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Voivodeship

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Administrative division in several countries of central and eastern Europe This article is about historical voivodeships in various countries. For more on the divisions of modern and historical Poland, see Voivodeships of Poland.

A voivodeship (/ˈvɔɪvoʊdʃɪp/ VOY-vohd-ship) or voivodate 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 states, much as the title of voivode was equivalent to that of a duke. Other roughly equivalent titles and areas in medieval Eastern Europe included ban (bojan, vojin or bayan) and banate.

In a modern context, the word normally refers to one of the provinces (województwa) of Poland. As of 2024, Poland has 16 voivodeships.

Terminology

A voi(e)vod(e) (literally, "leader of warriors" or "war leader", equivalent to the Latin "Dux Exercituum") was originally a military commander who stood, in a state's structure, next to the ruler. Later the word came to denote an administrative official.

Words for "voivodeship" in various languages include the Ukrainian: воєводство; the Polish: województwo; the Romanian: voievodat; the Bulgarian: voivoda (войвода); the Serbian: vojvodina (војводина), vojvodstvo (војводство) or vojvodovina (војводовина); the Hungarian: vajdaság; the Belarusian: ваяводства (vajаvodstva); the Lithuanian: vaivadija. Some of these words, or variants of them, may also be used in English.

Named for the word for "voivodeship" is the autonomous Serbian province of Vojvodina.

Though the word "voivodeship" (other spellings are "voievodship" and "voivodship") appears in English dictionaries such as the OED and Webster's, it is not in common general usage, and voivodeships in Poland and elsewhere are frequently referred to as "provinces". Depending on context, historic voivodeships may also be referred to as "duchies", "palatinates" (the Latin word "palatinatus" was used for a voivodeship in Poland), "administrative districts" or "regions".

Historical voivodeships

in Southeastern Europe

The voivodeships of Wallachia and Moldavia in the 14th century
Serbian Voivodina (1848–1849)
Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat (1849-1860)

In the territory of modern Romania and Moldova, the regions of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania were formerly voivodeships. The region of Maramureș, now split between Romania and Ukraine, also used to be its own voivodeship, the Voivodeship of Maramureș.

Historical voivodeships in the territory of modern Serbia include the Voivodeship of Salan (9th–10th centuries), Voivodeship of Sermon (11th century), and Voivodeship of Syrmia of Radoslav Čelnik (1527–1530). A voivodeship called Serbian Vojvodina was established in 1848–1849; this was transformed into the Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat, a land within the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1849 to 1860. This is the origin of the name of the present-day Serbian autonomous province of Vojvodina.

In Poland and Lithuania

For more information about the divisions of Polish lands in particular periods, see Administrative divisions of Poland ("Historical").

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Main article: Subdivisions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Voivodeships in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795):

  • In the Polish Crown Lands:

Congress Poland (1816–37)

Main article: Subdivisions of Congress Poland

Voivodeships in Congress Poland 1816–37.

Second Polish Republic

Main article: Subdivisions of the Second Polish Republic
Voivodeships of Poland, 1921–1938

Voivodeships of Poland, 1921–1939:

Poland 1945–75

Voivodeships of Poland, 1945–1975:

Poland 1975–98

Voivodeships of Poland, 1975–1998:

References

  1. "Jednostki podziału administracyjnego Polski tłumaczymy tak: województwo—province..." ("Polish administrative units are translated as follows: województwo—province..."). Arkadiusz Belczyk,"Tłumaczenie polskich nazw geograficznych na język angielski" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine ("Translation of Polish Geographical Names into English"), 2002-2006. For examples see New Provinces of Poland (1998); Map of Poland Archived 2011-04-26 at the Wayback Machine; English names of Polish provinces Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine.
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