Question: What is the largest administrative subdivision in Poland?

Administrative divisions of Poland


Administrative
divisions of Poland
Voivodeships
 Powiats (list)
 Gminas (list)vt
The administrative division of Poland since 1999 has been based on three levels of subdivision. The territory of Poland is divided into voivodeships (provinces); these are further divided into powiats (counties or districts), and these in turn are divided into gminas (communes or municipalities). Major cities normally have the status of both gmina and powiat. Poland currently has 16 voivodeships, 380 powiats (including 66 cities with powiat status), and 2,478 gminas.[1]
The current system was introduced pursuant to a series of acts passed by the Polish parliament in 1998, and came into effect on 1 January 1999. Previously (in the period from 1975 to 1998) there had been 49 smaller voivodeships, and no powiats (see Administrative division of the People's Republic of Poland). The reform created 16 larger voivodeships (loosely based on and named after historical regions) and reintroduced powiats.
The boundaries of the voivodeships do not always reflect the historical borders of Polish regions. Around half of the Silesian Voivodeship belongs to the historical province of Lesser Poland. Similarly, the area around Radom, which historically is part of Lesser Poland, is located in the Masovian Voivodeship. Also, the Pomeranian Voivodeship includes only the eastern extreme of historical Pomerania, as well as areas outside it.

Voivodeships

Poland is currently divided into 16 provinces known as voivodeships (Polish: województwa, singular województwo). Administrative authority at voivodeship level is shared between a central government-appointed governor, called the voivode (usually a political appointee), an elected assembly called the sejmik, and an executive board (zarząd województwa) chosen by that assembly. The leader of that executive is called the marszałek.

Powiats

Each voivodeship is divided into a number of smaller entities known as powiats (counties). The number of powiats per voivodeship ranges from 12 (Opole Voivodeship) to 42 (Masovian Voivodeship). This includes both powiats proper (known as land counties, Polish powiaty ziemskie), and cities with powiat status (city counties, Polish powiaty grodzkie or more formally miasta na prawach powiatu). Land counties have an elected council (rada powiatu), which elects an executive board (zarząd powiatu) headed by the starosta. In city counties the functions of these institutions are performed by the city's own council (rada miejska, rada miasta) and directly elected mayor (prezydent).
Gminas

The third level of administrative division is the gmina (also called commune or municipality). A powiat is typically divided into a number of gminas (between 3 and 19), although the city counties constitute single gminas. A gmina may be classed as urban (consisting of a town or city), urban-rural (consisting of a town together with its surrounding villages and countryside), or rural (not containing a town). A gmina has an elected council as well as a directly elected mayor (known as prezydent in large towns, burmistrz in most urban and urban-rural gminas, and wójt in rural gminas).
Smaller units
Gminas are generally sub-divided into smaller units, called osiedle or dzielnica in towns, and sołectwo in rural areas. However, these units are of lesser importance and are subordinate in status to the gmina.
Historical divisions
Polish territory has been subject to significant changes over the course of Polish history. Therefore, the modern Polish administrative division, while on some levels similar to some historical ones, is quite different from others. Historical Polish administrative divisions can be divided into the following periods:
before 1569: Administrative division of Kingdom of Poland
1569-1795: Administrative division of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
1795-1807: Administrative division of Polish territories after partitions
1807-1815: Administrative division of Duchy of Warsaw
1815-1914: Administrative division of Congress Poland
1914-1918: Administrative division of Polish territories during WWI
1918-1939: Administrative division of Second Polish Republic
1939-1945: Administrative division of Polish territories during WWII
1945-1999: Administrative division of People's Republic of Poland
since 1999: see main article above

Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)
Map showing voivodeships of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the Two Nations (1569-1795)
Administrative division of Congress Poland, 1907
Polish voivodeships, 1922-1939.
Polish voivodeships, 1975-1998
Map of Poland Division into voivodeships, powiats and gminas (2013)

See also
Administrative division of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland
Electoral districts of Poland
Military districts of Poland
Territorial evolution of Poland
NUTS of Poland
Cultural and economic:
Poland A and B