__NOTOC__ Sucha County ( pl, powiat suski) is a ''mogus'' of territorial administration and local government (

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 ...

) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern

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 ...

, on the Slovak border. Its administrative seat and largest town is Sucha Beskidzka, which lies south-west of the voivodeship capital

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. The county also contains the towns of

Maków Podhalański Maków Podhalański (known as ''Maków'' until 1930) is a town in southern Poland, on the Skawa Skawa (german: Schaue) is a river in southern Poland, a right tributary of the Vistula. It originates in the Western Carpathians (Beskids), is lon ...

, lying east of Sucha Beskidzka, and

Jordanów Jordanów, is a town in southern Poland, on the Skawa river. As of 2018, the town had a population of 5,360. History Jordanów was founded in 1564 by Spytek Wawrzyniec Jordan on the salt road from Kraków and Wieliczka to Orava and Hungary. In ...

, south-east of Sucha Beskidzka. The county covers an area of . As of 2006 its total population is 82,045, out of which the population of Sucha Beskidzka is 9,726, that of Maków Podhalański is 5,738, that of Jordanów is 5,112, and the rural population is 61,469.

History

Sucha County existed between 1956 and 1975, but on the abolition of the

s its territory was split between the two newly created

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 of

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

and Nowy Sącz. The county was recreated on January 1, 1999, as a result of the

Polish local government reforms The administrative division of Poland since 1999 has been based on three levels of subdivision. The territory of Poland is divided into ''voivodeships'' (provinces); these are further divided into ''powiats'' (counties or districts), and these i ...

passed in 1998, which restored the powiats and created 16 large voivodeships.

Geography

The county is located in the area of the

Maków Beskids The Maków Beskids ( pl, Beskid Makowski) is a mountain range in south-central Poland, part of the Western Beskids within the Outer Western Carpathians. Its highest peak is Mędralowa (1169 meters), within a total area of 900 square kilometers, a ...

of the

Beskidy Mountains The Beskids or Beskid Mountains ( pl, Beskidy, cs, Beskydy, sk, Beskydy, rue, Бескиды (''Beskydŷ''), ua, Бескиди (''Beskydy'')) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west a ...

. Its highest point is

Babia Gora Babia may refer to: *Babia (beetle), a genus of leaf beetles * Babia, Poland, a village in west-central Poland * Babia, Spain, a Spanish ''comarca'' in province of León * Babia, Congo, a village in Democratic Republic of the Congo *''Babia 93'', a ...

, above sea level, which since 1954 has been a national park and

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. This area attracts significant numbers of tourists, particularly to the

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

centre at Zawoja. Sucha County is bordered by

Żywiec County __NOTOC__ Żywiec County ( pl, powiat żywiecki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Pol ...

to the west,

Wadowice County __NOTOC__ Wadowice County ( pl, powiat wadowicki) 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 governme ...

to the north, Myślenice County to the east and Nowy Targ County to the south-east. It also borders

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

to the south-west.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into nine gminas (two urban, one urban-rural and six rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

References

Polish official population figures 2006

{{Lesser Poland Voivodeship Sucha