Volhynian Voivodeship (1569–1795)

Volhynian Voivodeship
Latin: *Palatinatus Volhynensis*
Polish: *Województwo wołyńskie*
Ukrainian: Волинське воєводство
Volhynian Voivodeship Latin: Palatinatus Volhynensis; Polish: Województwo wołyńskie; Ukrainian: Волинське воєводство
Voivodeship of Lithuania (1566–1569) ; and then Poland (1569–1795)
1566–1795
	Flag Coat of arms
	; The Volhynian Voivodeship (red) in; the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1635
Capital	Lutsk (Polish: Łuck)
Area
•	38,324 km2 (14,797 sq mi)
History
• Established	1566
• To Polish Crown	1569
• Annexed by Russia	24 October 1795
Political subdivisions	counties: 3
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Volhynian Governorate
	1 Voivodeship of the Kingdom of Poland in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Voivodeship of Grand Duchy of Lithuania before 1569.

Volhynian Voivodeship (

Lesser Poland Province

.

Description

The voivodeship was established based on the

Łuck Eldership (starostvo) in 1566 with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Following the 1569 union of Lublin

, it was ceded to the Crown of Poland as part of the Lesser Poland (Malopolska) Province.

The capital of the voivodeship was in Łuck (presentday Lutsk), and it had three senators in the Senate of the Commonwealth. These were the Bishop of Luck, the

Krzemieniec. Local starostas resided in the three capitals of the counties, while sejmiks took place at Luck. The voivodeship had two deputies in the Polish Sejm, and one deputy in the Lesser Poland Tribunal in Lublin

.

Svitrigaila, the vast Volhynian land became direct property of the Jagiellonian dynasty. King Casimir IV Jagiellon decided that Volhynia should become part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but the Polish-Lithuanian conflict continued until the 1569 Union of Lublin

, when Volhynia was transferred to Poland, and became a voivodeship. Its first voivode was Prince Aleksander Czartoryski [...]

Upon the decision of the Sejm, Volhynia was part of the Province of Lesser Poland. Its legal system was based on the Statutes of Lithuania, with local residents allowed to make changes to the statutes. Legal position of Ruthenian ruling class (knyaz) was equal to the Polish nobility, and in 1578, Polish government offices were established in Volhynia, followed by an infux of Polish settlers [...]

In the 16th century, Volhynian Voivodeship had the area of 750 sq. miles, half of which was made by the Luck County. It had 68 towns, and in 1583, the number of villages was as follows: 777 in Luck County, 294 in Wlodzimierz County, and 562 in Krzemieniec County. During the reign of

Braclaw and Podolian

Voivodeships, but its boundaries were never precise. Volhynian Voivodeship was sparsely populated, reduced by frequent wars and raids".

Administration

Seat of Voivodeship Governor and regional sejmik:

Łuck

Regional council (

sejmik generalny

) for all Ruthenian lands

Sądowa Wisznia

Administrative division

Counties (powiats)

Luck County (Powiat Łucki), Łuck
Wlodzimierz County (Powiat Włodzimirski), Włodzimierz
Krzemieniec County (Powiat Krzemieniecki), Krzemieniec

Free royal cities

Selected voivodes

Janusz Ostrogski (since 1558)
Aleksander Ostrogski
(since 1593)
Adam Aleksander Sanguszko (1630–1653)
Mikołaj Hieronim Sieniawski (since 1679)
Franciszek Salezy Potocki (in 1755 only)
Józef Kanty Ossoliński (1757–1775; resigned)

Sources

Volhynian Voivodeship, description by Zygmunt Gloger
Central European Superpower, Henryk Litwin, BUM Magazine, October 2016.

Province of Greater Poland		Brześć Kujawski Chełmno Gniezno Inowrocław Kalisz Łęczyca Malbork Masovian Płock Pomeranian Poznań Rawa Sieradz Prince-Bishopric of Warmia	Province of Lesser Poland	Bełz Bracław Chernihów Kiev Kraków Lublin Podlaskie Podolian Ruthenian Sandomierz Volhynia Duchy of Siewierz Duchy of Siveria (1619–1635)
Grand Duchy of Lithuania	Brest Litovsk Minsk Mstsislaw Nowogródek Połock Smolensk Trakai Vilnius Vitebsk Duchy of Samogitia
Polish Livonia	Duchy of Livonia (1561–1621): Dorpat, Parnawa, Wenden Inflanty (1621–1772)
Fiefs	Lauenburg and Bütow Land Duchy of Prussia Duchy of Courland and Semigallia

v t e Voivodes of Volhynia
Aleksander Fiodorowicz Czartoryski* (1566–71) Bohusz Korecki (1572–76) Andrzej Wiśniowiecki (1576–83) Janusz Ostrogski (1585–93) Aleksander Ostrogski (1593–1603) Janusz Zasławski (1604–29) Adam Aleksander Sanguszko (1630–53) Mikołaj Jerzy Czartoryski (1657–61) Michał Jerzy Czartoryski (1661–80) Mikołaj Hieronim Sieniawski (1680–83) Jerzy Jan Wandalin Mniszech (1684–93) Jan Stanisław Jabłonowski (1693–97) Jan Franciszek Stadnicki (1697–1713) Atanazy Miączyński (1713–23) Stanisław Ledóchowski (1723–25) Michał Potocki (1726–49) Seweryn Józef Rzewuski (1749–54) Franciszek Salezy Potocki (1755–56) Józef Kanty Ossoliński (1757–75) Hieronim Janusz Sanguszko (1775–95)
* For a short time until 1569, Volhynia Voivodeship was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania