Avoivodeship (/ˈvɔɪvoʊdʃɪp/VOY-vohd-ship) orvoivodate is the area administered by avoivode (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 aduchy in western medieval states, much as the title of voivode was equivalent to that of aduke. Other roughly equivalent titles and areas in medievalEastern Europe includedban (bojan, vojin or bayan) andbanate.
In a modern context, the word normally refers to one of theprovinces (województwa) of Poland. As of 2024[update], Poland has 16 voivodeships.
Avoi(e)vod(e) (literally, "leader of warriors" or "war leader", equivalent to theLatin "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 theUkrainian:воєводство; thePolish:województwo; theRomanian:voievodat; theBulgarian:voivoda (войвода); theSerbian:vojvodina (војводина),vojvodstvo (војводство) orvojvodovina (војводовина); theHungarian:vajdaság; theBelarusian:ваяводства (vajаvodstva); theLithuanian:vaivadija. Some of these words, or variants of them, may also be used in English.
The autonomousSerbian province ofVojvodina is named after the word "voivodeship".
Though the word "voivodeship" (other spellings are "voievodship" and "voivodship") appears in English dictionaries such as theOED andWebster's, it is not in common general usage, and voivodeships in Poland and elsewhere are frequently referred to as "provinces".[1] Depending on context, historic voivodeships may also be referred to as "duchies", "palatinates" (theLatin word "palatinatus" was used for a voivodeship in Poland), "administrative districts" or "regions".
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In the territory of modernRomania andMoldova, the regions ofWallachia,Moldavia andTransylvania were formerly voivodeships. The region ofMaramureș, now split between Romania andUkraine, also used to be its own voivodeship, theVoivodeship of Maramureș.
Historical voivodeships in the territory of modernSerbia include theVoivodeship of Salan (9th–10th centuries),Voivodeship of Sermon (11th century), andVoivodeship of Syrmia of Radoslav Čelnik (1527–1530). A voivodeship calledSerbian Vojvodina was established in 1848–1849; this was transformed into theVoivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat, a land within theAustro-Hungarian Empire from 1849 to 1860. This is the origin of the name of the present-day Serbian autonomous province ofVojvodina.
For more information about the divisions of Polish lands in particular periods, seeAdministrative divisions of Poland ("Historical").
Voivodeships in thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795):
Voivodeships inCongress Poland 1816–37.
Voivodeships of Poland, 1921–1939:
Voivodeships of Poland, 1945–1975:
Voivodeships of Poland, 1975–1998:
