivodeship's economy. Kuyavia-Pomerania is a major node in the Polish transportation system. Railway lines from the South and

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

pass through

to connect to the major ports on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. In addition to this,

is home to the rolling stock manufacturer PESA SA, Poland's largest and most modern producer of railway and tram products. The province's sole international airport, Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport, is located in Bydgoszcz and has connections to a number of European destinations as well as

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 officiall ...

, which are all operated by either Irish carrier

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings famil ...

LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (corporation), S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of List of airlines by foundat ...

. The main railway stations of the province are Bydgoszcz main station and Toruń main station; both stations are served by fast

PKP Intercity PKP Intercity is a company of PKP Group responsible for long-distance passenger transport. It runs about 350 trains daily, connecting mainly large agglomerations and smaller towns in Poland. The company also provides most international trains t ...

trains which connect them with the capital

, as well as other major Polish cities. In addition to these fast express services, inter-regional trains are operated by the firm

Przewozy Regionalne Polregio (formerly ''Przewozy Regionalne'') is a train operator in Poland, responsible for local and interregional passenger transportation. Each day it runs approximately 3,000 regional trains. In 2002 it carried 215 million passengers. Th ...

, whilst domestic rail transportation within the voivodeship is provided by

Arriva RP Arriva Poland Sp. z o. o. is a Polish private rail carrier providing services in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Masovian, Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian voivodships. It is a subsidiary of Arriva. History The company was founded in 2006 as Arriva ...

, a private firm to which the provincial government subcontracted the provision of rail transport. All major towns of the province have municipal transportation companies operating buses, whilst

and Grudziądz also have extensive tram systems.

Politics

The Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeship's government is headed by the province's voivode ''(governor)'' who is appointed by the Polish Prime Minister. The voivode is then assisted in performing his duties by the voivodeship's marshal, who is the appointed speaker for the voivodeship's executive and is elected by the sejmik ''(provincial assembly)''. The current voivode of Kuyavia-Pomerania is

Ewa Monika Mes Ewa Monika Mes (born 6 May 1951) is a Polish politician who is current a Voivode of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Ewa Mes was worked in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Marshal Office ( pl, Kujawsko-Pomorski Urząd Marszałkowski, UM) in the Departm ...

, and the present marshal is Piotr Całbecki. The Sejmik of Kuyavia-Pomerania consists of 33 members.

Governors

Administrative division

The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is divided into 23 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): 4 city counties and 19 land counties. These are further divided into 144

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 Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship include the nine Landscape Parks listed below. *

Brodnica Landscape Park Brodnica Landscape Park (''Brodnicki Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in north-central Poland, established in 1985, covering an area of . The Park is shared between two voivodeships: Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and W ...

(partly in

) * Chełmno Landscape Park * Gopło Landscape Park * Górzno-Lidzbark Landscape Park (partly in Masovian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeships) * Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park (partly in Masovian Voivodeship) * Krajna Landscape Park * Tuchola Landscape Park (partly in

) * Vistula Landscape Park * Wda Landscape Park

Gallery

Image:Colegiate church, Kruszwica.JPG, Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in

Kruszwica Kruszwica (german: Kruschwitz) is a town in central Poland and is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship (1975–1998). It has a population of 9,412 (2004). Initially founded in the 6th ...

Image:Zamek w Golubiu - ZJ001.jpg, Golub Castle Image:SM Chełmno Ratusz (4) ID 601491.jpg, Market Square in Chełmno Image:Bdg plWolnosci1 1 07-2013.jpg, Liberty Square in

Image:Stare Miasto, Ratusz Staromiejski w Toruniu.jpg,

Medieval Town of Toruń Medieval Town of Toruń ( pl, zespół staromiejski Torunia, links=no) is the oldest historic district of the city of Toruń. It is one of Poland's World Heritage Sites (added in 1997). According to UNESCO, its value lies in its being "a small ...

, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Image:Grudziadz spichrze od str Wisly.jpg,

Grudziądz Granaries Grudziądz Granaries ( pl, Spichrze w Grudziądzu) is a unique 14th-century fortification complex of river bank granaries on the Vistula river in Grudziądz, Poland. History After the Teutonic Order founded the settlement of present-day Grudzią ...

Image:603104 Toruń Dom M. Kopernika i wnętrza 01.JPG,

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulat ...

House in

Image:Bdg Dluga 7 07-2013.jpg,

Old Town Image:Ciechocinek tężnia nr 3 (03).jpg, Graduation towers in Ciechocinek Image:Old town hall in Swiecie 02.jpg, Town hall in Świecie Image:Bdg Wilenska 5 07-2008.jpg, Birthplace of cryptologist

Marian Rejewski Marian Adam Rejewski (; 16 August 1905 – 13 February 1980) was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who in late 1932 reconstructed the sight-unseen German military Enigma cipher machine, aided by limited documents obtained by French mil ...

Notes

External links

Visit Kuiavia-PomeraniaGovernment of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

* ttp://VisitWloclawek.blogspot.com Blog about Tourismus in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship {{Coord, 53, 04, 42, N, 18, 29, 37, E, region:PL-KP_type:adm1st, display=title 1999 establishments in Poland States and territories established in 1999