The subdivisions of the Polish People's Republic changed several times from the Republic's inception in 1946 to the latest revision in 1999. The first subdivisions of the Republic involved the territories that were acquired in the west after World War II. They were subsequently reformed in 1946, 1950, 1957 and 1975. The 1975 division survived the fall of communism in 1990. The current administrative subdivisions were finalised in 1999. While they closely resemble the 1945–75 scheme, they have different names since the Communists tended to simply name the voivodeships after their capitals, whereas the current ones use more historical names. In some cases, there were border adjustments.

After World War II, Poland lost 77,000 km2 (30,000 sq mi) of eastern regions (Kresy), gaining instead the smaller but much more industrialized so-called "Regained Territories" east of the Oder–Neisse line. This annexation of German territory was agreed by the Allied Powers at the Potsdam Conference in 1945.

The Polish People's Republic was divided into several voivodeships (the Polish unit of administrative division). After World War II, the new administrative divisions were based on the pre-war ones. The areas in the East that were not annexed by the Soviet Union had their borders left almost unchanged. Newly acquired territories in the west and north were organised into the voivodeships of Szczecin, Wrocław, Olsztyn and partially joined to Gdańsk, Katowice and Poznań voivodeships. Two cities were granted voivodeship status: Warsaw and Łódź.

In 1950 new voivodeships were created: Koszalin—previously part of Szczecin, Opole—previously part of Katowice, and Zielona Góra—previously part of Poznań, Wrocław and Szczecin voivodeships.[1] In addition, three other cities were granted voivodeship status: Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań.

In 1973, Polish voivodeships were changed again. This reorganization of administrative division of Poland was mainly a result of local government reform acts of 1973 to 1975. A three-level administrative division (voivodeship, county, commune) was replaced with a two-level administrative division (49 small voivodeships and communes). The three smallest voivodeships: Warsaw, Kraków and Łódź had a special status of municipal voivodeship; the city president (mayor) was also province governor.

The system of division remained in effect after the fall of the People's Republic, until 1999, when a system of larger voivodeships and powiats was again introduced (see Administrative divisions of Poland).[2]

Poland's voivodeships 1945–1975 (14+2 voivodeships, then 17+5)

After World War II, the new administrative division of the country was based on the prewar one. The areas in the east that had not been annexed by the Soviet Union had their borders left almost unchanged. The newly acquired territories in the west and north were organized into the voivodeships of Szczecin, Wrocław and Olsztyn, and partly joined to Gdańsk, Katowice and Poznań voivodeships. Two cities were granted voivodeship status: Warsaw and Łódź.[3]

Poland's voivodeships after 1957.

In 1950, new voivodeships were created: Koszalin (previously part of Szczecin), Opole (previously part of Katowice), and Zielona Góra (previously part of Poznań, Wrocław and Szczecin voivodeships). In addition, three more cities were granted voivodeship status: Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań.

Polish administrative divisions 1945–1975
Car plates
(since 1956)		 Voivodeship Capital Area
km2 (1965)		 Population
(1965)
A Białystok Białystok 23,136 1,160,400
B Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz 20,794 1,837,100
G Gdańsk Gdańsk 10,984 1,352,800
S Katowice Katowice 9,518 3,524,300
C Kielce Kielce 19,498 1,899,100
E Koszalin¹ Koszalin 17,974 755,100
K Krakow Kraków 15,350 2,127,600
F Łódz Łódź 17,064 1,665,200
L Lublin Lublin 24,829 1,900,500
O Olsztyn Olsztyn 20,994 956,600
H Opole ¹ Opole 9,506 1,009,200
P Poznań Poznań 26,723 2,126,300
R Rzeszów Rzeszów 18,658 1,692,800
M Szczecin Szczecin 12,677 847,600
T Warsaw Warsaw 29,369 2,453,000
X Wrocław Wrocław 18,827 1,967,000
Z Zielona Góra ¹ Zielona Góra 14,514 847,200
car plates
(since 1956)		 Separate city Area
km2 (1965)		 Population
(1965)
I Łódź 214 744,100
W Warsaw 446 1,252,600
K Kraków ² 230 520,100
P Poznań ² 220 438,200
X Wrocław ² 225 474,200
1 – new voivodeships created in 1950; 2 – cities separated in 1957

Poland's voivodeships 1975–1989 (49 voivodeships)

Poland's voivodeships after 1975.

This reorganization of the administrative division of Poland was mainly a result of the local government reform acts of 1973–1975. In place of the three-level administrative division (voivodeship, county, commune), a new two-level administrative division was introduced (49 small voivodeships, and communes). The three smallest voivodeships—Warsaw, Kraków and Łódź—had the special status of municipal voivodeships; those cities' presidents (mayors) were also their provincial governors.

Polish voivodeships and separate cities 1975–1998
Abbreviation Voivodeship Capital Area
km2 (1998)		 Population
(1980)		 No. of cities No. of communes
bp Biała Podlaska Voivodeship Biała Podlaska 5,348 286,400 6 35
bk Białystok Voivodeship Białystok 10,055 641,100 17 49
bb Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship Bielsko-Biała 3,704 829,900 18 47
by Bydgoszcz Voivodeship Bydgoszcz 10,349 1,036,000 27 55
ch Chełm Voivodeship Chełm 3,865 230,900 4 25
ci Ciechanów Voivodeship Ciechanów 6,362 405,400 9 45
cz Częstochowa Voivodeship Częstochowa 6,182 747,900 17 49
el Elbląg Voivodeship Elbląg 6,103 441,500 15 37
gd Gdańsk Voivodeship Gdańsk 7,394 1,333,800 19 43
go Gorzów Voivodeship Gorzów Wielkopolski 8,484 455,400 21 38
jg Jelenia Góra Voivodeship Jelenia Góra 4,378 492,600 24 28
kl Kalisz Voivodeship Kalisz 6,512 668,000 20 53
ka Katowice Voivodeship Katowice 6,650 3,733,900 43 46
ki Kielce Voivodeship Kielce 9,211 1,068,700 17 69
kn Konin Voivodeship Konin 5,139 441,200 18 43
ko Koszalin Voivodeship Koszalin 8,470 462,200 17 35
kr Kraków Voivodeship Kraków 3,254 1,167,500 10 38
ks Krosno Voivodeship Krosno 5,702 448,200 12 37
lg Legnica Voivodeship Legnica 4,037 458,900 11 31
le Leszno Voivodeship Leszno 4,254 357,600 19 28
lu Lublin Voivodeship Lublin 6,793 935,200 16 62
lo Łomża Voivodeship Łomża 6,684 325,800 12 39
ld Łódź Voivodeship Łódź 1,523 1,127,800 8 11
ns Nowy Sącz Voivodeship Nowy Sącz 5,576 628,800 14 41
ol Olsztyn Voivodeship Olsztyn 12,327 681,400 21 48
op Opole Voivodeship Opole 8,535 975,000 29 61
os Ostrołęka Voivodeship Ostrołęka 6,498 371,400 9 38
pi Piła Voivodeship Piła 8,205 437,100 24 35
pt Piotrków Voivodeship Piotrków Trybunalski 6,266 604,200 10 51
pl Płock Voivodeship Płock 5,117 496,100 9 44
po Poznań Voivodeship Poznań 8,151 1,237,800 33 57
pr Przemyśl Voivodeship Przemyśl 4,437 380,000 9 35
rs Radom Voivodeship Radom 7,295 702,300 15 61
rz Rzeszów Voivodeship Rzeszów 4,397 648,900 13 41
se Siedlce Voivodeship Siedlce 8,499 616,300 12 66
si Sieradz Voivodeship Sieradz 4,869 392,300 9 40
sk Skierniewice Voivodeship Skierniewice 3,959 396,900 8 36
sl Słupsk Voivodeship Słupsk 7,453 369,800 11 31
su Suwałki Voivodeship Suwałki 10,490 422,600 14 42
sz Szczecin Voivodeship Szczecin 9,981 897,900 29 50
tg Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship Tarnobrzeg 6,283 556,300 14 46
ta Tarnów Voivodeship Tarnów 4,151 607,000 9 41
to Toruń Voivodeship Toruń 5,348 610,800 13 41
wb Wałbrzych Voivodeship Wałbrzych 4,168 716,100 31 30
wa Warsaw Voivodeship Warsaw 3,788 2,319,100 27 32
wl Włocławek Voivodeship Włocławek 4,402 413,400 14 30
wr Wrocław Voivodeship Wrocław 6,287 1,076,200 16 33
za Zamość Voivodeship Zamość 6,980 472,100 5 47
zg Zielona Góra Voivodeship Zielona Góra 8,868 609,200 26 50

References

  1. ↑ Churski, Paweł; Kaczmarek, Tomasz (2022). Three Decades of Polish Socio-economic Transformations: Geographical Perspectives. Springer Nature. p. 114. ISBN 978-3-031-06108-0.
  2. ↑ Kaczmarek, Tomasz (2016-04-19). "Administrative division of Poland - 25 years of experience during the systemic transformation". EchoGéo (35). doi:10.4000/echogeo.14514. ISSN 1963-1197.
  3. ↑ Czerny, Miroslawa (2006). Poland in the Geographical Centre of Europe: Political, Social and Economic Consequences. Nova Publishers. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-59454-603-7.
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