Stanisławów Voivodeship

Stanisławów Voivodeship ( _pl. Województwo stanisławowskie; _uk. Станіславське воєводство) was an administrative unit of interwar Poland (1918-1939). It ceased to exist in September of 1939, following German and Soviet aggression on Poland (see: Invasion of Poland).

Demographics

Its capital was Stanisławów (now "Ivano-Frankivsk" in Ukraine). In 1921 was inhabited by 1 339 191 people, and its population density was 72.9 persons per km². Majority of population (68%) were Ukrainians, especially in the countryside. Poles, scattered everywhere, made around 23%, Jews (mainly in towns) - around 7%. Also, there were smaller communities of Germans. In 1931 the population grew to 1 480 300 and the density - to 88 persons per sq. km.

Geography

The Stanisławów Voivodeship's area was 16,894 square kilometers. It was located in south-eastern corner of the country, bordering Tarnopol Voivodeship to the east, Lwów Voivodeship to the west, Czechoslovakia and Romania to the south. It was in large part covered by forests of the Carpathian Mountains, with numerous mountain spas (Worochta, Skole, Dolina, Zabie, Slawsko, Woronienka, Jaremcza, Kuty). Landscape was hilly (in the north) and mountainous (in the south), with Hoverla in the Chornohora range as the highest peak (2060 meters above sea level). The other significant mountain range was the Gorgany.

The main river was the Dniestr, which also marked border with the Tarnopol Voivodeship. Other rivers were: the Prut, the Stryj and the Czeremosz (the last one was at the same time bordering Poland from Romania).

Administrative subdivisions

The Stanisławów Voivodeship consisted of 15 powiats (counties), 29 towns and 904 villages. It's capital was the largest city, with population of some 60 000 (as for 1931). Other important municipal centers of the voivodeship were: Kołomyja (pop. 33,800), Stryj (pop. 30,500), Horodenka (pop. 12,200), Kalusz (pop. 12,100), Sniatyn (pop. 10,800) and Bolechow (pop. 10,700).

The Stanisławów Voivodeship consisted of 12 powiats (counties):

* Dolina Powiat (2397 km²)

* Horodenka Powiat (849 km²)

* Kałusz Powiat (1137 km²)

* Kołomyja Powiat (1339 km²)

* Kosów Powiat (1839 km²)

* Nadwórna Powiat (2472 km²)

* Rohatyn Powiat (1147 km²)

* Stanisławów Powiat (1249 km²)

* Stryj Powiat (2081 km²),

* Śniatyń Powiat (567 km²)

* Tłumacz Powiat (934 km²)

* Żydaczów Powiat (883 km²)

Railroads and industry

The Stanisławów Voivodeship was located in the so-called Poland “B”, which meant that it was underdeveloped, with scarce industry and huge part of population living in poverty. Agricultural production was low, due to hilly or mountainous landscape, which made farming very difficult. Since mid-1930s, the area was quickly gaining popularity as a popular tourist center, with number of visitors rising year by year. Railroad network was well-developed in the north, with such important junctions as Stanisławów, Kołomyja and Stryj. In the south, however, rail connections were scarce.

On January 1, 1938, total length of railroads within Voivodeship's boundaries was 755 kilometers (4.5 km. per 100 km²).

Voivodes

*Edmund Jurystowski 21 October 1921 – 18 August 1925
*Aleksander Des Loges 18 August 1925 – 25 October 1926
*Władysław Korsak 18 December 1926 – 12 September 1927
*Aleksander Morawski 28 October 1927 – 30 October 1928
*Bronisław Nakoniecznikow-Klukowski 30 October 1928 – 29 August 1930
*Zygmunt Jagodziński 3 September 1930 – 1 February 1936 (acting till 2 February 1931)
*Mieczysław Starzyński 11 February 1936 – 22 June 1936 (acting )
*Jan Sawicki 23 June 1936 – July 1936
*Stefan Pasławski 14 July 1936 – 20 January 1939
*Stanisław Jarecki 20 January 1939 – 2 September 1939

eptember 1939 and its aftermath

On September 17, 1939, following German aggression on Poland and Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland. As bulk of Polish Army was concentrated in the west, fighting Germans, the Soviets met with little resistance and their troops quickly moved westwards. Polish authorities originally were planning to organize anit-German resistance in the area of Stanisławów Voivodeship, where Polish Army units were supposed to stand ground until spring of 1940, with French attack on Germany expected by that time. However, Soviet aggression nipped these plans in the bud.

Later, Voivodeship’s area was incorporated into Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Now, it belongs to Ukraine, the region is now mostly covered by Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.

ee also

* Podolia

References

* Maly rocznik statystyczny 1939, Nakladem Glownego Urzedu Statystycznego, Warszawa 1939 (Concise Statistical Year-Book of Poland, Warsaw 1939).

External links

* [http://www.kresy.co.uk/podole.html kresy.co.uk] - More on history
* [http://www.halgal.com/1931popbylang.html Genealogy of Halychyna/Eastern Galicia] - 1931 Polish census
* [http://stanislawow.net Stanislawow - Kresy] - Polish site on Stanislawow
* [http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Stanislawow/ JewishGen Stanislawow ShtetLink] - Jewish genealogy