Lesser Poland Voivodeship

Lesser Poland Voivodeship(Polish:województwo małopolskie[vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔmawɔˈpɔlskʲɛ]) is avoivodeshipin southernPoland. It has an area of 15,108 square kilometres (5,833 sq mi), and a population of 3,404,863 (2019).Its capital and largest city isKraków.
The province's name recalls the traditional name of a historic Polish region, Lesser Poland, or in Polish:Małopolska. The current Lesser Poland Voivodeship, however, covers only a small part of the broader ancient Małopolska region, which stretched far north, toRadomandSiedlce, also including such cities asLublin,Kielce,Częstochowa, andSosnowiec.
The province is bounded on the north by theŚwiętokrzyskie Mountains(Góry Świętokrzyskie), on the west byJura Krakowsko-Częstochowska(a broad range of hills stretching fromKrakówtoCzęstochowa), and on the south by theTatra,PieninyandBeskidy Mountains. Politically, it is bordered bySilesian Voivodeshipto the west,Świętokrzyskie Voivodeshipto the north,Subcarpathian Voivodeshipto the east, andSlovakia(Prešov RegionandŽilina Regions) to the south.
Almost all ofLesser Polandlies in theVistula Rivercatchment area. The city ofKrakówwas one of theEuropean Cities of Culturein 2000. Kraków has railway and road connections withKatowice(expressway),Warsaw,WrocławandRzeszów. It lies at the crossroads of major international routes linkingDresdenwithKyiv, andGdańskwithBudapest. Located here is the second largestinternational airportin Poland (afterWarsaw's), theJohn Paul II International Airport.
Thegross domestic product(GDP) of the province was €40.4 billion in 2018, accounting for 8.1% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €19,700 or 65% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 72% of the EU average.
The region's economy includeshigh technology, banking, chemical andmetallurgicalindustries,coal,ore,food processing, and spirit andtobaccoindustries. The most industrialized city of the voivodeship isKraków. The largest regional enterprise operates here, the Tadeusz Sendzimir Steelworks inNowa Huta, employing 17,500 people. Another major industrial center is located in the west, in the neighborhood of Chrzanów (chiefly the production of railway engines) andOświęcim(chemical works). Kraków Park Technologiczny, aspecial economic zone, has been established within the voivodeship. There are almost 210,000 registered economic entities operating in the voivodeship, mostly small and medium-sized, of which 234 belong to the state-owned sector. Foreign investment, growing in the region, reached approximately US$18.3 billion by the end of 2006.
A total of 130,000 students attend fifteen Kraków institutions of higher learning. TheJagiellonian University, the largest university in the city (44,200 students), was founded in 1364 asCracow Academy.Nicolaus Copernicusand Karol Wojtyła (Pope John Paul II) graduated from it. TheAGH University of Science and Technology(29,800 students) is considered to be the best technical university in Poland. The Academy of Economics, the Pedagogical University, theKraków University of Technologyand the Agricultural Academy are also very highly regarded. There are also the Fine Arts Academy, the State Theatre University and the Musical Academy.Nowy Sączhas become a major educational center in the region thanks to its Higher School of Business and Administration, with an American curriculum, founded in 1992. The school has 4,500 students. There are also two private higher schools in Tarnów.
In theEarly Middle Ages, the territory was inhabited by theVistulans, an oldPolish tribe. It formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century, with the regional capitalKrakówbecoming the seat of one of Poland's oldest dioceses, est. in 1000, contributing to theChristianization of Poland. In 1038, Kraków became the capital of Poland by decision ofCasimir I the Restorer, retaining its role for several centuries with short-term breaks. It also became the location of theJagiellonian University, Poland's oldest university and one of world's oldest, established by KingCasimir III the Great. In theLate Middle Ages,OświęcimandZatorwere ducal seats of local lines of thePiast dynasty. Following the late-18th-centuryPartitions of Poland, the region witnessed several uprisings against foreign rule, i.e. theKościuszko Uprisingof 1794,Kraków uprisingof 1846 andJanuary Uprisingof 1863–1864, and Kraków remained one of the main cultural centers of partitioned Poland, taking advantage of the more relaxed policies of theAustrianpartitioners than those of thePrussiansandRussians. In theinterbellum, the region was part of reborn independent Poland.
DuringWorld War II, it wasoccupied by Germany, with the occupiers committing their genocidal policies againstPolesandJewsin the region, massacring civilians and prisoners of war, including atSzczucinandOlkusz, operating prisons,forced labourcamps and, most notably, theAuschwitz concentration campwith a network of subcamps in various localities. There was also aGerman prisoner-of-war campforFrench, Belgian, Dutch and Soviet prisoners of war.
The Lesser Poland Voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the formerKraków,Tarnów,Nowy Sączand parts ofBielsko-Biała,Katowice,KielceandKrosnoVoivodeships, pursuant to thePolish local government reformsadopted in 1998.
Located in SouthernPoland, Lesser Poland is the warmest place in Poland with average summer temperatures between 23 °C (73 °F) and 30 °C (86 °F) during the day, often reaching 32 °C (90 °F) to 38 °C (100 °F) in July and August, the two warmest months of the year. The city ofTarnów, which is located inLesser Poland, is the hottest place in Poland all year round, average temperatures being around 25 °C (77 °F) during the day in the three summer months and 3 °C (37 °F) during the day in the three winter months. In the winter the weather patterns alter each year; usually winters are mildly cold with temperatures ranging from −7 °C (19 °F) to 4 °C (39 °F), but the winter season changes often to a more humid and warmer winter, or more continental and cold, depending on the many various wind patterns that affect Poland from different regions of the world.Błędów Desert, the only desert in Poland, is located in Lesser Poland, where temperatures can often reach 38 °C (100 °F) in the summer.
Lesser Poland Voivodeship is the voivodeship with the highest number ofUNESCOWorld Heritage Sitesin Poland with six entries, encompassing theKrakówOld Town with theWawel Royal Castle, former main royal residence and burial site of Polish monarchs, the old salt mines ofBochnia(Europe's oldest) andWieliczka, the pilgrimage town ofKalwaria Zebrzydowska, the former Nazi German concentration campAuschwitzinOświęcim, thewooden churches of Southern Lesser Poland, and thewooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine.
Four national parks and numerous reserves have been established in the voivodeship to protect the environment ofLesser Poland. The region has areas for tourism and recreation, includingZakopane(Poland's most popular winter resort) and the Tatra,Pieninyand Beskidy Mountains. There are tenspa towns:Krynica-Zdrój,Muszyna,Piwniczna-Zdrój,Rabka-Zdrój,Szczawnica,Wapienne,Wieliczka,Wysowa-Zdrój,Zakopane,Żegiestów. The natural landscape features many historic sites.
The voivodeship is rich in historic architecture ranging fromRomanesqueandGothictoRenaissance,BaroqueandArt Nouveau. Numerous towns possess preserved historic market squares and town halls, as in Kraków andTarnów. AtWadowice, birthplace of John Paul II (50 kilometers southwest of Kraków) is a museum dedicated to the late pope's childhood.
The voivodeship, especially Kraków, is home to various museums, art galleries and cultural institutions. Major museums include theNational Museum in Krakówwith the branchCzartoryski Museum, one of the oldest museums of Poland, which contains works by various artists includingLeonardo da Vinci,Rembrandtand Kraków-nativeJan Matejko, and theArchaeological Museum of Kraków, the oldest archaeological museum in Poland. There are museums dedicated to paintersJan MatejkoandJózef Mehofferat their former homes in Kraków, to composer and pianistKarol Szymanowskiand writerKornel Makuszyńskiat their homes in Zakopane, to writerWładysław Orkanat his home inPoręba Wielkaand to writerEmil Zegadłowiczin his manor inGorzeń Górny.Manggha, the largest Polish museum of Japanese art, is located in Kraków.
There are numerous World War II memorials in the province, including a museum at the site of the formerNazi concentration campsAuschwitz-I and Auschwitz-II-Birkenau, as well as theAuschwitz Jewish Center, visited annually by a million people. There are memorials at the sites of German-perpetrated massacres of Poles, German-operatedforced labourcamps, etc.
The voivodeship is abundant in castles, includingMirów,Niedzica,Niepołomice,Nowy Wiśnicz,Pieskowa SkałaandWawel.
The voivodeship contains 4 cities and 58 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019):
Lesser Poland Voivodeship is divided into 22 counties (powiats): 3 city counties and 19 land counties. These are further divided into 182gminas.
The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).
Protected areasin Lesser Poland Voivodeship include sixNational Parksand 11Landscape Parks. These are listed below.
Lesser Poland Voivodeship's symbols can be blazoned as follows:
Coat of arms:A traditional Iberian shield gules, an eagle argent displayed armed, legged, beaked, langued and crowned Or.
Flag:Per fess argent and gules, a narrow fess Or.
In addition to traditional nationwidePolish cuisine, the voivodeship is known for its variety of regional and localtraditional foods, which include especially variouscheeses, including theBundz,OscypekandBryndza Podhalańskafrom mountain areas, meat products, especially local types ofkiełbasaandbacon,honeysand various dishes and meals, officially protected by theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland. There are local types ofpierogi,kluski,kołaczand varioussoups. Local specialities includeobwarzanek krakowskiandkrówkifromRegulice.
Local beverages include several types ofnalewkiandśliwowica, includingŚliwowica łącka.
The Lesser Poland Voivodeships has partnerships with the following regions:
In February 2020, the French region ofCentre-Val de Loiresuspended its partnership with the Lesser Poland Voivodeship as a response to theanti-LGBTresolution passed by the voivodeship's authorities.In September 2021, the voivodeships's authorities revoked the controversial declaration.
Football,ice hockeyandmotorcycle speedwayenjoy the largest following and greatest success in the voivodeship.CracoviaandWisła Krakówcontest the Kraków Derby, nicknamed theHoly War, considered the fiercest rivalry in Poland and one of the fiercest in Europe. Most accomplished hockey teams arePodhale Nowy Targ,CracoviaandUnia Oświęcim. Top speedway team isUnia Tarnów.
Since the establishment of the province, various major international sports competitions were co-hosted by the province, including the2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship,2016 European Men's Handball Championship,2017 Men's European Volleyball Championship,2021 Men's European Volleyball Championship,2023 World Men's Handball Championship,2023 European Games.