Subdivisions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth | |
---|---|
1569–1648 | |
1667–1768 | |
Subdivisions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth evolved over for centuries of its existence from the signing of the Union of Lublin to the third partition.
The lands that once belonged to the Commonwealth are now largely distributed among several central, eastern, and northern European countries: Poland (except western Poland), Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, most of Ukraine, parts of Russia, southern half of Estonia, and smaller pieces in Slovakia and Moldova.
Terminology
While the term "Poland" was also commonly used to denote this whole polity, Poland was in fact only part of a greater whole – the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which comprised primarily two parts:
- the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (Poland proper), colloquially "the Crown"; and
- the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, colloquially "Lithuania".
The Crown in turn comprised two "
Royal lands (
niegrodowy.Administrative division
By provinces, voivodeships and lesser entities.
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland or just colloquially the Crown (
Coat of arms | Banner | Voivodeship after 1569 | Capital | Year established | Number of powiats (counties) | Area (km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bełz Voivodeship |
Bełz (Belz) | 1462 | 4 powiats | 9,000 | ||
Bracław Voivodeship | Bracław (Bratslav) | 1569 | 2 powiats | 31,500 | ||
Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship | Brześć Kujawski | 14th century | 5 powiats | 3,000 | ||
Czernihów Voivodeship | Czernihów (Chernihiv) | 1635 | 2 powiats | |||
Gniezno Voivodeship | Gniezno | 1768 | 3 powiats | 7,500 | ||
Kalisz Voivodeship | Kalisz | 1314 | 6 powiats | 15,000 | ||
Kijów Voivodeship | Kijów (Kyiv) | 1471 | 3 powiats | 200,000 | ||
Kraków Voivodeship | Kraków | 14th century | 4 powiats | 17,500 | ||
Lublin Voivodeship | Lublin | 1474 | 3 powiats | 10,000 | ||
Łęczyca Voivodeship | Łęczyca | 1772 | 3 powiats | 4,000 | ||
Malbork Voivodeship | Malbork | 1466 | 4 powiats | 2,000 | ||
Masovian Voivodeship | Warsaw | 1526 | 23 powiats | 23,000 | ||
Podole Voivodeship |
Kamieniec Podolski (Kamianets-Podilskyi) | 1434 | 3 powiats | 17,750 | ||
Poznań Voivodeship |
Poznań | 14th century | 4 powiats | 15,500 | ||
Płock Voivodeship | Płock | 1495 | 8 powiats | 3,500 | ||
Podlaskie Voivodeship | Drohiczyn | 1513 | 3 powiats | |||
Rawa Voivodeship | Rawa Mazowiecka | 1462 | 6 powiats | 6,000 | ||
Ruthenian Voivodeship | Lwów (Lviv) | 1434 | 13 powiats | 83,000 | ||
Sandomierz Voivodeship | Sandomierz | 14th century | 6 powiats | 24,000 | ||
Sieradz Voivodeship | Sieradz | 1339 | 4 powiats | 10,000 | ||
Volhynian Voivodeship | Łuck (Lutsk) | 1569 | 3 powiats | 38,000 |
Two important ecclesiastical entities with high degree of autonomy within the Crown of Poland were Duchy of Siewierz and Prince-Bishopric of Warmia.
Fiefs of Crown of Poland included the Lauenburg and Bütow Land and two condominiums (joint domain) with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Duchy of Livonia and Duchy of Courland and Semigallia.
Some enclaves in the Hungarian area of Spisz were also part of Poland (due to the Treaty of Lubowla).
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania or just colloquially Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva) is the name for the territories under direct Lithuanian administration during medieval sovereign Lithuanian statehood, and later until the end of common Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth statehood in 1795.
Just before the
After 1569, Lithuania had eight voivodeships and one eldership remaining:
Voivodeship after 1569 | Coat of arms | Banner | Capital | Year established[1] | Number of powiats | Area (km2) in 1590[2] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brześć Litewski Voivodeship | Brześć Litewski (Brest) | 1566 | 2 powiats | 40,600 | ||
Mińsk Voivodeship | Mińsk Litewski (Minsk) | 1566 | 3 powiats | 55,500 | ||
Mścisław Voivodeship | Mścisław (Mstsislaw) | 1566 | 1 powiat | 22,600 | ||
Nowogródek Voivodeship | Nowogródek (Novogrudok) | 1507 | 3 powiats | 33,200 | ||
Połock Voivodeship | Połock (Polotsk) | 1504 | 1 powiat | 21,800 | ||
Samogitian Eldership
|
Raseiniai | 1411 | 1 powiat | 23,300 | ||
Trakai Voivodeship | Trakai | 1413 | 4 powiats | 31,100 | ||
Vilnius Voivodeship | Vilnius | 1413 | 5 powiats | 44,200 | ||
Witebsk Voivodeship | Witebsk (Vitebsk) | 1511 | 2 powiats | 24,600 |
One of the oldest Lithuanian territories, the Duchy of Samogitia, had a status equal to that of a voivodeship, but retained the name Duchy.
After the
Fiefs
Duchy of Prussia (1569–1657)
The Duchy of Prussia was a
Duchy of Livonia (Inflanty) (1569–1772)
The Duchy of Livonia[4] was a territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – and later a joint domain (Condominium) of the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (Courland) (1562–1791)
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia is a
Protectorates
Caffa
In 1462, during the expansion of the
Reforms of the 1793 Grodno Sejm
Following the territorial losses of the Second Partition of Poland, the Grodno Sejm of 1793 introduced a new administrative division (italic marks new voivodeships):[6]
- in the Crown: Chełm Voivodeship, Ciechanów Voivodeship, Kraków Voivodeship, Lublin Voivodeship, Masovian Voivodeship, Podlasie Voivodeship, Sandomierz Voivodeship, Warsaw Voivodeship, Włodzimierz Voivodeship and Wołyń Voivodeship
- in the Grand Duchy: Troki Voivodeship, Wilno Voivodeship, Żmudź Voivodeship(Samogitian Voivodeship)
Proposed divisions
Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth
Thought was given at various times to the creation of a
Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth
For similar reasons, plans for a
References
- LCCN 74-114275.
- ^
Vaitiekūnas, Stasys (2006). Lietuvos gyventojai: Per du tūkstantmečius (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. p. 53. ISBN 5-420-01585-4.
- ISBN 83-223-1984-3
- ISBN 90-6550-881-3, p 17
- ^ Historia Polski Średniowiecze, Stanisław Szczur, Kraków 2002, s. 537.
- ^ Encyklopedja powszechna. Orgelbranda. 1866. p. 272.