Lesser Poland
Historical region of Poland / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska (pronounced [mawɔˈpɔlska] ⓘ; Latin: Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate culture featuring diverse architecture, folk costumes, dances, cuisine, traditions and a rare Lesser Polish dialect. The region is rich in historical landmarks, monuments, castles, natural scenery and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Lesser Poland
Małopolska | |
---|---|
Country | Poland |
Seat | Kraków |
Area | |
• Total | 60,000 km2 (20,000 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | c. 9,000,000 |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
The region should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only the southwestern part of Lesser Poland.[1] Historical Lesser Poland was much larger than the current voivodeship that bears its name. It reached from Bielsko-Biała in the southwest as far as to Siedlce in the northeast.[2] It consisted of the three voivodeships of Kraków, Sandomierz and Lublin.
It comprised almost 60,000 km2 in area; today's population in this area is about 9,000,000 inhabitants. Its landscape is mainly hilly, with the Carpathian Mountains and Tatra Mountain Range in the south; it is located in the basin of the upper Vistula river. It has been noted for its mighty aristocracy (magnateria) and wealthy nobility (szlachta).[3]
Between the 14th and 18th century, the Lesser Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland also encompassed the historical regions of Podlachia, Volhynia, Podolia and Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities. In the era of partitions, the southern part of Lesser Poland became known as Galicia, which was under Austrian control until Poland regained its independence in 1918. As a result of this long-lasting division, many inhabitants of the northern part of Lesser Poland (including those in such cities as Lublin, Radom, Kielce and Częstochowa) do not recognize their Lesser Polish identity.[4] However, while Lublin (Lubelskie) was declared an independent Voivodeship as early as 1474,[5] it still has speakers of the Lesser Polish dialect.
Across history, many ethnic and religious minorities existed in Lesser Poland as they fled persecution from other areas or countries. Poland's once tolerant policy towards these minorities allowed them to flourish and create separate self-governing communities. Some minorities still remain, but are on the verge of extinction, most notably Wymysorys-speaking Vilamovians, Halcnovians, Gorals, Lemkos, and once Polish Jews and Walddeutsche Germans.
Lesser Poland lies in the area of the upper confluence of the Vistula river and covers a large upland, including the Świętokrzyskie Mountains with the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland further west, Małopolska Upland, Sandomierz Basin, and Lublin Upland. Unlike other historical parts of the country, such as Kujawy, Mazovia, Podlachia, Pomerania, or Greater Poland, Lesser Poland is mainly hilly, with Poland's highest peak, Rysy, located within the borders of the province. Flat are northern and central areas of the province – around Tarnobrzeg, Stalowa Wola, Radom and Siedlce, also valleys of the main rivers – the Vistula, the Pilica, and the San. Apart from Rysy, there are several other peaks located in the province – Pilsko, Babia Góra, Turbacz, as well as Łysica in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. The southern part of the province is covered by the Carpathian Mountains, which are made of smaller ranges, such as Pieniny, Tatry, and Beskidy.
Almost the whole area is located in the Vistula Basin, with the exception of the western and southern parts, belonging to the Odra and Dunaj Basins. The main rivers of the province are the Vistula, upper Warta, Soła, Skawa, Raba, Dunajec, Wisłok, Wisłoka, San, Wieprz, Przemsza, Nida, Kamienna, Radomka, and Pilica. The major lakes of the province are Lake Rożnów, Lake Czchów, Lake Dobczyce, Lake Czorsztyn, Lake Czaniec, Lake Międzybrodzie, Lake Klimkówka and Żywiec Lake. Most of them are man-made reservoirs.
Lesser Poland stretches from the Carpathians in the south to Pilica and Liwiec rivers to the north. It borders Mazovia to the north, Podlaskie to the northeast, Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities to the east, Slovakia to the south, Silesia to the west, and Greater Poland to the northwest. Currently, the region is divided between Polish voivodeships – Lesser Poland Voivodeship (whole), Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (whole), Silesian Voivodeship (eastern half), Podkarpackie Voivodeship (western part), Masovian Voivodeship (southern part), Łódź Voivodeship (southeastern corner), and Lublin Voivodeship (western part).
In Silesian Voivodeship, the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland is easy to draw, because, with only a few exceptions, it goes along boundaries of local counties. In the south, it goes along the western boundary of the ancient Duchy of Teschen, with the borderline along the Biała river, with Zwardoń, Milówka and Rajcza located in Lesser Poland. Bielsko-Biała is a city made up of two parts – Lesser Poland's Biala (also called Biala Krakowska), makes up the eastern half of the city, and only in 1951 was it merged with Silesian Bielsko.[7] Further north, the border goes along the western boundaries of the cities of Jaworzno, and Sosnowiec, along the Przemsza and Brynica rivers. Then it goes northwest, leaving Czeladź, Siewierz, Koziegłowy, Blachownia, Kłobuck and Krzepice within Lesser Poland.[8] From Krzepice, the border goes eastwards, towards Koniecpol, and along the Pilica river, with such towns as Przedborz,[9] Opoczno,[10] Drzewica, Białobrzegi,[11] and Kozienice[12] located within Lesser Poland. East of Białobrzegi, the boundary goes mainly along the Radomka river, to the Vistula. East of the Vistula, the boundary goes north of Łaskarzew and Żelechów, and south of Mazovian town of Garwolin,[13] turning northwest. The northernmost point of the province is marked by the Liwiec river, with both Siedlce, and Łuków being part of Lesser Poland.[14] The line then goes south, with Miedzyrzec Podlaski being part of the historical Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Radzyń Podlaski[15] as well as Parczew left in Lesser Poland.
Between the Vistula and the Bug Rivers, the eastern border of Lesser Poland goes west of Leczna, but east of Krasnystaw and Szczebrzeszyn, both of which historically belong to Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities.[16] Further south, Lesser Poland includes Frampol, and Biłgoraj, which lie in the southeastern corner on Lesser Poland's historical Lublin Voivodeship, close to the border with Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities. The border then goes west of Biłgoraj, turning south, towards Leżajsk (which belongs to Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities).[17] The boundary between Lesser Poland and Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities was described by Ukrainian historian and geographer Myron Korduba as being along the line Dukla – Krosno – Domaradz – Czudec – Krzeszów nad Sanem.[18] The border towns of Lesser Poland were: Rudnik, Kolbuszowa,[19] Ropczyce,[20] Sędziszów Małopolski, Strzyżów,[21] Jasło, Gorlice, and Biecz. The southern border of Lesser Poland goes along the Carpathian Mountains, and, except in a few cases, it has not changed for centuries. The cities of Leżajsk, Rzeszów, Sanok, Brzozów, and Krosno do not belong to historical Lesser Poland, as they are part of Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities (Lwów Voivodeship, around today's Lviv, Ukraine).
Historically, Lesser Poland was divided into two lands - Kraków Land and Sandomierz Land, both of which emerged after the Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty. In the 14th century, Sandomierz Voivodeship and Kraków Voivodeship were created, and in 1474, Lublin Voivodeship was carved out of three Sandomierz Voivodeship counties, located on the right bank of the Vistula. Historian Adolf Pawiński, who in the late 19th century was the director of the Polish Central Archives of Historical Records, estimated in his book "Polska XVI wieku pod względem geograficzno-statystycznym", that the size of Kraków Voivodeship was 19,028 km2. Sandomierz Voivodeship had an area of 25,762 km2, and Lublin Voivodeship had an area of 11,033 km2. Together with the Duchy of Siewierz (607 km2), and the parts of Spiš that belonged to Poland after the Treaty of Lubowla (1211 km2), the total area of Lesser Poland was 57,640 square kilometers.[22] Apart from the three historic lands, Lesser Poland includes other smaller regions, such as Podhale, Ponidzie, and Zagłębie Dąbrowskie.
Zygmunt Gloger in his work Historical geography of land of ancient Poland (Geografia historyczna ziem dawnej Polski) states that according to a Polish custom, whenever a new village was formed next to an older one, the name of the new entity was presented with an adjective little (or lesser), while the old village was described as greater. The same procedure was used in naming two Polish provinces – the "older" one, the cradle of the Polish state, was called Greater Poland, and its "younger sister", which became part of Poland a few years later, was called Lesser Poland. The name Greater Poland (Polonia Maior) was for the first time used in 1242, by princes Boleslaw and Przemysław I, who named themselves Duces Majoris Poloniae (Princes of the Older Poland).[23] Lesser Poland, or Polonia Minor, appeared for the first time in historical documents in 1493, in the Statutes of Piotrków, during the reign of King Jan Olbracht,[24] to distinguish this province from Greater Poland (Polonia Maior).