Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship

Administration and territory

The functions of regional capital are split between Bydgoszcz and Toruń. Bydgoszcz serves as the seat of the centrally appointed governor or voivode (Polish: 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

There are 5 cities and 47 towns in the voivodeship. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019):

Cities (governed by a city mayor or prezydent miasta):

1. Bydgoszcz (349,021)
2. Toruń (201,798)
3. Włocławek (110,287)
4. Grudziądz (94,732)
5. Inowrocław (72,786)

Towns:

1. Brodnica (28,788)
2. Świecie (25,723)
3. Chełmno (19,605)
4. Nakło nad Notecią (18,281)
5. Rypin (16,227)
6. Solec Kujawski (15,652)
7. Chełmża (14,503)
8. Lipno (14,399)
9. Żnin (13,864)
10. Tuchola (13,621)
11. Wąbrzeźno (13,570)
12. Golub-Dobrzyń (12,563)
13. Aleksandrów Kujawski (12,147)
14. Mogilno (11,836)
15. Koronowo (11,162)
16. Ciechocinek (10,590)
17. Szubin (9,556)
18. Sępólno Krajeńskie (9,091)
19. Kruszwica (8,809)
20. Janikowo (8,745)
21. Barcin (7,408)
22. Gniewkowo (7,110)
23. Więcbork (5,950)
24. Nowe (5,827)
25. Pakość (5,706)
26. Strzelno (5,631)
27. Radziejów (5,578)
28. Kcynia (4,657)
29. Brześć Kujawski (4,642)
30. Łabiszyn (4,472)
31. Piotrków Kujawski (4,456)
32. Mrocza (4,350)
33. Kowalewo Pomorskie (4,130)
34. Janowiec Wielkopolski (3,953)
35. Jabłonowo Pomorskie (3,754)
36. Skępe (3,620)
37. Kowal (3,484)
38. Łasin (3,254)
39. Lubraniec (2,999)
40. Izbica Kujawska (2,609)
41. Kamień Krajeński (2,390)
42. Dobrzyń nad Wisłą (2,127)
43. Chodecz (1,894)
44. Nieszawa (1,853)
45. Radzyń Chełmiński (1,847)
46. Lubień Kujawski (1,391)
47. Górzno
48. Kikół
49. Pruszcz
50. Gąsawa
51. Bobrowniki

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 21.8 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 4.4% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 17,300 euros or 57% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 64% of the EU average.

In 2024 the Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship had over 228,000 registered business entities. More than 60% of firms were located in urban areas, particularly around Bydgoszcz and Toruń. The region ranked eighth in Poland in industrial output in 2024, with the food industry playing a leading role alongside wood and paper, electrical machinery, and chemical production. Agriculture remains a key sector, with the region ranking among the national leaders in livestock and crop production, especially potatoes and sugar beets.

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, iregional trains on electrified lines are operated by the Polregio , while regional rail transportation on unelectrified lines within the voivodeship are provided by Arriva RP, a private firm to which the provincial government subcontracted the provision of rail transport.

The A1 and S5 highways pass through the province, with the S10 also under construction.

All major towns of the province have municipal transportation companies operating buses, while 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.

Governors

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

Sights and tourism

There are eight Historic Monuments of Poland and one World Heritage Site in the voivodeship:

• Medieval Town of Toruń (listed as both)
• Old Town of Chełmno
• Biskupin archeological reserve
• Graduation towers, saline and spa parks of Ciechocinek
• Grudziądz Granaries
• Lubostroń Palace and Park Complex
• Norbertine monastery complex with the Romanesque Saint Procopius Church and the Romanesque-Gothic-Baroque Holy Trinity Church in Strzelno
• Włocławek Cathedral

The region is rich in historic architecture ranging from Romanesque and Gothic architecture to Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau. Other preserved historic old towns include Bydgoszcz, Grudziądz and Brodnica. There are also numerous castles, including Dybów, Golub, Radzyń Chełmiński, Świecie, and Zamek Bierzgłowski, preserved castle towers, including Brodnica and Kruszwica, and palaces, including Jabłonowo-Zamek, Ostromecko, Wąpielsk, and Żołędowo. The Dybów Castle was the place where in 1454 King Casimir IV Jagiellon issued the famous Statutes of Nieszawa, covering a set of privileges for the Polish nobility; an event that is regarded as the birth of the noble democracy in Poland, which lasted until the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The manor in Szafarnia was a place of stay for Fryderyk Chopin during his 1824 and 1825 summer vacations, and contains a museum dedicated to the composer.

Włocławek, Toruń and Bydgoszcz contain preserved Gothic cathedrals. Locations of historic monasteries include Chełmno, Grudziądz, Mogilno, Rywałd and Skępe. In Gąsawa, there is the 17th-century Saint Nicolas Church with a unique collection of multi-layered mural paintings, dating back several centuries.

There are three spa towns: Ciechocinek, Inowrocław and Wieniec-Zdrój.

Major museums and art galleries are located in Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Włocławek, including the Leon Wyczółkowski Regional Museum in Bydgoszcz, District Museum in Toruń and Museum of Kuyavia and Dobrzyń Land in Włocławek. The more unique museums include:

• Copernicus House in Toruń, museum dedicated to Nicolaus Copernicus
• European Museum of Money at the former Polish Royal Mint in Bydgoszcz
• Museum of Toruń Gingerbread in Toruń
• Museum of Far Eastern Art in the Under the Star Tenement House in Toruń
• Andrzej Szwalbe Collection of Historical Pianos at the palace in Ostromecko, one of two largest such collections in Poland
• Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Wenecja
• Exploseum in Bydgoszcz, operated at the site of a former Nazi German arms factory.

There are numerous World War II memorials in the province, including a memorial at the site of the former Potulice concentration camp, memorials at the sites of Nazi massacres of Poles, including the largest massacres at Mniszek, Gniewkowo, Klamry, Łopatki and Fordon, and memorials to Allied prisoners of war held by Nazi Germany in the region at the sites of the former Stalag XX-A, Oflag XXI-B and Oflag 64 POW camps in Toruń and Szubin.

Other notable sights include the Bydgoszcz Canal, connecting Bydgoszcz and Nakło nad Notecią, the Battle of Koronowo (1410) Monument, and monuments do distinguished people from the region, including cryptologist Marian Rejewski (birthplace and monument in Bydgoszcz), writer Jan Kasprowicz (childhood home and monument in Inowrocław), and surgeon Ludwik Rydygier, the first surgeon in the world to carry out a peptic ulcer resection (former clinic and monument in Chełmno).

Sports

Motorcycle speedway, basketball and volleyball have the largest following in the province. The KS Toruń and Polonia Bydgoszcz clubs are among the most accomplished speedway clubs in the country and contest the Pomeranian-Kuyavian Derby in speedway rivalries.

Since the establishment of the province, several major international sports competitions were co-hosted by the province:

• EuroBasket 2009,
• 2009 Women's European Volleyball Championship,
• 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships,
• EuroBasket Women 2011,
• 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships,
• 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship,
• 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup,
• 2025 Speedway of Nations,
• 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships.

Curiosities

• Brześć Kujawski, Bydgoszcz, Dobrzyń nad Wisłą, Gniewkowo and Inowrocław were medieval ducal seats of the Piast dynasty.
• Bydgoszcz and Toruń, although not capitals of Poland, hosted sessions of the Polish Parliament. Bydgoszcz in 1520, Toruń in 1576 and 1626.
• Toruń served as the temporary Polish capital in 1809.
• Medieval municipal rights modelled after Chełmno, known as Chełmno rights, became the basis of municipal form of government for various cities and towns of the region and beyond, including Warsaw.
• The Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship is one of four first-level administrative divisions containing the name of the historic region of Pomerania, the other being the Pomeranian Voivodeship and West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany.