Poznań Voivodeship was the name of several former administrative regions (''województwo'', rendered as ''

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 ...

'' and usually translated as "province") in

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 ...

, centered on the city of

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, although the exact boundaries changed over the years. Poznań Voivodeship was incorporated into the

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 ...

after 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 ...

of 1998.

14th century to 1793

Poznań Voivodeship () was established in 1320 and was part of the

, until it was annexed by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in 1793. It was in the rule of the Garczynski family for much of the 17th and 18th century. A notable voïvodie includes Stefan Garczyński (1690–1756), author, who was opposed to serfdom, amongst other social norms of the time.

1793 to 1921

Between 1793 and 1921, the territory formerly contained in Poznań Voivodeship was part of the following territories: South Prussia, the Poznań Department of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

, the Grand Duchy of Posen, and the Province of Posen in

1921 to 1939

After

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 ...

, Poznań Voivodeship was created from the

n- German province of Poznań. The borders were changed in 1939: Bydgoszcz passed to the

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship ( ; ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk Voivo ...

, but some Eastern areas were included. After the changes, the area was 28,089 km² with a population of 2,339,600 people (see: Territorial changes of Polish Voivodeships on April 1, 1938). * Regional capital:

. * Principal cities:

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

, Gniezno, Inowrocław, Jarocin, Krotoszyn,

Leszno Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Leszno is a former residential cit ...

, Miedzychód, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Rawicz.

1939 to 1945

During

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 ...

, Poland was occupied by

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

forces and the territory annexed by Germany was named the Reichsgau Wartheland, which partially overlapped with the former Province of Posen and also had

/Posen as its capital.

1945 to 1975

After 1945, the administrative unit centered on Poznań was again known as Poznań Voivodeship. It was superseded by a redrawn Poznań Voivodeship and Kalisz, Konin, Piła and Leszno Voivodeships.

1975 to 1998

The Poznań Voivodeship () as redrawn in 1975 was again superseded by the

, which was formed by the merger of five former Voivodeships. Capital city:

. Major cities and towns (with populations in 1995): *

(581,800); * Gniezno (71,000); *

Śrem Śrem () is a town on the Warta river in central Poland. It is the seat of Śrem County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. As of 1995, the population of Śrem was 29,800. Śrem is to the south of Poznań, a local road junction on the road from ...

(29,800); * Września (28,600); *

Swarzędz Swarzędz (German language, German: ''Schwersenz'') is a town in west-central Poland with 29,766 inhabitants. It is the seat of a mixed urban-rural commune called Gmina Swarzędz with 40,166 inhabitants. The town is situated in the Poznań metropo ...