Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Political map of Poland, Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship highlighted in red
Animated map of administrative changes in the voivodeship
Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship in relation to today's administrative borders
  • Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship
    • in relation to the Silesian Voivodeship or Katowice

    The Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship was a Polish administrative unit from 1975 to 1998 , which was partially dissolved in what is now the Lesser Poland and Silesia Voivodeships as part of an administrative reform . The capital was Bielsko-Biała .

    geography

    The voivodeship had an area of ​​3703 km². It bordered the Voivodeships of Katowice in the north, Krakow in the northeast, Nowy Sącz in the southeast and the Czech Republic in the west and Slovakia in the south. The most important river was the Vistula with its right tributaries Biała (German Bialka), Soła and Skawa , which flowed through the Auschwitz basin in the northern part of the voivodeship. The Olsa , the right tributary of the Oder, flowed on the western edge . The Silesian Beskids , Little Beskids , Central Beskids and the Saybuscher Beskids were located in the southern part of the voivodeship. The highest mountain was Babia Góra (1725 m) on the border with Slovakia and the Nowy Sącz Voivodeship.

    history

    The twin cities of Bielsko (Bielitz) and Biała (Biala) overgrown the historical centers of Cieszyn (Teschen) and Oświęcim (Auschwitz) even before the First World War.

    The reform of the administration of Poland from 1975, which is often criticized today, is generally well assessed and remembered in Bielsko-Biała. For the area of ​​the voivodeship, the name Podbeskidzie ([the land] below the Beskids ) was used, which emphasized the new identity of the area in the vicinity of the city of Bielsko-Biała towards Upper Silesia and Lesser Poland. In 1975 the voivodeship had 779,000 inhabitants, 18 cities and 52 municipalities. 1998 the voivodeship had 927,500 inhabitants (248 per km²) and was one of the most successful in Poland, over 40% worked in heavy and light industry (as in only 7 other voivodeships in Poland). Unemployment (9.1%) was the fourth lowest in the state. Many residents and politicians (including Grażyna Staniszewska ) protested, especially in their capital itself, against the dissolution of the voivodeship and the annexation to the Silesian Voivodeship.

    The cities were (1998 population):

    List of voivods

    • Józef Łabudek (1975-1981)
    • Stanisław Łuczkiewicz (1981–1987)
    • Franciszek Strzałka (1987–1990)
    • Mirosław Styczeń (1990-1994)
    • Andrzej Sikora (1997-1998)

    literature

    • Ryszard Kaczmarek: Bielsko-Biała. Monografia miasta . Bielsko-Biała w Polsce Ludowej 1945–1989. 2nd Edition. tape IV. . Wydział Kultury i Sztuki Urzędu Miejskiego w Bielsku-Białej, Bielsko-Biała 2011, ISBN 978-83-60136-46-1 (Polish).

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ a b R. Kaczmarek, 2011, p. 409.
    2. ↑ Ewa Furtak: [ online 10 lat temu odeszło województwo bielskie] ( pl ) bielskobiala.wyborcza.pl . January 8, 2009.