Lublin Voivodeship Explained

Lublin Voivodeship
Native Name:Województwo lubelskie
Settlement Type:Voivodeship
Image Blank Emblem:Lubelskie-Taste-Life.png
Blank Emblem Type:Brandmark
Blank Emblem Size:120px
Image Map1:Lublin Voivodeship administrative.png
Map Caption1:Division into counties
Motto:Smakuj życie! (Taste life!)
Subdivision Type:Country
Seat Type:Capital
Seat:Lublin
Parts Type:Counties
Parts:4 cities, 20 land counties *
P1:Biała Podlaska
P2:Chełm
P3:Lublin
P4:Zamość
P5:Biała Podlaska County
P6:Biłgoraj County
P7:Chełm County
P8:Hrubieszów County
P9:Janów Lubelski County
P10:Kraśnik County
P11:Krasnystaw County
P12:Łęczna County
P13:Lubartów County
P14:Lublin County
P15:Łuków County
P16:Opole Lubelskie County
P17:Parczew County
P18:Puławy County
P19:Radzyń Podlaski County
P20:Ryki County
P21:Świdnik County
P22:Tomaszów Lubelski County
P23:Włodawa County
P24:Zamość County
Governing Body:Executive board
Leader Title1:Voivode
Leader Name1:Krzysztof Komorski (PO)
Leader Title2:Marshal
Leader Name2:Jarosław Stawiarski (PiS)
Leader Title3:EP
Leader Name3:Lublin constituency
Coor Pinpoint:Lublin
Coordinates:51.2481°N 22.5703°W
Area Total Km2:25155
Total Type:Total
Population Total:2112216
Population As Of:2019
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Urban:981166
Population Blank1 Title:Rural
Population Blank1:1131050
Demographics Type1:GDP
Demographics1 Footnotes:[1]
Demographics1 Title1:Total
Demographics1 Info1:€21.296 billion
Demographics1 Title2:Per capita
Demographics1 Info2:€10,100
Blank Name Sec2:HDI (2019)
Blank Info Sec2:0.866[2]
· 12th
Iso Code:PL-06
Registration Plate:L
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Blank1 Name Sec2:Primary airport
Blank1 Info Sec2:Lublin Airport
Blank2 Name Sec2:Highways
Website:http://www.lubelskie.pl/
Footnotes:
  • further divided into 213 gminas

Lublin Voivodeship (Polish: województwo lubelskie pronounced as /pl/) is a voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in the southeastern part of the country, with its capital in Lublin.

The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lublin, and its territory is made of four historical lands: the western and central part of the voivodeship, with Lublin itself, belongs to Lesser Poland, the eastern part of Lublin Area belongs to Cherven Cities/Red Ruthenia, and the northeast belongs to Polesie and Podlasie.[3] Lublin Voivodeship borders Subcarpathian Voivodeship to the south, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship to the south-west, Masovian Voivodeship to the west and north, Podlaskie Voivodeship along a short boundary to the north, Belarus (Brest Region) and Ukraine (Lviv and Volyn Regions) to the east. The region's population as of 2019 was 2,112,216. It covers an area of 25155km2.

History

The Polish historical region that encompasses Lublin, and approximates Lublin Voivodeship as it was before the Partitions of Poland, is known as Lubelszczyzna. Provinces centred on Lublin have existed throughout much of Poland's history; for details see the section below on Previous Lublin Voivodeships. Cities and towns of greatest historic importance are Lublin, Chełm, Kazimierz Dolny and Zamość. Lublin hosted several sessions of the Polish Parliament, including the session which established the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (see Union of Lublin), and was the seat of the Crown Tribunal for the Lesser Poland Province, the highest appeal court in the Kingdom of Poland, and Parczew also hosted one session of the Polish Parliament.[4] Horodło was the place of signing of the Polish–Lithuanian Union of Horodło, predating the Union of Lublin.

In the 17th century, there were sizeable Scottish communities in Lublin and Zamość,[5] and also a smaller one in Opole Lubelskie.[6] Lublin and Zamość also hosted Armenian minorities.[7]

The industry of the region was greatly expanded as part of the Central Industrial Region of Poland.

The region was, before World War II, one of the world's leading centres of Judaism. Before the middle of the 16th century, there were few Jews in the area, concentrated in Lublin, Kazimierz Dolny, and perhaps Chełm; but the founding of new private towns led to a large movement of Jews into the region to develop trade and services. Since these new towns competed with the existing towns for business, there followed a low-intensity, long-lasting feeling of resentment, with failed attempts to limit the Jewish immigration. The Jews tended to settle mostly in the cities and towns, with only individual families setting up businesses in the rural regions; this urban/rural division became another factor feeding resentment of the newly arrived economic competitors. By the middle of the 18th century, Jews were a significant part of the population in Kraśnik, Lubartów and Łęczna.

By the 20th century, Jews represented greater than 70% of the population in eleven towns and close to 100% of the population of Łaszczów and Izbica. From this region came both religious figures such as Mordechai Josef Leiner of Izbica, Chaim Israel Morgenstern of Puławy, and Motele Rokeach of Biłgoraj, as well as famous secular author Israel Joshua Singer. Israel's brother, the Nobel prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer, was not born in Biłgoraj but lived part of his life in the city. The "Old Town" of the city of Lublin contained a famous yeshiva, Jewish hospital, synagogue, cemetery, and kahal, as well as the Grodzka Gate (known as the Jewish Gate).

Before the war, there were 300,000 Jews living in the region, which became the site of the Majdanek concentration camp, Bełżec extermination camp and Sobibór extermination camp as well as several labour camps (Trawniki, Poniatowa, Budzyn, Puławy, Zamość, Biała Podlaska, and the Lublin work camps Lipowa 7 camp, Flugplatz, and Sportplatz) which produced military supplies for the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe. This was once one of the biggest forced labour centres in German-occupied Europe, with approximately 45,000 Jewish prisoners. After the war, the few surviving Jews largely left the area; today there is some restoration of areas of Jewish historical interest, and a surge of tourism by Jews seeking to view their families' historical roots.

Polish people were also victims of German persecution and crimes, including the AB-Aktion, Aktion T4 and Operation Zamość with deportations to Nazi concentration camps, forced labour, kidnapping of children and massacres in the region.[8] It witnessed the Polish Zamość uprising against German occupation.

Lublin Voivodeship was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Lublin, Chełm, Zamość, Biała Podlaska and (partially) Tarnobrzeg and Siedlce Voivodeships, pursuant to Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998.

Cities and towns

The voivodeship contains 5 cities and 43 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019:[9]

Administrative division

Lublin Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties (powiats): 4 city counties and 20 land counties. These are further divided into 213 gminas.

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

English and
Polish names
Area
(km2)
Population
(2019)
SeatOther townsTotal
gminas
City counties
Lublin147339,7701
Zamość3063,5111
Chełm3562,3311
Biała Podlaska4957,2641
Land counties
Lublin County
powiat lubelski
1,679154,760Lublin *Bełżyce, Bychawa16
Puławy County
powiat puławski
933113,441PuławyNałęczów, Kazimierz Dolny11
Biała Podlaska County
powiat bialski
2,754111,078Biała Podlaska *Międzyrzec Podlaski, Terespol, Piszczac19
Zamość County
powiat zamojski
1,872106,526Zamość *Szczebrzeszyn, Zwierzyniec, Krasnobród15
Łuków County
powiat łukowski
1,394107,144ŁukówStoczek Łukowski11
Biłgoraj County
powiat biłgorajski
1,678101,152BiłgorajTarnogród, Józefów, Frampol, Goraj, Turobin14
Kraśnik County
powiat kraśnicki
1,00595,618KraśnikAnnopol, Urzędów10
Lubartów County
powiat lubartowski
1,29088,591LubartówKock, Ostrów Lubelski, Kamionka13
Tomaszów Lubelski County
powiat tomaszowski (lubelski)
1,48783,148Tomaszów LubelskiTyszowce, Łaszczów, Lubycza Królewska13
Chełm County
powiat chełmski
1,78078,074Chełm *Rejowiec Fabryczny, Rejowiec15
Świdnik County
powiat świdnicki (lubelski)
46971,897ŚwidnikPiaski5
Krasnystaw County
powiat krasnostawski
1,06763,554KrasnystawIzbica10
Hrubieszów County
powiat hrubieszowski
1,26963,320Hrubieszów8
Opole Lubelskie County
powiat opolski (lubelski)
80459,511Opole LubelskiePoniatowa, Józefów nad Wisłą7
Radzyń Podlaski County
powiat radzyński
96559,057Radzyń PodlaskiCzemierniki8
Ryki County
powiat rycki
61655,919RykiDęblin6
Łęczna County
powiat łęczyński
63457,372Łęczna6
Janów Lubelski County
powiat janowski
87545,845Janów LubelskiModliborzyce7
Włodawa County
powiat włodawski
1,25638,524WłodawaSiedliszcze8
Parczew County
powiat parczewski
95334,809Parczew7
  • seat not part of the county

Protected areas

Protected areas in Lublin Voivodeship include two National Parks and 17 Landscape Parks. These are listed below.

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 18.5 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 3.7% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 14,400 euros or 48% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 54% of the EU average. Lublin Voivodship is the province with the lowest GDP per capita in Poland.[10]

The Lublin Coal Basin is located in the voivodeship, centered at the Bogdanka Coal Mine in Bogdanka near Łęczna.

Transportation

The Lublin Airport is the region's sole airport. The S12, S17 and S19 highways pass through the voivodeship.

Sights and tourism

There are seven Historic Monuments of Poland and one World Heritage Site in the voivodeship:

There are also many more castles and palaces in the region, including in Adampol, Biała Podlaska, Janowiec, Kock, Lubartów, Łabunie, Łabuńki Pierwsze, Radzyń Podlaski. The Chapel of the Holy Trinity at the Lublin Royal Castle contains some of the oldest and best preserved medieval frescoes in Poland. The region is rich in architecture, especially churches, built in the regional Lublin Renaissance style, and there is a dedicated Lublin Renaissance Trail.

Nałęczów and Krasnobród are spa towns. Krasnystaw is famous for its annual Chmielaki beer festival. Chełm contains the Chełm Chalk Tunnels, a system of tunnels dug into the chalk under the city, a unique structure in Europe, whereas Lublin offers an underground tourist route in historic cellars under the Old Town Market Square.

There are several museums, including the National Museum in Lublin, the Polish Air Force Museum in Dęblin, and museums dedicated to popular Polish writers in the towns of their birth or their former homes, i.e. to Józef Ignacy Kraszewski in Romanów, to Henryk Sienkiewicz in Wola Okrzejska, to Bolesław Prus and Stefan Żeromski in Nałęczów and to Wincenty Pol in Lublin. The Majdanek State Museum and Sobibór Museum are museums located at the sites of the former Nazi German concentration camps at Majdanek and Sobibór. There are also numerous World War II memorials scattered across the voivodeship, including Holocaust memorials and memorials at the sites of German massacres of Poles, including the largest massacres in Rury, Lublin, Borów, Aleksandrów, Sochy, Smoligów, Jamy, Kumowa Dolina and Olszanka. The Great Synagogue of Włodawa, one of the best preserved historic synagogues in Poland, and one of the few not destroyed by Nazi Germany, houses a museum.

Cuisine

In addition to traditional nationwide Polish cuisine, Lublin Voivodeship is known for its variety of regional and local traditional foods and drinks, which include especially various honeys, meat products (incl. various types of kiełbasa, bacon and kaszanka), beverages and various dishes and meals, officially protected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland.

There are local types of pierogi, cakes, pastries (incl. pączki and poppy seed rolls) and racuchy.[17] Local specialities include the meringue of Ostrów Lubelski, cake puffs of Lublin, and chocolate pralines of Lublin.

Traditional beverages include nalewki from Janów Lubelski, Kraśnik, Opole Lubelskie and Gmina Końskowola, mead, raspberry vodka from Kraśnik[18] and cider from Mikołajówka. Traditional non-alcoholic drinks include various types of juices, tea, syrups, and hot chocolate from Lublin.

Sports

Football, motorcycle speedway, basketball and handball are the most popular sports in the province.

+ Professional sports teams
ClubSportLeagueTrophies
Speed Car Motor LublinSpeedwayEkstraliga2 Polish Championships (2022, 2023)
MKS LublinHandball (women's)Polish Superliga22 Polish Championships
11 Polish Cups
1 Women's EHF Cup (2001)
KS Azoty-PuławyHandball (men's)Polish Superliga0
Padwa ZamośćHandball (men's)Liga Centralna0
Start LublinBasketball (men's)Polish Basketball League0
AZS UMCS LublinBasketball (women's)Basket Liga Kobiet1 Polish Championship (2023)
1 Polish Cup (2016)
Budowlani LublinRugby unionEkstraliga1 Polish Cup (2002)
LUK LublinVolleyball (men's)PlusLiga0
Avia ŚwidnikVolleyball (men's)I liga0
Arka ChełmVolleyball (men's)I liga0
Górnik ŁęcznaFootball (men's)I liga0
Motor LublinFootball (men's)Ekstraklasa0
Wisła PuławyFootball (men's)II liga0
Górnik ŁęcznaFootball (women's)Ekstraliga3 Polish Championships (2018, 2019, 2020)
2 Polish Cups (2018, 2020)
AZS UMCS LublinFutsal (men's)I liga0
Additionally, AZS UMCS Lublin is one of the top athletics clubs in the country.

Demographics

Population according to 2002 census:[19]

Most common surnames in the region

  1. Wójcik

12,937

  1. Mazurek

9,644

  1. Mazur

8,019

Previous Lublin Voivodeships

Lublin Voivodeship 1474–1795

Lublin Voivodeship (Latin: Palatinatus Lublinensis; Polish: Województwo Lubelskie) was an administrative region of the Kingdom of Poland created in 1474 out of parts of Sandomierz Voivodeship and lasting until the Partitions of Poland in 1795. It was part of the prowincja of Lesser Poland.

Lublin Voivodeship 1816–1837

Lublin Voivodeship was one of the voivodeships of Congress Poland. It was formed in 1816 from Lublin Department, and in 1837 was transformed into Lublin Governorate.

Lublin Voivodeship 1919–1939

Lublin Voivodeship (Województwo Lubelskie) was one of the administrative regions of the interwar Second Polish Republic. In early 1939 its area was 26555km2 and its population was 2,116,200.[20] According to the 1931 census, 85.1% of its population was Polish, 10.5% Jewish, and 3% Ukrainian.

Lublin Voivodeship 1945–1975

Lublin Voivodeship (województwo lubelskie) was an administrative region of Poland between 1945 and 1975. In 1975 it was transformed into Chełm, Zamość, Biała Podlaska, Tarnobrzeg and Siedlce Voivodeships and a smaller Lublin Voivodeship.

Lublin Voivodeship 1975–1998

Lublin Voivodeship (województwo lubelskie) existed as one of Poland's 49 voivodeships from 1975 until 1998, when it was incorporated into the current (larger) Lublin Voivodeship.

External links

51.2228°N 22.9028°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: EU regions by GDP, Eurostat. 18 September 2023.
  2. Web site: Sub-national HDI - Subnational HDI - Global Data Lab. globaldatalab.org. en. 2021-12-13. Radboud University Nijmegen.
  3. Arkadiusz Belczyk,Tłumaczenie polskich nazw geograficznych na język angielski [Translation of Polish Geographical Names into English], 2002-2006.
  4. Book: Konopczyński, Władysław. 1948. Chronologia sejmów polskich 1493–1793. pl. Kraków. Polska Akademia Umiejętności. 133, 139–140, 160.
  5. Feduszka. Jacek. 2009. Szkoci i Anglicy w Zamościu w XVI-XVIII wieku. Czasy Nowożytne. pl. Zarząd Główny Polskiego Towarzystwa Historycznego. 22. 1428-8982. 53.
  6. Book: . Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom VII. 1886. pl. Warszawa. 560.
  7. Book: Stopka, Krzysztof. Kopczyński. Michał. Tygielski. Wojciech. 2010. Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej. pl. Warszawa. Muzeum Historii Polski, Bellona. Ormianie. 118. 978-83-11-11724-2.
  8. Book: Wardzyńska, Maria. 2009. Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion. pl. Warszawa. IPN. 247–249, 264–266.
  9. Web site: GUS. Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June. 2020-09-11. stat.gov.pl. en.
  10. Web site: Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018. Eurostat.
  11. Zarządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 8 września 1994 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii.. Monitor. 1994. 50. 417.
  12. Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 25 kwietnia 2007 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Lublin - historyczny zespół architektoniczno-urbanistyczny". 2007. 86. 574.
  13. Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 25 kwietnia 2007 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Kozłówka - zespół pałacowo-parkowy". 2007. 86. 573.
  14. Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 31 maja 2021 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Puławy - zespół pałacowo-parkowy". 2021. 1019.
  15. Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 22 listopada 2017 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Janów Podlaski - stadnina koni". 2017. 2250.
  16. Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 26 stycznia 2023 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Jabłeczna - prawosławny klasztor św. Onufrego". 2023. 223.
  17. Book: . W krainie lubelskich produktów tradycyjnych. pl. 140, 179, 184–197, 203–204. 978-83-7642-667-9.
  18. Book: . W krainie lubelskich produktów tradycyjnych. pl. 111, 142–143, 152–155, 160–163. 978-83-7642-667-9.
  19. Web site: Ethnic composition of Poland. pop-stat.mashke.org. 2016-05-04. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211122080225/http://pop-stat.mashke.org/poland-ethnic2002.htm. 2021-11-22.
  20. Mały Rocznik Statystyczny (Concise Statistical Year-Book), Warsaw, 1939