lt, Trakų vaivadija
pl, Województwo trockie , conventional_long_name = Trakai Voivodeship , common_name = Trakai , subdivision = Voivodeship , nation =

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 partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

(1413–1569)

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 Poland and Lithuania ru ...

(1569–1795) , year_start = 1413 , event_start = Established by

Union of Horodło The Union of Horodło or Pact of Horodło was a set of three acts signed in the town of Horodło on 2 October 1413. The first act was signed by Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland, and Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. The second and thir ...

, event_end =

Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

, year_end = 1795 , event1 =

Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin ( pl, Unia lubelska; lt, Liublino unija) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the per ...

, date_event1 = 1569 , p1 = Duchy of Trakai , image_p1 = COA of Gediminaičiai dynasty Lithuania

, s1 = Vilna Governorate , image_s1 = Vilnius COA 1845

, s2 = Slonim Governorate , flag_s2 = Flag of Russia.svg , s3 = Province of East Prussia , flag_s3 = Flagge Preußen - Provinz Ostpreußen.svg , s4 = Podlaskie Voivodeship (1513–1795) , image_s4 = POL województwo podlaskie IRP COA

, image_flag = Flag of Trakai Voivodeship (1569-1795)-1.svg , image_coat = Recueil d'armoiries polonaises COA of Trakai Voivodeship.png , image_map = Trakai Voivodeship within Lithuania in the 17th century.png , image_map_caption = Trakai Voivodeship (in red) in the 17th century , capital = Trakai , political_subdiv =

Counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

: 4 , government_type = Monarchy , legislature = Sejmik , title_leader = Voivode , title_deputy = Castellan , stat_year1 = 1570 , stat_area1 = 31100 , stat_year2 = 1790 , stat_area2 = 23885 , stat_pop2 = 288000 , footnotes = Population and area are given according to Trakai Voivodeship, Trakai Palatinate, or Troki Voivodeship ( la, Palatinatus Trocensis, lt, Trakų vaivadija, pl, Województwo trockie), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the

from 1413 until 1795.

History

Trakai Voivodeship together with Vilnius Voivodeship was established by the

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

Vytautas the Great 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 ...

in 1413 according to the

. Vytautas copied the Polish system of administrative division in order to centralize and strengthen the government. Trakai Voivodeship replaced the former

Duchy of Trakai Duchy of Trakai was a subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The Duke of Trakai was an important position held either by the Grand Duke of Lithuania himself or his second-in-command. History After th ...

, which was ruled directly by the Grand Duke or his close relative (brother or son). The Duke of Trakai ( la, dux Trocensis) was replaced by appointed officials – voivodes and his deputy castellan. The voivodeship was divided into four : Grodno, Kaunas,

Trakai Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. ...

(ruled directly by the voivode), and Upytė. The biggest cities in the voivodeship were Kaunas, Grodno and

. The western portion of the voivodeship was split off in 1513 by Sigismund I the Old and transferred to the

Polish Crown The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, incl ...

. It was organized as the Podlaskie Voivodeship. In 1793, the counties of Grodno, Sokółka and Wołkowysk one of Nowogródek Voivodeship were merged into Grodno Voivodeship. After the

the voivodeship, together with the whole Grand Duchy of Lithuania, became part of the

until the partitions of the Commonwealth in 1795. Most of the territory became part of 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. ...

, while territories west of the Neman River – part of the

Province of East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871 ...

Voivodes

The Voivode of Trakai ( pl, Wojewoda trocki, lt, Trakų vaivada) was one of the most important state offices in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They were appointed from prominent magnate families and competed only with voivode of Vilnius and Grand Chancellors for power and prestige. Voivodes were the ''ex officio'' members of the Lithuanian Council of Lords. Voivodes had their residence in

city, near Galvė Lake, north of the

Trakai Peninsula Castle Trakai Peninsula Castle is one of the castles in Trakai, Lithuania. It is located on a peninsula between southern Lake Galvė and Lake Luka. Built around 1350–1377 by Kęstutis, Duke of Trakai, it was an important defensive structure protect ...

List of voivodes

Jonas Goštautas Jonas Gostautas or Goštautas ( pl, Jan Gasztołd; c. 1383 in Geranainys – 1 September 1458 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian nobleman from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania of the Gasztołd (Goštautai) noble family, a politician and skillful la ...

(1440) * Iwaszko Moniwidowicz (1443–1458) *

Radvila Astikas Radvila Astikas or Astikaitis ( baptized Nicholas; pl, Radziwiłł Ościkowicz; died in 1477) was a magnate, a member of the Astikai and founder of the Radvila (Radziwiłł) family. He was a member of the Lithuanian Council of Lords and one of t ...

(1466–1477) *

Martynas Goštautas Martynas Goštautas ( pl, Marcin Janowicz Gas(z)tołd, links=no or ''Marcin Gasztołdowicz''; uk, Га́штовт Марти́н Іва́нович, links=no; 1428, Vilnius – c. 1483, Vilnius) was a nobleman from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania o ...

(1480–1483) * Jan Zabrzeziński (1498–1505) * Olbracht Gasztołd (Albrecht Goštautas) (1519–1522) * Konstanty Ostrogski (1522–1530) * Stanisław Gasztołd (Stanislovas Goštautas) (1542) *

Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł Prince Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł ( lt, Mikalojus Kristupas Radvila Našlaitėlis) (2 Augustus 1549 – 28 February 1616) and nicknamed "the Orphan" ( pl, Sierotka, lt, Našlaitėlis), was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman ( szlachcic), ...

(1590–1604) *

Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz ( lt, Jonušas Skuminas Tiškevičius) (1570–1642) was a noble of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a politician, a sponsor of Baroque music and a writer (1610+). He held numerous political offices, including voivod ...

(1626–1640) * Piotr Pac (X 1640–VII 1642) * Mikołaj Abramowicz (1647–1651?) * Marcjan Ogiński (since 1670) * Tadeusz Franciszek Ogiński (1770–1783) * Józef Mikołaj Radziwiłł (since 1788)

References

{{coord, 54.639319, 24.935049, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Former voivodeships of Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1413 establishments in Europe 15th-century establishments in Lithuania 1795 disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth