Łódź Voivodeship
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Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a
voivodeship A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate 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 ...
(
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
) of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. The province is named after its capital and largest city,
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
, pronounced . Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian to the north and east, Świętokrzyskie to the south-east, Silesian to the south, Opole to the south-west,
Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...
to the west, and Kuyavian-Pomeranian for a short stretch to the north. Its territory belongs to three historical provinces of Poland – Masovia (in the east),
Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...
(in the west) and Lesser Poland (in the southeast, around
Opoczno Opoczno () is a town in south-central Poland, seat of Opoczno County in the Łódź Voivodeship. It has a long and rich history, and in the past it used to be one of the most important urban centers of northwestern Lesser Poland. Currently, Opoczno ...
).


Cities and towns

The voivodeship contains 11 cities and 35 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 31 December 2021):


Administrative division

Łódź Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties (
powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...
s): 3 city counties and 21 land counties. These are further divided into 177
gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...
s. The counties are listed in the following table (ordered within categories by descending population).


Protected areas

Protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...
s in Łódź Voivodeship include seven Landscape Parks, as listed below. * Bolimów Landscape Park (partly in
Masovian Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship or Mazowieckie Province (, ) and any variation thereof, is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, containing Poland's capital Warsaw. Masovian Voivodeship has an area of and had a 2019 po ...
) * Łódź Hills Landscape Park * Przedbórz Landscape Park (partly in
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship ( ), also known as Holy Cross Voivodeship, is a voivodeship (province) in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland. The province's capital and largest city is Kielce. The voivodeship takes its ...
) * Spała Landscape Park * Sulejów Landscape Park * Warta-Widawka Landscape Park * Załęcze Landscape Park (partly in
Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...
)


Economy

The
Gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
(GDP) of the province was 26.7 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 6.0% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 19,800 euros or 66% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was also 66% of the EU average.


History

The territory formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century. The oldest medieval towns in the region include Biała Rawska, Brzeziny, Inowłódz, Łęczyca,
Łowicz Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,436 inhabitants (2021). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a major rail junction of central Poland, where the line from Warsaw splits into ...
, Pajęczno, Radomsko, Rozprza, Sieradz, Wolbórz and Żarnów. Łęczyca, Rawa Mazowiecka, Sieradz and Wieluń became medieval ducal seats of the Piast dynasty. The current Łódź Voivodeship is roughly coextensive with the historic Łęczyca Land and Sieradz Land combined, and thus the Łęczyca and Sieradz voivodeships of the former Kingdom of Poland, although it also contains portions of Mazovia (in the north-east) and Lesser Poland (in the south-east). Piotrków Trybunalski, currently the second-largest city of the province, hosted many sessions of the Polish Parliament, the last in 1567, and was the seat of the Crown Tribunal for the Greater Poland Province, the highest appeal court in the Kingdom of Poland. The towns of
Ozorków Ozorków () is a town on the Bzura River in central Poland, with 19,128 inhabitants (2020). It has been situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (Lodz Province) since 1919. History The city's history dates back to the fifteenth century. In 1415 a sma ...
, Aleksandrów Łódzki, Zduńska Wola, Stryków, Konstantynów Łódzki, Zgierz, Tomaszów Mazowiecki,
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
and Pabianice greatly developed during the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
after textile manufactures were founded there between 1807 and 1823, with Łódź eventually surpassing other towns in the region. Bolimów was the site of the Battle of Bolimów (31 January 1915) during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
where gas weapons were used for the first time, when the German Army shelled Russian troops with xylyl bromide. The capital of the Łódź Voivodeship has always been Łódź, but the area of land which it comprises has changed several times. The first was a unit of administrative division and local government in the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
in the years 1921–1939. In 1938 some western counties were ceded to
Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland (''Wielkopolska'' ). The modern province includes most of this historic re ...
(see: Territorial changes of Polish Voivodeships on 1 April 1938). After the change, Łódź Voivodeship's area was , and its population (as for 1931) was 2,650,100. It consisted of 15 powiats ( counties): * Brzeziny county, * Końskie county, * Kutno county, * Łask county, * Łęczyca county, *
Łowicz Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,436 inhabitants (2021). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a major rail junction of central Poland, where the line from Warsaw splits into ...
county, * city of
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
county (powiat łódzki grodzki), *
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
county, *
Opoczno Opoczno () is a town in south-central Poland, seat of Opoczno County in the Łódź Voivodeship. It has a long and rich history, and in the past it used to be one of the most important urban centers of northwestern Lesser Poland. Currently, Opoczno ...
county, * Piotrków Trybunalski county, * Radomsko county, * Rawa Mazowiecka county, * Sieradz county, * Skierniewice county, * Wieluń county. The largest cities of the voivodeship were (population according to the 1931 census): * Łódź (pop. 604,600), * Piotrków Trybunalski (pop. 51,300), * Pabianice (pop. 45,700), * Tomaszów Mazowiecki (pop. 38,000), * Zgierz (pop. 26,600), * Kutno (pop. 23,400), * Radomsko (pop. 23,000). Source: Mały rocznik statystyczny 1939, Nakładem Glownego Urzędu Statystycznego, Warszawa 1939 (Concise Statistical Year-Book of Poland, Warsaw 1939). Wieluń was the site of the Bombing of Wieluń conducted by Germany on 1 September 1939, considered the first major bombing of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. During the war, the territory was occupied by Germany, with the occupiers committing their genocidal policies against
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
and
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
in the region, with expulsions, kidnapping of children, massacres of civilians and prisoners of war. Germany operated numerous prisons, including the particularly notorious in
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
and Sieradz, and forced labour camps. The Łódź Ghetto, the second-largest Jewish ghetto in all of
German-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly military occupation, militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the governmen ...
, was located in Łódź. Warta was the location of '' Aktion T4'' murders of over 500 mentally ill people. The next incarnation existed from 1945 until 1975 (although the city of Łódź was excluded as a separate City Voivodeship). This Łódź Voivodeship was then broken up, superseded by Łódź (see below), Sieradz, Piotrków Trybunalski, Skierniewice and partly Płock Voivodeships. Łódź Voivodeship, also known as Łódź Metropolitan Voivodeship (''województwo miejskie łódzkie''), existed from 1975 until 1998, after which it was incorporated into today's Łódź Voivodeship. Until 1990, the mayor of the city of Łódź was also the voivodeship governor. As of 1995, major cities and towns in Łódź Metropolitan Voivodeship included (with their 1995 populations): *
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
(825,600); * Pabianice (75,700); * Zgierz (59,100); *
Ozorków Ozorków () is a town on the Bzura River in central Poland, with 19,128 inhabitants (2020). It has been situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (Lodz Province) since 1919. History The city's history dates back to the fifteenth century. In 1415 a sma ...
(21,900); * Aleksandrów Łódzki (20,400). The current Łódź Voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sieradz, Piotrków Trybunalski and Skierniewice Voivodeships and part of
Płock Voivodeship Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...
, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998.


Culture and education

The basic cultural activities in the Łódź Region are: monitoring activities of seven regional self-government cultural institutions, i.e., the Arthur Rubinstein Łódź Philharmonic, Museum of Art in Łódź (having one of the biggest modern art collections in Europe), the Opera House, Stefan Jaracz Theater, the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography, the Józef Piłsudski Regional and Municipal Public Library in Łódź, the Chamber of Culture in Łódź but also: supporting NGO’s, protection of monuments, awarding scholarships to young artists and rewards for the prominent artists. What is more, infrastructural projects are being undertaken. Among the most important investments are: the creation of four regional scenes in Stefan Jaracz Theatre, opening the new section of the Museum of Art in Łódź - ms² or the reconstruction of medieval settlement in Tum in the vicinity of Łęczyca. As of 2020, there were 76,897 students in various institutions of higher education in Łódź Voivodeship. The major universities in the voivodeship are: * University of Łódź * Lodz University of Technology * National Film School in Łódź * Medical University of Łódź * Higher School of National Economy in Kutno * Academy of Fine Arts In Łódź * Jan Kochanowski University in Piotrków Trybunalski The excellent scientific staff of the higher education establishments in Łódź is complemented by Łódź’s scientists from the Institute of the
Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...
(PAN) and scientific ministerial institutes working within the field of the occupational medicine, textile, paper and leather industries.


Sights and tourism

There are five Historic Monuments of Poland in the voivodeship: * Łowicz Cathedral *Industrial city landscape of
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
* Nieborów Palace and park * Sulejów Abbey * Tum Collegiate Church There are multiple either entirely or partly preserved castles in the province, including in Bąkowa Góra, Besiekiery,
Bolesławiec Bolesławiec (pronounced , ) is a historic city situated on the Bóbr River in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Bolesławiec County, and of Gmina Bolesławiec, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Gm ...
, Drzewica, Inowłódz, Łęczyca,
Opoczno Opoczno () is a town in south-central Poland, seat of Opoczno County in the Łódź Voivodeship. It has a long and rich history, and in the past it used to be one of the most important urban centers of northwestern Lesser Poland. Currently, Opoczno ...
, Oporów, Piotrków Trybunalski, Uniejów, and multiple palaces, including in Poddębice, Skierniewice, Sokolniki, Walewice, Wola-Chojnata and several in
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
alone. The province's sole
spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...
is Uniejów. There are numerous
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
memorials, including a museum at the site of the former Nazi German Radogoszcz prison in Łódź, and monuments at the sites of German-perpetrated massacres and camps. Pałac Maurycego Poznańskiego z 1896 r, obecnie muzeum sztuki - panoramio.jpg, Museum of Art, Łódź Nieborów Pałac elewacja ogrodowa MZW3342.JPG, Nieborów Palace Collegiate Church in Tum.jpg, Tum Collegiate Church Łęczyca 003 - zamek.jpg, Łęczyca Royal Castle Oporów zamek 1.jpg, Oporów Castle Walewice pałac 3.JPG, Walewice Palace Bazylika Katedralna w Łowiczu - 04.jpg, Łowicz Cathedral Uniejów Castle.jpg, Uniejów Castle Wola Chojnata - pałac-003.JPG, Palace in Wola-Chojnata Izrael Poznański Palace in Łódź 03.jpg, Poznański Palace in Łódź Palac Sokolniki.jpg, Sokolniki Palace Zamek w Inowłodzu - Widok ogólny.jpg, Inowłódz Castle


Sports

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
and
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
enjoy the largest following in the province. ŁKS Łódź and Widzew Łódź contest the Łódź Derby, one of the fiercest football rivalries in Poland. Since the establishment of the province, several international sports competitions were co-hosted by the province, including the EuroBasket 2009, 2009 Women's European Volleyball Championship, EuroBasket Women 2011, 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, and 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.


Curiosities

*The Polish language of the inhabitants of the voivodeship is considered the closest to the Polish literary language, as the region did not develop its own dialect, but was a place of blending of dialects from the neighboring larger regions of
Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...
, Lesser Poland, Mazovia and Silesia. *In the 17th century, the towns of Brzeziny, Sieradz and Warta were home to sizeable Scottish communities.


References


External links


Województwo Łódzkie
Official website
www.lodzkie.travel – tourists attractions of łódź voivodeship
a website produced by the Regional Tourist Organisation of the Łódź Voivodeship {{DEFAULTSORT:Lodz Voivodeship 1999 establishments in Poland States and territories established in 1999