Subdivisions of the Duchy of Warsaw were based on

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

that were headed by

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

s. The subsidivions were based on the French model following the erection of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. The departments were in turn subdivided into traditional Polish

powiat A ''powiat'' (pronounced ; Polish plural: ''powiaty'') is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture ( LAU-1, formerly NUTS-4) in other countries. The term "''powiat ...

s (counties). Initially six departments were created out of the province of

South Prussia South Prussia (german: Südpreußen; pl, Prusy Południowe) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1793 to 1807. History South Prussia was created out of territory annexed in the Second Partition of Poland, Second P ...

(1793/95 - 1807) in the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

. After the 1809

Polish–Austrian War The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria). In this war, Polish forces of the N ...

, and the

Treaty of Schönbrunn The Treaty of Schönbrunn (french: Traité de Schönbrunn; german: Friede von Schönbrunn), sometimes known as the Peace of Schönbrunn or Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna on 14 October ...

, their number increased to ten (as the Duchy territory was expanded following the annexation of

West Galicia New Galicia or West Galicia ( pl, Nowa Galicja or ''Galicja Zachodnia'', german: Neugalizien or ''Westgalizien'') was an administrative region of the Habsburg monarchy, constituted from the territory annexed in the course of the Third Partition ...

). Each department was named after its capital city. The departments were divided into powiats, and the powiats were divided into urban and rural

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. Each department was governed by a prefect, while counties were administered by a prefect deputy (Polish: podprefekt). Main cities of the Duchy (Warsaw, Poznan, Kalisz, Torun, Lublin, Kraków and Sandomierz) were administered by mayors (Polish: prezydent), who were nominated by King Frederick Augustus I. The initial six departments were created by a Napoleon’s decree of January 14, 1807. In January 1807 the Duchy of Warsaw was divided into the following departments: * ''Departament warszawski'' (Warsaw Department) * ''Departament poznański'' (Poznań Department) * ''Departament kaliski'' (Kalisz Department) * ''Departament bydgoski'' (Bydgoszcz Department) * ''Departament płocki'' (Płock Department) * ''Departament łomżyński'' (Łomża Department) - for the first few months known as ''Białystok Department'' (Departament białostocki) Added in 1809, after the Polish - Austrian War (the four departments of former West Galicia were created by a royal decree on February 24, 1810. On April 17, 1810, they were divided into forty counties): * ''Departament krakowski'' (Kraków Department) * ''Departament lubelski'' (Lublin Department) * ''Departament radomski'' (Radom Department) * ''Departament siedlecki'' (Siedlce Department) In 1815 the Duchy of Warsaw was divided into Prussian-administered

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 ...

and Russian-controlled

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 ...

. In 1816, the departments of Congress Poland were turned into

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 ...

s (see

Administrative division of Congress Poland Congress Poland was subdivided several times from its creation in 1815 until its dissolution in 1918. Congress Poland ("Russian Poland") was divided into departments, a relic from the times of the French-dominated Duchy of Warsaw. In 1816 the ...

References

Further reading