Everything you need to know about Poland: 7. Pomerania Voivodeship

Now we will go to the nothern part of Poland, we will discuss the voivodeships in which the word is found - Pomeranian - the first will be Pomeranian Voivodeship

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7. POMERANIAN

Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province, Kashubia (Polish: Województwo pomorskie, kaszubskie) - is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk.

The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk, Elbląg and Słupsk, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1997. It is bordered by West-Pomeranian Voivodeship to the west, Greater Poland and Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeships to the south, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the east, and the Baltic Sea to the north. It also shares a short land border with Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast), on the Vistula Spit (PL: Mierzeia Wiślana). The voivodeship comprises most of Pomerelia (the easternmost part of historical Pomerania), as well as an area east of the Vistula River (PL: Rzeka Wisła). The western part of the province, around Słupsk, belonged historically to Farther Pomerania, while Pomerelia and the eastern bank of the Vistula belonged to the historical region of Prussia. The central parts of the province are also known as Kashubia, named after the Kashubian minority.

The province is one of rich cultural heritage. The Tricity urban area, consisting of Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot, is one of the main cultural, commercial and educational centres of Poland. Gdańsk and Gdynia are two of the major Polish seaports, the first erected by Mieszko I of Poland in the Middle Ages, the latter built in the interwar period. Amongst the most recognisable landmarks of the region are the historic city centre of Gdańsk filled with Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces, the Museum of the National Anthem in Będomin, located at the birthplace of Józef Wybicki, poet and politician, author of the national anthem of Poland, the largest medieval churches of Poland (the St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk and the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Pelplin) and the Malbork Castle. The voivodeship also includes the narrow Hel Peninsula and the Polish half of the Vistula Spit. Other tourist destinations include Wejherowo, Sopot, Jurata, Łeba, Władysławowo, Puck, Krynica Morska, Ustka, Jastarnia, Kuźnica, Bytów and many fishing ports, lighthouses, and boats.

The name Pomeranian derives from the Slavic po more, meaning "by the sea" or "on the sea".

Only in Polish

Flag

Coat of arms

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CITIES AND TOWNS

The voivodeship contains more than 41 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (official 2014 figures).

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ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

Pomeranian Voivodeship is divided into 20 counties (powiats): 4 city counties, and 16 land counties. These are further divided into 123 gminas (communes).

The counties are listed below in order of decreasing population.

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GOVERNORS

Name	Period
Tomasz Sowinski (PL: Sowiński)	January 1, 1999 – October 20, 2001
Jan Ryszard Kurylczyk	October 20, 2001 – July 26, 2004
Cezary Dabrowski (PL: Dąbrowski)	July 26, 2004 – January 27, 2006
Piotr Olowski (PL: Ołowski)	January 27, 2006 – February 26, 2007
Piotr Karczewski	May 22, 2007 – November 29, 2007
Roman Zaborowski	November 29, 2007 – October 25, 2011
Ryszard Stachurski	December 12, 2001 – December 8, 2015
Dariusz Drelich	December 8, 2015 – present

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ECONOMY

The Gross domestic product (GDP. In Polish PKB) of the province was 29.2 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 5.9% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 20,800 euros or 69% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 74% of the EU average.

CORPORATION NAME further information	LOCATION	KIND OF ACTIVITY
Energia Gdańsk Power Generator	Gdańsk	energy supplies
Ergo Hestia	Sopot	insurance
Gdańsk Repair Yard	Gdańsk	repair shipyard
Gdynia Stocznia	Gdynia	shipyard
GE Capital Bank	Gdańsk	banking
Grupa LOTOS	Gdańsk	petroleum products
Intel Technology Poland	Gdańsk	hardware
International Paper Kwidzyn	Kwidzyn	paper products
Lubiana	Łubiana near Kościerzyna	china-ware manufacturer
Philips Consumer Electronics	Kwidzyn	electronics
Polpharma	Starogard Gdański	medicines
Prokom Software	Gdynia	software
Destylarnia Sobieski	Starogard Gdański	distillery
Elnord	Gdańsk	energy supplies
LPP	Gdańsk	designing and distributing clothes

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TRANSPORT

SKM
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport
Obwodnica Trójmiejska
Autostrada A1
Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna

All names in Polish

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EDUCATION

Gdańsk University (PL: Uniwersytet Gdański) - in Tricity (PL: Trójmiasto) - students total is 29.3, of which women 19.4
Gdańsk University of Technology (PL: Politechnika Gdańska) - in Gdańsk - students total is 17.6, of which women 5.9
Pomeranian Academy in Słupsk (PL: Akademia Pomorska w Słupsku) - students total is 8.1, of which women 6.0
Medical University of Gdańsk (PL: Akademia Medyczna w Gdańsku) - students total is 4.2, of which women 3.1
Gdańsk Sports Academy (PL: Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego i Sportu w Gdańsku) - students total is 4.1, of which women 1.9
Gdańsk Academy of Fine Arts (PL: Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Gdańsku) - students total is 0.9, of which women 0.7
Polish Naval Academy (PL: Akademia Marynarki Wojennej im. Bohaterów Westerplatte) - in Gdynia
Gdynia Maritime Academy (PL: Akademia Morska w Gdyni)
Gdańsk Seminary (PL: Gdańskie Seminarium Duchowne)
Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music, in Gdańsk (PL: Akademia Muzyczna im. Stanisława Moniuszki w Gdańsku)

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PROTECTED AREAS

Protected Areas in Pomeranian Voivodeship include two National Parks and nine Landscape Parks. These are listed below:

Slowinski National Park (PL: Słowiński, or Słowiński Park Narodowy) - a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve
Tuchola Forest National Park (PL: Tucholski Park Krajobrazowy)
Coastal Landscape Park (PL: Przybrzeżny Park Krajobrazowy)
Ilawa Lake District Landscape Park (PL: Park Krajobrazowy Pojezierza Iławskiego) - partly in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Kashubian Landscape Park (PL: Kaszubski Park Krajobrazowy)
Slupia Valley Landscape Park (PL: Słupia, or Park Krajobrazowy Dolina Słupi)
Tricity Landscape Park (PL: Trójmiejski Park Krajobrazowy)
Tuchola Landscape Park - partly in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
Vistula Spit Landscape Park (Park Krajobrazowy "Mierzeja Wiślana")
Wdydze Landscape Park (PL: Wdzydzki Park Krajobrazowy)
Zaborski Landscape Park