A voivodeship ( / ? v ?? v o? d ? ? p / VOY -vohd-ship ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval states, much as the title of voivode was equivalent to that of a duke . Other roughly equivalent titles and areas in medieval Eastern Europe included ban (bojan, vojin or bayan) and banate .

In a modern context, the word normally refers to one of the provinces ( wojewodztwa ) of Poland. As of 2022 ^[update] , Poland has 16 voivodeships.

Terminology [ edit ]

A voi(e)vod(e) (literally, "leader of warriors" or "war leader", equivalent to the Latin " Dux Exercituum ") was originally a military commander who stood, in a state's structure, next to the ruler. Later the word came to denote an administrative official.

Words for "voivodeship" in various languages include the Ukrainian : во?водство ; the Polish : wojewodztwo ; the Romanian : voievodat ; the Bulgarian : voivoda (войвода); the Serbian : vojvodina (во?водина), vojvodstvo (во?водство) or vojvodovina (во?водовина); the Hungarian : vajdasag ; the Belarusian : ваяводства ( vajаvodstva ); the Lithuanian : vaivadija . Some of these words, or variants of them, may also be used in English.

Named for the word for "voivodeship" is the autonomous Serbian province of Vojvodina .

Though the word "voivodeship" (other spellings are "voievodship" and "voivodship") appears in English dictionaries such as the OED and Webster's , it is not in common general usage, and voivodeships in Poland and elsewhere are frequently referred to as " provinces ". ^[1] Depending on context, historic voivodeships may also be referred to as "duchies", "palatinates" (the Latin word " palatinatus " was used for a voivodeship in Poland), "administrative districts" or "regions".

Historical voivodeships [ edit ]

in Southeastern Europe [ edit ]

In the territory of modern Romania and Moldova , the regions of Wallachia , Moldavia and Transylvania were formerly voivodeships. The region of Maramure? , now split between Romania and Ukraine , also used to be its own voivodeship, the Voivodeship of Maramure? .

Historical voivodeships in the territory of modern Serbia include the Voivodeship of Salan (9th?10th centuries), Voivodeship of Sermon (11th century), and Voivodeship of Syrmia of Radoslav ?elnik (1527?1530). A voivodeship called Serbian Vojvodina was established in 1848?1849; this was transformed into the Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat , a land within the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1849 to 1860. This is the origin of the name of the present-day Serbian autonomous province of Vojvodina .

In Poland and Lithuania [ edit ]

For more information about the divisions of Polish lands in particular periods, see Administrative divisions of Poland ("Historical") .

Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth [ edit ]

Voivodeships in the Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569?1795):

• In the Polish Crown Lands:

• In the historical Grand Duchy of Lithuania :

• In the historical Duchy of Livonia :
  • Wenden Voivodeship (1598?1620)
  • Dorpat Voivodeship (1598?1620)
  • Parnawa Voivodeship (1598?1620)
  • Inflanty Voivodeship (from the 1620s)

Congress Poland (1816?37) [ edit ]

Voivodeships in Congress Poland 1816?37.

• Augustow Voivodeship
• Kalisz Voivodeship
• Krakow Voivodeship
• Lublin Voivodeship
• Masovian Voivodeship
• Płock Voivodeship
• Podlaskie Voivodeship
• Sandomierz Voivodeship

Second Polish Republic [ edit ]

Voivodeships of Poland, 1921?1939:

• Silesian Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo ?l?skie )
• Białystok Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Białostockie )
• Kielce Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Kieleckie )
• Krakow Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Krakowskie )
• Łod? Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Łodzkie )
• Lublin Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Lubelskie )
• Lwow Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Lwowskie )
• Nowogrodek Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Nowogrodzkie )
• Polesie Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Poleskie )
• Pomeranian Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Pomorskie )
• Pozna? Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Pozna?skie )
• Stanisławow Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Stanisławowskie )
• Tarnopol Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Tarnopolskie )
• Warsaw Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Warszawskie )
• Wilno Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Wile?skie )
• Volhynian Voivodeship ( Wojewodztwo Woły?skie )

Poland 1945?75 [ edit ]

Voivodeships of Poland, 1945?1975:

Poland 1975?98 [ edit ]

Voivodeships of Poland, 1975?1998:

References [ edit ]