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Oświęcim County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (
) in
Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków.
The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...
, southern
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 ...
. It 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
Oświęcim
Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers.
Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...
, which lies west of the regional capital
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 ...
. The county contains four other towns:
Kęty
Kęty is a town in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland with 18,955 inhabitants (2012).
The town located in Silesian Foothills dates its earliest document from 1277 when Polish prince of Opole Władysław confirmed sale of the se ...
, south of Oświęcim,
Brzeszcze
Brzeszcze () is a town in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, near Oświęcim. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 10,935. The history of the town dates back to the 15th century, and it was probably found ...
, south-west of Oświęcim,
Chełmek
Chełmek is a town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. In 1975–1998 it belonged to Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has 8,810 inhabitants. Previously known for the ''Chełmek Shoe Factory'', which until 1947 wa ...
, north of Oświęcim, and
Zator, east of Oświęcim.
The county covers an area of . As of 2006, its total population is 153,390, out of which the population of Oświęcim is 40,979, that of Kęty is 19,252, that of Brzeszcze is 11,730, that of Chełmek is 9,065, that of Zator is 3,726, and the rural population is 68,638.
The county contains the sites of the
Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
complex (''Auschwitz'' being the German name for Oświęcim).
Neighbouring counties
Oświęcim County is bordered by the city of
Jaworzno
Jaworzno is a City with powiat rights, city county in southern Poland in the Silesian Voivodeship, near Katowice. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Przemsza river (a tributary of the Vistula River, Vistula). Jaworzno belongs to Lesser Pol ...
to the north,
Chrzanów County
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Chrzanów 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 1 ...
to the north-east,
Wadowice County
__NOTOC__
Wadowice 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 19 ...
to the south-east,
Bielsko County
__NOTOC__
Bielsko County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. I ...
to the south,
Pszczyna County
__NOTOC__
Pszczyna County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. I ...
to the west and
Bieruń-Lędziny County
__NOTOC__
Bieruń-Lędziny County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in ...
to the north-west.
Administrative division
The county is subdivided into nine
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 (one urban, four urban-rural and four rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.
References
Polish official population figures 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oswiecim County
Land counties of Lesser Poland Voivodeship