Podlaskie Voivodeship

Podlaskie Voivodeship (Województwo podlaskie ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, Podlasie), and part of its territory corresponds to that region. The capital and largest city is Białystok.

It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusian oblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and Marijampolė to the northeast, and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia to the north.

The province was created on 1 January 1999, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998, from the former Białystok and Łomża Voivodeships and the eastern half of the former Suwałki Voivodeship.

Etymology
The voivodeship takes its name from the historic region of Poland called Podlasie, or in Latin known as Podlachia.

There are two opinions regarding the origin of the region's name. People often derive it from the Proto-Slavic les or las, meaning "forest", i.e., it is an area "by the wood(s)" or an "area of forests", which would bring Podlasie close in meaning to adjacent Polesia. This theory has been questioned, as it does not properly take into consideration the vowel shifts "a" > "e" > "i" in various Slavic languages (in fact, it mixes vowels from different languages). Heavily wooded Podlaskie is home to the primeval Białowieża Forest and National Park, the habitat of the European wisent bison and tarpan.

A second view holds that the term comes from the expression pod Lachem, i.e., "under the Poles" (see: Lechia). Some claim it to mean "under Polish rule", which does not seem historically sound, as the area belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1569, and the southern part of it—until 1795.

A better variant of the latter theory holds that the name originates from the period when the territory was within the Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, along the border with Mazovia Province, primarily a fief of the Poland of the Piasts, and later part of the Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons. Hence pod Lachem would mean "near the Poles", "along the border with Poland". The Lithuanian name of the region, Palenkė, has exactly this meaning.

History


The voivodeship was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Białystok and Łomża Voivodeships and the eastern half of the former Suwałki Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998.

Geography
It has a varied landscape, shaped in the north by Baltic glaciation, the rest by Middle Poland glaciation. The highest peaks are in the north (Rowelska Top - 298 m), where the landscape is dominated by a hilly lake district. Lakeland: Zachodniosuwalskie, Wschodniosuwalskie, Ełckie) and Sandrowy lake district (Augustów Plain) in the central and southern pre-glacial plains prevail (plateaus: Kolneńska, Białystok, Wysokomazowiecka, Drohiczynska, Sokólskie Hills, Międzyrzecko łomżyński, Plain Bielsko), varied in topography with small basins and river valleys. Kurpie lies on the west edge of the outwash plains. Sand, gravel, clay, moraine, and in the valleys and basins of the rivers silt, sand and river peat predominate on the surface.

Environment
The vast forests (Białowieża, Augustów, Knyszyń, Kurpiowska), some of which are the only ones in Europe to have retained their original character, contain a unique wealth of flora and fauna. The vegetation of the region is extremely diverse, which contributes to the richness of the animal world. Visitors can also see moose, wolves, lynx and bison living in the Białowieża Forest and Knyszyń Forest.

Podlaskie has the lowest population density of the sixteen Polish voivodeships, and its largely unspoiled nature is one of its chief assets. Around 30% of the area of the voivodeship is under legal protection. The Polish part of the Białowieża Forest biosphere reserve (also a World Heritage Site) is in Podlaskie. There are four National Parks (Białowieża, Biebrza, Narew and Wigry), three Landscape Parks (Knyszyń Forest, Łomża and Suwałki), 88 nature reserves, and 15 protected landscape areas. The voivodeship constitutes a part of the ecologically clean area known as "the Green Lungs of Poland".

Climate
Podlaskie has a Warm Summer Continental or Hemiboreal climate (Dfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system, which is characterized by warm temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. It is substantially different from most of the other Polish lowlands. The region is one of the coldest in Poland, with the average temperature in January being -5 °C. The average temperature in a year is 7 °C. The number of frost days ranges from 50 to 60, with frost from 110 to 138 days and the duration of snow cover from 90 to 110 days. Mean annual rainfall values oscillate around 550 mm, and the vegetation period lasts 200 to 210 days.

Podlaskie is the coldest region of Poland, located in the very northeast of the country near the border with Belarus and Lithuania. The region has a continental climate which is characterized by high temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. The climate is affected by the cold fronts which come from Scandinavia and Siberia. The average temperature in the winter ranges from -15 °C (5 °F) to -4 °C (24.8 °F).

One of the cities located in Podlaskie - Suwalki - is called as The Polish North Pole, due to it is coldest temperature average around Poland.

Subdivisions and Białystok Metropolitan Region


Podlaskie Voivodeship is divided into 17 counties (powiats): 3 city counties, those being Białystok, Suwałki, and Łomża. It is also divided into 14 land counties, which these 14 counties are further divided into 118 gminas.

Metropolitan Białystok was designated by the Voivodeship in the Regulation No. 52/05 of 16 May 2005 in order to help economically develop the region. In 2006, the metropolitan area's population was 450,254 inhabitants. It covers an area of 1.521 km ². For one km2, there are about 265 people. Among urban residents there are more women - 192 thousand. For every 100 men, there are 108 women on average. The municipalities adjacent to Białystok are slowly losing their agricultural character, becoming residential suburban neighborhoods.

Demographics
Podlaskie is the land of the confluence of cultures – Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Jewish and Tatar – and is indicative of the ethnic territories limits. Eastward of Podlaskie lie historic Polish lands, which are now part of Ukraine and Belarus and Lithuania. Today, mainly Polish and Ruthenian (Ukrainian and Belarusian) are spoken in Podlaskie, while Lithuanian is preserved by the small but compact Lithuanian minority concentrated in the Sejny County.

At the end of 2009 in Podlaskie Voivodeship there were 1,189,700 inhabitants, 3.1 percent of the total population of Poland. The average density of the population, the number of the population per 1 km2, was 59. The urban population in the same period was 60.2 percent of the total number of inhabitants of the voivodeship, where the percentage of females in the total population amounted to 51.3 percent. A statistical inhabitant of Podlaskie was 37.7 years old, whereas in 2008 – 37.5 years old. The latest population projection predicts a consistent decrease in the population in Podlaskie Voivodeship. In the next 26 years, it will decrease by 117 thousand persons due to the ageing population.

Population according to 2002 census:
 * Poles - 1,135,347
 * Belarusians - 48,000

According to 2021 census the dominant religions in Podlaskie Voivodeship are Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

Government
The voivodeship's seat is the city of Białystok. Like all voivodeships, it has a government-appointed Provincial Governor (wojewoda), as well as an elected Regional Assembly (sejmik) and of the executive elected by that assembly, headed by the voivodeship marshal (marszałek województwa). Administrative powers and competences are statutorily divided between these authorities.

Cities and towns
The voivodeship contains 3 cities and 37 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019) • Cities (governed by a city mayor or prezydent miasta):

• # POL Białystok formal COA.svg Białystok (297,356)

• # POL Suwałki COA.svg Suwałki (69,858)

• # POL Łomża COA.svg Łomża (62,965)

• Towns:

• # POL Augustów COA.svg Augustów (30,190)

• # POL Bielsk Podlaski COA.svg Bielsk Podlaski (25,290)

• # POL Zambrów COA.svg Zambrów (22,098)

• # POL Grajewo COA.svg Grajewo (21,909)

• # POL Hajnówka COA.svg Hajnówka (20,580)

• # POL Sokółka COA.svg Sokółka (18,134)

• # POL Łapy COA.svg Łapy (15,609)

• # POL Siemiatycze COA.svg Siemiatycze (14,418)

• # POL Wasilków COA.svg Wasilków (11,527)

• # POL Kolno COA.svg Kolno (10,214)

• # POL Mońki COA.svg Mońki (9,986)

• # POL Wysokie Mazowieckie COA.svg Wysokie Mazowieckie (9,415)

• # POL Czarna Białostocka COA.svg Czarna Białostocka (9,318)

• # POL Choroszcz COA.svg Choroszcz (5,890)

• # POL Dąbrowa Białostocka COA.svg Dąbrowa Białostocka (5,520)

• # POL Sejny COA.svg Sejny (5,286)

• # Ciechanowiec herb.svg Ciechanowiec (4,631)

• # POL Supraśl COA.svg Supraśl (4,605)

• # POL Brańsk COA.svg Brańsk (3,767)

• # POL Szczuczyn COA.svg Szczuczyn (3,376)

• # POL gmina Michałowo COA.svg Michałowo (3,026)

• # POL Knyszyn COA.svg Knyszyn (2,748)

• # POL Czyżew COA.svg Czyżew (2,633)

• # POL Zabłudów COA (IV - 14 - 90).svg Zabłudów (2,400)

• # POL gmina Krynki COA.svg Krynki (2,405)

• # POL Lipsk COA.svg Lipsk (2,326)

• # POL Suchowola COA.svg Suchowola (2,183)

• # Stawiski Herb.svg Stawiski (2,174)

• # POL gmina Szepietowo COA.svg Szepietowo (2,170)

• # POL Nowogród COA.svg Nowogród (2,155)

• # Tykocin Herb.svg Tykocin (1,973)

• # POL Drohiczyn COA.svg Drohiczyn (1,970)

• # POL Goniądz COA.svg Goniądz (1,814)

• # POL Jedwabne COA.svg Jedwabne (1,626)

• # POL Rajgród COA.svg Rajgród (1,573)

• # POL Kleszczele COA.svg Kleszczele (1,250)

• # POL Suraż COA.svg Suraż (988)

Economy
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was around 11 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.2% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €15,200 or 50% of the EU average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 57% of the EU average. Podlaskie Voivodeship is the province with the 5th lowest GDP per capita in Poland.

The following are general economic indicators for Podlaskie Voivodeship:
 * 1) Population (as of 30 September 2009) - 1,190,735
 * 2) Average paid employment in enterprise sector (November 2009) - 95896
 * 3) Average monthly gross wages and salaries in enterprise sector (November 2009) - 2,813.05 zł
 * 4) Unemployment rate (as of the end of November 2009) - 12,0%
 * 5) Dwellings completed in November 2009 - 661
 * 6) Procurement of milk (November 2009) - 126.8 mln l
 * 7) National economy entities from the REGON register, excluding persons tending private farms (as of the end of November 2009) - 89,654

According to the REGON register in the year 2002 there were around 95 thousand companies registered in the Podlaskie region (97% of them in the private sector), dealing with;
 * Trade and servicing – 33.2%
 * Providing services to real estates and companies – 11.8%
 * Construction – 10.5%
 * Industrial processing – 9.7%
 * Transport 8.3%
 * Agriculture, hunting and forestry 4.5%

Agriculture
Arable land constitutes around 60% of the total area of the region – most of which is ploughland (around 40%), forests, meadows and pastures. Over 120 000 farms are registered, roughly half of which are small farms of 1–5 ha and medium-sized farms of 5–10 ha. The smaller farms prefer intensive production (gardening, orcharding), whereas the larger ones engage in cattle and crop production. The cattle-raising farms are mainly oriented towards milk production.

In June 2015, the total area of land in agricultural holdings in the Podlaskie Voivodeship amounted to 1,243.3 thousand hectares. ha. Agricultural land occupied 1058.3 thousand. ha, forests and forest land - 134.7 thous. ha, while the remaining land - 50.4 thous. ha. The average area of agricultural land in a farm was 10.35 ha. Agriculture in Podlaskie Voivodeship is characterized by a high share of agricultural land in good agricultural condition (99.3%) - these include arable land, permanent crops, home gardens, permanent meadows and permanent pastures. 98.9 percent from all land in agricultural holdings, i.e. 1,254.3 thous. ha, belongs to individual farms. Podlaskie Voivodeship has the highest percentage of grassland among all voivodships of the country (almost 20% of the area). This is used to develop dairy and beef cattle farming. Podlaskie has the largest cattle stock in Poland (the average herd size in 2016 is 37.9). In terms of milk producing, the voivodeship, together with the Masovian Voivodeship, ranks first in the country. Podlaskie Voivodeship receive about 20% of the total production in the country. Cereals is an important crops grown in the region and themainly: wheat, rye, barley, oat, triticale, cereal mixtures, grain maize, millet, buckwheat. Other crops grown by farmers include, among others, potatoes, oil seeds, forage plants (green fodder, carrots, beets, turnips or alfalfa).

The natural conditions of the region are conducive to the development of organic growing, which at present is practised by around 100 farms. Over 600 farms in the region offer agritourist services.

Tourism and sights
The Białowieża Forest is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are five Historic Monuments of Poland in the voivodeship:
 * Augustów Canal
 * St. Roch's Church in Białystok
 * Mosques and cemeteries in Bohoniki and Kruszyniany, the two oldest mosques in Poland
 * Monastery of the Annunciation in Supraśl
 * Old Town of Tykocin

There are several castles and palaces in the region, including the Branicki Palace and Lubomirski Palace in Białystok, Royal Castle in Tykocin, Branicki Summer Palace in Choroszcz, Ossoliński Palace in Rudka, and Buchholtz Palace in Supraśl.

There are two spa towns in the voivodeship: Augustów and Supraśl. Augustów and Rajgród are popular summer destinations owing to their lakes. Białystok is known for its public parks and gardens, including the Branicki Garden and Planty Park. Tykocin and Supraśl are primary examples of preserved historic small towns in the voivodeship. The Baroque town halls in Białystok and Bielsk Podlaski are home to local museums.

The voivodeship is rich in Baroque churches and monasteries, most notably in Różanystok, Wigry, Sejny, Tykocin, Drohiczyn, Bielsk Podlaski, Siemiatycze, Choroszcz, although there are also churches in other styles, including the Gothic St. Michael and John the Baptist Cathedral in Łomża and Saint John the Baptist church in Wizna, the Renaissance Old Parish Church in Białystok and the adjacent Białystok Cathedral, and Neoclassical Co-cathedral of St. Alexander in Suwałki. The Catholic Sanctuary of the Presentation of Virgin Mary in Różanystok, Sanctuary of Our Lady of Studzieniczna in Augustów and Christ's Transfiguration Orthodox church on the Grabarka Holy Mount are important pilgrimage destinations. The Mannerist-Baroque Tykocin Synagogue in Tykocin, one of the best preserved historic synagogues in Poland, and one of the few not destroyed by Nazi Germany, houses a museum.

The largest museum dedicated to the history of the region is the Podlaskie Museum in Białystok with branches in Białystok, Bielsk Podlaski, Choroszcz, Supraśl, Tykocin and Turośń Kościelna. Białystok is home to the Sybir Memorial Museum, the main Polish museum devoted to history of Russian deportations of Poles to Siberia. There is a museum dedicated to Polish poet Maria Konopnicka at her birthplace in Suwałki.

There are also the Osowiec and Łomża fortresses.

There are numerous World War II memorials scattered across the voivodeship, including memorials at the sites of German and Soviet massacres of Poles, and Holocaust memorials. The ruins of the bunker of Captain Władysław Raginis in Góra Strękowa are preserved as a memorial to the heroic Polish defense in the Battle of Wizna.

Education
The chief universities of the voivodeship are the University of Białystok, Medical University of Białystok and Bialystok University of Technology.

Sports


Additionally, Podlasie Białystok is one of the top athletics clubs in the country.

Curiosities

 * The Suwałki Gap, an area of strategic and military importance for NATO as the only land connection between the Baltic States and members of the alliance, is located in the northern part of the province.
 * A traditional food of the region is sękacz, a spit cake produced in several varieties in various places, including Piątnica, Suchowola and Sejny County.
 * Krynki, Mielnik, Knyszyn and Tykocin were successively the main residential towns of the Polish kings in the region. In Krynki and Mielnik, renewals of the Polish–Lithuanian union were concluded in 1434 and 1501, respectively. At his favorite residence in Knyszyn, King Sigismund II Augustus died, ending the reign of the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland. Tykocin, whose Old Town is designated a Historic Monument of Poland, was the place where the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's oldest and highest order, was established.
 * In the northern part of the voivodeship there is a village named Szkocja, Polish for "Scotland", as it was founded for Scottish settlers.