Lublin Voivodeship (1919–39)

Lublin Voivodeship
Wojewodztwo lubelskie
Voivodeship of Poland

1919–1939

Coat of arms

Location of the Lublin Voivodeship (red)
within the Second Polish Republic, 1938.
Capital Lublin
Government Voivodeship
Voivode
  1919–1926 Stanisław Moskalewski
  1937–1939 Jerzy Albin de Tramecourt
History
  Established 14 August 1919
  Terrtiorial changes 1 April 1938
  Annexed by Germany September 1939
Area
  1921 31,123 km2 (12,017 sq mi)
  1939 26,555 km2 (10,253 sq mi)
Population
  1921 2,087,951 
Density 67.1 /km2  (173.8 /sq mi)
  1931 2,116,200 
Political subdivisions 16 powiats, 29 cities

Lublin Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo Lubelskie) was a unit of administrative division of the Second Polish Republic between the two world wars, in the years 1919–1939. The province's capital and biggest city was Lublin.

Location and area

The Voivodeship was founded by the decree of Polish Parliament Sejm of 14 August 1919.[1] In the years 1919–1939 (unlike today), Lublin Voivodeship covered the central part of interwar Poland – the heartland of the country – bordering Białystok Voivodeship (1919–1939) to the north, Warsaw Voivodeship and Kielce Voivodeship to the west, Lwów Voivodeship to the south and Polesie Voivodeship as well as Volhynian Voivodeship to the east. Its area, after April 1, 1938 (see: Territorial changes of Polish Voivodeships on April 1, 1938) was 26,555 km². Landscape was flat and hilly in the south, forests covered only 16.6% of the area (with nation's average of 22.2%, as for January 1, 1937).

Demographics

According to the Polish census of 1921 which was the First General Census in the Second Polish Republic following World War One (conducted by the Main Bureau of Statistics, see originals),[2] the population of Lublin Voivodeship could be categorized by both location and religious beliefs in the following way.[3]

County *Roman CatholicEastern OrhotodoxJewishOther
Biłgoraj65,889 (72,4%)15,883 (17,5%)9,056 (9,9%)100 (0,1%)
Chełm68,770 (56,6%)24,701 (20,3%)19,912 (16,4%)8,092 (6,7%)
Hrubieszów50,735 (48,9%)38,468 (37%)12,967 (13,5%)671 (0,6%)
Janów Lubelski117,368 (89,3%)697 (0,5%)13,407 (10,2%)30 (0,02%)
Krasnystaw102,016 (87,1%)4,149 (3,5%)10,493 (9,0%)422 (0,4%)
Lubartów83,732 (87%)1,197 (1,2%)9,669 (10,1%)1,645 (1,7%)
Lublin (city)55,610 (58,9%)514 (0,5%)37,337 (39,5%)951 (1,1%)
Lublin (distr.)128,303 (91,7%)910 (0,7%)9,608 (6,9%)1,079 (0,8%)
Puławy129,281 (86,8%)206 (0,1%)19,296 (12,9%)238 (0,2%)
Tomaszów Lub.57,869 (62,4%)22,389 (24,1%)12,154 (13,1%)397 (0,4%)
Zamość119,769 (84%)5,441 (3,8%)17,225 (12,1%)179 (0,1%)
* Not all counties from the 1921 census are listed here

Population breakdown by religious denomination in the 1931 national census:[3]

#County *Roman CatholicEastern OrhotodoxJewishOther
1Biłgoraj82,614 (70,6%)20,913 (17,9%)12,938 (11,1%)468 (0,4%)
2Chełm80,400 (54,5%)37,530 (23,1%)22,852 (14,1%)13,470 (8,3%)
3Hrubieszów63,365 (48,8%)49,128 (37,8%)15,785 (12,1%)1,679 (1,3%)
4Janów Lubelski135,182 (86,5%)1,159 (0,8%)15,317 (10%)1,060 (2,7%)
5Krasnystaw113,442 (84,6%)4,853 (3,6%)12,127 (9,0%)3,737 (2,8%)
6Lubartów94,356 (87,4%)1,544 (1,4%)9,652 (8,9%)2,439 (2,3%)
7Lublin (city)71,542 (63,7%)703 (0,6%)38,937 (34,7)315 (1,0%)
8Lublin (distr)149,192 (91,2%)125 (0,1%)12,049 (7,4%)2,136 (1,3%)
9Puławy149,060 (86,6%)182 (0,1%)21,949 (12,7%)1,076 (0,6%)
10Tomaszów Lub.73,021 (60,3%)33,059 (27,3%)14,204 (11,7%) 840 (0,7%)
11Zamość125,249 (83,6%)6,778 (4,5%)16,738 (11,2%)783 (0,7%)
* Data presented selectively; there were 15 counties in the Lublin Voivodeship before World War II.

Ethnic groups

According to the 1931 Polish census, the population was 2 116 200. Poles made 85.1% of population, Jews - 10.5% and Ukrainians (in the east and south) - 3%. The Jews preferred to live in the cities and towns, especially in Lublin itself.

Due to ruthless Russification policies throughout the preceding century leading to general absence of schools in the Voivodeship, 24.6% of population was still illiterate as of 1931, although rapidly decreasing from 46.8% in 1921.[3][2]

Industry

The Voivodeship's biggest industrial center was the city of Lublin. Other than that, it lacked significant industry centers. In mid-1930s Polish government started a huge public works program, called Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy, which was a great boost to overpopulated and poor counties. It covered southwestern part of the Voivodeship, with the town of Kraśnik. The railroad density was 4.0 km. per 100 km². (with total length of railroads 1 236 km.).

Cities and administrative divisions

Lublin Voivodeship in mid-1939 consisted of 16 powiats (counties), 29 cities and towns and 228 villages. The counties were:

According to the 1931 census, biggest cities were:

Voivodes

See also

References

  1. Act of Polish Parliament Sejm (2 August 1919), Dz. U. z 1919 r. Nr 65, poz. 395. Internetowy System Aktow Prawnych. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 Media related to Polish census of 1921 - Statistics of Poland at Wikimedia Commons; vol. 18: Województwo Lubelskie (PDF), pp. 35–73.
  3. 1 2 3 Konrad Sadkowski (1995), Church, nation and state in Poland: Catholicism and national identity formation in the Lublin region, 1918-1939. University of Michigan, pp. 85-86. [ISBN needed]

Coordinates: 51°14′00″N 22°34′00″E / 51.233333°N 22.566667°E / 51.233333; 22.566667

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