The Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, also known as the Świętokrzyskie Province, and the Holy Cross Voivodeship ( pl, województwo świętokrzyskie ) is a

voivodeship A voivodeship 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 western medieval ...

(

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

) of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

situated in southeastern part of the country, in the historical region of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

. Its capital and largest city is Kielce. Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is bounded by six other voivodeships: Masovian to the north, Lublin to the east, Subcarpathian to the southeast,

to the south, Silesian to the southwest and

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

to the northwest. The province was created on 1 January 1999, out of the former

Kielce Voivodeship Kielce Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kieleckie) is a former unit of administrative division and the local government in Poland. It was originally formed during Poland's return to independence in the aftermath of World War One, and recreated within ...

, eastern part of

Częstochowa Voivodeship Częstochowa Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975–1998, superseded mainly by Silesian Voivodeship, with a few eastern gminas attached to the freshly created Świętokrzyskie Voivodesh ...

and western part of

Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship The Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975-1998, superseded in parts by Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship and Lublin Voivodeship. Its capital city was Tarno ...

, pursuant to 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 ...

adopted in 1998. It covers an area of , making it the second smallest of the voivodeships (after

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

). As at 2019, the total population of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is 1,237,369.

Cities and towns

The voivodeship contains 4 cities and 39 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019):

Administrative division

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is divided into 14 counties (

powiat A ''powiat'' (pronounced ; Polish plural: ''powiaty'') is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture ( LAU-1, formerly NUTS-4) in other countries. The term "''powia ...

s): 1 city county and 13 land counties. These are further divided into 102

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...

s. The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).

Economy

The

Gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

(GDP) of the province was 11.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 2.3% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 15,400 € or 51% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 58% of the EU average. Świętokrzyskie Voivodship is the province with the fifth lowest GDP per capita in Poland.

Protected areas

Protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship include one

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

and nine Landscape Parks. These are listed below. *

Świętokrzyski National Park Świętokrzyski National Park ( pl, Świętokrzyski Park Narodowy) is a National Park in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in central Poland. It covers the highest ridge of the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mountains – the Łysogory – wit ...

Chęciny-Kielce Landscape Park Chęciny-Kielce Landscape Park (''Chęcińsko-Kielecki Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in south-central Poland, established in 1996, covering an area of . The Park lies within Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship: in Jędrzej� ...

* Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park * Jeleniowska Landscape Park * Kozubów Landscape Park * Nida Landscape Park * Przedbórz Landscape Park (partly in

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a province- voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sier ...

) * Sieradowice Landscape Park * Suchedniów-Oblęgorek Landscape Park *

Szaniec Landscape Park Szaniec Landscape Park (''Szaniecki Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in south-central Poland, covering an area of . The Park lies within Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship: in Busko County ( Gmina Busko-Zdrój, Gmina Solec- ...

References

External links