Greater Poland or
Great Poland, Polish
Wielkopolska (Großpolen,
Latin:
Polonia Maior) is a historical region of west-central
Poland. Its chief city is
Poznań. Administratively, most of the region now forms
Greater Poland Voivodeship (województwo wielkopolskie), although some parts lie in
Lubusz,
Kuyavian-Pomeranian and
Łódź Voivodeships.
Name of the region
Greater Poland was the core of the early medieval Polish state, is often termed "the cradle of Poland", and at times has simply been called "Poland" (Latin Polonia). The name is first mentioned in the Latin form Polonia Maior in 1257, and in Polish ("w Wielkej Polszcze") in 1449. The region's name may be construed as referring to old Poland, as opposed to the new Poland, Lesser Poland (Małopolska; Polonia Minor), a region in southern Poland with its capital at Kraków.
Geography
Greater Poland comprises much of the area drained by the Warta River and its tributaries, including the Noteć River. There are two major geographic regions: a lake district in the north, characterized by post-glacial lakes and hills, and a rather flat plain in the south.
An area of of forest and lakeland south of Poznań is designated the Wielkopolska National Park (Wielkopolski Park Narodowy), established in 1957.
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