The Kraków Voivodeship (, ) was 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 ...

) in the Kingdom of Poland from the 14th century to the partition of Poland in 1795 (see History of Poland during the Piast dynasty,

Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569) The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (; ) was a political and legal concept formed in the 14th century in the Kingdom of Poland, assuming unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. Under this idea, the state was no longer seen as the Pat ...

, and

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

). Located in the southwestern corner of the country, it was part of the Lesser Poland region (together with two other voivodeships of Poland: Sandomierz Voivodeship, and

Lublin Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in the southeastern part of the country, with its capital being the city of Lublin. The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lu ...

) and the Lesser Poland Province.

History

Kraków Voivodeship emerged from the Duchy of Kraków, which was created as

Seniorate Province Seniorate Province, also known as the Senioral Province, was a district principality in the Duchy of Poland that was formed in 1138, following the fragmentation of the state.Kwiatkowski, Richard. The Country That Refused to Die: The Story of t ...

in the Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty (1138). According to Zygmunt Gloger, it was one of the richest provinces of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, with salt mines in Bochnia and Wieliczka, silver and lead mines in Olkusz, and very fertile soil around

Proszowice Proszowice is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998). Its population numbers 6,206 inhabitants (2004). It is the capital of Proszowice County, and the tow ...

. Its boundaries changed little for centuries. In 1457, the Duchy of Oświęcim was incorporated into the voivodeship, in 1564 – the Duchy of Zator (the Silesian County was created out of the two), and in 1790, the Duchy of Siewierz. Among cities and towns of contemporary Poland, which were part of Kraków Voivodeship, are Będzin, Biała, Bochnia, Brzesko,

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Jasło, Jaworzno, Jędrzejów, Krzepice, Kłobuck, Miechów, Nowy Sącz, Nowy Targ, Oświęcim, Sosnowiec, Szczekociny, Zakopane, Zator, Zawiercie, and

Żywiec Żywiec () is a town on the River Soła in southern Poland with 31,194 inhabitants (2019). It is situated within the Silesian Voivodeship, near the Żywiec Lake and Żywiec Landscape Park, one of the eight protected areas in the voivodeship. H ...

. In the

first partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

, in 1772

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

annexed southern half of the voivodeship (south of the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

). In 1795, the third and final partition of Poland, Austria annexed the remaining part of the province, with the exception of its northwestern corner (around Częstochowa), which was seized by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, as New Silesia. Zygmunt Gloger in his monumental book ''Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland'' gives a detailed description of Kraków Voivodeship:

Seats

Voivodeship Governor ( Wojewoda) seat: *

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Sejmiks (or territorial) seat: *

Regional council ( sejmik generalny) seat: * Nowe Miasto Korczyn

Voivodes

* Skarbmir 1106–1117 * Klemens 1123–1168 * Mikołaj Gryfita ?-1202 * Marek z Brzeźnicy 1176- * Teodor Gryfita ?-1237 * Włodzimierz 1191–1241 * Klemens z Ruszczy ?-1256 * Klemens Latoszyński 1213–1265 * Sulisław z Branic 1232–1283 * Piotr Bogoria 1240–1290 * Mikołaj Łagiewnicki 1245–1290 * Wierzbięta z Ruszczy 1246–1324 * Tomisław Mokrski 1276–1326 * Mikołaj Bogoria 1291–1346 * Andrzej 1309–1354 * Mścigniew Czelej 1298–1357 * Imram 1312–1357 * Andrzej Tęczyński 1318–1368 * Dobiesław Kurozwęcki 1306–1397 * Spytko II of Melsztyn 1351–1399 * Jan z Tarnowa przed 1349–1409 * Piotr Kmita 1348–1409 * Jan Tarnowski 1367 -1433 * Piotr Szafraniec ?-1437 * Jan Czyżowski 1373–1459 * Jan z Tęczyna między (1408–1410) – 1470 * Jan Pilecki 1410–1476 * Dziersław Rytwiański 1414–1478 * Jan Rytwiański 1422–1479 * Jan Amor Młodszy Tarnowski 1425–1500 * Spytek III Jarosławski 1436–1519 * Piotr Kmita z Wiśnicza 1442–1505 * Jan Feliks Tarnowski 1471–1507 * Mikołaj Kamieniecki 1460–1515 * Krzysztof Szydłowiecki 1467–1532 * Andrzej Tęczyński ?-1536 * Otto Chodecki 1467–1534 *

Jan Amor Tarnowski Jan Amor Tarnowski (Latin: Joannes Tarnovius; 1488 – 16 May 1561) was a Polish people, Polish szlachta, nobleman, knight, military commander, military theoretician, and statesman of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. He was Grand Crown He ...

1488–1561 * Piotr Kmita Sobieński 1477–1553 * Mikołaj Herburt Odnowski 1505–1555 * Stanisław Tęczyński 1521–1561 * Spytek Jordan 1519–1580 * Stanisław Myszkowski * Stanisław Barzi 1529–1571 * Jan Firlej 1515–1574 * Piotr Zborowski * Andrzej Tęczyński ?-1588 * Mikołaj Firlej 1532–1601 * Mikołaj Zebrzydowski 1553–1620 * Jan Magnus Tęczyński 1579–1637 * Stanisław Lubomirski 1583–1649 * Władysław Dominik * Zasławski-Ostrogski 1618–1656 * Władysław Myszkowski 1600–1658 * Stanisław Rewera Potocki 1579–1667 * Michał Zebrzydowski 1617–1667 * Jan Wielopolski (starszy) 1605–1668 * Aleksander Michał Lubomirski 1598–1677 * Jan Leszczyński 1598–1693 * Dymitr Jerzy Wiśniowiecki 1631–1682 * Andrzej Potocki ?-1691 * Feliks Kazimierz Potocki 1633–1702 * Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski 1633–1706 * Marcin Kątski 1635–1710 * Franciszek Lanckoroński ok. 1645–1715 * Janusz Antoni Wiśniowiecki 1678–1741 * Jerzy Dominik Lubomirski 1665–1727 * Franciszek Wielopolski 1658–1732 * Teodor Lubomirski 1683–1745 * Jan Klemens Branicki 1689–1771 * Wacław Rzewuski 1706–1779 * Antoni Lubomirski 1715–1782 * Stanisław Kostka Dembiński 1708–1781 * Piotr Małachowski 1730–1797

Administrative division

In 1397, the Voivodeship was officially divided into three 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): *

Proszowice County __NOTOC__ Proszowice County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in ...

(Powiat Proszowicki),

* Żarnowiec County (Powiat Żarnowiecki), Żarnowiec * Kraków County (Powiat Krakowski),

In the 16th century, the number of counties rose to seven: *

(Powiat Proszowicki),

* Lelów County (Powiat Lelowski), Lelów * Szczyrzyc County (Powiat Szczyrzycki), Szczyrzyc * Książ County (Powiat Ksiąski), Książ Wielki * Nowy Sącz County (Powiat Sądecki), Nowy Sącz * Biecz County (Powiat Biecki), Biecz * Silesian County (Powiat Śląski) ** Duchy of Zator (Księstwo Zatorskie), Zator ** Duchy of Oświęcim (Księstwo Oświęcimskie), Oświęcim Also, the Duchy of Siewierz, (Księstwo Siewierskie), with capital in Siewierz, was ruled by the Bishops of Kraków, but officially, it was not part of the Voivodeship until 1792, when it was annexed into Poland. Neighbouring Voivodeships: * Sieradz Voivodeship * Sandomierz Voivodeship * Ruthenian Voivodeship *

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

(not part of Poland at that time).

Cities and towns of Kraków Voivodeship (1662)

Cities and towns of
Proszowice County NOTOC Proszowice County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in ...

* Kraków, * Kazimierz, * Podzamcze (now a district of Kraków), * Kleparz, * Skalbmierz, * Będzin, * Chrzanów, * Sławków, * Olkusz, * Działoszyce, *

, * Słomniki, * Koszyce, * Nowa Góra, * Nowe Brzesko

Cities and towns of Szczyrzyc County

* Myślenice, * Tymbark, * Bochnia, * Uście Solne, * Nowy Wiśnicz, * Jordanów, * Wieliczka, * Dobczyce, * Skawina, * Lanckorona.

Cities and towns of Silesian County

Wadowice Wadowice () is a town in southern Poland, southwest of Kraków with 17,455 inhabitants (2022), situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills (Pogórze Śląskie). Wadowice is known for being the bir ...

, *

, * Kęty, * Oświęcim, * Zator.

Cities and towns of Książ County

* Miechów, * Jędrzejów (in 1682 known as Andrzejów), * Wodzisław, * Żarnowiec, * Książ Wielki, * Wolbrom, * Skała.

Cities and towns of Nowy Sącz County

* Wojnicz, * Czchów, * Nowy Sącz (Nowy Sandecz), * Stary Sącz (Stary Sandecz), * Piwniczna, * Nowy Targ, * Lipnica Murowana, * Zakliczyn, * Tylicz, * Muszyna, * Krościenko nad Dunajcem, * Grybów.

Cities and towns of Lelów County

* Kromołów (now a district of Zawiercie), * Mrzygłód (now a district of Myszków), * Włodowice, * Żarki, *

, * Kłobuck, * Krzepice, * Mstów, * Przyrów, * Lelów, * Pilica, * Szczekociny, * Kossów.

Cities and towns of Biecz County

* Bobowa, *

Dukla Dukla is a town and an eponymous municipality in southeastern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 2,017. The total area of the commune is . Dukla belongs to Lesser Poland, and until the Pa ...

, * Gorlice, * Nowy Żmigród, * Ciężkowice, * Jasło, * Dębowiec, * Osiek Jasielski, * Jaśliska, * Biecz.

References

Zygmunt Gloger, Historical Geography of Ancient Poland, Kraków Voivodeship

Adolf Pawiński, "Polska XVI wieku pod względem geograficzno-statystycznym" Tom III, Małopolska. Warszawa 1886
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krakow Voivodeship (14th century-1795) Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth History of Kraków 1795 disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth States and territories established in the 14th century 14th-century establishments in Poland pt:Voivodia da Cracóvia