Lubusz Voivodeship

History

During the formation and early expansion of the Polish state under its first rulers, Mieszko I and Bolesław I the Brave, the entire territory of the present Lubusz Voivodeship became part of Poland by 1002, including the historic Lubusz Land, part of which is located on the western bank of the Oder River, including its capital Lubusz, now Lebus in Germany. The oldest towns in the region, dating back over 1,000 years, include Trzciel, Skwierzyna, Iłowa, Szprotawa, Jasień, Krosno Odrzańskie, Międzyrzecz and Żary, with most other towns also founded in the Middle Ages, including the current regional capitals of Zielona Góra and Gorzów Wielkopolski. The youngest towns are Łęknica, Czerwieńsk, Nowa Sól, Szlichtyngowa and Zbąszynek, all either first mentioned or established in the later periods.

Following the fragmentation of Poland into smaller provincial duchies, various portions of the present Lubusz Voivodeship were part of various duchies, initially the duchies of Greater Poland and Silesia, and later also Poznań, Legnica, Głogów, Lubusz and Żagań, ruled by various lines of the Piast dynasty. Over time, portions of the present Lubusz Voivodeship were lost by Poland. In 1250 the Lubusz Land was acquired by the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg. In 1319–1326 it was contested by various Polish and German rulers, before falling back to Brandenburg. After Brandenburg passed to the Bohemian Crown in 1373, Poland made a peaceful attempt to regain the northern portion of the area. In 1402, the Bohemian rulers reached an agreement with Poland in Kraków. Poland was to buy and re-incorporate the northern outskirts of the present Lubusz Voivodeship, but eventually the Bohemian rulers sold the area to the Teutonic Order, who in turn sold it back to Brandenburg in 1454 to raise funds for war against Poland. The southern part of the current voivodeship remained part of the duchies of Żagań and Głogów, ruled by the houses of Piast and Jagiellon, with the Żagań duchy eventually passing to houses of foreign background, including Czech, Saxon and French, whereas other areas were gradually incorporated directly into the Kingdom of Bohemia. In 1635, most of the south-western part of the present Lubusz Voivodeship passed from Bohemia to Saxony, and from 1697 formed part of Poland-Saxony. In the 18th century, Wschowa was an important royal city of Poland, as it often hosted Polish kings and several sessions of the Polish Senate, hence being dubbed the "unofficial capital of Poland". King Augustus III of Poland also often stopped in Brody. Wschowa and Gubin had important mints that struck Polish coins.

In 1701, the Kingdom of Prussia was established, which included Brandenburg-held Lubusz Land, and various areas were eventually gradually annexed by Prussia in the following centuries, starting with the south-eastern part of the current voivodeship in 1742, followed by eastern portions (western outskirts of Greater Poland) in 1793 (briefly regained by Poles in 1807–1815 as part of the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw), and the south-western part in 1815. Within Prussia and Germany the territory was divided between the provinces of Neumark/Brandenburg, South Prussia/Posen, and Silesia/Lower Silesia.

Geography

The Lubusz Voivodeship is a land of forests and lakes; forests cover 48% of the area. The river Oder, flowing through the voivodeship, is one of the few large European rivers retaining broadleaved and riparian forests. Areas with the highest natural values are protected as national parks (Drawa National Park and Warta Mouth National Park), landscape parks and wildlife reserves. The 19th century Muskau Park, located on both sides of the Polish–German border, has entered the UNESCO World Heritage List. The voivodeship abounds in lakes, especially in its central and northern parts; around those lakes numerous bathing resorts, holiday centres and farms offering tourist services have been established.

Cities and towns

The voivodeship contains 3 cities and 40 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (as of 2021):

Administrative division

Lubusz Voivodeship is divided into 14 counties (powiats): 2 city counties and 12 land counties. These are further divided into 82 gminas.

The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).

Cuisine

The voivodeship, especially its northern part, is a notable for production of honey, with several varieties listed as traditional foods by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, and the Saint Michael's Honey Fair held annually in Gorzów Wielkopolski.

The southern part of the voivodeship with Zielona Góra is one of the leading winemaking regions of Poland, and other traditional beverages from the voivodeship are beer, mead, nalewki and vodka. Zielona Góra hosts the annual Zielona Góra Wine Fest, the largest wine fest in Poland.

Various types of traditional Polish kiełbasa, also designated as traditional foods by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, are produced in the Nowa Sól, Wschowa, Zielona Góra, Żagań and Żary counties in the southern part of the Lubusz Voivodeship, whereas Siedlisko, Nowa Sól County produces a variety of traditional cheeses and quarks. Sława with its environs is one of the main poultry-farming regions in Poland, particularly for turkeys, and specializes in the production of various turkey sausages and other meat products.

Economy

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 10.8 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.2% of Polish economic output. The GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 17,600 euros or 58% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 67% of the EU average.

Transport

The sole airport in the voivodeship is the Zielona Góra Airport. The A2, A18 and S3 highways pass through the province.

Rail

The dominant rail operator of the voivodeship is the Lubusz branch of Polregio, which operates regional passenger trains under a contract with the Lubusz Voivodeship. The branch is based in Zielona Góra, and its services cover much of the region, with some extending to neighbouring voivodeships.

Since 2024, the Lubusz Voivodeship has been planning to operate passenger trains under its own company, Lubusz Public Transport (LTP), which was founded in the following year. The voivodeship is currently on a 10-year contract with Polregio; but is considering to terminate it early. This came after the Lubusz Voivodeship complained about Polregio's "mass train cancellations" and "shortage of trains", implying that the rolling stock of the Lubusz branch is very limited, consisting of mostly older stock. The president of Polregio, Andrzej Pawłowski, said "establishing your own company will not be a miracle solution that will automatically heal the rolling stock situation".

Protected areas

Protected areas in Lubusz Voivodeship include two national parks and eight landscape parks. These are listed below.

Drawa National Park (partly in Greater Poland and West Pomeranian Voivodeships)

Warta Mouth National Park

Warta Mouth Landscape Park (partly in West Pomeranian Voivodeship)

Barlinek-Gorzów Landscape Park (partly in West Pomeranian Voivodeship)

Gryżyna Landscape Park

Krzesin Landscape Park

Łagów Landscape Park

Muskau Bend Landscape Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Przemęt Landscape Park (partly in Greater Poland Voivodeship)

Pszczew Landscape Park (partly in Greater Poland Voivodeship)

Sights and tourism

There are seven Historic Monuments of Poland and one World Heritage Site in the voivodeship:

Muskau Park in Łęknica (listed as both)

Former Cistercian abbey in Gościkowo

Church of the Visitation of Mary in Klępsk

Former Augustinian Abbey and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Żagań, one of the burial sites of the Piast dynasty

Former sanatorium in Trzebiechów

Piast Royal Castle in Międzyrzecz

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Rokitno in Rokitno

Furthermore, there are several preserved old towns with historic town halls and market squares (e.g. Zielona Góra, Wschowa, Świebodzin and Bytom Odrzański). Of the historic town halls, the one in Kargowa was the site of an armed defense against the annexation by Prussia in the Second Partition of Poland in 1793. Several towns contain entirely or partly preserved medieval town walls with towers and gates, e.g. Kożuchów, Strzelce Krajeńskie, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Ośno Lubuskie, Wschowa. There are multiple castles, including Piast Royal and Ducal castles in Krosno Odrzańskie, Kożuchów, Międzyrzecz and Żagań. There are also numerous palaces, including at Brody, Dąbrówka Wielkopolska, Glisno, Jędrzychowice, Kalsk, Mierzęcin, Trzebiechów, Żary. The village of Łagów, which hosted the Knights Templar and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in the past, contains the Castle of the Order of St. John, and several other medieval structures. Kostrzyn nad Odrą and its surroundings contain fortifications of the Kostrzyn Fortress with Fort Sarbinowo, which housed a German strict regime prisoner-of-war camp for Allied officers during World War I, considered the only German WWI POW camp from which no one managed to escape.

Major museums dedicated to the history of the region are located in Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra. There are museums dedicated to Allied prisoners of war at the former German POW camps in Dobiegniew and Żagań. In Żagań, there is a memorial to the victims of the Stalag Luft III murders of Allied POWs, perpetrated by Nazi Germany in World War II. There are multiple other memorials to victims of Nazi Germany in the region, including at the sites of the most notorious atrocities in Międzyrzecz, Słońsk and Świecko. In Bucze there is a memorial to American airmen shot down by the Germans in 1945. The garrison town of Żagań hosts Poland's oldest monument of Wojtek, the soldier bear of the Polish II Corps.

Sports

Motorcycle speedway has a following in the province, with the Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski and Falubaz Zielona Góra clubs being among the most successful in the sport in the country. The teams contest the Lubusz Voivodeship Derby, which is a notable speedway rivalry.

Education

The chief higher education institutions in the Lubusz Voivodeship are the University of Zielona Góra and the Jacob of Paradies University in Gorzów Wielkopolski. Gorzów is also home to the Faculty of Physical Culture in Gorzów Wielkopolski of the Poznań University of Physical Education, whereas Słubice is home to the Collegium Polonicum, a branch of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Private colleges are the Lusatian Higher School in Żary and the Higher School of Business in Gorzów Wielkopolski.