Administrative division of Congress Poland

The administrative division of Congress Poland changed several times. Immediately after its creation, 1815-1816, the Congress Kingdom of Poland was divided into departments, a relic from the times of the French-dominated Duchy of Warsaw. In 1816 the administrative divisions were reformed into the more traditionally Polish voivodeships, obwóds and powiats. In 1837, in the aftermath of the November Uprising earlier that decade, the administrative division was reformed once again, bringing Congress Poland closer to the structure of the Russian Empire, with the introduction of guberniyas (governorate, Polish spelling "gubernia"), gradually transforming Congress Poland into the "Vistulan Country". Over the next several decades, various smaller reforms were carried out, either changing the smaller administrative units or merging/splitting various guberniyas.

1816

On January 16, 1816 the administrative division was reformed from the departments of the Duchy of Warsaw into the more traditionally Polish voivodeships, obwóds and powiats.

There were 8 voivodeships:

* Augustów Voivodeship (capital in Suwałki)
* Kalisz Voivodeship
* Kraków Voivodeship (despite the name of this province, the city of Kraków was not included; Kraków was a free city until the Kraków Uprising of 1846; the capital was first Miechów, then Kielce).
* Lublin Voivodeship
* Mazowsze Voivodeship (capital in Warsaw)
* Płock Voivodeship
* Podlasie Voivodeship (capital in Siedlce)
* Sandomierz Voivodeship (capital in Radom)

1837

On 7 March 1837 the Congress Poland voivodeships were renamed as 8 guberniyas (governorates):
* Avgustov Governorate (with capital in Łomża)
* Kalish Governorate (with capital in Kalisz)
* Krakov Governorate (with capital in Kielce)
* Lublin Governorate (with capital in Lublin)
* Masovia Governorate (with capital in Warsaw)
* Plotsk Governorate (with capital in Płock)
* Podlyase Governorate (with capital in Siedlce)
* Sandomir Governorate (with capital in Radom)

1842

In 1842 powiats were renamed okręgs, and obwóds were renamed powiats.

1844

In 1844 several governorates were merged with others, and some others renamed. 5 governorates remained:
* Avgustov Governorate
* Lublin Governorate (roughly consisting of the former Lublin and Podlyase Governorates)
* Plotsk Governorate
* Radom Governorate (roughly the former Krakov and Sandomir Governorates)
* Warsaw Governorate (roughly the former Masovia and Kalisz Governorates)

1867

The 1867 reform, initiated after the failure of the January Uprising, was designed to tie the Congress Kingdom (now "de facto" the Vistulan Country) more tightly to the administration structure of the Russian Empire. It dividied larger governorates into smaller ones and introduced a new lower level entity, gminas. This time 10 governorates were formed:
* Kalish Governorate - Калишская (Kalishskaya)
* Keltse Governorate - Келецкая (Keletskaya) - split off from Radom Governorate
* Lublin Governorate - Люблинская (Lublinskaya)
* Lomzha Governorate - Ломжинская (Lomzhinskaya) - split off from the former Avgustov Governorate
* Petrokov Governorate - Петроковская (Petrokovskaya) - split off from parts of Radom and Warsaw Governorates
* Plotsk Governorate - Плоцкая (Plotskaya)
* Radom Governorate - Радомская (Radomskaya)
* Sedlets Governorate - Седлецкая (Sedletskaya)
* Suvalki Governorate - Сувалкская (Suvalskaya) - the former Augustów Governorate less the new Łomża Governorate)
* Warsaw Governorate - Варшавская (Varshavskaya)

1893

A minor reform of 1893 transferred some territory from the Plotsk and Lomzha Governorates to Warsaw Governorate.

1912

The 1912 reform created a new governorate - Kholm Governorate - from parts of the Sedlets and Lublin Governorates. However this was split off from the Vistulan Country and made part of the Southwestern Krai of the Russian Empire.

External links

* [http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/Poland/Q2.htm What is the history of the gubernias of Poland?]
*pl icon Zygmunt Gloger, [http://univ.gda.pl/~literat/glogre/0015.htm Geografia historyczna ziem dawnej Polski, Rodział 15: W wieku XIX]