Podkarpackie Voivodeship

Lore & Background

In the Early Middle Ages, the territory was inhabited by the Vistulans and Lendians, old Polish tribes. It formed part of Poland since its first ever historic ruler Mieszko I, however, later on, at various times, portions of the region fell under the Kievan Rus', the Golden Horde, and the Kingdom of Hungary, before Poland regained full control in the 14th century. Following the Partitions of Poland the entire region was annexed by Austria and included within the newly established Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. The oldest cities in the province, with over 1,000 years of history, are Przemyśl and Sanok. Rzeszów, Łańcut and Tarnobrzeg, with their castles and palaces, were important residential cities of the powerful Polish magnate families of Lubomirski, Potocki and Tarnowski. During the interwar period (1918–1939), territory of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship was part of the Lwów Voivodeship and belonged to 'Poland B', the less-developed, more rural parts of Poland. To boost the local economy, the government of the Second Polish Republic began in the mid-1930s a massive program of industrialization, known as the Central Industrial Region. The program created several major armament factories, including PZL Mielec, PZL Rzeszów, Huta Stalowa Wola, and factories in other Subcarpathian towns such as Dębica, Nowa Dęba, Sanok, Tarnobrzeg and Nowa Sarzyna. Following the joint German–Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, most of the current province was occupied by Nazi Germany with the eastern outskirts occupied by the Soviet Union, and the city of Przemyśl divided between the occupiers until 1941, and then the entire region occupied by Germany until 1944. Following the Soviet annexation of the regional capital of Lwów, Rzeszów was chosen as the new regional capital and the Rzeszów Voivodeship was founded. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Krosno and (partially) Tarnów and Tarnobrzeg Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local-government reforms adopted in 1998.

Reader's Guide

Subcarpathian Voivodeship's government powers are shared between the voivode (governor), the sejmik (regional assembly), and the marshal. The voivodeship contains 6 cities and 49 towns. It is divided into 25 counties (powiats): four city counties and 21 land counties, further divided into 160 gminas. Protected areas include two national parks and 11 Landscape Parks. The Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport is the province's international airport. The A4 and S19 highways pass through the province, with the S74 also planned for construction. There are three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the voivodeship: Bieszczady National Park, Wooden churches of Southern Lesser Poland (three within the province), and Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine (four within the province). There are seven Historic Monuments of Poland in the voivodeship: World's oldest oil field in Bóbrka, Krasiczyn Castle, Bernardine Monastery in Leżajsk with the famous Baroque pipe organs, Łańcut Castle, Old Town of Przemyśl, Przemyśl Fortress, and St. Paraskevi Church, Radruż. Other preserved historic old towns include Krosno, Jarosław, Rzeszów, Sanok. There are five spa towns: Horyniec-Zdrój, Iwonicz-Zdrój, Polańczyk, Rymanów-Zdrój, Solina. Motorcycle speedway, volleyball, ice hockey and football enjoy the largest following in the province.

Did You Know?

• The voivodeship's name derives from its location near the Carpathian Mountains.
• The oldest cities in the province, with over 1,000 years of history, are Przemyśl and Sanok.
• The voivodeship contains the world's oldest oil field in Bóbrka.
• In the 17th century, there was a sizeable Scottish community in Krosno.