Native Name: | Województwo łódzkie |
Conventional Long Name: | Łódź Voivodeship |
Common Name: | Łódź Voivodeship |
Subdivision: | Voivodeship |
Nation: | Poland |
Government Type: | Voivodeship |
Title Leader: | Voivodes |
Leader1: | Antoni Kamieński |
Year Leader1: | 1919-1922 |
Leader2: | Henryk Józewski |
Year Leader2: | 1938-1939 |
Political Subdiv: | 15 powiats (1939) |
Year Start: | 1919 |
Year End: | 1939 |
Capital: | Łódź |
Date Start: | 14 August |
Event End: | Annexed |
Date End: | September |
Event1: | Territorial changes |
Date Event1: | 1 April 1938 |
Era: | Interwar period |
Image Map Caption: | Łódź Voivodeship (red) on the map of Second Polish Republic |
P1: | Russian Empire |
Flag P1: | Flag of Russia.svg |
S1: | Reichsgau Wartheland |
Flag S1: | Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg |
Stat Year1: | 1921 |
Stat Area1: | 19034 |
Stat Pop1: | 2252769 |
Stat Year2: | 1931 |
Stat Pop2: | 2650100 |
Stat Year3: | 1939 |
Stat Area3: | 20446 |
Image S1: | Wojewodztwo lodzkie (Lodz Voivodeship, II RP).png |
Image Map2: | Wojewodztwo lodzkie (Lodz Voivodeship, II RP).png |
Image Map2 Caption: | Map of the administrative division of the Voivodeship |
Łódź Voivodeship (pl|Wojewodztwo Łódzkie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from 1919 to 1939. At the time, it covered a large portion of the mid-western part of the country, including such cities as Łódź, Piotrków Trybunalski, Sieradz and Radomsko. The capital of the Łódź Voivodeship was always Łódź, but the land that comprised it changed several times.
In early 1939, the Voivodeship's area was 20,446 square kilometers. It was located in middle Poland, bordering Poznań Voivodeship to the west, Pomorze Voivodeship to the north, Warsaw Voivodeship to the east Kielce Voivodeship to the south and Germany to the southwest. Landscape was flat, forests covered only 14.7%, with the national average 22.2% (as of January 1, 1937).
In 1938 some western counties were ceded to Poznań Voivodeship (see: Territorial changes of Polish Voivodeships on April 1, 1938). After the change, it consisted of 15 powiats (counties):
The most populous cities of the Voivodeship were (population according to the 1931 Polish census):
According to the 1921 census the voivodeship was inhabited by 2,252,769 people, of whom by nationality 1,873,629 were Poles (83.1%), 103,484 were Germans (4.6%), 270,437 were Jews (12.0%) and 5,219 were all others (0.3%). By religion - according to the census of 1921 - 1,734,117 were Roman Catholics (77.0%), 173,546 were Protestants of all kinds (7.7%), 326,973 were Jews (14.5%) and 18,133 were all others (0.8%).[1] The Jews and the Germans preferred to live in the cities and towns (especially the city of Łódź itself). In 1931 these two ethnic groups made up 37.6% of the Voivodeship's urban population. The illiteracy rate (in 1931) was 22.7%, slightly lower than the national average of 23.1%.
The detailed results of the 1931 census by county are presented in the table below:
Łódź City | 604629 | 356987 | 59.0% | 191720 | 31.7% | 53562 | 8.9% | 0.4% | 340179 | 56.3% | 202497 | 33.5% | 56159 | 9.3% | 0.9% | |
Brzeziny | 150923 | 115905 | 76.8% | 24818 | 16.4% | 10020 | 6.6% | 0.1% | 103067 | 68.3% | 25396 | 16.8% | 15022 | 10.0% | 4.9% | |
Kalisz | 195761 | 169363 | 86.5% | 21625 | 11.0% | 3821 | 2.0% | 0.5% | 160163 | 81.8% | 23450 | 12.0% | 10512 | 5.4% | 0.8% | |
Koło | 119370 | 101969 | 85.4% | 9506 | 8.0% | 7771 | 6.5% | 0.1% | 100411 | 84.1% | 9783 | 8.2% | 8820 | 7.4% | 0.3% | |
Konin | 207495 | 183237 | 88.3% | 7129 | 3.4% | 16787 | 8.1% | 0.2% | 180572 | 87.0% | 7491 | 3.6% | 18561 | 8.9% | 0.4% | |
Łask | 171885 | 142769 | 83.1% | 15409 | 9.0% | 10488 | 6.1% | 1.8% | 138595 | 80.6% | 17004 | 9.9% | 15366 | 8.9% | 0.5% | |
Łęczyca | 127585 | 111517 | 87.4% | 11763 | 9.2% | 4195 | 3.3% | 0.1% | 108277 | 84.9% | 11937 | 9.4% | 5951 | 4.7% | 1.1% | |
Łódź County | 161671 | 120095 | 74.3% | 12815 | 7.9% | 28450 | 17.6% | 0.2% | 117102 | 72.4% | 13152 | 8.1% | 29131 | 18.0% | 1.4% | |
Piotrków | 222195 | 192161 | 86.5% | 20434 | 9.2% | 8838 | 4.0% | 0.3% | 188184 | 84.7% | 20902 | 9.4% | 12044 | 5.4% | 0.5% | |
Radomsko | 186412 | 171787 | 92.2% | 11734 | 6.3% | 2601 | 1.4% | 0.2% | 169865 | 91.1% | 12019 | 6.4% | 3820 | 2.0% | 0.4% | |
Sieradz | 168051 | 147369 | 87.7% | 15111 | 9.0% | 5493 | 3.3% | 0.0% | 145689 | 86.7% | 16042 | 9.5% | 5714 | 3.4% | 0.4% | |
Turek | 101734 | 94370 | 92.8% | 4155 | 4.1% | 3176 | 3.1% | 0.0% | 92653 | 91.1% | 4311 | 4.2% | 4528 | 4.5% | 0.2% | |
Wieluń | 214299 | 200823 | 93.7% | 13216 | 6.2% | 113 | 0.1% | 0.1% | 196813 | 91.8% | 14511 | 6.8% | 2276 | 1.1% | 0.3% | |
Total | 2632010 | 2108352 | 80.1% | 359435 | 13.7% | 155315 | 5.9% | 0.3% | 2041570 | 77.6% | 378495 | 14.4% | 187904 | 7.1% | 0.9% |
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The Voivodeship's biggest industrial center was the city of Łódź with its suburbs. Apart from this, it lacked other industrial cities. The construction of a huge public works program, called Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy, which started in the second half of the 1930s, missed this part of Poland. Railroad density was 4.8 per 100 km2, while the national average was 5.2. The biggest rail hubs were Koluszki, Kutno, Łowicz, Skierniewice, Zduńska Wola and Łódź.