Podkarpackie Voivodeship (Polish pronunciation: [pɔt.karˈpat͡s.kjɛ]; lit. 'Subcarpathian') is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. It is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional Assembly and the voivodeship marshal.
The name derives from the region's location near the Carpathian Mountains, and the voivodeship comprises areas of two historic regions of Central Europe—Lesser Poland (western and northwestern counties) and Cherven Cities/Red Ruthenia.
It is bordered by Lesser Poland Voivodeship to the west, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship to the north-west, Lublin Voivodeship to the north, Ukraine (Lviv Oblast and Zakarpattia Oblast) to the east and Slovakia (Prešov Region) to the south. It covers an area of 17,844 square kilometres (6,890 sq mi), and has a population of 2,627,462 (as at 2019). The voivodeship is mostly hilly or mountainous (see Bieszczady, Beskidy); its northwestern corner is flat. It is one of the most wooded Polish voivodeships (35.9% of total area), within its borders is the entirety of Bieszczady National Park, and parts of Magura National Park.
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History
In the Early Middle Ages, the territory was inhabited by the Vistulans and Lendians, old Polish tribes. It formed part of Poland since its first ever historic ruler Mieszko I, however, later on, at various times, portions of the region fell under the Kievan Rus', the Golden Horde, and the Kingdom of Hungary, before Poland regained full control in the 14th century. Following the Partitions of Poland the entire region was annexed by Austria and included within the newly established Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. The oldest cities in the province, with over 1,000 years of history, are Przemyśl and Sanok. Rzeszów, Łańcut and Tarnobrzeg, with their castles and palaces, were important residential cities of the powerful Polish magnate families of Lubomirski, Potocki and Tarnowski.
During the interwar period (1918–1939), territory of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship was part of the Lwów Voivodeship and belonged to "Poland B", the less-developed, more rural parts of Poland. To boost the local economy, the government of the Second Polish Republic began in the mid-1930s a massive program of industrialization, known as the Central Industrial Region. The program created several major armament factories, including PZL Mielec, PZL Rzeszów, Huta Stalowa Wola, and factories in other Subcarpathian towns such as Dębica, Nowa Dęba, Sanok, Tarnobrzeg and Nowa Sarzyna.
Following the joint German–Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, most of the current province was occupied by Nazi Germany with the eastern outskirts occupied by the Soviet Union, and the city of Przemyśl divided between the occupiers until 1941, and then the entire region occupied by Germany until 1944.
Following the Soviet annexation of the regional capital of Lwów, Rzeszów was chosen as the new regional capital and the Rzeszów Voivodeship was founded.
The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Krosno and (partially) Tarnów and Tarnobrzeg Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local-government reforms adopted in 1998.
Government
Subcarpathian Voivodeship's government powers are shared between the voivode (governor), the sejmik (regional assembly), and the marshal.
Cities and towns
The voivodeship contains 6 cities and 49 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures as of 2019)
Administrative division
Subcarpathian Voivodeship is divided into 25 counties (powiats): four city counties and 21 land counties. These are further divided into 160 gminas.
The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).
Protected areas
Protected areas in Subcarpathian Voivodeship include two national parks and 11 Landscape Parks. These are listed below.
Bieszczady National Park (part of the East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve)
Magura National Park (partly in Lesser Poland Voivodeship)
Cisna-Wetlina Landscape Park
Czarnorzeki-Strzyżów Landscape Park
Jaśliska Landscape Park
Janów Forests Landscape Park (partly in Lublin Voivodeship)
Pasmo Brzanki Landscape Park (partly in Lesser Poland Voivodeship)
Pogórze Przemyskie Landscape Park
Puszcza Solska Landscape Park (partly in Lublin Voivodeship)
San Valley Landscape Park
Słonne Mountains Landscape Park
South Roztocze Landscape Park (partly in Lublin Voivodeship)
Economy
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 19.4 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 3.9% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 15,100 euros or 50% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 59% of the EU average. Podkarpackie Voivodship is the province with the third lowest GDP per capita in Poland.
Transportation
The Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport is the province's international airport.
The A4 and S19 highways pass through the province, with the S74 also planned for construction.
Demographics
Population according to 2002 census
Poles – 2,079,208 (98.8%)
Pogorzans
Ukrainians – 3,271 (0.2%)
Rusyns
Lemkos – 147
Boykos
Romani people – 717
Americans – 129
Russians – 128
Germans – 116
Italians – 108
No answer – 19,055 (0.9%)
Most popular surnames in the region
Mazur: 9,530
Nowak: 9,301
Baran: 8,020
Sights and tourism
There are three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the voivodeship:
Bieszczady National Park
Wooden churches of Southern Lesser Poland (three within the province)
Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine (four within the province)
There are seven Historic Monuments of Poland in the voivodeship:
World's oldest oil field in Bóbrka
Krasiczyn Castle
Bernardine Monastery in Leżajsk with the famous Baroque pipe organs
Łańcut Castle
Old Town of Przemyśl
Przemyśl Fortress
St. Paraskevi Church, Radruż
Other preserved historic old towns include Krosno, nicknamed "Little Kraków", Jarosław, Rzeszów, Sanok. In Jarosław, Przemyśl and Rzeszów there are underground tourist routes in historic cellars under the old town market squares. There are numerous castles and palaces in the province, including the Royal Castles in Przemyśl and Sanok, and former noble castles and palaces in Baranów Sandomierski, Dukla, Rzeszów, Tarnobrzeg and Tyczyn.
There are five spa towns: Horyniec-Zdrój, Iwonicz-Zdrój, Polańczyk, Rymanów-Zdrój, Solina.
There are several museums, including the National Museum in Przemyśl and Regional Museum in Rzeszów. The more unique museums include the Museum of Folk Architecture in Sanok, Markowa Ulma-Family Museum of Poles Who Saved Jews in World War II, Museum of Oil and Gas Industry at the location of the world's oldest oil field in Bóbrka, and Museum of the Polish Sulfur Industry in Tarnobrzeg.
Cuisine
In addition to traditional nationwide Polish cuisine, Subcarpathian Voivodeship is known for its variety of regional and local traditional foods, which include especially various cheeses, meat products (incl. various types of kiełbasa, bacon and salceson), cakes, honeys and various dishes and meals, officially protected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland. There are local types of pierogi, gołąbki, barszcz and other soups.
Sports
Motorcycle speedway, volleyball, ice hockey and football enjoy the largest following in the province. Resovia and Stal Rzeszów contest the Rzeszów Derby, one of the fiercest and most contested in Poland, with over 90 games (as of May 2024).
Curiosities
In the 17th century, there was a sizeable Scottish community in Krosno. There is a monument to Robert Gilbert Porteous in Krosno, Scottish immigrant, the city's wealthiest 17th-century merchant.
In 1711, Jarosław was the place of refuge of Hungarian leader Francis II Rákóczi and his court, including essayist Kelemen Mikes, after the failure of the Rákóczi's War of Independence against Austria.