Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is bounded by six other voivodeships: Masovian to the north, Lublin to the east, Subcarpathian to the south-central, Lesser Poland to the south, Silesian to the southwest, and Łódź to the northwest.

The province covers an area of 11,672 square kilometres (4,507 sq mi), making it the second smallest province (after Opole). As at 2019, the total population of Świętokrzyskie Province was 1,237,369.

History

Inhabited since pre-historic times, the area of Skarżysko-Kamienna and Wąchock contains several hundred former Paleolithic sites from 13,000-10,000 years ago, now known as the Rydno Archaeological Reserve. From 3900 BC to 1600 BC, striped flint was mined at Krzemionki, one of the largest known complexes of prehistoric flint mines in Europe, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Historic Monument of Poland.

The territory formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century. Sandomierz was mentioned as one of three centers of the Kingdom of Poland, along Kraków and Wrocław, in the early-12th-century Gesta principum Polonorum chronicle. Sandomierz and Wiślica, whose historic landmarks are designated Historic Monuments of Poland, are former medieval ducal seats of the Piast dynasty. In the early modern period the Old-Polish Industrial Region developed in the region. Following the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland, the region witnessed several uprisings against foreign rule, i.e. the November Uprising of 1830–1831 and January Uprising of 1863–1864. In the interbellum, the region was part of reborn independent Poland. Its industry was developed as part of the Central Industrial Region of Poland.

During World War II, it was occupied by Germany, with the occupiers committing their genocidal policies against Poles and Jews in the region, massacring civilians, including at Skarżysko-Kamienna and Michniów, and operating numerous prisons and forced labour camps. The Polish resistance movement was active in the region, with the short-lived Republic of Pińczów liberated in 1944.

Holy Cross Province was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Kielce Voivodeship, eastern Częstochowa Voivodeship, and western Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998.

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Cities and towns

The voivodeship contains 4 cities and 39 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019):

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

Kielce (195,266)
Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (68,641)
Starachowice (48,646)
Skarżysko-Kamienna (45,068)

Towns:

Sandomierz (23,494)
Końskie (19,176)
Busko-Zdrój (15,832)
Jędrzejów (15,076)
Staszów (14,762)
Pińczów (10,774)
Włoszczowa (9,985)
Suchedniów (8,347)
Połaniec (8,098)
Opatów (6,466)
Sędziszów (6,451)
Stąporków (5,639)
Kazimierza Wielka (5,550)
Ożarów (4,569)
Chęciny (4,444)
Małogoszcz (3,748)
Chmielnik (3,681)
Radoszyce (3,135)
Ćmielów (3,012)
Kunów (2,967)
Daleszyce (2,896)
Wąchock (2,766)
Koprzywnica (2,470)
Bodzentyn (2,233)
Osiek (2,007)
Oleśnica (1,849)
Zawichost (1,771)
Morawica (1,711)
Łagów (1,580)
Stopnica (1,420)
Nowa Słupia (1,360)
Skalbmierz (1,285)
Pierzchnica (1,144)
Pacanów (1,108)
Szydłów (1,097)
Nowy Korczyn (942)
Działoszyce (907)
Wiślica (516)
Opatowiec (332)
Piekoszów
Łopuszno
Wodzisław
Klimontów
Gowarczów
Iwaniska
Bogoria
Sobków

Administrative division

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is divided into 14 counties (powiats): 1 city county and 13 land counties. These are further divided into 102 gminas.

The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).

Economy

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 11.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 2.3% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 15,400 € or 51% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 58% of the EU average. Świętokrzyskie Voivodship is the province with the fifth lowest GDP per capita in Poland.

Protected areas

Protected areas in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship include one National Park and nine Landscape Parks. These are listed below.

Świętokrzyski National Park
Chęciny-Kielce Landscape Park
Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park
Jeleniowska Landscape Park
Kozubów Landscape Park
Nida Landscape Park
Przedbórz Landscape Park (partly in Łódź Voivodeship)
Sieradowice Landscape Park
Suchedniów-Oblęgorek Landscape Park
Szaniec Landscape Park

Sights and tourism

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

Krzemionki Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining Region (listed as both)
Kraków Bishops Palace and Kielce Cathedral
Henryk Sienkiewicz Palace with park in Oblęgorek
St. Martin's Collegiate Church, Opatów
Camaldolese monastery complex in Rytwiany
Old Town of Sandomierz
Benedictine monastery complex at Święty Krzyż
Krzyżtopór Castle in Ujazd
Wąchock Abbey
Collegiate Basilica of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary and stronghold in Wiślica

Preserved old towns include Opatów and the fortified town of Szydłów. In Opatów and Sandomierz there are underground tourist routes in historic cellars under the old town market squares. There are multiple castles, including in Bodzentyn, Chęciny, Sandomierz and Szydłów, and palaces, including in Czyżów Szlachecki and Kurozwęki.

There are two spa towns: Busko-Zdrój and Solec-Zdrój.

Ćmielów, a town with a rich tradition of porcelain production, is home to the Living Porcelain Museum.

There are numerous World War II memorials, including memorials at the site of Nazi massacres of Poles and Holocaust memorials.

Sports

Handball and football enjoy the largest following in the province.

Curiosities

In the 16th-17th centuries, Scottish settlers were noted in various towns in the current province, including Busko-Zdrój, Chęciny, Kielce, Koprzywnica, Nowy Korczyn, Opatów, Pacanów, Pińczów, Połaniec, Raków, Sandomierz, Secemin.