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Łódź Voivodeship

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Łódź Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo łódzkie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ ˈwut͡skʲɛ] ⓘ) is a voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced [wut͡ɕ].

Łódź Voivodeship
Województwo łódzkie
Voivodeship
Flag of Łódź Voivodeship
Flag
Coat of arms of Łódź Voivodeship
Coat of arms
Official logo of Łódź Voivodeship
Brandmark
Location within Poland
Location within Poland
Division into counties
Division into counties
Coordinates (Łódź): 51°40′N 19°26′E / 51.667°N 19.433°E / 51.667; 19.433
Country Poland
CapitalŁódź
Counties
3 cities,
21 land counties*
Government
 • BodyExecutive board
 • VoivodeDorota Ryl (PO)
 • MarshalJoanna Skrzydlewska (PO)
 • EPŁódź constituency
Area
 • Total18,219 km2 (7,034 sq mi)
Population
 (31 December 2021)
 • Total2,416,902 Decrease
 • Urban
1,499,697 Decrease
 • Rural
917,205 Decrease
GDP
[1]
 • Total€34.757 billion
 • Per capita€14,100
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codePL-10
Vehicle registrationE
HDI (2019)0.875[2]
very high · 7th
Highways
Websitewww.lodzkie.pl
*Further divided into 177 gminas


Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian to the north and east, Świętokrzyskie to the south-east, Silesian to the south, Opole to the south-west, Greater Poland to the west, and Kuyavian-Pomeranian for a short stretch to the north. Its territory belongs to three historical provinces of Poland – Masovia (in the east), Greater Poland (in the west) and Lesser Poland (in the southeast, around Opoczno).

Historical regions in Łódź Voivodeship and in Poland

Cities and towns

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Łódź
 
Piotrków Trybunalski
 
Pabianice
 
Skierniewice
Historical population
YearPop.±%
19882,703,698—    
20022,612,890−3.4%
20112,538,677−2.8%
20212,410,286−5.1%
Source: [3]

The voivodeship contains 11 cities and 35 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 31 December 2021):[4]

Cities (governed by a city mayor or prezydent miasta):
  1. Łódź (664,071)  
  2. Piotrków Trybunalski (71,252)  
  3. Pabianice (63,023)  
  4. Tomaszów Mazowiecki (60,529)  
  5. Bełchatów (55,583)  
  6. Zgierz (54,974)  
  7. Skierniewice (47,031)  
  8. Radomsko (44,700)  
  9. Kutno (42,704)  
  10. Sieradz (40,891)  
  11. Zduńska Wola (40,730)  

Towns:

  1. Łowicz (27,436)  
  2. Aleksandrów Łódzki (21,789)  
  3. Wieluń (21,624)  
  4. Opoczno (20,409)  
  5. Ozorków (18,846)  
  6. Konstantynów Łódzki (18,533)  
  7. Rawa Mazowiecka (16,980)  
  8. Łask (16,687)  
  9. Głowno (13,727)  
  10. Łęczyca (13,587)  
  11. Koluszki (12,687)  
  12. Brzeziny (12,326)  
  13. Wieruszów (8,405)  
  14. Żychlin (7,866)  
  15. Zelów (7,356)  
  16. Tuszyn (7,193)  
  17. Poddębice (7,144)  
  18. Pajęczno (6,536)  
  19. Sulejów (6,065)  
  20. Działoszyn (5,627)  
  21. Krośniewice (4,208)  
  22. Drzewica (3,778)  
  23. Przedbórz (3,406)  
  24. Stryków (3,376)  
  25. Rzgów (3,376)  
  26. Złoczew (3,301)  
  27. Warta (3,135)  
  28. Biała Rawska (3,081)  
  29. Uniejów (2,965)  
  30. Kamieńsk (2,670)  
  31. Wolbórz (2,297)  
  32. Lututów (2,269)  
  33. Błaszki (1,992)  
  34. Szadek (1,880)  
  35. Piątek (1,652)  
  36. Rozprza
  37. Lutomiersk
  38. Ujazd
  39. Osjaków
  40. Jeżów
  41. Bolesławiec
  42. Żarnów
  43. Białaczów
  44. Grabów
  45. Parzęczew
  46. Bolimów
  47. Dąbrowice
  48. Kiernozia
  49. Inowłódz

Administrative division

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Łódź Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties (powiats): 3 city counties and 21 land counties. These are further divided into 177 gminas.

The counties are listed in the following table (ordered within categories by descending population).[4]

English and
Polish names 		Area
(km²) 		Population
(31 December 2020) 		Seat Other towns Total
gminas
City counties
Łódź 293 664,071   1
Piotrków Trybunalski 67 71,252   1
Skierniewice 33 47,031   1
Land counties
Zgierz County
powiat zgierski 		854 165,110   Zgierz Ozorków, Aleksandrów Łódzki, Głowno, Stryków, Parzęczew 9
Pabianice County
powiat pabianicki 		491 118,616   Pabianice Konstantynów Łódzki, Lutomiersk 7
Sieradz County
powiat sieradzki 		1491 115,959   Sieradz Złoczew, Warta, Błaszki 11
Tomaszów Mazowiecki County
powiat tomaszowski 		1026 114,620   Tomaszów Mazowiecki Inowłódz, Ujazd 11
Bełchatów County
powiat bełchatowski 		969 111,784   Bełchatów Zelów 8
Radomsko County
powiat radomszczański 		1443 110,584   Radomsko Przedbórz, Kamieńsk 14
Kutno County
powiat kutnowski 		886 94,363   Kutno Żychlin, Krośniewice, Dąbrowice 11
Piotrków County
powiat piotrkowski 		1429 90,727   Piotrków Trybunalski * Sulejów, Wolbórz, Rozprza 11
Łowicz County
powiat łowicki 		987 76,820   Łowicz Kiernozia 10
Wieluń County
powiat wieluński 		928 75,167   Wieluń Osjaków 10
Opoczno County
powiat opoczyński 		1039 74,867   Opoczno Drzewica, Żarnów, Białaczów 8
Łódź East County
powiat łódzki wschodni 		499 72,856   Łódź * Koluszki, Tuszyn, Rzgów 6
Zduńska Wola County
powiat zduńskowolski 		369 65,568   Zduńska Wola Szadek 4
Pajęczno County
powiat pajęczański 		804 50,461   Pajęczno Działoszyn 8
Łask County
powiat łaski 		617 49,533   Łask 5
Łęczyca County
powiat łęczycki 		774 48,715   Łęczyca Piątek, Grabów 8
Rawa County
powiat rawski 		647 47,952   Rawa Mazowiecka Biała Rawska 6
Wieruszów County
powiat wieruszowski 		576 41,759   Wieruszów Lututów, Bolesławiec 7
Poddębice County
powiat poddębicki 		881 40,612   Poddębice Uniejów 6
Skierniewice County
powiat skierniewicki 		756 37,915   Skierniewice * Bolimów 9
Brzeziny County
powiat brzeziński 		359 30,560   Brzeziny Jeżów 5
* seat not part of the county

Protected areas

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Łódź Hills Landscape Park

Protected areas in Łódź Voivodeship include seven Landscape Parks, as listed below.

Economy

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The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 26.7 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 6.0% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 19,800 euros or 66% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was also 66% of the EU average.[5]

History

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Piotrków Trybunalski in 1657

The territory formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century. Oldest medieval towns in the region include Biała Rawska, Brzeziny, Inowłódz, Łęczyca, Łowicz, Pajęczno, Radomsko, Rozprza, Sieradz, Wolbórz and Żarnów.[6] Łęczyca, Rawa Mazowiecka, Sieradz and Wieluń became medieval ducal seats of the Piast dynasty. The current Łódź Voivodeship is roughly coextensive with the historic Łęczyca Land and Sieradz Land combined, and thus the Łęczyca and Sieradz voivodeships of the former Kingdom of Poland, although it also contains portions of Mazovia (in the north-east) and Lesser Poland (in the south-east). Piotrków Trybunalski, currently the second-largest city of the province, hosted many sessions of the Polish Parliament, the last in 1567,[7] and was the seat of the Crown Tribunal for the Greater Poland Province, the highest appeal court in the Kingdom of Poland. The towns of Ozorków, Aleksandrów Łódzki, Zduńska Wola, Stryków, Konstantynów Łódzki, Zgierz, Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Łódź and Pabianice greatly developed during the Industrial Revolution after textile manufactures were founded there between 1807 and 1823, with Łódź eventually surpassing other towns in the region.[8] Bolimów was the site of the Battle of Bolimów (31 January 1915) during World War I where gas weapons were used for the first time, when the German Army shelled Russian troops with xylyl bromide.

Further information: Łódź Voivodeship (1919–1939)
 
Łódź Voivodeship 1921–1939

The capital of the Łódź Voivodeship has always been Łódź, but the area of land which it comprises has changed several times. The first was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Second Polish Republic in the years 1921–1939. In 1938 some western counties were ceded to Greater Poland Voivodeship (see: Territorial changes of Polish Voivodeships on April 1, 1938).

After the change, Łódź Voivodeship's area was 20,446 square kilometres (7,894 sq mi), and its population (as for 1931) was 2,650,100. It consisted of 15 powiats (counties):

The largest cities of the voivodeship were (population according to the 1931 census):

  • Łódź (pop. 604,600),
  • Piotrków Trybunalski (pop. 51,300),
  • Pabianice (pop. 45,700),
  • Tomaszów Mazowiecki (pop. 38,000),
  • Zgierz (pop. 26,600),
  • Kutno (pop. 23,400),
  • Radomsko (pop. 23,000).

Source: Mały rocznik statystyczny 1939, Nakładem Glownego Urzędu Statystycznego, Warszawa 1939 (Concise Statistical Year-Book of Poland, Warsaw 1939).

Wieluń was the site of the Bombing of Wieluń conducted by Germany on 1 September 1939, considered the first major bombing of World War II. During the war, the territory was occupied by Germany, with the occupiers committing their genocidal policies against Poles and Jews in the region, with expulsions, kidnapping of children, massacres of civilians and prisoners of war. Germany operated numerous prisons, including the particularly notorious in Łódź and Sieradz,[9] and forced labour camps. The Łódź Ghetto, the second-largest Jewish ghetto in all of German-occupied Europe, was located in Łódź. Warta was the location of Aktion T4 murders of over 500 mentally ill people.[10]

The next incarnation existed from 1945 until 1975 (although the city of Łódź was excluded as a separate City Voivodeship). This Łódź Voivodeship was then broken up, superseded by Łódź (see below), Sieradz, Piotrków Trybunalski, Skierniewice and partly Płock Voivodeships.

 
Łódź Voivodeship 1975–1998

Łódź Voivodeship, also known as Łódź Metropolitan Voivodeship (województwo miejskie łódzkie), existed from 1975 until 1998, after which it was incorporated into today's Łódź Voivodeship. Until 1990, the mayor of the city of Łódź was also the voivodeship governor.

As of 1995, major cities and towns in Łódź Metropolitan Voivodeship included (with their 1995 populations):

The current Łódź Voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sieradz, Piotrków Trybunalski and Skierniewice Voivodeships and part of Płock Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998.

Culture and education

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The Rector's Office of the Lodz University of Technology
 
National Film School in Łódź

The basic cultural activities in the Łódź Region are: monitoring activities of seven regional self-government cultural institutions, i.e., the Arthur Rubinstein Łódź Philharmonic, Museum of Art in Łódź (having one of the biggest modern art collections in Europe), the Opera House, Stefan Jaracz Theater, the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography, the Józef Piłsudski Regional and Municipal Public Library in Łódź, the Chamber of Culture in Łódź but also: supporting NGO’s, protection of monuments, awarding scholarships to young artists and rewards for the prominent artists. What is more, infrastructural projects are being undertaken. Among the most important investments are: the creation of four regional scenes in Stefan Jaracz Theatre, opening the new section of the Museum of Art in Łódź - ms² or the reconstruction of medieval settlement in Tum in the vicinity of Łęczyca.

As of 2020, there were 76,897 students in various institutions of higher education in Łódź Voivodeship.[11] The major universities in the voivodeship are:

The excellent scientific staff of the higher education establishments in Łódź is complemented by Łódź’s scientists from the Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and scientific ministerial institutes working within the field of the occupational medicine, textile, paper and leather industries.

Sights and tourism

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There are five Historic Monuments of Poland in the voivodeship:

There are multiple castles in the province, including in Drzewica, Inowłódz, Łęczyca, Opoczno, Oporów, Piotrków Trybunalski, Uniejów, and multiple palaces, including in Poddębice, Skierniewice, Walewice, Wola-Chojnata and several in Łódź alone.

The province's sole spa town is Uniejów.

There are numerous World War II memorials, including a museum at the site of the former Nazi German Radogoszcz prison in Łódź, and monuments at the sites of German-perpetrated massacres.

Sports

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Atlas Arena multipurpose indoor arena in Łódź
 
Władysław Król Stadium, home venue of the ŁKS Łódź football team
 
Widzew Łódź Stadium, home venue of the Widzew Łódź football team

Football and volleyball enjoy the largest following in the province. ŁKS Łódź and Widzew Łódź contest the Łódź Derby, one of the fiercest football rivalries in Poland.

Professional sports teams
Club Sport League Trophies
ŁKS Łódź Football (men's) I liga 2 Polish Championships (1958, 1998)
1 Polish Cup (1957)
Widzew Łódź Football (men's) Ekstraklasa 4 Polish Championships
1 Polish Cup (1985)
Skra Bełchatów Volleyball (men's) PlusLiga 9 Polish Championships
7 Polish Cups
Lechia Tomaszów Mazowiecki Volleyball (men's) I liga 0
ŁKS Łódź Volleyball (women's) Tauron Liga 3 Polish Championships (1983, 2019, 2023)
3 Polish Cups (1976, 1982, 1986)
Budowlani Łódź Volleyball (women's) Tauron Liga 2 Polish Cups (2010, 2018)
Orzeł Łódź Speedway I liga 0
Piotrkowianin Piotrków Trybunalski Handball (men's) Superliga 0
Anilana Łódź Handball (men's) Liga Centralna 1 Polish Championship (1983)
2 Polish Cups (1973, 1977)
Piotrcovia Piotrków Trybunalski Handball (women's) Superliga 1 Polish Championship (1993)
Budowlani Łódź Rugby union Ekstraliga 5 Polish Championships
5 Polish Cups
Budo 2011 Aleksandrów Łódzki Rugby union Ekstraliga 4 Polish Championships
3 Polish Cups (2011, 2012, 2016)
ŁKS Łódź Basketball (men's) I Liga 1 Polish Championship (1953)
ŁKS Łódź Basketball (women's) I Liga 9 Polish Championships
PTK Pabianice Basketball (women's) I Liga 0
Widzew Łódź Futsal (men's) Ekstraklasa 0

Since the establishment of the province, several international sports competitions were co-hosted by the province, including the EuroBasket 2009, 2009 Women's European Volleyball Championship, EuroBasket Women 2011, 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, and 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Curiosities

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  • The Polish language of the inhabitants of the voivodeship is considered the closest to the Polish literary language, as the region did not develop its own dialect, but was a place of blending of dialects from the neighboring larger regions of Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, Mazovia and Silesia.[16]
  • In the 17th century, the towns of Brzeziny, Sieradz and Warta were home to sizeable Scottish communities.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Subnational HDI". globaldatalab.org. Radboud University Nijmegen. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  3. ^ "Statistics Poland - National Censuses".
  4. ^ a b "Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018". Eurostat.
  6. ^ Koter, Marek (2016). "Historyczno-geograficzne podstawy oraz proces kształtowania się regionu łódzkiego". In Marszał, Tomasz (ed.). Miasto–region–gospodarka w badaniach geograficznych (in Polish). Łódź: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. p. 130. ISBN 978-83-8088-004-7.
  7. ^ Konopczyński, Władysław (1948). Chronologia sejmów polskich 1493–1793 (in Polish). Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności. pp. 132–140.
  8. ^ Koter, Marek (2016). "Historyczno-geograficzne podstawy oraz proces kształtowania się regionu łódzkiego". In Marszał, Tomasz (ed.). Miasto–region–gospodarka w badaniach geograficznych (in Polish). Łódź: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. pp. 144, 146. ISBN 978-83-8088-004-7.
  9. ^ Studnicka-Mariańczyk, Karolina (2018). "Zakład Karny w Sieradzu w okresie okupacji hitlerowskiej 1939–1945". Zeszyty Historyczne (in Polish). 17: 188–190.
  10. ^ Agata Gut. "Eutanazja – ukryte ludobójstwo pacjentów szpitali psychiatrycznych w Kraju Warty i na Pomorzu w latach 1939 - 1945". Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (in Polish). Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  11. ^ Higher Education and its Finances in 2020 (PDF). Warszawa: Statistics Poland. 2021. p. 18.
  12. ^ Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 22 października 2012 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Łowicz - Bazylika Katedralna (dawna Kolegiata Prymasowska) pod wezwaniem Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Marii Panny", Dz. U., 2012, No. 1239
  13. ^ Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 22 listopada 2017 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Nieborów i Arkadia - zespół pałacowo-ogrodowy i ogród sentymentalno-romantyczny", Dz. U., 2017, No. 2274
  14. ^ Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 22 października 2012 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Sulejów - zespół opactwa cystersów", Dz. U., 2012, No. 1242
  15. ^ Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 4 kwietnia 2022 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii "Tum - zespół archikolegiaty pod wezwaniem Najświętszej Maryi Panny i św. Aleksego", Dz. U., 2022, No. 808
  16. ^ Koter, Marek (2016). "Historyczno-geograficzne podstawy oraz proces kształtowania się regionu łódzkiego". In Marszał, Tomasz (ed.). Miasto–region–gospodarka w badaniach geograficznych (in Polish). Łódź: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-83-8088-004-7.
  17. ^ Feduszka, Jacek (2009). "Szkoci i Anglicy w Zamościu w XVI-XVIII wieku". Czasy Nowożytne (in Polish). Vol. 22. Zarząd Główny Polskiego Towarzystwa Historycznego. p. 53. ISSN 1428-8982.
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Łódź (voivodship).
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