- Silesian Voivodeship
Infobox Settlement
name = Silesian Voivodeship
native_name=Województwo śląskie
settlement_type=
image_shield = Śląskie herb.svg
map_caption = Location within Poland
map_caption1 = Division into counties
subdivision_type=Country
subdivision_name=POL
seat_type=Capital
seat =Katowice
parts_type = Counties
parts=19 cities, 17 land counties *
p1=Bielsko-Biała |p2=Bytom |p3=Chorzów |p4=Częstochowa |p5=Dąbrowa Górnicza |p6=Gliwice |p7=Jastrzębie-Zdrój |p8=Jaworzno |p9=Katowice |p10=Mysłowice |p11=Piekary Śląskie |p12=Ruda Śląska |p13=Rybnik |p14=Siemianowice Śląskie |p15=Sosnowiec |p16=Świętochłowice |p17=Tychy |p18=Zabrze |p19=Żory |p20=Będzin County |p21=Bielsko County |p22=Bieruń-Lędziny County |p23=Cieszyn County |p24=Częstochowa County |p25=Gliwice County |p26=Kłobuck County |p27=Lubliniec County |p28=Mikołów County |p29=Myszków County |p30=Pszczyna County |p31=Racibórz County |p32=Rybnik County |p33=Tarnowskie Góry County |p34=Wodzisław County |p35=Zawiercie County |p36=Żywiec County
coor_pinpoint=Katowice|latd=50|latm=15|latNS=N|longd=19|longm=0|longEW=E
area_total_km2 = 12334
total_type=Total
population_total = 4676983
population_as_of = 2006
population_density_km2 = auto
population_urban= 3675602
population_blank1_title=Rural
population_blank1= 1001381
blank_name=Car plates
blank_info=S
website=http://www.silesia-region.pl
footnotes = * further divided into 167gmina sSilesian Voivodeship (also known as Silesia Province, or by its Polish name of "województwo śląskie" IPA-pl| [|w|o|j|e|'|w|u|c|t|f|o|-|'|ś|l|ą|s|k|jIPA-pl|e| or simply "Śląskie") is a
voivodeship , orprovince , in southernPoland , centring on the region known asUpper Silesia ("Górny Śląsk"). Its capital isKatowice .It was created on
January 1 ,1999 , out of the former Katowice, Częstochowa and Bielsko-BiałaVoivodeship s, pursuant to the 1998 Local Government Reorganization Act.Geography
Silesian Voivodeship borders both the
Czech Republic andSlovakia to the south. It is also bordered by four other Polish voivodeships: those of Opole (to the west), Łódź (to the north), Świętokrzyskie (to the north-east), and Lesser Poland (to the east).The region includes the Silesian Upland ("Wyżyna Śląska") in the centre and north-west, and the Krakowsko-Częstochowska Upland ("Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska") in the north-east. The southern border is formed by the
Beskidy Mountains (Beskid Śląski and Beskid Żywiecki).The strong links between
Upper Silesia and the regions now contained in Opole and Lower Silesian Voivodeships reach back to the medieval history of the Duchy ofSilesia ("Księstwo Śląskie"), which was divided in the13th century into Upper and Lower Silesia. However, it should be noted that a around half of the territory of today's Silesian Voivodeship is not part of historical Silesia. Such cities asCzęstochowa ,Zawiercie ,Myszków ,Jaworzno ,Sosnowiec ,Żywiec ,Dąbrowa Górnicza ,Będzin and east part ofBielsko-Biała , and their surrounding counties, belong historically toLesser Poland .Population
Silesian Voivodeship has the highest population density in the country (379 people per square kilometre, compared to the national average of 124). The region's considerable industrialisation gives it the lowest unemployment rate nationally (6.2%). The Silesian region is the most industrialized and the most urbanized region in Poland: 78% of its population live in towns and cities.
Cities and towns
Due to its industrial and urban nature, the voivodeship has many cities and large towns. Of Poland's 40 largest towns, 12 are in Silesian Voivodeship. In all it has 71 towns, listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2006 [http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/45_655_PLK_HTML.htm] ):1.
Katowice (315,996)
2.Częstochowa (246,129)
3.Sosnowiec (225,202)
4.Gliwice (199,099)
5.Zabrze (190,610)
6.Bytom (187,205)
7.Bielsko-Biała (176,678)
8.Ruda Śląska (145,929)
9.Rybnik (141,382)
10.Tychy (130,842)
11.Dąbrowa Górnicza (129,753)
12.Chorzów (114,434)
13.Jaworzno (96,051)
14.Jastrzębie-Zdrój (95,149)
15.Mysłowice (74,988)
16.Siemianowice Śląskie (72,451)
17.Żory (62,625)
18.Tarnowskie Góry (61,107)
19.Piekary Śląskie (59,494)
20.Będzin (58,659)
21.Racibórz (57,352)
22.Świętochłowice (55,172)
23.Zawiercie (52,926)
24.Wodzisław Śląski (49,319)
25.Knurów (39,823)
26.Mikołów (38,392)
27.Cieszyn (36,014)
28.Czechowice-Dziedzice (34,811)
29.Czeladź (34,173)
30.Myszków (32,830)
31.Żywiec (32,078)
32.Czerwionka-Leszczyny (28,486)
33.Pszczyna (25,621)
34.Lubliniec (24,229)
35.Rydułtowy (21,950)
36.Łaziska Górne (21,906)
37.Bieruń (19,642)
38.Pyskowice (19,127)
39.Orzesze (18,830)
40.Radlin (17,673)
41.Radzionków (17,220)
42.Lędziny (16,156)
43.Ustroń (15,420)
44.Skoczów (14,641)
45.Pszów (14,012)
46.Kłobuck (13,193)
47.Wisła (11,453)
48.Blachownia (9,863)
49.Wojkowice (9,434)
50.Poręba (8,784)
51.Kalety (8,657)
52.Imielin (7,887)
53.Miasteczko Śląskie (7,368)
54.Łazy (7,139)
55.Sławków (6,833)
56.Koniecpol (6,303)
57.Szczyrk (5,860)
58.Siewierz (5,528)
59.Kuźnia Raciborska (5,517)
60.Krzepice (4,524)
61.Ogrodzieniec (4,465)
62.Żarki (4,419)
63.Woźniki (4,410)
64.Szczekociny (3,912)
65.Toszek (3,822)
66.Strumień (3,397)
67.Wilamowice (2,818)
68. Koziegłowy (2,505)
69.Krzanowice (2,207)
70. Pilica (1,971)
71.Sośnicowice (1,747)Administrative division
Silesian Voivodeship is divided into 36 counties (
powiat s). These include 19 city counties (far more than any other voivodeship) and 17 land counties. The counties are further divided into 167gmina s.The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).
Economy
The Silesian voivodship is predominantly an industrial region. Most of themining is derived from one of the world's largest bituminous
coal fields of the Upper Silesian Industrial District ("Gornoslaski Okreg Przemyslowy") and theRybnik Coal District ("Rybnicki Okreg Weglowy") with its major citiesRybnik ,Jastrzębie Zdrój ,Żory andWodzisław Śląski .Lead andzinc can be found nearBytom ,Zawiercie andTarnowskie Góry ;iron ore and raw materials for building - nearCzęstochowa . The most important regional industries are: mining, iron, lead and zinc metallurgy, power industry, engineering, automobile, chemical, building materials and textile. In the past, the Silesian economy was determined by coal mining. Now, considering the investment volume, car manufacturing is becoming more and more important. The most profitable company in the region isFiat Auto-Poland S.A. in Bielsko-Biała with a revenue ofPLN 6.2 billion in1997 . Recently a new car factory has been opened by GMOpel in Gliwice. There are twoSpecial Economic Zone s in the area: Katowice and Częstochowa. The voivodship's economy consists of about 323,000, mostly small and medium-sized, enterprises employing over 3 million people. The biggest Polish steel-works "Huta Katowice" is situated inDąbrowa Górnicza .Silesian Voivodship is also one of the richiest regions in Poland. Average salary is about 3 800 zlotychs (over 1 200 EUR).
Transport
Katowice International Airport is used for domestic and international flights and the Silesian agglomeration railway network has the largest concentration in the country. The voivodship capital enjoys good railway and road connections withKraków (highway),Wrocław (highway),Łódź andWarsaw . It is also the crossing point for many international routes like the one connectingBerlin ,Dresden , Wrocław, Kraków andKiev and the other fromGdańsk to theBalkans . A relatively short distance toVienna facilitates cross-border co-operation and may positively influence the process of European integration.Universities
There are eleven public universities in the voivodship. The biggest university is the
University of Silesia inKatowice , with 43,000 students. The region's capital boasts the Medical University, the Economic Academy, the Musical Academy, the Physical Education Academy and the Academy of Fine Arts.Częstochowa is the seat of theCzęstochowa University of Technology and Pedagogic University. TheSilesian University of Technology inGliwice is nationally renowned.Bielsko-Biała is home of the Technical-Humanistic Academy. In addition, 17 new private schools have been established in the region.In voivodship are studying more than 300,000 people.
Protected areas
Protected area s in Silesian Voivodeship include eight areas designated as Landscape Parks:
*Eagle Nests Landscape Park (partly inLesser Poland Voivodeship )
*Little Beskids Landscape Park (partly in Lesser Poland Voivodeship)
*Rudy Landscape Park
*Silesian Beskids Landscape Park
*Stawki Landscape Park
*Upper Liswarta Forests Landscape Park
*Załęcze Landscape Park (partly inŁódź Voivodeship )
*Żywiec Landscape Park Tourism
Both northern and southern
Silesia is surrounded by agreen belt .Bielsko-Biała is enveloped by the magnificentBeskidy Mountains which are particularly popular with winter sports fans. This genuine skier's paradise offers over 150 ski lifts and 200 kilometres of ski routes. More and more slopes are illuminated and equipped with artificial snow generators.Szczyrk , Brenna,Wisła andUstroń are the most popular winter mountain resorts. Rock climbing sites can be found in admirable corners of Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska. The ruins of castles forming theEagle Nests Trail are a famous attraction of the region. While in Silesia, one cannot miss theBlack Madonna 'sJasna Góra Sanctuary inCzęstochowa - the annual destination of over 4 million pilgrims from all over the world.With its more than two centuries of industrialisation history, region has a number of technical heritage memorials. These include narrow and standard gauge railways,
coal andsilver mines, shafts and its equipment from 19th and 20th century.Most popular surnames in the region
#
Nowak : 31,838
#Kowalski : 11,811
#Wójcik : 11,440See also
*
Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship
*History of Silesia
*Silesian Uprisings External links
* [http://www.zobacz.slask.pl/ The Website of Silesia]
* [http://www.silesia-region.pl/ Województwo Śląskie] Official website
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.