Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Świętokrzyskie Province[2], or Holy Cross Province (Polish: województwo świętokrzyskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ ɕfʲɛntɔˈkʂɨskʲɛ]) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It is situated in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland, and takes its name from the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) mountain range. Its capital and largest city is Kielce.
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Województwo świętokrzyskie | |
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![]() Flag ![]() Coat of arms | |
![]() Location within Poland | |
![]() Division into counties | |
Coordinates (Kielce): 50°53′N 20°37′E | |
Country | ![]() |
Capital | Kielce |
Counties | |
Government | |
• Voivode | Zbigniew Koniusz (PiS) |
• Marshal | Andrzej Bętkowski (PiS) |
Area | |
• Total | 11,672 km2 (4,507 sq mi) |
Population (30-06-2014) | |
• Total | 1,263,176 |
• Density | 110/km2 (280/sq mi) |
• Urban | 581,322 |
• Rural | 700,474 |
ISO 3166 code | PL-26 |
Vehicle registration | T |
HDI (2017) | 0.837[1] very high · 14th |
Website | https://www.kielce.uw.gov.pl/ |
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Świętokrzyskie Province is bounded by six other voivodeships: Masovian to the north, Lublin to the east, Subcarpathian to the southeast, Lesser Poland to the south, Silesian to the southwest and Łódź to the northwest.
The province was created on 1 January 1999, out of the former Kielce Voivodeship, eastern part of Częstochowa Voivodeship and western part of Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. It covers an area of 11,672 square kilometres (4,507 sq mi), making it the second smallest of the voivodeships (after Opole). As at 2006, the total population of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is 1,281,796.
Cities and towns
![](../I/m/Dworzec_PKS_Ko%C5%9Bci%C3%B3%C5%82_Kielce.jpg)
![](../I/m/Czestocice_museum_20060501_1011.jpg)
![](../I/m/Polska_Sandomierz_017.jpg)
The voivodeship contains 32 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2006[3] ):
- Kielce (207,718)
- Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (73,937)
- Starachowice (53,092)
- Skarżysko-Kamienna (49,131)
- Sandomierz (25,088)
- Końskie (20,667)
- Busko-Zdrój (17,297)
- Jędrzejów (16,577)
- Staszów (15,499)
- Pińczów (11,886)
- Włoszczowa (10,782)
- Suchedniów (8,911)
- Połaniec (8,316)
- Opatów (6,846)
- Sędziszów (6,813)
- Stąporków (5,986)
- Kazimierza Wielka (5,730)
- Ożarów (4,816)
- Chęciny (4,252)
- Chmielnik (4,005)
- Małogoszcz (3,943)
- Radoszyce (3,267)
- Ćmielów (3,172)
- Kunów (3,127)
- Daleszyce (2,800)
- Wąchock (2,760)
- Koprzywnica (2,531)
- Bodzentyn (2,241)
- Osiek (1,955)
- Zawichost (1,853)
- Stopnica (1,545)
- Skalbmierz (1,323)
- Działoszyce (1,068)
- Wiślica (503)
- Opatowiec (338)
Administrative division
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is divided into 14 counties (powiats): 1 city county and 13 land counties. These are further divided into 102 gminas.
The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).
English and Polish names |
Area (km²) |
Population (2006) |
Seat | Other towns | Total gminas |
City counties | |||||
Kielce | 110 | 207,718 | 1 | ||
Land counties | |||||
Kielce County powiat kielecki |
2,247 | 198,581 | Kielce * | Chęciny, Chmielnik, Daleszyce, Bodzentyn | 19 |
Ostrowiec County powiat ostrowiecki |
616 | 116,179 | Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski | Ćmielów, Kunów | 6 |
Starachowice County powiat starachowicki |
523 | 94,395 | Starachowice | Wąchock | 5 |
Jędrzejów County powiat jędrzejowski |
1,257 | 89,304 | Jędrzejów | Sędziszów, Małogoszcz | 9 |
Końskie County powiat konecki |
1,140 | 84,239 | Końskie | Stąporków, Radoszyce | 8 |
Sandomierz County powiat sandomierski |
676 | 81,733 | Sandomierz | Koprzywnica, Zawichost | 9 |
Skarżysko County powiat skarżyski |
395 | 80,024 | Skarżysko-Kamienna | Suchedniów | 5 |
Staszów County powiat staszowski |
925 | 74,004 | Staszów | Połaniec, Osiek | 8 |
Busko County powiat buski |
967 | 73,940 | Busko-Zdrój | 8 | |
Opatów County powiat opatowski |
912 | 56,645 | Opatów | Ożarów | 8 |
Włoszczowa County powiat włoszczowski |
906 | 47,137 | Włoszczowa | 6 | |
Pińczów County powiat pińczowski |
611 | 42,127 | Pińczów | Działoszyce | 5 |
Kazimierza County powiat kazimierski |
422 | 35,770 | Kazimierza Wielka | Skalbmierz | 5 |
* seat not part of the county | |||||
Economy
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 11.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 2.3% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 15,400 € or 51% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 58% of the EU average. Świętokrzyskie Voivodship is the province with the fifth lowest GDP per capita in Poland.[4]
Protected areas
Protected areas in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship include one National Park and nine Landscape Parks. These are listed below.
- Świętokrzyski National Park
- Chęciny-Kielce Landscape Park
- Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park
- Jeleniowska Landscape Park
- Kozubów Landscape Park
- Nida Landscape Park
- Przedbórz Landscape Park (partly in Łódź Voivodeship)
- Sieradowice Landscape Park
- Suchedniów-Oblęgorek Landscape Park
- Szaniec Landscape Park
See also
- Świętokrzyskie cuisine
- Second Polish Republic’s Kielce Voivodeship (1919–1939)
- Lesser Polish Way
References
- "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- Tłumaczenie polskich nazw geograficznych na język angielski [Translation of Polish Geographical Names into English], Arkadiusz Belczyk, 2002-2006.
- "Population. Size and structure by territorial division. As of June 30, 2007". Warsaw: Central Statistical Office. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
- "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018". Eurostat.
External links
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Świętokrzyskie. |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. |
- Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship official website (Polish, English, German)
- Świętokrzyski Urząd Wojewódzki Official website (Polish, English, Russian, Ukrainian, French)
- Regional Tourist Information Center official website (Polish, English, German)