| Lower Silesian Voivodeship Województwo dolnośląskie |
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| — Voivodeship — | |||
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| Coordinates (Wrocław): | |||
| Country |  Poland |
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| Capital | Wrocław | ||
| Counties* | List
Jelenia Góra
Legnica Wrocław Bolesławiec County Dzierżoniów County Głogów County Góra County Jawor County Jelenia Góra County Kamienna Góra County Kłodzko County Legnica County Lubań County Lubin County Lwówek Śląski County Milicz County Oława County Oleśnica County Polkowice County Środa Śląska County Strzelin County Świdnica County Trzebnica County Wałbrzych County Wołów County Wrocław County Ząbkowice Śląskie County Zgorzelec County Złotoryja County |
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| Area | |||
| • Total | 19,946 km2 (7,701 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| • Total | 2,884,248 | ||
| • Density | 140/km2 (370/sq mi) | ||
| • Urban | 2,047,151 | ||
| • Rural | 837,097 | ||
| Car plates | D | ||
| Website | http://www.umwd.pl/ | ||
| * further divided into 169 gminas | |||
Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province[1] (in Polish, województwo dolnośląskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ dɔlnɔˈɕlɔ̃skʲɛ]), is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is currently divided. It lies in southwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Wrocław, on the middle Odra (Oder) river.
History and Geography[]
The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. It covers an area of 19,946 square kilometres (7,701 sq mi), 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 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. The town of Boleslawiec is famed for its pottery.
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, (Federal-State of Saxony) to the west.
Economy[]
Wrocław Main Station is a major hub for regional logistics
Lower Silesia is one of the richest regions in Poland. GDP per capita in 2007 accounted for 108.7% of the average for the country. GDP per capita in the region is similar to the GDP in the poorest regions of Spain, Greece and Portugal, and slightly lower than the poorest regions of Italy. Since 2005, the voivodeship recorded the highest in the country economic growth rate (around 10% per annum).
GDP per capita in Lower Silesia Voivodeship: GDP in Poland:
| Lower Silesian Voivodeship | GDP per capita | Poland | GDP per capita |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10 440$ (+2.8%) | 2000 | 10 140$ (+4.0%) |
| 2005 | 13 060$ (+4.9%) | 2005 | 12 600$ (+3.5%) |
| 2006 | 13 700$ (+7.3%) | 2006 | 13 020$ (+6.2%) |
| 2007 | 14 980$ (+9.5%) | 2007 | 13 760$ (+6.5%) |
| 2008 | 16 030$ (+7.2%) | 2008 | 14 450$ (+5.0%) |
| 2009 | 16 350$ (+2.0%) | 2009 | 14 720$ (+1.9%) |
Cities and towns[]
Wrocław, capital of Lower Silesian Voivodeship
Książ Castle near Wałbrzych
The Church of Peace in Świdnica is a UNESCO world heritage site
The voivodeship contains 91 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2006[2] ):
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Administrative division[]
Lower Silesian Voivodeship is divided into 29 counties (powiats), three of which are urban, and the rest rural. 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[]
Table Mountains National Park
"Hell" on Szczeliniec Wielki (Table Mountains National Park)
Protected areas in Lower Silesian Voivodeship include two National Parks, 12 Landscape Parks and many areas of Natura 2000.
- 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
References[]
- ^ Arkadiusz Belczyk,Tłumaczenie polskich nazw geograficznych na język angielski [Translation of Polish Geographical Names into English], 2002-2006.
- ^ http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/45_655_PLK_HTML.htm
External links[]
- Województwo Dolnośląskie Official website
- Website of the government of Lower Silesia
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Template:Silesia topics
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