Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship (in Polish, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ), is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is now divided. It is situated in mid-northern Poland, on the boundary between the two historic regions from which it takes its name: Kuyavia (Kujawy) and Pomerania (Pomorze). Its two chief cities, serving as the province's joint capitals, are Bydgoszcz and Toruń.

History
The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. It consisted of territory from the former Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Włocławek Voivodeships.

The area now known as Kuyavia-Pomerania was previously divided between the region of Kuyavia and the Polish fiefdom of Royal Prussia. Of the two principal cities of today's Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeship, one (Bydgoszcz) was historically located in Kuyavia, whilst the other (Toruń) was an important town of Royal Prussia.

Administration and territory
The functions of regional capital are shared between two cities: Bydgoszcz and Toruń. Bydgoszcz serves as the seat of the centrally appointed governor or voivode (wojewoda), while Toruń is the seat of the elected Regional Assembly (sejmik), and of the executive elected by that assembly, headed by the voivodeship marshal (marszałek województwa).

The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is bordered by five other voivodeships. These are Pomeranian Voivodeship to the north, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the north-east, Masovian Voivodeship to the east, Łódź Voivodeship across a short boundary to the south, and Greater Poland Voivodeship to the south and west.

Cities and towns
The voivodeship contains 52 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2006 ):

Transportation
Transportation infrastructure is of critical importance to the voivodeship's economy. Kuyavia-Pomerania is a major node in the Polish transportation system. Railway lines from the South and East pass through Bydgoszcz to connect to the major ports on the Baltic Sea. In addition to this, Bydgoszcz is home to the rolling stock manufacturer PESA SA, Poland's largest and most modern producer of railway and tram products. The province's sole international airport, Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport, is located in Bydgoszcz and has connections to a number of European destinations as well as Warsaw, which are all operated by either Irish carrier Ryanair or LOT Polish Airlines.

The main railway stations of the province are Bydgoszcz main station and Toruń main station; both stations are served by fast PKP Intercity trains which connect them with the capital Warsaw, as well as other major Polish cities. In addition to these fast express services, inter-regional trains are operated by the firm Przewozy Regionalne, whilst domestic rail transportation within the voivodeship is provided by Arriva RP, a private firm to which the provincial government subcontracted the provision of rail transport.

All major towns of the province have municipal transportation companies operating buses, whilst Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Grudziądz also have extensive tram systems.

Politics
The Kuyavian-Pomeranian 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 Kuyavia-Pomerania is Ewa Monika Mes, and the present marshal is Piotr Całbecki.

The Sejmik of Kuyavia-Pomerania consists of 33 members.

Administrative division
The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is divided into 23 counties (powiats): 4 city counties and 19 land counties. These are further divided into 144 gminas.

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

Protected areas
Protected areas in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship include the nine Landscape Parks listed below.
 * Brodnica Landscape Park (partly in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship)
 * Chełmno Landscape Park
 * Gopło Landscape Park
 * Górzno-Lidzbark Landscape Park (partly in Masovian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeships)
 * Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park (partly in Masovian Voivodeship)
 * Krajna Landscape Park
 * Tuchola Landscape Park (partly in Pomeranian Voivodeship)
 * Vistula Landscape Park
 * Wda Landscape Park