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Coordinates: 51°36′43″N 19°25′26″E / 51.61194°N 19.42389°E / 51.61194; 19.42389

Łódź Voivodeship Województwo łódzkie
Voivodeship
Flag Coat of arms
Location within Poland
Division into counties
Coordinates (Łódź): 51°47′N 19°28′E / 51.783°N 19.467°E / 51.783; 19.467
Country	Poland
Capital	Łódź
Counties	3 cities, 21 land counties* Łódź Piotrków Trybunalski Skierniewice Bełchatów County Brzeziny County Kutno County Łask County Łęczyca County Łódź East County Łowicz County Opoczno County Pabianice County Pajęczno County Piotrków County Poddębice County Radomsko County Rawa County Sieradz County Skierniewice County Tomaszów Mazowiecki County Wieluń County Wieruszów County Zduńska Wola County Zgierz County
Area
• Total	18,219 km2 (7,034 sq mi)
Population (31-12-2016)
• Total	2,485,323
• Density	140/km2 (350/sq mi)
• Urban	1,563,595
• Rural	921,728
GDP (nominal; 2014)[1]
• Total	€25 billion
• Per capita	€10,000
Vehicle registration	E
Website	www.lodzkie.pl
*further divided into 177 gminas

Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Łódź Province,^[2] or by its Polish name, województwo łódzkie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ ˈwut͡skʲɛ]) is a province (voivodeship) in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sieradz, Piotrków Trybunalski and Skierniewice Voivodeships and part of Płock Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced [wut͡ɕ].

Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian to the north and east, Świętokrzyskie to the south-east, Silesian to the south, Opole to the south-west, Greater Poland to the west, and Kuyavian-Pomeranian for a short stretch to the north. Its territory belongs to three historical provinces of Poland – Masovia (in the east), Greater Poland (in the west) and Lesser Poland (in the southeast, around Opoczno).

Cities and towns

The voivodeship contains 44 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2016):^[3]

Administrative division

Łódź

Piotrków Trybunalski

Pabianice

Tomaszów Mazowiecki

Bełchatów

Łódź Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties (powiats): 3 city counties and 21 land counties. These are further divided into 177 gminas.

The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).^[3]

Protected areas

Łódź Hills Landscape Park

Protected areas in Łódź Voivodeship include seven Landscape Parks, as listed below.

• 
  Bolimów Landscape Park (partly in Masovian Voivodeship)


• Łódź Hills Landscape Park


• 
  Przedbórz Landscape Park (partly in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship)


• Spała Landscape Park


• Sulejów Landscape Park


• Warta-Widawka Landscape Park


• 
  Załęcze Landscape Park (partly in Silesian Voivodeship)

History

Łódź Voivodeship 1921–1939

The capital of the Łódź Voivodeship has always been Łódź, but the area of land which it comprises has changed several times. The first was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Second Polish Republic in the years 1921–1939. In 1938 some western counties were ceded to Greater Poland Voivodeship (see: Territorial changes of Polish Voivodeships on April 1, 1938).

After the change, Łódź Voivodeship's area was 20,446 square kilometres (7,894 sq mi), and its population (as for 1931) was 2,650,100. It consisted of 15 powiats (counties):

• 
  Brzeziny county,


• 
  Końskie county,


• 
  Kutno county,


• 
  Łask county,


• 
  Łęczyca county,


• 
  Łowicz county,


• city of Łódź county (powiat łódzki grodzki),


• 
  Łódź county,


• 
  Opoczno county,


• 
  Piotrków Trybunalski county,


• 
  Radomsko county,


• 
  Rawa Mazowiecka county,


• 
  Sieradz county,


• 
  Skierniewice county,


• 
  Wieluń county.

The largest cities of the voivodeship were (population according to the 1931 census):

• Łódź (pop. 604,600),


• Piotrków Trybunalski (pop. 51,300),


• Pabianice (pop. 45,700),


• Tomaszów Mazowiecki (pop. 38,000),


• Zgierz (pop. 26,600),


• Kutno (pop. 23,400),


• Radomsko (pop. 23,000).

Source: Mały rocznik statystyczny 1939, Nakładem Glownego Urzędu Statystycznego, Warszawa 1939 (Concise Statistical Year-Book of Poland, Warsaw 1939).

The next incarnation existed from 1945 until 1975 (although the city of Łódź was excluded as a separate City Voivodeship). This Łódź Voivodeship was then broken up, superseded by Łódź (see below), Sieradz, Piotrków Trybunalski, Skierniewice and partly Płock Voivodeships.

Łódź Voivodeship 1975–1998

Łódź Voivodeship, also known as Łódź Metropolitan Voivodeship (województwo miejskie łódzkie), existed from 1975 until 1998, after which it was incorporated into today's Łódź Voivodeship. Until 1990, the mayor of the city of Łódź was also the voivodeship governor.

As of 1995, major cities and towns in Łódź Metropolitan Voivodeship included (with their 1995 populations):

• 
  Łódź (825,600);


• 
  Pabianice (75,700);


• 
  Zgierz (59,100);


• 
  Ozorków (21,900);


• 
  Aleksandrów Łódzki (20,400).

Culture and education

The Rector's Office of the Lodz University of Technology

National Film School in Łódź

The basic cultural activities in the Łódź Region are: monitoring activities of seven regional self-government cultural institutions, i.e.: the Arthur Rubinstein Łódź Philharmonic, Museum of Art in Łódź (having one of the biggest modern art collections in Europe), the Opera House, Stefan Jaracz Theater, the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography, the Józef Piłsudski Regional and Municipal Public Library in Łódź, the Chamber of Culture in Łódź but also: supporting NGO’s, protection of monuments, awarding scholarships to young artists and rewards for the prominent artists. What is more, infrastructural projects are being undertaken. Among the most important investments are: the creation of four regional scenes in Stefan Jaracz Theatre, opening the new section of the Museum of Art in Łódź - ms² or the reconstruction of medieval settlement in Tum in the vicinity of Łęczyca.
The major universities in Łódź Voivodeship are:

• University of Łódź


• Technical University of Łódź


• National Film School in Łódź


• Medical University of Łódź


• Higher School of National Economy in Kutno


• Academy of Fine Arts In Łódź


• 
  Jan Kochanowski University in Piotrków Trybunalski
  

There are also dozens of other schools and academies, but for the last four years the best students in Łódź Voivodeship (according to the prestigious contest "Studencki Nobel") have been studying at the University of Łódź - in 2009 the regional laureate was Piotr Pawlikowski, in 2010 - Joanna Dziuba, in 2011 and 2012 - Paweł Rogaliński.^[4][5]

The excellent scientific staff of the higher education establishments in Łódź is complemented by Łódź’s scientists from the Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and scientific ministerial institutes working within the field of the occupational medicine, textile, paper and leather industries. The number of students in the higher education establishments in Łódź is still growing. Currently, they educate 113,000 students from Poland and other countries.

References

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Łódź (voivodship).

• 
  Województwo Łódzkie Official website


• 
  www.lodzkie.travel – tourists attractions of łódź voivodeship, a website produced by the Regional Tourist Organisation of the Łódź Voivodeship