__NOTOC__
Tatra County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (
) in
Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków.
The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...
, southern
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, on the
Slovak border. It came into being 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. Its administrative seat and only town is
Zakopane
Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy SÄ…cz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...
, which lies south of the regional capital
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
. The county takes its name from the
Tatra mountain range, which covers most of its territory.
The county covers an area of . As of 2006 its total population is 65,393, out of which the population of Zakopane is 27,486 and the rural population is 37,907.
The mountainous southern part of the county (211 km
2) makes up the
Tatra National Park. This area, together with the
Slovak Tatra National Park across the border, make up a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
-designated
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, funga, or features of geologic ...
.
Neighbouring counties
Tatra County is bordered by only one other Polish county,
Nowy Targ County, which lies to the north. To the east, west and south it is bordered by
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
(namely,
TvrdoÅ¡Ãn and
Liptovský Mikuláš District
Liptovský Mikuláš District (''okres Liptovský Mikuláš'') is a district in the eastern part of Žilina Region of central Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by P ...
s in
Žilina Region
The Žilina Region (; ; ) is one of the eight Regions of Slovakia, Slovak administrative regions and consists of 11 districts (okresy) and 315 municipalities, from which 18 have a town status. The region was established in 1923, however, in its p ...
to the south and west, and
Poprad District in
Prešov Region
The Prešov Region (, ; ), also Priashiv Region (, ), is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 13 districts (okresy) and 666 municipalities, 23 of which have town status. The region was established in 1996 and is the mos ...
to the south and east).
Administrative division
The county is subdivided into five
gmina
The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...
s (one urban and four rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.
See also
*
Małe Ciche
References
Polish official population figures 2006
Tatra
{{Tatra-geo-stub