Masovian Voivodeship

History

In the Early Middle Ages, the territory was inhabited by the Masovians, an old Polish tribe. It formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century, with the then-regional capital Płock being the capital of Poland from 1079 to 1138. The Wzgórze Tumskie ("Cathedral Hill") in Płock with the Płock Castle and the Catholic Cathedral, seat of one of the oldest Polish dioceses, est. in 1075, which contains the sarcophagi of a number of Polish monarchs, is listed as a Historic Monument of Poland. Later, Płock, Warsaw and Czersk were medieval ducal seats of the Piast dynasty.

In 1505, Radom hosted the session of the Sejm (Polish Parliament), which enacted the Nihil novi act, and in the 16th century, Warsaw hosted several sessions of the Sejm, before King Sigismund III Vasa moved the Polish capital from Kraków to Warsaw in 1596.

Following the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland, the region witnessed several uprisings against foreign rule: the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794, the November Uprising of 1830–1831, and the January Uprising of 1863–1864.

In the interbellum, the region was part of reborn independent Poland. In 1920, the region was invaded by Soviet Russia, but Poland secured its freedom in the victorious Battle of Warsaw. The southern part of the current province was rapidly industrialized as part of the Central Industrial Region of Poland.

During World War II, it was occupied by Germany, with the occupiers committing their genocidal policies against Poles and Jews in the region, with expulsions, massacres of civilians and prisoners of war, including at Ciepielów, Śladów, Zakroczym, Ostrów Mazowiecka, Palmiry, Firlej, Skłoby, Nur, Ochota, Wola, and Lipniak-Majorat. Germany operated numerous prisons, forced labour camps, the Treblinka extermination camp, in which some 700,000–900,000 people were murdered, and several prisoner-of-war camps for Polish, Italian, French, Soviet, and Romanian prisoners of war.

Masovian Province was created on 1 January 1999, under the Polish local-government reforms adopted in 1998, out of the former provinces of Warsaw, Płock, Ciechanów, Ostrołęka, Siedlce, and Radom.

Administrative division

Masovian Voivodeship is divided into 42 counties, including five city counties and 37 land counties. These are subdivided into 314 gminas (municipalities), which include 85 urban gminas.

;The counties, shown on the numbered map, are described in the table below.

Cities and towns

Cities (governed by a city mayor or prezydent miasta):

1. Warsaw (1,783,321)
2. Radom (212,230)
3. Płock (119,709)
4. Siedlce (77,990)
5. Pruszków (62,076)
6. Legionowo (54,049)
7. Ostrołęka (52,071)
8. Otwock (44,827)
9. Ciechanów (44,118)
10. Żyrardów (39,896)

Towns:

1. Piaseczno (48,286)
2. Mińsk Mazowiecki (40,836)
3. Ząbki (37,219)
4. Wołomin (37,082)
5. Sochaczew (36,327)
6. Marki (34,679)
7. Grodzisk Mazowiecki (31,782)
8. Mława (31,241)
9. Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki (28,649)
10. Wyszków (26,905)
11. Kobyłka (24,096)
12. Piastów (22,619)
13. Ostrów Mazowiecka (22,489)
14. Płońsk (22,130)
15. Józefów (20,698)
16. Milanówek (20,698)
17. Sulejówek (19,766)
18. Pułtusk (19,432)
19. Sokołów Podlaski (18,946)
20. Gostynin (18,588)
21. Pionki (18,269)
22. Sierpc (17,994)
23. Zielonka (17,588)
24. Garwolin (17,501)
25. Przasnysz (17,264)
26. Kozienice (17,208)
27. Konstancin-Jeziorna (17,023)
28. Łomianki (17,022)
29. Grójec (16,745)
30. Brwinów (13,601)
31. Radzymin (13,005)
32. Węgrów (12,628)
33. Błonie (12,261)
34. Góra Kalwaria (12,040)
35. Warka (11,948)
36. Szydłowiec (11,736)
37. Ożarów Mazowiecki (11,719)
38. Karczew (9,856)
39. Maków Mazowiecki (9,776)
40. Żuromin (8,867)
41. Tłuszcz (8,156)
42. Nasielsk (7,702)
43. Zwoleń (7,698)
44. Łosice (7,049)
45. Białobrzegi (6,951)
46. Łochów (6,825)
47. Mszczonów (6,376)
48. Przysucha (5,818)
49. Lipsko (5,501)
50. Łaskarzew (4,840)
51. Iłża (4,733)
52. Pilawa (4,578)
53. Serock (4,506)
54. Raciąż (4,384)
55. Skaryszew (4,371)
56. Gąbin (4,125)
57. Tarczyn (4,116)
58. Żelechów (3,988)
59. Podkowa Leśna (3,851)
60. Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą (3,755)
61. Halinów (3,739)
62. Mrozy (3,574)
63. Myszyniec (3,408)
64. Zakroczym (3,196)
65. Chorzele (3,088)
66. Glinojeck (3,019)
67. Kałuszyn (2,899)
68. Drobin (2,872)
69. Różan (2,709)
70. Wyszogród (2,601)
71. Mogielnica (2,253)
72. Kosów Lacki (2,089)
73. Sanniki (1,961)
74. Brok (1,941)
75. Bieżuń (1,846)
76. Mordy (1,788)
77. Lubowidz (1,684)
78. Wyśmierzyce (885)
79. Jedlnia-Letnisko
80. Siennica
81. Cegłów
82. Sochocin
83. Dobre
84. Nowe Miasto
85. Wiskitki
86. Maciejowice
87. Latowicz
88. Magnuszew
89. Bodzanów
90. Osieck
91. Czerwińsk nad Wisłą
92. Jastrząb
93. Odrzywół
94. Solec nad Wisłą
95. Jadów
96. Sienno
97. Przytyk
98. Głowaczów
99. Gielniów
100. Ciepielów
101. Kazanów
102. Małkinia Górna
103. Stanisławów
104. Staroźreby

File:Aleja Niepdleglosci Warsaw 2022 aerial (cropped).jpg|Warsaw is the capital of Poland. File:Moniuszki Street in Radom 01 (cropped).jpg|Radom is part of historical Lesser Poland. File:DJI 0842-Enhanced-NR-HDR-Edit.jpg|Płock is the historical capital of Masovia and former Polish capital. File:Siedlce, Poland - panoramio - Roman Eugeniusz (11).jpg|Siedlce is part of historical Lesser Poland. File:Pałacyk Sokoła 1867.jpg|Pruszków is part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. Muzeum historyczne willa Bratki - Legionowo ul. Mickiewicza 23.jpg|Legionowo is one of the youngest cities in the province. File:Ostroleka-ratusz3.jpg|Ostrołęka is part of the ethnocultural region of Kurpie. File:Piaseczno, Park. View to the park and the building of a school for girls founded in the late nineteenth century.jpg|Piaseczno is part of the Warsaw metropolitan area, and a former royal town. File:Ciechanów, zamek książąt mazowieckich.jpg|Ciechanów is a former royal city. File:2013 Dernałowicz Palace in Mińsk Mazowiecki - 05.jpg|Mińsk Mazowiecki is part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. File:Stara Przędzalnia.jpg|Żyrardów is one of the youngest cities in the voivodeship, established in 1830. File:Pułtusk ratusz 2012.jpg|Pułtusk is one of the oldest towns in Poland.

Politics

Main article: Masovian Voivodeship Sejmik

The Masovian voivodeship's government is headed by the province's voivode (governor) who is appointed by the Polish Prime Minister. The voivode is then assisted in performing his duties by the voivodeship's marshal, who is the appointed speaker for the voivodeship's executive and is elected by the sejmik (provincial assembly). The current voivode of Masovia is Mariusz Frankowski.

The Sejmik of Masovia consists of 51 members.

Voivodes

Protected areas

Protected areass include one National Park and nine Landscape parks. These are shown below.

• Kampinos National park (a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve)
• Bolimów Landscape park (partly in Łódź Voivodeship)
• Brudzeń Landscape Park
• Bug Landscape Park
• Chojnów Landscape Park
• Górzno-Lidzbark Landscape Park (partly in Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeships)
• Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park (partly in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship)
• Kozienice Landscape Park
• Masovian Landscape Park
• Podlaskie Bug Gorge Landscape Park (partly in Lublin Voivodeship)

Historical

Masovian Voivodeship (1526–1795)

Masovia Voivodeship, 1526–1795 () was an administrative region of the Kingdom of Poland, and of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, from the 15th century until the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1795). Together with Płock and Rawa Voivodeships, it formed the province (prowincja) of Masovia.

Masovian Voivodeship (1816–1837)

Masovian Voivodeship was one of the voivodeships of Congress Poland. It was formed from the Warsaw Department and transformed into the Masovia Governorate.

Transport

Three major international road routes pass through the voivodeship: Cork–Berlin–Poznań–Warszawa–Minsk–Moscow–Omsk (European route E30), Prague–Wrocław–Warsaw–Białystok–Helsinki (E67) and Pskov–Gdańsk–Warsaw–Kraków–Budapest (E77).

Currently, there are various stretches of highways in the area, with the A2 highway connecting the region, and therefore the capital city, with the rest of Europe. The highway passes directly through the voivodeship from west to east, connecting it with Belarus and Germany. However, the A2 is yet to be built east of Warsaw to connect Poland with Belarus. The S7 expressway runs through Poland from the north to the south passing through Warsaw, the S8 connects Warsaw with Białystok, in the neighboring north-eastern province, also forming part of the Via Baltica which heads on to Lithuania, and to Wrocław in the south-west, and the S17 being built to connect Warsaw with Lublin in the south-east and on to Ukraine.

The two main railway carriers operating in the region are the regional Koleje Mazowieckie and nationwide PKP Intercity. Three of ten busiest railway stations of Poland are located in the voivodeship: Warszawa Centralna, Warszawa Wschodnia, Warszawa Zachodnia.

The main international airport in the region is Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport.

Economy

Masovian Voivodeship is the wealthiest province in Poland. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was PLN 596 billion in 2021, accounting for 22.8% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was around PLN123,000in the same year.

Unemployment

The unemployment rate stood at 4.8% in 2017 and was higher than the national and the European average.

Sights and tourism

The top tourist destination of the voivodeship is the capital city of Warsaw with its Old Town and Royal Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Historic Monument of Poland. Further Historic Monuments in Warsaw include the Royal Route with several palaces and parks, most notably the Łazienki Palace and Wilanów Palace, and the Warsaw Water Filters.

Other historic cities include Radom with its old center and parks, Pułtusk with the longest paved marketplace of Europe, and Płock, former medieval capital of Poland, with its Old Town and Wzgórze Tumskie ("Cathedral Hill") with the Płock Castle and the Płock Cathedral, which contains the sarcophagi of a number of Polish monarchs.

There are several medieval castles, including at Ciechanów, Czersk, Liw, Płock, and numerous palaces in the voivodeship, including at Otwock Wielki, Guzów, Radziejowice, Krubki-Górki, Sanniki, Korczew and multiple in Warsaw itself. Unique historic churches include the Temple of Mercy and Charity in Płock, the worldwide headquarters of the Mariavite Church, the Abbey Church in Czerwińsk nad Wisłą, one of the best preserved Romanesque fortified churches in Poland, and the Saints Roch and John the Baptist church in Brochów, a Gothic-Renaissance fortified church, place of baptism of Fryderyk Chopin. Otwock, Józefów and Warsaw are home to the local Świdermajer architectural style. There are also the Modlin Fortress and Warsaw Citadel.

The sole spa town of the voivodeship is Konstancin-Jeziorna.

There are museums dedicated to composer Fryderyk Chopin and chemist Marie Curie at their birthplaces in Żelazowa Wola and Warsaw, respectively. There is also a Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw. There is a museum dedicated to famous Renaissance poet Jan Kochanowski in Czarnolas. The Krasiński Palace in Opinogóra Górna hosts the Museum of Romanticism.

There are numerous World War II memorials, including memorials at the sites of Nazi massacres of Poles, including Palmiry, and Holocaust memorials, and museums at the sites of the former Nazi German Treblinka extermination camp, Pawiak Prison in Warsaw and Dulag 121 camp in Pruszków. Two of the few Italian war cemeteries in Poland are located in Warsaw (from both world wars) and Nowe Opole (from WW2).

The highest point in the voivodeship, 408 m, Góra Altana, is located south of Szydłowiec, near the southern boundary with the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship.

Sports

Football, handball, volleyball and basketball enjoy the largest following in the voivodeship. Successful clubs include Legia Warsaw and Polonia Warsaw in football and basketball, and Wisła Płock in handball.

Since the establishment of the province, several major international sports competitions were co-hosted by the province, including the 2002 World Weightlifting Championships, 2003 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, EuroBasket 2009, UEFA Euro 2012, 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, 2017 Men's European Volleyball Championship, 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship, 2019 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, 2023 World Men's Handball Championship.

Deepspot, the world's second deepest swimming pool, is located in Mszczonów.

Curiosities

• The voivodeship contains both the current capital of Poland (Warsaw) and one of the former medieval capitals of Poland (Płock).
• In the 17th century, there were sizeable Scottish communities in Warsaw, Raciąż, Sierpc and Zakroczym, and also smaller ones in Iłża, Jedlińsk, Radom, Skrzynno, Szydłowiec and Węgrów.
• The village of Krasiniec was the home of the sole Kalmyk community of Poland in the interbellum.
• One of the three parish churches of the Armenian Catholic Church in Poland is located in Warsaw (see also: Armenians in Poland).

Gallery

Image:Płock, kostel II.jpg|Płock Cathedral, burial site of Polish monarchs Pałac Króla Jana III Sobieskiego w Wilanowie 14.JPG|Wilanów Palace in Warsaw Image:Zamek w Liwie 11.JPG|Liw Castle Image:Radom.Zespół klasztorny bernardynów 01.jpg|Saint Catherine of Alexandria church in Radom Image:Pałac, Otwock Wielki.jpg|Palace in Otwock Wielki Image:Ratusz w Szydłowcu 01 ssj 20070915.jpg|Szydłowiec Town Hall Image:Warszawa, ul. Freta 16 20170516 002.jpg|Łyszkiewicz Apartment in Warsaw, birthplace of Marie Curie, presently a museum of the Nobel Prize winner Image:Widok na pałac Sobańskich w Guzowie.jpg|Sobański Palace in Guzów Image:Żelazowa Wola - dworek.jpg|Birthplace of Frédéric Chopin in Żelazowa Wola, presently a museum of the composer Image:Część ogólnodostępnych koszar.JPG|Modlin Fortress Image:Zamek książąt mazowieckich w Czersku.jpg|Czersk Castle Czerwinsk1.jpg|Abbey Church in Czerwińsk nad Wisłą

Notes

References

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