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A ''powiat'' (pronounced ; Polish plural: ''powiaty'') is the second-level unit of
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...
and administration in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, equivalent to a
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
,
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
or
prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
( LAU-1, formerly NUTS-4) in other countries. The term "''powiat''" is most often translated into English as "county" or "district" (sometimes "poviat"). In historical contexts this may be confusing because the Polish term ''hrabstwo'' (an administrative unit administered/owned by a ''hrabia'' (
count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...
) is also literally translated as "county". A ''powiat'' is part of a larger unit, the
voivodeship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...
( Polish ''województwo'') or
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
. A ''powiat'' is usually subdivided into ''
gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...
''s (in English, often referred to as "
communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...
" or "
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
"). Major towns and cities, however, function as separate counties in their own right, without subdivision into ''gmina''s. They are termed " city counties" (''powiaty grodzkie'' or, more formally, ''miasta na prawach powiatu'') and have roughly the same status as former
county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...
s in the UK. The other type of ''powiat''s are termed "land counties" (''powiaty ziemskie''). As of 2018, there were 380 ''powiat''-level entities: 314 land counties, and 66 city counties. For a complete alphabetical listing, see "
List of Polish counties __NOTOC__ The following is an alphabetical list of all 380 county-level entities in Poland. A county or powiat (pronounced ''povyat'') is the second level of Polish administrative division, between the voivodeship (provinces) and the gmina (mun ...
". For tables of counties by voivodeship, see the articles on the individual voivodeships (e.g.,
Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wielkopolskie; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 ...
).


History

The history of Polish powiats goes back to the second half of the 14th century. They remained the basic unit of territorial organization in Poland, then in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
, until the latter's partitioning in 1795. In the 19th century, the powiats continued to function in the part of Poland that had been incorporated into the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
("
Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. I ...
")—the equivalent of the Russian ''
uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...
''–and, in the German-governed
Grand Duchy of Poznań The Grand Duchy of Posen (german: Großherzogtum Posen; pl, Wielkie Księstwo Poznańskie) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following t ...
, as the Polish equivalent of the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
'' Kreis''. After Poland regained independence in 1918, the powiats were again the second-level territorial units. Powiats were abolished in 1975 in favour of a larger number of
voivodeships A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieva ...
, but were reintroduced on 1 January 1999. This reform also created 16 larger voivodeships.


Functioning

Legislative power within a powiat is vested in an elected council (''rada powiatu''), while local executive power is vested in an executive board (''zarząd powiatu'') headed by the
starosta The starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. The ...
, elected by the council. The administrative offices headed by the starosta are called the ''starostwo''. However, in city counties these institutions do not exist separatelytheir powers and functions are exercised by the city council (''rada miasta''), the directly elected
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
(''burmistrz'' or ''prezydent''), and the city office/town hall (''urząd miasta''). In some cases a powiat has its
seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...
outside its own territory. For example,
Poznań County Poznań County ( pl, powiat poznański) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government ref ...
(''powiat poznański'') has its offices in
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...
, although Poznań is itself a city county, and is therefore not part of Poznań County. Powiats have relatively limited powers, since many local and regional matters are dealt with either at
gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...
or
voivodeship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...
level. Some of the main areas in which the powiat authorities have decision-making powers and competences include: * education at high-school level (primary and middle schools are run by the gminas) * healthcare (at county level) * public transport * maintenance of certain designated roads * land surveying * issuing of work permits to foreigners * vehicle registration (see
Polish car number plates Vehicle registration plates of Poland indicate the region of registration of the vehicle given the number plate. According to Polish law, the registration plate is tied to the vehicle, not the owner. There is no possibility for the owner to kee ...
).


Names and English equivalents

The Polish the name of a county, in the administrative sense, consists of the word ''powiat'' followed by a masculine-gender
adjective In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ...
(because ''powiat'' is a masculine
noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, ...
). In most cases, this is the adjective formed from the name of the town or city where the county has its
seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...
. Thus the county with its seat at the town of
Kutno Kutno is a city located in central Poland with 42,704 inhabitants (2021) and an area of . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship since 1999, previously it was part of Płock Voivodeship (1975–1998) and it is now the capital of Kutno County. Dur ...
is named ''powiat kutnowski'' (
Kutno County __NOTOC__ Kutno County ( pl, powiat kutnowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local government reforms pas ...
). (In modern Polish both parts of the name are written in
lower case Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...
; however, names of powiats in the
Grand Duchy of Poznań The Grand Duchy of Posen (german: Großherzogtum Posen; pl, Wielkie Księstwo Poznańskie) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following t ...
were written in
upper case Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...
.) If the name of the seat comprises a noun followed by an adjective, as in
Maków Mazowiecki Maków Mazowiecki is a town in Poland, in the Masovian Voivodship. It is the powiat capital of Maków County (or Powiat of Maków). Its population is 10,850. History The town obtained its town charter in 1421. It was a Polish royal town, admi ...
("
Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...
n Maków"), the adjective will generally be formed from the noun only ('' powiat makowski''). There are also a few counties whose names are derived from the names of two towns (such as ''powiat czarnkowsko-trzcianecki'',
Czarnków-Trzcianka County __NOTOC__ Czarnków-Trzcianka County ( pl, powiat czarnkowsko-trzcianecki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result ...
), from the name of a city and a geographical adjective (''powiat łódzki wschodni'',
Łódź East County __NOTOC__ Łódź East County ( pl, powiat łódzki wschodni) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gove ...
), or a mountain range (''powiat tatrzański'',
Tatra County __NOTOC__ Tatra County ( pl, powiat tatrzański) is a unit of territorial administration and local government ( powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of th ...
). There is more than one way to render such names into
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
. A common method is to translate the names as "(something County)", as in the examples above. (This system is the standard used in Wikipedia.) Thus in most cases the English name for a powiat consists of the name of the city or town which is its seat, followed by the word ''County''. Note that different counties sometimes have the same name in Polish, since the names of different towns may have the same derived adjective. For example, the counties with their seats at
Grodzisk Wielkopolski Grodzisk Wielkopolski (german: Grätz) is a town in western Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship (Wielkopolskie), with a population of 13,703 (2006). It is south-west of Poznań, the voivodeship capital. It is the seat of Grodzisk Wielkopols ...
and Grodzisk Mazowiecki are both called '' powiat grodziski'', and those with seats at
Brzeg Brzeg (; Latin: ''Alta Ripa'', German: ''Brieg'', Silesian German: ''Brigg'', , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on t ...
and
Brzesko Brzesko (; yi, בריגעל, ''Brigel'') is a town in southern Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It lies approximately west of Tarnów and east of the regional capital Kraków. Since Polish administrative reorganization (in 1999), Brzesko ...
are both called '' powiat brzeski''. In English this ambiguity either does not occur (
Brzeg County __NOTOC__ Brzeg County ( pl, powiat brzeski ) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government refor ...
and
Brzesko County __NOTOC__ Brzesko County ( pl, powiat brzeski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government r ...
) or can be avoided by using the complete name of the seat (
Grodzisk Wielkopolski County __NOTOC__ Grodzisk Wielkopolski County ( pl, powiat grodziski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Po ...
and
Grodzisk Mazowiecki County __NOTOC__ Grodzisk Mazowiecki County ( pl, powiat grodziski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local ...
).


Sources

* Bankauskaite, V. et al. (2007), ''Patterns of decentralization across European health systems'', in R.B. Saltman, V. Bankauskaite and K. Vrangbæk (ed.), "Decentralization in health care", London: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill.


See also

*
Povit The povit, or county (), was a historical territorial-administrative and judicial unit in Ukraine, administered by a starosta. Following annexation of Ukraine (historically known as Cossack Hetmanate) by the Russian Empire in 17th-18th centuries ...
, equivalent in Ukraine


External links


County
Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' ( uk, Енциклопедія українознавства, translit=Entsyklopediia ukrainoznavstva), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was creat ...
. {{Terms for types of administrative territorial entities Types of administrative division Former subdivisions of Lithuania Former subdivisions of Ukraine Former subdivisions of Belarus Subdivisions of Poland