Połock Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo połockie, be, Полацкае ваяводства) was a unit of administrative division and local government 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 ...

(

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was Partitions of Poland, partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire, Habsburg Empire of ...

) since the 15th century until the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

in 1793. The voivodeship history can be traced to the

Principality of Polotsk The Principality of Polotsk ( be, По́лацкае кня́ства, ''Polackaje kniastva''; la, Polocensis Ducatus), also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality of the Early East Slavs. The origin and ...

, conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania around late 14th / early 15th centuries. From 1504 the former Principality was recognized as a

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 ...

Zygmunt Gloger Zygmunt Gloger (3 November 1845 in Tybory-Kamianka – 16 August 1910 in Warsaw) was a Polish historian, archaeologist, geographer and ethnographer, bearer of the Wilczekosy coat of arms. Gloger founded the precursor of modern and widely popu ...

in his monumental book Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland provides this description of the Połock Voivodeship: “Połock, in Latin Polocia, Polocium, lies on the right bank of the Dvina, and is regarded as one of the oldest gords of Rus’. In the 13th century, the

was ruled by Kievan princes, but in app. 1225 it was seized by the Lithuanians under Duke Mindaugas (...) Duke

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

named the first

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 ...

of Połock, and in app. 1500, the starosta was renamed into the

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

of Połock, while the Duchy was turned into a voivodeship, divided into halves by the Dvina (...) The voivodeship had two senators, who were the Voivode and the Castellan of Połock (...) Since it was not too large and its population was not numerous, furthermore, its capital was located in the middle, the voivodeship was not divided into counties. Its courts were located in Połock, where the

sejmik A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; lt, seimelis) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of ...

s also took place. Połock Voivodeship had two envoys in the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

, and two deputies to the Lithuanian Tribunal”.

Other names

* lt, Polocko vaivadija, russian: Полоцкое воеводство, la, Palatinatus Polocensis

Population

* 109 848 in 1790↑ Tabela: Summaryusz Generalny wszelkich dochodów Rzeczypospolitey tak w Koronie iako i w Litwie z kalkulacyą mil kwadratowych, tak со do dymów, podatków, iako i ludzi, w: Dziennik rządowo-ekonomiczno handlowy. Zaymuiący różne Wiadomości, Rządowe, Handlowe, Ekonomiczne, Fabryczne, Kontraktowe na Dobra, Summy, i Produkta. Zajmujący 3 miesiące kwiecień may czerwiec 1790. R.5. T. II. Warszawa 1790.

Administration

Voivodeship Governor (

Wojewoda Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

) seat: * Połock Administrative division: * this voivodeship was not divided into counties Number of Senators: * 2 Number of envoys in the

: * 2

Voivodes

* Stanisław Hlebowicz * Olbracht Gasztołd * Stanisław Ościk * Piotr Kiszka * Jan Hlebowicz * Stanisław Dowojno * Mikołaj Dorohostajski * Andrzej Sapieha * Michał Drucki-Sokoliński *

Janusz Kiszka Janusz Kiszka (born 1600 in Krzywicze (today Belarus) – 1653) was a Polish politician and magnate in the 17th century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Last of the Kiszka family. Royal Rotmistrz, starosta of Parnawa from 1610, Voivode of Polo ...

Aleksander Ludwik Radziwiłł Prince Aleksander Ludwik Radziwiłł () (4 August 1594 – 30 March 1654) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman. He was the Ordynat of Nieśwież, Stolnik of Lithuania since 1626, Krajczy of Lithuania since 1630, governor of Brześć Lit ...

* Jan Karol Kopeć * Kazimierz Jan Sapieha * Jan Jacek Ogiński * Dominik Michał Słuszka *

Stanisław Ernest Denhoff Stanisław Michał Ernest Denhoff (; ; c. 1673 – 2 August 1728) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth aristocrat, Grand Master of the Hunt of Lithuania (from 1697), Grand Chorąży of the Crown (1704–1721), voivode of Połock (1721–1728 ...

* Aleksander Michał Sapieha * Józef Sylwester Sosnowski * Tadeusz Żaba

References

Bibliography

Polock Voivodeship, description by Zygmunt Gloger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polock Voivodeship Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Former voivodeships of Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1504 establishments in Lithuania 1793 disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Early Modern history of Belarus Polotsk