Lower Silesian Voivodeship

Lower Silesian Voivodeship (also known as Lower Silesia Province, or by its Polish name of województwo dolnośląskie [] or simply Dolnośląskie) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is currently divided. It lies in south-western Poland, corresponding roughly to the region of Lower Silesia (the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia), which passed to Poland from Germany at the end of the Second World War. Its capital and largest city is Wrocław (Breslau), on the middle Odra (Oder) river.

History and geography

The voivodeship was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra Voivodeships, pursuant to the 1998 Local Government Reorganization Act. It covers an area of , and as at 2006 has a total population of 2,884,248, comprising an urban population of 2,047,151 and rural population of 837,097.

Although much of the region is relatively low-lying, as it name implies, it also includes part of the Sudetes mountain range running along the Polish/Czech border. Popular ski resorts in Lower Silesian Voivodeship include Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba in the Karkonosze mountains. The town of Kudowa Zdrój, also in the Sudetes (west of Kłodzko near the Czech border), is a traditional spa town often visited by heart patients. Other important tourist destinations in the voivodeship include the chief city, Wrocław, as well as the towns of Jelenia Góra and Legnica.

Lower Silesian Voivodeship is bordered by Lubusz Voivodeship to the north-west, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the north-east, Opole Voivodeship to the south-east, the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to the west.

Cities and towns

The voivodeship contains 91 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2006 ): 1. Wrocław (635,280)
2. Wałbrzych (125,773)
3. Legnica (105,485)
4. Jelenia Góra (86,663)
5. Lubin (76,595)
6. Głogów (68,954)
7. Świdnica (60,354)
8. Bolesławiec (40,837)
9. Oleśnica (36,951)
10. Dzierżoniów (34,678)
11. Zgorzelec (32,925)
12. Bielawa (31,219)
13. Oława (30,908)
14. Kłodzko (28,249)
15. Jawor (24,347)
16. Nowa Ruda (24,261)
17. Świebodzice (23,126)
18. Polkowice (22,279)
19. Lubań (22,137)
20. Kamienna Góra (21,440)
21. Bogatynia (19,068)
22. Strzegom (16,782)
23. Boguszów-Gorce (16,687)
24. Złotoryja (16,503)
25. Ząbkowice Śląskie (16,242)
26. Jelcz-Laskowice (15,196)
27. Chojnów (14,389)
28. Brzeg Dolny (12,786)
29. Góra (12,574)
30. Wołów (12,286)
31. Strzelin (12,192)
32. Trzebnica (12,180)
33. Milicz (12,004)
34. Kowary (11,824)
35. Syców (10,712)
36. Bystrzyca Kłodzka (10,638)
37. Kudowa-Zdrój (10,204)
38. Lwówek Śląski (9,687)
39. Pieszyce (9,490)
40. Ziębice (9,234)
41. Środa Śląska (8,800)
42. Oborniki Śląskie (8,426)
43. Chocianów (8,215)
44. Gryfów Śląski (7,128)
45. Szklarska Poręba (7,094)
46. Głuszyca (6,999)
47. Żarów (6,902)
48. Polanica-Zdrój (6,900)
49. Twardogóra (6,866)
50. Sobótka (6,780)
51. Piława Górna (6,779)
52. Żmigród (6,573)
53. Przemków (6,551)
54. Lubawka (6,529)
55. Piechowice (6,494)
56. Stronie Śląskie (6,246)
57. Lądek-Zdrój (6,181)
58. Ścinawa (5,934)
59. Pieńsk (5,799)
60. Szczawno-Zdrój (5,506)
61. Kąty Wrocławskie (5,418)
62. Bolków (5,380)
63. Jaworzyna Śląska (5,240)
64. Szczytna (5,234)
65. Jedlina-Zdrój (5,116)
66. Duszniki-Zdrój (5,113)
67. Bierutów (5,066)
68. Karpacz (5,063)
69. Olszyna (4,786)
70. Leśna (4,752)
71. Świeradów-Zdrój (4,554)
72. Mieroszów (4,515)
73. Zawidów (4,412)
74. Mirsk (4,136)
75. Nowogrodziec (4,055)
76. Wojcieszów (3,940)
77. Siechnice (3,851)
78. Prochowice (3,702)
79. Niemcza (3,121)
80. Węgliniec (3,072)
81. Złoty Stok (2,930)
82. Bardo (2,860)
83. Wąsosz (2,828)
84. Międzylesie (2,776)
85. Radków (2,460)
86. Świerzawa (2,439)
87. Międzybórz (2,356)
88. Wiązów (2,230)
89. Prusice (2,203)
90. Wleń (1,884)
91. Lubomierz (1,818)

Administrative division

Lower Silesian Voivodeship is divided into 29 counties (powiats): 3 city counties and 26 land counties. These are further divided into 169 gminas.

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

English and Polish names	Area (km²)	Population (2006)	Seat	Other towns	Total gminas
City counties
Wrocław	293	635,280			1
Legnica	56	105,485			1
Jelenia Góra	109	86,663			1
Land counties
Wałbrzych County powiat wałbrzyski	514	184,594	Wałbrzych	Boguszów-Gorce, Głuszyca, Szczawno-Zdrój, Jedlina-Zdrój, Mieroszów	9
Kłodzko County powiat kłodzki	1,643	166,447	Kłodzko	Nowa Ruda, Bystrzyca Kłodzka, Kudowa-Zdrój, Polanica-Zdrój, Stronie Śląskie, Lądek-Zdrój, Szczytna, Duszniki-Zdrój, Międzylesie, Radków	14
Świdnica County powiat świdnicki	743	160,337	Świdnica	Świebodzice, Strzegom, Żarów, Jaworzyna Śląska	8
Lubin County powiat lubiński	712	105,582	Lubin	Ścinawa	4
Dzierżoniów County powiat dzierżoniowski	478	104,852	Dzierżoniów	Bielawa, Pieszyce, Piława Górna, Niemcza	7
Oleśnica County powiat oleśnicki	1,049	103,366	Oleśnica	Syców, Twardogóra, Bierutów, Międzybórz	8
Wrocław County powiat wrocławski	1,116	101,913	Wrocław *	Sobótka, Kąty Wrocławskie, Siechnice	9
Zgorzelec County powiat zgorzelecki	838	94,408	Zgorzelec	Bogatynia, Pieńsk, Zawidów, Węgliniec	7
Bolesławiec County powiat bolesławiecki	1,303	88,343	Bolesławiec	Nowogrodziec	6
Głogów County powiat głogowski	443	87,651	Głogów		6
Trzebnica County powiat trzebnicki	1,026	77,285	Trzebnica	Oborniki Śląskie, Żmigród, Prusice	6
Oława County powiat oławski	524	71,118	Oława	Jelcz-Laskowice	4
Ząbkowice Śląskie County powiat ząbkowicki	801	69,297	Ząbkowice Śląskie	Ziębice, Złoty Stok, Bardo	7
Jelenia Góra County powiat jeleniogórski	628	63,817	Jelenia Góra *	Kowary, Szklarska Poręba, Piechowice, Karpacz	9
Polkowice County powiat polkowicki	780	61,138	Polkowice	Chocianów, Przemków	6
Lubań County powiat lubański	428	57,061	Lubań	Olszyna, Leśna, Świeradów-Zdrój	7
Legnica County powiat legnicki	745	52,995	Legnica *	Chojnów, Prochowice	8
Jawor County powiat jaworski	581	52,058	Jawor	Bolków	6
Środa Śląska County powiat średzki	704	49,208	Środa Śląska		5
Lwówek Śląski County powiat lwówecki	710	48,144	Lwówek Śląski	Gryfów Śląski, Mirsk, Wleń, Lubomierz	5
Wołów County powiat wołowski	675	47,445	Wołów	Brzeg Dolny	3
Kamienna Góra County powiat kamiennogórski	396	46,470	Kamienna Góra	Lubawka	4
Złotoryja County powiat złotoryjski	575	45,744	Złotoryja	Wojcieszów, Świerzawa	6
Strzelin County powiat strzeliński	622	44,146	Strzelin	Wiązów	5
Milicz County powiat milicki	715	36,845	Milicz		3
Góra County powiat górowski	738	36,556	Góra	Wąsosz	4
* seat not part of the county

Protected areas

Protected areas in Lower Silesian Voivodeship include two National Parks and 12 Landscape Parks. These are listed below.

• Karkonosze National Park (part of a UNESCO trans-border biosphere reserve)
• Table Mountains National Park
• Barycz Valley Landscape Park (partly in Greater Poland Voivodeship)
• Bóbr Valley Landscape Park
• Bystrzyca Valley Landscape Park
• Chełmy Landscape Park
• Jezierzyca Valley Landscape Park
• Książ Landscape Park
• Owl Mountains Landscape Park
• Przemków Landscape Park
• Rudawy Landscape Park
• Ślęża Landscape Park
• Śnieżnik Landscape Park
• Sudety Wałbrzyskie Landscape Park

Most popular surnames in the region

1. Nowak: 13,217
2. Kowalski: 9,429
3. Wójcik: 7,046

See also

• Lower Silesia
• Silesia
• Upper Silesia
• German Prussia’s Province of Lower Silesia

External links

• Województwo Dolnośląskie Official website
• Website of the government of Lower Silesia