| Native Name: | Palatinatus Brestensis Województwo brzesko-kujawskie |
| Conventional Long Name: | Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship |
| Common Name: | Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship |
| Subdivision: | Voivodeship |
| Nation: | Poland1 |
| Year Start: | 14th century |
| Event End: | Second Partition of Poland |
| Year End: | 1793 |
| P1: | Duchy of Brześć Kujawski |
| S1: | West Prussia |
| Image Map Caption: | Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1635 |
| Capital: | Brześć Kujawski |
| Stat Area1: | 3000 |
| Political Subdiv: | counties 5 |
| Today: | Poland |
| Footnotes: | ¹ Voivodeship of the Polish Crown in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; Voivodeship of the Kingdom of Poland before 1569. |
The Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo brzesko-kujawskie, Latin: Palatinatus Brestensis) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland (later Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), from the 14th century to the Second Partition of Poland in 1793. It was part of the historic Kuyavia region and the Greater Poland Province. Originally, its name was Brzesc Voivodeship (Województwo brzeskie), but after the 1569 Union of Lublin, it was renamed into Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship, to distinguish it from Lithuanian Brest Litovsk Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo brzesko-litewskie).
Its area was 3,276 sq. kilometers, divided into five counties. The seat of the voivode was at Brześć Kujawski, while local sejmiks for both Brześć Kujawski and Inowrocław Voivodeships took place at Radziejów. It was one of the smallest and most densely populated voivodeships of the Commonwealth.
Zygmunt Gloger in his monumental book Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland provides this description of Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship:
“East of the land of the Polans lies the region of Kujawy, most of which stretches along left bank of the Vistula. The region was divided into two voivodeships: those of Brześć Kujawski, and Inowrocław. Third part of historic Kujawy, the Dobrzyn Land, lies on the right bank of the Vistula. Duke Boleslaw Krzywousty, while writing his testament in 1138, united Kujawy and Mazovia, giving it to his son Boleslaw IV the Curly (...) The dynasty of Mazovian Piasts lasted until the 16th century, while the Kujawian Piasts died out in the 14th century. As a result, Kujawy returned to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland in 1434, two hundred years before Mazovia. It is not known when the province was divided into two voivodeships, but in Horodlo in 1413 (see Union of Horodlo), two Kujawian voivodes were already present: Maciej of Labiszyn was the voivode of Brześć, and Janusz of Koscieliska was the voivode of Gniewkowo, later Inowrocław (...)
The area of Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship was almost 60 sq. miles, with 67 Roman-Catholic parishes, 13 towns and 567 villages. It was divided into five counties: Brześć Kujawski, Radziejow, Przedecz, Kowal and Kruszwica. All counties were among the smallest in the Province of Greater Poland, as Przedecz County had the area of 9 sq. miles, while Kruszwica County was even smaller, with 6 sq. miles. At the same time, however, Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship (together with Łęczyca Voivodeship) was most densely populated of all voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Its population density in the 16th century reached 1,200, even 1,300 people per sq. mile (...)
Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship had six senators. These were: The Bishop of Kujawy, the Voivode and the Castellan of Brześć Kujawski, as well as Castellans of Kruszwica, Kowal and Konary. Starostas resided in capitals of the five counties, plus at Nieszawa and Dunikow. Since both Brześć Kujawski and Inowrocław voivodeships were part of Kujawy, local sejmiks for them took place at Radziejow. Here, four deputies to the Sejm were elected, and two deputies to the Greater Poland Tribunal. Both voivodeships shared one coat of arms”.
Governor seat:
Regional council (sejmik) seats:
Counties
Neighbouring Voivodeships:
Source:[1]