A sołectwo ( Polish plural: ''sołectwa'') is an administrative unit 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 ...

, an optional subdivision of a

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 ...

. The actions and organs of the sołectwo are decided by the gmina council. On 31 December 2018 Poland had 40 740 sołectwa.

Government and politics

The legislative organ in a sołectwo is a (village meeting) and the executive is a

sołtys A sołtys () is a head of a sołectwo elected by its permanent citizens in a village meeting (''zebranie wiejskie''). According to data from 2010, Poland had 40 thousand sołtys, 30.7% of which were women. Role and powers Since 1990, a soł ...

. A sołectwo council (''rada sołecka'') provides support to the sołtys. The sołtys and the council are elected by permanent citizens of the sołectwo. A zebranie wiejskie is an example of a

direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are repres ...

, as the most important concerns of the citizens are addressed. Citizens' participation in these events varies a lot. The national average is 15%. From 2010, sołectwa can use their own budget independently if the gmina council agrees to let them to do so. In 2013 half of all gminy with sołectwa adapted to the change.

Structure

A sołectwo usually contains one settlement (

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

, przysiółek or

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

), but sometimes it contains more than one or a city has a few sołectwa inside itself.

In cities

The equivalent of a sołectwo in a city is often an

osiedle Osiedle (Polish plural: ''osiedla'', from German ''Ansiedlung'' meaning ''settlement'') is a term used in Poland to denote a designated subdivision or neighbourhood of a city or its dzielnica, or of a town, with its own council and executive. Li ...

or a

dzielnica In the Polish system of local administration, a dzielnica (Polish plural ''dzielnice'') is an administrative subdivision or quarter of a city or town. A dzielnica may have its own elected council ('' rada dzielnicy'', or ''dzielnica council''), ...

. There are examples where sołectwa are established within city limits. As of the year 2013, 49 sołectwa were functioning in 12 city gminy. Sołectwa were used as city districts in the cities of

Krasnystaw Krasnystaw ( uk, Красностав, Krasnostav) is a town in southeastern Poland with 18 630 inhabitants (31 december 2019). Situated in the Lublin Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Chełm Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital ...

Orzesze Orzesze (german: Orzesche, Silesian: ''Ôrzeszŏ'') is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – metropolis with the population of 2 million. Located in the Silesian Highlands. ...

, Jastrzębie-Zdrój,

Mikołów Mikołów (german: Nikolai, szl, Mikołōw) is a town in Silesia, in southern Poland, near the city of Katowice. It borders the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of over 2 million, and is within a greater Silesia ...

, Pieszyce, Zawiercie,

Suwałki Suwałki ( lt, Suvalkai; yi, סואוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Suwałki ...

Kalisz (The oldest city of Poland) , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town , image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...

Czarna Woda Czarna Woda (; formerly german: Schwarzwasser) is a town in Starogard County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,735 inhabitants as of December 2021. The town's name translates to "Black Water". Gallery File:Most kolejowy Chojnice - Tcz ...

, Miasteczko Śląskie, Woźniki,

Sejny Sejny ( lt, Seinai) is a town in north-eastern Poland and the capital of Sejny County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the northern border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area ( pl, Pojez ...

and

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning "Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands ...

. Until 2013, three sołectwa existed in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

's district of Białołęka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solectwo Subdivisions of Poland

Government and politics

Structure

In cities

See also

References