Polotsk or Połock Voivodeship (; ; , ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the

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 ...

(

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

) since the 15th century until the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

in 1793.

History

The voivodeship history can be traced to the

Principality of Polotsk The Principality of Polotsk (obsolete spelling: ''Polock''; ; ), also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality. The origin and date of the establishment of the state are uncertain. Chronicles of Kievan Rus' ...

, conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania around late 14th / early 15th centuries. From 1504 the former Principality was recognized as 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 ...

Zygmunt Gloger Zygmunt Gloger (3November 184516August 1910) was a Polish historian, archaeologist, geographer and ethnographer, bearer of the Wilczekosy coat of arms. Gloger founded the precursor of modern and widely popular Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Socie ...

in his monumental book Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland provides this description of the Połock Voivodeship: “Połock, in Latin Polocia, Polocium, lies on the right bank of the Dvina, and is regarded as one of the oldest gords of Rus’. In the 13th century, the

was ruled by Kievan princes, but in app. 1225 it was seized by the Lithuanians under Duke

Mindaugas Mindaugas (, , , , ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known grand duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a ...

(...) Duke

Vytautas Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

named the first

starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

of Połock, and in app. 1500, the starosta was renamed into the

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

of Połock, while the Duchy was turned into a voivodeship, divided into halves by the Dvina (...) The voivodeship had two senators, who were the Voivode and the Castellan of Połock (...) Since it was not too large and its population was not numerous, furthermore, its capital was located in the middle, the voivodeship was not divided into counties. Its courts were located in Połock, where the

sejmik A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; ) 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 Poland (before ...

s also took place. Połock Voivodeship had two envoys in the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

, and two deputies to the Lithuanian Tribunal”.

Population

* 109,848 in 1790↑ Tabela: Summaryusz Generalny wszelkich dochodów Rzeczypospolitey tak w Koronie iako i w Litwie z kalkulacyą mil kwadratowych, tak со do dymów, podatków, iako i ludzi, w: Dziennik rządowo-ekonomiczno handlowy. Zaymuiący różne Wiadomości, Rządowe, Handlowe, Ekonomiczne, Fabryczne, Kontraktowe na Dobra, Summy, i Produkta. Zajmujący 3 miesiące kwiecień may czerwiec 1790. R.5. T. II. Warszawa 1790.

Administration

Voivodeship Governor (

Wojewoda Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

) seat: *

Połock Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

Administrative division: * this voivodeship was not divided into counties Number of Senators: * 2 Number of envoys in the

: * 2

Voivodes

Stanisław Hlebowicz Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

Albertas Goštautas Albertas Goštautas ( – 1539) was a Lithuanian noble of the Goštautai family from the ethnically Lithuanian lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Voivode of Navahrudak since 1508, Voivode of Polotsk since 1514, Voivode of Trakai since ...

Stanisław Ościk Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

Piotr Kiszka Piotr Kiszka (died in 1534) was a noble of the House of Kiszka from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to the military census of 1528, he was the 10th wealthiest magnate in the Grand Duchy. In case of war he had to provide 224 fully equippe ...

Jan Hlebowicz Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

Stanisław Dowojno Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

* Mikołaj Dorohostajski * Andrzej Sapieha * Michał Drucki-Sokoliński * Janusz Kiszka * Aleksander Ludwik Radziwiłł * Jan Karol Kopeć * Kazimierz Jan Sapieha * Jan Jacek Ogiński * Dominik Michał Słuszka * Stanisław Ernest Denhoff * Aleksander Michał Sapieha * Józef Sylwester Sosnowski * Tadeusz Żaba

References

Bibliography

Polock Voivodeship, description by Zygmunt Gloger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polock Voivodeship Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Voivodeships of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1504 establishments in Lithuania 1793 disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Early modern history of Belarus Polotsk