| Lower Silesian Voivodeship | |
| Native Name: | Województwo dolnośląskie |
| Settlement Type: | Voivodeship |
| Image Map1: | Woj dolnoslaskie adm.svg |
| Map Caption1: | Division into counties |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Poland |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Wrocław |
| Parts Type: | Counties |
| P1: | Jelenia Góra |
| P2: | Legnica |
| P3: | Wałbrzych |
| P4: | Wrocław |
| P5: | Bolesławiec County |
| P6: | Dzierżoniów County |
| P7: | Głogów County |
| P8: | Góra County |
| P9: | Jawor County |
| P10: | Jelenia Góra County |
| P11: | Kamienna Góra County |
| P12: | Kłodzko County |
| P13: | Legnica County |
| P14: | Lubań County |
| P15: | Lubin County |
| P16: | Lwówek Śląski County |
| P17: | Milicz County |
| P18: | Oleśnica County |
| P19: | Oława County |
| P20: | Polkowice County |
| P21: | Strzelin County |
| P22: | Środa Śląska County |
| P23: | Świdnica County |
| P24: | Trzebnica County |
| P25: | Wałbrzych County |
| P26: | Wołów County |
| P27: | Wrocław County |
| P28: | Ząbkowice Śląskie County |
| P29: | Zgorzelec County |
| P30: | Złotoryja County |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Wrocław |
| Leader Title1: | Voivode |
| Leader Name1: | Maciej Awiżeń (pl) (PO) |
| Leader Title2: | Marshal |
| Leader Name2: | Paweł Gancarz (pl) (PSL) |
| Leader Title3: | EP |
| Leader Name3: | Lower Silesian and Opole |
| Coordinates: | 51.1167°N 19°W |
| Area Total Km2: | 19946.74 |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Population As Of: | 2019-06-30[1] |
| Population Total: | 2899986 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Urban: | 1986877 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Rural |
| Population Blank1: | 913109 |
| Demographics Type1: | GDP |
| Demographics1 Footnotes: | [2] |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics1 Info1: | €48.419 billion |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics1 Info2: | €16,900 |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Blank Name Sec2: | HDI (2021) |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 0.889[3] · 2nd |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Primary airport |
| Blank1 Info Sec2: | Wrocław Airport |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Highways |
| Iso Code: | PL-02 |
| Registration Plate: | D |
| Website: | www.umwd.dolnyslask.pl |
| Footnotes: |
|
| Image Blank Emblem: | Dolny Śląsk.svg |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Brandmark |
| Blank Emblem Size: | 120px |
Lower Silesian Voivodeship (pronounced as /pl/) in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It covers an area of 19946km2, and has a total population of 2,899,986.
It is one of the wealthiest provinces in Poland as natural resources such as copper, brown coal and rock materials are widely present.[4]
Its capital and largest city is Wrocław, situated on the Oder River. The voivodeship is host to several spa towns, many castles and palaces, and the Giant Mountains with several ski resorts. For this reason tourism is a large part of this region's economy.
In the past 1,200 years, the region has been part of Great Moravia, the Medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Crown of Bohemia, Kingdom of Hungary, Habsburg monarchy (Austria), Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire, and modern Poland after 1945.
Silesian tribes settled the lands at the end of the first millennium after the Migration Period. In the 9th century, the region became part of Great Moravia under Svatopluk I of Moravia and in the 10th century, Mieszko I of the Piast dynasty eventually incorporated the region to Poland. The region withstood German invasions with decisive Polish victories at Niemcza (1017) and Głogów (1109), both commemorated with monuments. It was divided into small realms reigned by Silesian branches of Piast dukes after the testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138. Wrocław was mentioned as one of three centers of the Kingdom of Poland, along with Kraków and Sandomierz, in the early-12th-century Gesta principum Polonorum chronicle. In 1241, it was the place of the Battle of Legnica, the largest battle of the Mongol invasions of Poland. With the Ostsiedlung, the cultural and ethnic Germanic influence grew with an influx of immigrants from the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, and since the 1330s when it was subjugated to the Kingdom of Bohemia, although large portions of Lower Silesia still formed Polish-ruled duchies under the houses of Piast, Jagiellon and Sobieski, some up to the 17th and 18th century. Chief medieval ducal capitals of the area were Wrocław, Legnica, Głogów, Świdnica and Jawor. Lower Silesia was, during the Middle Ages, one of Poland's cultural centers. The Book of Henryków (1273), which contains the earliest known sentence written in the Polish language, as well as a document which contains the oldest printed text in Polish, were both created within it.[5] The first granting of municipal privileges in Poland took place in the region, with the granting of rights for Złotoryja by Henry the Bearded. Medieval municipal rights modeled after Lwówek Śląski and Środa Śląska, both established by Henry the Bearded, became the basis of municipal form of government for several cities and towns in Poland, and two of five local Polish variants of medieval town rights. Burial sights of medieval Polish monarchs from the Piast dynasty are located in the province.
In 1469, Lower Silesia passed to Hungary, and in 1490 it fell back to Bohemia, then ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, then together with it became part of the Habsburg monarchy (1526). In 1742/44, the territory was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, and subsequently became part of the German Empire (1871). Over the centuries, Lower Silesia has experienced several epochal events such as the Protestant Reformation, the Silesian Wars, Napoleonic Wars, industrialisation and the two World Wars. Before and during World War II, the region's Polish and Jewish populations were persecuted by Nazi Germany. During the war, Germany operated numerous prisons and camps in the region, most notably the Gross-Rosen concentration camp and Stalag VIII-A prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs of various nationalities, both with multiple subcamps scattered throughout the region and beyond, including forced labour camps at the Project Riese construction project. There was also a camp for kidnapped Polish children up to 5 years of age deemed "racially worthless" in Wąsosz,[6] and a youth prison in Wołów with several forced labour subcamps in the region,[7] whereas Kamieniec Ząbkowicki was the place of Aktion T4 murders of mentally ill children by involuntary euthanasia. In 1945, Lower Silesia was made again part of Poland as agreed at the post-war Potsdam Conference. As a consequence, Lower Silesia suffered a nearly total loss of its pre-war population between 1945 and 1950. Polish citizens dispossessed by the Soviets were then settled in the now emptied lands.[8]
The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra Voivodeships, following the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998.
Although much of the region is relatively low-lying, Lower Silesia includes the Sudeten Foreland, as well as part of the Sudetes mountain range, that runs along the Polish/Czech border. Ski resorts in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship include Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba in the Karkonosze mountains.
Lower Silesian Forest, the largest continuous forest of Poland, is mostly located within the voivodeship. The village of Henryków Lubański contains Poland's oldest tree, an over-1200-year-old yew, listed as a natural monument.
The voivodeship has a number of mineral springs and is host to a large number of spa towns. The highest point in the voivodeship is Mount Śnieżka (1603 m above sea level) while the lowest point is located in the Oder River Valley (69 m above sea level).[9]
Lower Silesian Voivodeship is bordered by Lubusz Voivodeship to the north-west, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the north-east, Opole Voivodeship to the south-east, the Czech Republic (Hradec Králové Region, Liberec Region, Olomouc Region and Pardubice Region) to the south, and Germany (Saxony) to the west.
Wrocław Airport serves as an international and domestic airport.
Wrocław Główny is the largest railway station in Poland, serving an average of 21.2 million passengers annually. It offers the domestic and international connections of various carriers.
The A4 motorway,[10] A8 motorway, A18 motorway and S3 Expressway, S5 Expressway, S8 Expressway also run through the voivodeship.
Tourism is important for Lower Silesian Voivodeship. There are 99 castles and hundreds of palaces. A lot are located Jelenia Góra Valley.
Wrocław being the largest city in the voivodeship has many sights and attractions, including the Market Square, the Cathedral Island and Wrocław's dwarfs. The Festival of Good Beer is held every year of June.
The annual international Chopin Festival is held in the Fryderyk Chopin Theatre in the town of Duszniki-Zdrój. Other major attraction of the town is the Museum of Papermaking, established in a 17th-century paper mill.
Śnieżka is the highest peak of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship and the whole of the Sudetes.
The voivodeship contains 11 spa towns (Długopole-Zdrój, Duszniki-Zdrój, Jedlina-Zdrój, Kudowa-Zdrój, Lądek-Zdrój, Polanica-Zdrój, Przerzeczyn-Zdrój, Szczawno-Zdrój, Świeradów-Zdrój), more than any other province of Poland.
There are various museums, including the major National Museum in Wrocław with the branch Racławice Panorama Museum, and the Archdiocese Museum in Wrocław, which contains the Book of Henryków. Wrocław also hosts the Post and Telecommunications Museum, Poland's chief museum dedicated to postal history. The Regional Museum in Środa Śląska holds the Środa Treasure, containing medieval gold and silver coins, jewellery and royal regalia, considered one of the most precious archaeological findings of 20th-century Europe. The Ossolineum in Wrocław is a National Institute and Library of great importance, and the Pan Tadeusz Museum, containing the manuscript of the Polish national epos, Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz, serves as its branch. Bolesławiec, center of pottery production since the Middle Ages, hosts the Museum of Ceramics. The former gold mines in Złoty Stok and Złotoryja, tin and cobalt mine in Krobica, coal mine in Nowa Ruda and uranium ore mine in Kowary are available for tourists. There is also an underground tourist route in historic cellars under the old town of Kłodzko.
Lower Silesia boasts three World Heritage Sites and 15 Historic Monuments of Poland:
There are several burial sites of Polish monarchs and dukes from the Piast dynasty, including at Henryków, Lubiąż, Trzebnica, and several in Legnica and Wrocław. The Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Krzeszów and Church of St. John the Baptist in Legnica contain entire Baroque mausoleums of the Piast dukes from the Świdnica and Legnica lines, respectively.
Other rather unique historic structures include the Skull Chapel in Kudowa-Zdrój and the Vang Stave Church in Karpacz. The Ducal Tower in Siedlęcin contains one of the best preserved medieval frescos in Poland, and the world's only in situ depiction of Sir Lancelot.
World War II sites include the museum at the former Nazi German Gross-Rosen concentration camp and memorials at the sites of other Nazi camps and prisons and to the Polish resistance movement, etc. A portion of the underground structures built as part of the unfinished Nazi German Project Riese is available for tourists.
There are also the Kłodzko and Srebrna Góra fortresses, which initially served for military purposes, and during World War II as German prisons for prisoners of various nationalities, especially Polish.
Protected areas in Lower Silesian Voivodeship:
and many areas of Natura 2000 network.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 41.1 billion euro in 2018, accounting for 8.3% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €23,400 or 78% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 85% of the EU average. Lower Silesia Voivodeship is the province with the second highest GDP per capita in Poland.[18]
| 2000 | $10 440 (+2.8%) | 2000 | $10 140 (+4.0%) | |
| 2005 | $13 060 (+4.9%) | 2005 | $12 600 (+3.5%) | |
| 2006 | $13 700 (+7.3%) | 2006 | $13 020 (+6.2%) | |
| 2007 | $14 980 (+9.5%) | 2007 | $13 760 (+6.5%) | |
| 2008 | $16 030 (+7.2%) | 2008 | $14 450 (+5.0%) | |
| 2009 | $16 350 (+2.0%) | 2009 | $14 720 (+1.9%) |
The voivodeship contains 8 cities and 83 towns. The cities, governed by a city mayor, are listed below in descending order of population (as of 2019):[1]
Lower Silesian Voivodeship is divided into 30 counties (powiaty), four of which are city counties. These are further divided into 169 gminy.
Lower Silesia is divided into three additional delegation districts governed by the provincial government, with Wrocław serving as the capital of the administrative region:[19]
The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).
| Name | Period | |
|---|---|---|
| Witold Krochmal | 4 January 1999 – 22 October 2001 | |
| Ryszard Nawrat | 22 October 2001 – 21 March 2003 | |
| Stanisław Łopatowski | 31 March 2003 – 21 December 2005 | |
| Krzysztof Grzelczyk | 21 December 2005 – 29 November 2007 | |
| Rafał Jurkowlaniec | 29 November 2007 – 1 December 2010 | |
| Aleksander Skorupa | 28 December 2010 – 11 March 2014 | |
| Tomasz Smolarz | 12 March 2014 – 8 December 2015 | |
| Paweł Hreniak | 8 December 2015 – 11 November 2019 | |
| Jarosław Obremski | 5 December 2019 – 22 December 2023 | |
| Maciej Awiżeń | 22 December 2023 – |
Speedway, football, basketball, handball and volleyball enjoy the largest following in the voivodeship with several accomplished teams.
| + Professional sports teams | ||||
| Club | Sport | League | Trophies | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Śląsk Wrocław | Basketball (men's) | Polish Basketball League | 18 Polish Championships 14 Polish Cups | |
| Górnik Wałbrzych | Basketball (men's) | Polish Basketball League | 2 Polish Championships (1982, 1988) | |
| Ślęza Wrocław | Basketball (women's) | Basket Liga Kobiet | 2 Polish Championships (1987, 2017) | |
| BC Polkowice | Basketball (women's) | Basket Liga Kobiet | 5 Polish Championships 6 Polish Cups | |
| Śląsk Wrocław | Handball (men's) | Liga Centralna (2nd tier) | 15 Polish Championships 7 Polish Cups | |
| SPR Chrobry Głogów | Handball (men's) | Polish Superliga | 0 | |
| Zagłębie Lubin | Handball (men's) | Polish Superliga | 1 Polish Championship (2007) 1 Polish Cup (1993) | |
| Miedź Legnica | Handball (men's) | Liga Centralna (2nd tier) | 0 | |
| Zagłębie Lubin | Handball (women's) | Superliga | 5 Polish Championships 9 Polish Cups | |
| KPR Kobierzyce | Handball (women's) | Superliga | 1 Polish Cup (2022) | |
| MKS Jelenia Góra | Handball (women's) | Liga Centralna (2nd tier) | 0 | |
| Dziewiątka Legnica | Handball (women's) | Liga Centralna (2nd tier) | 0 | |
| Sparta Wrocław | Speedway | Ekstraliga | 5 Polish Championships | |
| Śląsk Wrocław | Football (men's) | Ekstraklasa | 2 Polish Championships (1977, 2012) 2 Polish Cups (1976, 1987) | |
| Zagłębie Lubin | Football (men's) | Ekstraklasa | 2 Polish Championships (1991, 2007) | |
| Miedź Legnica | Football (men's) | I liga (2nd tier) | 1 Polish Cup (1992) | |
| Chrobry Głogów | Football (men's) | I liga (2nd tier) | 0 | |
| Śląsk Wrocław | Football (women's) | Ekstraliga | 0 | |
| Gwardia Wrocław | Volleyball (men's) | I liga (2nd tier) | 3 Polish Championships 1 Polish Cup (1981) | |
| Gwardia Wrocław | Volleyball (women's) | Tauron Liga | 0 | |
| Cuprum Lubin | Volleyball (men's) | PlusLiga | 0 | |
| Panthers Wrocław | American football | European League of Football | 4 Polish Championships | |
| Jaguars Kąty Wrocławskie | American football | Polish Football League | 0 |
Since the establishment of the province, various major international sports competitions were co-hosted by the province, including the EuroBasket 2009, 2009 Women's European Volleyball Championship, 2010 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships, UEFA Euro 2012, 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, 2016 European Men's Handball Championship, 2017 World Games.