Silesian Voivodeship

The first Silesian Voivodeship was created in the Second Polish Republic. It had a much wider range of autonomy than other contemporary Polish voivodeships, and it covered all the historical lands of Upper Silesia which ended up in Interwar period Poland. Among these were Katowice (Kattowitz), Rybnik (Rybnik), Pszczyna (Pleß), Wodzisław (Loslau), Żory (Sohrau), Mikołów (Nikolai), Tychy (Tichau), Królewska Huta (Königshütte), Tarnowskie Góry (Tarnowitz), Miasteczko Śląskie (Georgenberg), Woźniki (Woischnik), Lubliniec (Lublinitz), Cieszyn (Teschen), Skoczów (Skotschau), and Bielsko (Bielitz). This Voivodeship did not include – as opposed to the present one – lands and cities of old pre-Partition Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Among the last ones the Southern part was included in Kraków Voivodeship Żywiec (Saybusch), Wilamowice (Wilmesau), Biała Krakowska (Biala) and Jaworzno), and the North Western part Będzin (Bendzin), Dąbrowa Górnicza (Dombrowa), Sosnowiec (Sosnowitz), Częstochowa (Tschenstochau), Myszków, Szczekociny (Schtschekotzin), Zawiercie, Sławków) belonged to Kielce Voivodeship.

After the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on 8 October 1939, Hitler published a decree called, "About division and administration of Eastern Territories". A Silesian Province (Gau Schlesien) was created, with a seat in Breslau (Wrocław). It consisted of four districts: Kattowitz, Oppeln, Breslau and Liegnitz.

The following counties were included in Kattowitz District: Kattowitz, Königshütte, Tarnowitz, Beuthen Hindenburg, Gleiwitz, Freistadt, Teschen, Biala, Bielitz, Saybusch, Pleß, Sosnowitz, Bendzin and parts of the following counties: Kranau, Olkusch, Riebnich and Wadowitz. However, according to Hitler's decree from 12 October 1939 about establishing General Government (Generalgouvernement), Tschenstochau (Częstochowa) belonged to GG.

In 1941 the Silesian Province (Provinz Schlesien) underwent new administrative division and as a result Upper Silesian Province was created (Provinz Oberschlesien):

• Kattowitz District (Regierungsbezirk Kattowitz) – entire Silesian Voivodeship without Lubinitz county, Bendzin County, part of Olkusch county, Biala county, Saybusch and parts of Kranau and Wadowitz counties.
• Oppeln District (Regierungsbezirk Oppeln) – Lubinitz county and parts of Tschenstochau and Warthenau counties.

After the War during 1945–1950 there existed a Silesian Voivodeship, commonly known as Śląsko-Dąbrowskie Voivodeship, which included a major part of today's Silesian Voivodeship. In 1950 Śląsko-Dąbrowskie Voivodeship was divided into Opole and Katowice Voivodeships. The latter one had borders similar to the borders of modern Silesian Voivodeship.

The present Silesian Voivodeship was formed in 1999 from the following voivodeships of the previous administrative division:

• Katowice Voivodeship excluding some gminas and powiats
• Bielsk Voivodeship excluding some gminas and powiats
• Częstochowa Voivodeship excluding some gminas and powiats

The Silesian Voivodeship borders both the Moravian-Silesian Region (Czech Republic), Žilina Region (Slovakia) to the south. It is also bordered by four other Polish voivodeships: those of Opole (to the west), Łódź (to the north), Świętokrzyskie (to the north-east), and Lesser Poland (to the east).

The region includes the Silesian Upland (Wyżyna Śląska) in the centre and north-west, and the Krakowsko-Częstochowska Upland (Jura Krakowsko-Czestochowska) in the north-east. The southern border is formed by the Beskidy Mountains (Beskid Śląski and Beskid Żywiecki).

The current administrative unit of Silesian Voivodeship is just a fraction of the historical Silesia which is within the borders of today's Poland (there are also fragments of Silesia in the Czech Republic and Germany). Other parts of today's Polish Silesia are administered as the Opole, the Lower Silesian Voivodeships and the Lubusz Voivodeship. On the other hand, a large part of the current administrative unit of the Silesian Voivodeship is not part of historical Silesia (e.g., Częstochowa, Zawiercie, Myszków, Jaworzno, Sosnowiec, Żywiec, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Będzin and east part of Bielsko-Biała, which are historically parts of Lesser Poland).

Silesian Voivodeship has the highest population density in the country (379 people per square kilometre, compared to the national average of 124). The region's considerable industrialisation gives it the lowest unemployment rate nationally (6.2%). The Silesian region is the most industrialized and the most urbanized region in Poland: 78% of its population live in towns and cities.

Pless Castle in Pszczyna

"Szyndzielnia" gondola lift in Bielsko-Biała, north part of Beskid Śląski

Both the northern and southern parts of the voivodeship are surrounded by a green belt. Bielsko-Biała is enveloped by the Beskidy Mountains which are popular with winter sports fans. It offers over 150 ski lifts and 200 kilometres of ski routes. More and more slopes are illuminated and equipped with artificial snow generators. Szczyrk, Brenna, Wisła and Ustroń are the most popular winter mountain resorts. Rock climbing sites can be found in Jura Krakowsko-Czestochowska. The ruins of castles forming the Eagle Nests Trail are a famous attraction of the region. Often visited is the Black Madonna's Jasna Góra Sanctuary in Częstochowa – the annual destination of over 4 million pilgrims from all over the world. In the south-western part of the voivodeship are parks, palaces and old monasteries (Rudy Raciborskie, Wodzisław Śląski). Along the Oder River are interesting natural reserves and places for swimming during the summer.

With its more than two centuries of industrial history, the region has a number of technical heritage memorials. These include narrow and standard gauge railways, coal and silver mines, and shafts and their equipment from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Katowice is the capital of the Silesian Voivodeship

Jasna Góra in Częstochowa is the holiest Roman Catholic shrine in Poland

Gliwice, one of the oldest cities in Silesia

Bielsko-Biała is a major industrial, transport and touristic hub

Due to its industrial and urban nature, the voivodeship has many cities and large towns. Of Poland's 40 most-populous cities, 12 are in Silesian Voivodeship. 19 of the cities in the voivodeship have the legal status of city-county (see powiat). In all it has 24 cities and 47 towns, listed below in descending order of population (as of 2019):[1]

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 61 billion € in 2018, accounting for 12.3% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 22,200 € or 74% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 83% of the EU average. Silesia Voivodship is the province with the fourth highest GDP per capita in Poland.[8]

The Silesian voivodship is predominantly an industrial region. Most of the mining is derived from one of the world's largest bituminous coalfields of the Upper Silesian Industrial District (Górnośląski Okręg Przemysłowy) and the Rybnik Coal District (Rybnicki Okręg Węglowy) with its major cities Rybnik, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Żory and Wodzisław Śląski. Lead and zinc can be found near Bytom, Zawiercie and Tarnowskie Góry; iron ore and raw materials for building – near Częstochowa. The most important regional industries are: mining, iron, lead and zinc metallurgy, power industry, engineering, automobile, chemical, building materials and textile. In the past, the Silesian economy was determined by coal mining. Now, considering the investment volume, car manufacturing is becoming more and more important. The most profitable company in the region is Fiat Auto-Poland S.A. in Bielsko-Biała with a revenue of PLN 6.2 billion in 1997. Recently a new car factory has been opened by GM Opel in Gliwice. There are two Special Economic Zones in the area: Katowice and Częstochowa. The voivodship's economy consists of about 323,000, mostly small and medium-sized, enterprises employing over 3 million people. The biggest Polish steel-works "Huta Katowice" is situated in Dąbrowa Górnicza.

The unemployment rate stood at 3.9% in 2017 and was lower than the national average.[9]

Terminal A at Katowice International Airport

Katowice International Airport (in Tarnowskie Góry County) is used for domestic and international flights, with the other nearby airports being John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice. The Silesian agglomeration railway network has the largest concentration in the country.

The voivodship capital enjoys good railway and road connections with Gdańsk (motorway A1) and Ostrava (motorway A1), Kraków (motorway A4), Wrocław (motorway A4), Łódź (motorway A1) and Warsaw. It is also the crossing point for many international routes like E40 connecting Calais, Brussels, Cologne, Dresden, Wrocław, Kraków and Kyiv and E75 from Scandinavia to the Balkans. A relatively short distance to Vienna facilitates cross-border co-operation and may positively influence the process of European integration.

Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa (known by its acronym LHS, English: Broad gauge metallurgy line) in Sławków is the longest broad gauge railway line in Poland. The line runs on a single track for almost 400 km from the Polish-Ukrainian border, crossing it just east of Hrubieszów. It is the westernmost broad gauge railway line in Europe that is connected to the broad gauge rail system of the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Large part of the Upper Silesia conurbation features the Silesian Interurbans, the longest tram network in Poland, and one of the largest in the world. Bus and tram transport in and around Katowice and surrounding cities is managed by the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ZTM) since 2019.

There are eleven public universities in the voivodship. The biggest university is the University of Silesia in Katowice, with 43,000 students. The region's capital boasts the Medical University, The Karol Adamiecki University of Economics in Katowice, the University of Music in Katowice, the Physical Education Academy and the Academy of Fine Arts. Częstochowa is the seat of the Częstochowa University of Technology and Pedagogic University. The Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice is nationally renowned. Bielsko-Biała is home of the Technical-Humanistic Academy. In addition, 17 new private schools have been established in the region.

There are over 300,000 people currently studying in the Voivodeship. The biggest universities [10] (for day 30.11.2016 r.) are:

1. Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach (23 133 students),
2. Politechnika Śląska w Gliwicach (21 366 students),
3. Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Katowicach (10 345 students),
4. Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny w Katowicach (9 870 students),
5. Politechnika Częstochowska (7 881 students),
6. Akademia Techniczno-Humanistyczna w Bielsku-Białej (5 482 students),
7. Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Jerzego Kukuczki w Katowicach (4 727 students),
8. Uniwersytet Humanistyczno-Przyrodniczy im. Jana Długosza w Częstochowie (4 525 students).

Silesian Regional Assembly

The Silesian voivodeship's government is headed by the province's voivode (governor) who is appointed by the Polish Prime Minister. The voivode is then assisted in performing his duties by the voivodeship's marshal, who is the appointed speaker for the voivodeship's executive and is elected by the sejmik (provincial assembly). The current voivode of Silesia is Jarosław Wieczorek, whilst the present marshal is Wojciech Saługa.

The Sejmik of Silesia consists of 48 members.

Silesian Voivodeship is divided into 36 counties (powiats). These include 19 city counties (far more than any other voivodeship) and 17 land counties. The counties are further divided into 167 gminas.

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

	English and Polish names	Area (km2)	Population (2019)	Seat	Other towns	Total gminas
	City counties
	Katowice	165	293,636			1
	Częstochowa	160	221,252			1
	Sosnowiec	91	201,121			1
	Gliwice	134	179,154			1
	Zabrze	80	172,806			1
	Bielsko-Biała	125	170,953			1
	Bytom	69	165,975			1
	Rybnik	148	138,319			1
	Ruda Śląska	78	137,624			1
	Tychy	82	127,664			1
	Dąbrowa Górnicza	188	119,800			1
	Chorzów	33	107,963			1
	Jaworzno	154	91,263			1
	Jastrzębie-Zdrój	85	88,808			1
	Mysłowice	66	74,515			1
	Siemianowice Śląskie	25	66,963			1
	Żory	65	62,462			1
	Piekary Śląskie	40	55,088			1
	Świętochłowice	13	49,762			1
	Land counties
	Cieszyn County powiat cieszyński	730	178,145	Cieszyn	Ustroń, Skoczów, Wisła, Strumień	12
	Bielsko County powiat bielski	457	165,374	Bielsko-Biała*	Czechowice-Dziedzice, Szczyrk, Wilamowice	10
	Wodzisław County powiat wodzisławski	287	157,346	Wodzisław Śląski	Rydułtowy, Radlin, Pszów	9
	Żywiec County powiat żywiecki	1,040	152,877	Żywiec		15
	Będzin County powiat będziński	368	148,516	Będzin	Czeladź, Wojkowice, Sławków, Siewierz	8
	Tarnowskie Góry County powiat tarnogórski	643	140,022	Tarnowskie Góry	Radzionków, Kalety, Miasteczko Śląskie	9
	Częstochowa County powiat częstochowski	1,519	134,637	Częstochowa*	Blachownia, Koniecpol	16
	Zawiercie County powiat zawierciański	1,003	118,020	Zawiercie	Poręba, Łazy, Ogrodzieniec, Szczekociny, Pilica	10
	Gliwice County powiat gliwicki	663	115,571	Gliwice*	Knurów, Pyskowice, Toszek, Sośnicowice	8
	Pszczyna County powiat pszczyński	473	111,324	Pszczyna		6
	Racibórz County powiat raciborski	544	108,388	Racibórz	Kuźnia Raciborska, Krzanowice	8
	Mikołów County powiat mikołowski	232	98,689	Mikołów	Łaziska Górne, Orzesze	5
	Kłobuck County powiat kłobucki	889	84,762	Kłobuck	Krzepice	9
	Rybnik County powiat rybnicki	225	78,148	Rybnik*	Czerwionka-Leszczyny	5
	Lubliniec County powiat lubliniecki	822	76,470	Lubliniec	Woźniki	8
	Myszków County powiat myszkowski	479	70,959	Myszków	Żarki, Koziegłowy	5
	Bieruń-Lędziny County powiat bieruńsko-lędziński	157	59,715	Bieruń	Lędziny, Imielin	5
	* seat not part of the county

Little Beskids Landscape Park

Protected areas in Silesian Voivodeship include eight areas designated as Landscape Parks:

• Eagle Nests Landscape Park (partly in Lesser Poland Voivodeship)
• Little Beskids Landscape Park (partly in Lesser Poland Voivodeship)
• Rudy Landscape Park
• Silesian Beskids Landscape Park
• Stawki Landscape Park
• Upper Liswarta Forests Landscape Park
• Załęcze Landscape Park (partly in Łódź Voivodeship)
• Żywiec Landscape Park

• History of Silesia
• Silesian Uprisings

• The Website of Silesia
• Województwo Śląskie Official website

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