Podlaskie Voivodeship (Polish:województwo podlaskie[vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔpɔˈdlaskʲɛ]ⓘ) is avoivodeship in northeasternPoland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region ofPodlachia (in Polish,Podlasie), and significant part of its territory corresponds to that region.[3] The capital and largest city isBiałystok.
There are two opinions regarding the origin of the region's name[citation needed]. People often derive it from theProto-Slavicles orlas, meaning "forest", i.e., it is an area "by the wood(s)" or an "area of forests", which would bringPodlasie close in meaning to adjacentPolesia. This theory has been questioned, as it does not properly take into consideration the vowel shifts "a" > "e" > "i" in various Slavic languages (in fact, it mixes vowels from different languages).[citation needed]. However, this etymology was supported by the Polish linguistBogumił Samuel Linde, who in hisDictionary of the Polish Language proposed that Podlasie was named for its proximity to dense forests, referring to it as"a land near the forests".[4] He argued that the name could be linked to its geographical position and historical landscape. Heavily wooded Podlaskie is home to the primevalBiałowieża Forest and National Park, the habitat of the Europeanwisent bison andtarpan.
A second view holds that the term comes from the expressionpod Lachem, i.e., "under the Poles" (see:Lechia). Some claim it to mean "under Polish rule", as the region was under Polish rule at various periods in the Middle Ages, although the area belonged to theGrand Duchy of Lithuania from 1466 until the 1569Privilege of restoration of Podlasie land to the Polish Crown,[5] however, the south-eastern part remained within Lithuania until 1795.
A better variant of the latter theory holds that the name originates from the period when the territory was within theTrakai Voivodeship of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania, along the border withMazovia, primarily a fief of thePoland of the Piasts, and later part of theKingdom of Poland. Hencepod Lachem would mean "near the Poles", "along the border with Poland". The Lithuanian name of the region,Palenkė, has exactly this meaning.
As a result of the introduction of the new administrative division of the country on 1 January 1999, Łomża lost its status as the capital of the voivodeship, which in connection with this weakened the rank of this city as an administrative centre of regional importance. Since the beginning of the existence of the voivodeship, the most loud dispute between Łomża and Białystok has been the Via Baltica, which as an expressway, according to the original plans, was to run from Warsaw to the borders of Lithuania through Łomża-Grajewo-Suwałki. After Łomża lost its status as a voivodeship capital and the strengthening of Białystok's position, the project was changed, the course of the route was moved by several dozen kilometres. The construction of the Via Baltica was complicated by the conflict over the Rospuda Valley, a protected natural area, which was to be cut by the Augustów bypass. One of the biggest problems of the newly established voivodeship was unemployment. In 1999, companies began to generate losses for their owners, which resulted in employee layoffs. The deterioration of the companies' condition was related to the crisis in Russia, the low competitiveness of companies on Polish and foreign markets. The poverty zone was growing. In January 2000, approximately 75 thousand people were unemployed in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The unemployment rate was over 12%. The highest unemployment rate in the Podlaskie Voivodeship was inGrajewo County.[7]
In the Podlaskie Voivodeship Development Strategy adopted in 2000, Białystok was included in the central functional area. On March 21, 2005, thePodlaskie Voivodeship Sejmik adopted the first Regional Innovation Strategy for the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The restructuring of the economic base and creation of conditions for international cooperation were assumed. On 30 January 2007, theCouncil of Ministers accepted the draft Operational Programme for the Development of Eastern Poland for the years 2007-2013 together with the Indicative Investment Plan for the programme, which is a list of large and key projects selected from among the applications submitted to the Ministry of Regional Development from 5 voivodeships. Podlaskie Voivodeship received 386.86 million euros. Four priorities were implemented: modern economy, voivodeship growth centres, road infrastructure and technical assistance.[8]
It has a varied landscape, shaped in the north by Baltic glaciation, the rest by Middle Poland glaciation. The highest peaks are in the north (Rowelska Top - 298 m), where the landscape is dominated by a hilly lake district. Lakeland: Zachodniosuwalskie, Wschodniosuwalskie, Ełckie) and Sandrowy lake district (Augustów Plain) in the central and southern pre-glacial plains prevail (plateaus: Kolneńska, Białystok, Wysokomazowiecka, Drohiczynska, Sokólskie Hills, Międzyrzecko łomżyński, Plain Bielsko), varied in topography with small basins and river valleys. Kurpie lies on the west edge of the outwash plains. Sand, gravel, clay, moraine, and in the valleys and basins of the rivers silt, sand and river peat predominate on the surface.
The vast forests (Białowieża,Augustów,Knyszyń,Kurpiowska), some of which are the only ones in Europe to have retained their original character, contain a unique wealth of flora and fauna. The vegetation of the region is extremely diverse, which contributes to the richness of the animal world. Visitors can also see moose, wolves, lynx and bison living in theBiałowieża Forest andKnyszyń Forest.
Podlaskie has aWarm Summer Continental orHemiboreal climate (Dfb) according to theKöppen climate classification system, which is characterized by warm temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. It is substantially different from most of the other Polish lowlands. The region is one of the coldest in Poland, with the average temperature in January being −5 °C (23 °F). The average temperature in a year is 7 °C (45 °F). The number of frost days ranges from 50 to 60, with frost from 110 to 138 days and the duration of snow cover from 90 to 110 days. Mean annual rainfall values oscillate around 550 millimetres (21.7 in), and the vegetation period lasts 200 to 210 days.[10]
Podlaskie is the coldest region of Poland, located in the very northeast of the country near the border withBelarus andLithuania. The region has acontinental climate which is characterized by high temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. The climate is affected by the cold fronts which come fromScandinavia andSiberia. The average temperature in the winter ranges from −15 °C (5 °F) to −4 °C (25 °F).[11]
One of the cities located in Podlaskie,Suwałki, is called asThe Polish North Pole, due to it is coldest temperature average around Poland.
Podlaskie Voivodeship is divided into 17 counties (powiats): 3 city counties, those beingBiałystok,Suwałki, andŁomża. It is also divided into 14 land counties, which these 14 counties are further divided into 118gminas.
Metropolitan Białystok was designated by the Voivodeship in the Regulation No. 52/05 of 16 May 2005[14] in order to help economically develop the region. In 2006, the metropolitan area's population was 450,254 inhabitants.[15] It covers an area of 1.521 km ². For one km2, there are about 265 people. Among urban residents there are more women - 192 thousand. For every 100 men, there are 108 women on average. The municipalities adjacent to Białystok are slowly losing their agricultural character, becoming residential suburban neighborhoods.
Podlaskie is the most culturally diverse region of Poland. It has the country's largestEastern Orthodoxy population (but Caholicism is still the dominant) mainly from the largeBelarusian minority.[18] It also has the highest amount ofLithuanians andTatars of the voivodeships, and Poland's oldest mosque is located in the village ofKruszyniany.[18] The historicJews have also influenced the local culture.[18]
At the end of 2009 in Podlaskie Voivodeship there were 1,189,700 inhabitants, 3.1 percent of the total population of Poland. The average density of the population, the number of the population per 1 km2, was 59. The urban population in the same period was 60.2 percent of the total number of inhabitants of the voivodeship, where the percentage of females in the total population amounted to 51.3 percent. A statistical inhabitant of Podlaskie was 37.7 years old, whereas in 2008 – 37.5 years old. The latest population projection predicts a consistent decrease in the population in Podlaskie Voivodeship. In the next 26 years, it will decrease by 117 thousand persons due to the ageing population.
The voivodeship's seat is the city ofBiałystok. Like all voivodeships, it has a government-appointed governor called theVoivode[20] (Polish:wojewoda), as well as an electedRegional Assembly (sejmik) and of the executive elected by that assembly, headed by the voivodeship marshal (marszałek województwa). Administrative powers and competences are statutorily divided between these authorities.
Białystok, capital and largest city of the voivodeshipSuwałki, largest city in the northern part of the voivodeship and capital of the historicalSuwałki RegionŁomża, largest city in the western part of the voivodeship
The voivodeship contains 3 cities and 37 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019)[21]
Cities (governed by a city mayor orprezydent miasta):
TheGross domestic product (GDP) of the voivodeship was around 11 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.2% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €15,200 or 50% of the EU average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 57% of the EU average. Podlaskie Voivodeship is the 12th voivodeship in terms of GDP per capita in Poland.[22]
Average paid employment in enterprise sector (November 2009) - 95896
Average monthly gross wages and salaries in enterprise sector (November 2009) - 2,813.05 zł
Unemployment rate (as of the end of November 2009) - 12,0%
Dwellings completed in November 2009 - 661
Procurement of milk (November 2009) - 126.8 mln l
National economy entities from theREGON register, excluding persons tending private farms (as of the end of November 2009) - 89,654
According to the REGON register in the year 2002 there were around 95 thousand companies registered in the Podlaskie region (97% of them in the private sector), dealing with;
Trade and servicing – 33.2%
Providing services to real estates and companies – 11.8%
A typical Podlaskie landscape near the village of Bohoniki
Arable land constitutes around 60% of the total area of the region – most of which is ploughland (around 40%), forests, meadows and pastures. Over 120 000 farms are registered, roughly half of which are small farms of 1–5ha and medium-sized farms of 5–10 ha. The smaller farms prefer intensive production (gardening, orcharding), whereas the larger ones engage in cattle and crop production. The cattle-raising farms are mainly oriented towards milk production.
In June 2015, the total area of land in agricultural holdings in the Podlaskie Voivodeship amounted to 1,243.3 thousand hectares. ha. Agricultural land occupied 1058.3 thousand. ha, forests and forest land - 134.7 thous. ha, while the remaining land - 50.4 thous. ha. The average area of agricultural land in a farm was 10.35 ha. Agriculture in Podlaskie Voivodeship is characterized by a high share of agricultural land in good agricultural condition (99.3%) - these include arable land, permanent crops, home gardens, permanent meadows and permanent pastures. 98.9 percent from all land in agricultural holdings, i.e. 1,254.3 thous. ha, belongs to individual farms.[24] Podlaskie Voivodeship has the highest percentage of grassland among all voivodships of the country (almost 20% of the area). This is used to developdairy andbeefcattle farming. Podlaskie has the largestcattle stock in Poland (the average herd size in 2016 is 37.9). In terms of milk producing, the voivodeship, together with the Masovian Voivodeship, ranks first in the country. Podlaskie Voivodeship receive about 20% of the total production in the country.[25] Cereals is an important crops grown in the region and themainly:wheat,rye,barley,oat,triticale, cereal mixtures, grain maize,millet,buckwheat. Other crops grown by farmers include, among others,potatoes,oil seeds, forage plants (greenfodder,carrots,beets,turnips oralfalfa).
The natural conditions of the region are conducive to the development of organic growing, which at present is practised by around 100 farms. Over 600 farms in the region offeragritourist services.[26]
There are several castles and palaces in the region, including theBranicki Palace and Lubomirski Palace in Białystok,Royal Castle inTykocin,[33] Branicki Summer Palace inChoroszcz, Ossoliński Palace inRudka, and Buchholtz Palace inSupraśl.
There are twospa towns in the voivodeship:Augustów andSupraśl. Augustów andRajgród are popular summer destinations owing to their lakes. Białystok is known for its public parks and gardens, including the Branicki Garden andPlanty Park.Tykocin and Supraśl are primary examples of preserved historic small towns in the voivodeship. TheBaroque town halls in Białystok andBielsk Podlaski are home to local museums.
The voivodeship is rich in Baroque churches and monasteries, most notably inRóżanystok,Wigry,Sejny,Tykocin,Drohiczyn, Bielsk Podlaski,Siemiatycze,Choroszcz, although there are also churches in other styles, including theGothic St. Michael and John the Baptist Cathedral inŁomża and Saint John the Baptist church inWizna, theRenaissance Old Parish Church inBiałystok and the adjacentBiałystok Cathedral, andNeoclassical Co-cathedral of St. Alexander inSuwałki. The Catholic Sanctuary of the Presentation of Virgin Mary inRóżanystok, Sanctuary of Our Lady of Studzieniczna in Augustów and Christ's Transfiguration Orthodox church on theGrabarka Holy Mount are importantpilgrimage destinations. The Mannerist-BaroqueTykocin Synagogue in Tykocin, one of the best preserved historic synagogues in Poland, and one of the few not destroyed by Nazi Germany, houses a museum.
The largest museum dedicated to the history of the region is thePodlaskie Museum in Białystok with branches in Białystok, Bielsk Podlaski, Choroszcz, Supraśl, Tykocin andTurośń Kościelna. Białystok is home to the Sybir Memorial Museum, the main Polish museum devoted to history of Russian deportations of Poles toSiberia. There is a museum dedicated to Polish poetMaria Konopnicka at her birthplace inSuwałki.
There are numerousWorld War II memorials scattered across the voivodeship, including memorials at the sites of German and Soviet massacres of Poles, andHolocaust memorials. The ruins of the bunker of CaptainWładysław Raginis inGóra Strękowa are preserved as a memorial to the heroic Polish defense in theBattle of Wizna.
TheSuwałki Gap, an area of strategic and military importance forNATO as the only land connection between theBaltic States and members of the alliance, is located in the northern part of the voivodeship.
^Dubisz, Stanisław (2015),"Słownik języka polskiego – dzieło życia Samuela Bogumiła Lindego",Bibliotheca Lindiana. Samuel Bogumił Linde (1771-1847) pierwszy dyrektor Biblioteki Uniwersyteckiej w Warszawie. W 165. rocznicę śmierci, Warsaw University Press, retrieved2025-03-05
^Volumina legum (in Polish). Vol. II. Petersburg. 1859. p. 77.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom IV (in Polish). Warszawa. 1883. p. 758.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^abGloger, Zygmunt (1900).Geografia historyczna ziem dawnej Polski (in Polish). Kraków. p. 208.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Stojanowski, Hubert (2015).Koloryt ziemi suwalskiej (in Polish and English). Translated by Dudek, Zdzisław. Suwałki. pp. 8–9.ISBN978-83-926944-6-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Sawicka, Małgorzata (2010).XX lat samorządności w województwie podlaskim. Nasze małe Ojczyzny (in Polish). Związek Gmin Wiejskich Województwa Podlaskiego.ISBN978-83-930543-0-5.
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