Trakai Voivodeship, Trakai Palatinate, or Troki Voivodeship (, , ), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

from 1413 until 1795.

History

Trakai Voivodeship together with

Vilnius Voivodeship The Vilnius Voivodeship (, , , ) was one of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's voivodeships, which existed from the voivodeship's creation in 1413 to the destruction of the Lithuanian state in 1795. This voivodeship was Lithuania's largest, most p ...

was established by the

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Vytautas the Great Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

in 1413 according to the

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 ...

. 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 ...

, which was ruled directly by the Grand Duke or his close relative (brother or son). The Duke of Trakai () was replaced by appointed officials –

voivodes Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

and his deputy

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

. The voivodeship was divided into four :

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

Trakai Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capi ...

(ruled directly by the voivode), and

Upytė Upytė is a small village in Panevėžys district municipality in northern Lithuania. It is situated some 12 km southwest of Panevėžys on the banks of Vešeta Creek. It is now the capital of an elderate. In 1987 it had 580 residents. In ...

. The biggest cities in the voivodeship were

and

. The western portion of the voivodeship was split off in 1513 by

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV of P ...

and transferred to the

Polish Crown The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (; ) was a political and legal concept formed in the 14th century in the Kingdom of Poland, assuming unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. Under this idea, the state was no longer seen as the pa ...

. It was organized as the

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...

. In 1793, the counties of Grodno, Sokółka and Wołkowysk one of Nowogródek Voivodeship were merged into Grodno Voivodeship. After the

Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin (; ) 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 personal union of the Crown of the Kingd ...

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

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

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

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, while territories west of the

Neman River Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

– part of the

Province of East Prussia East Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's Free State of Prussia, ...

Voivodes

The Voivode of Trakai (, ) 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 The Lithuanian Council of Lords () was the main permanent institution of central government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania active in its capital city of Vilnius. It had originated from the advisory Council of the Grand Duke, established by Vytau ...

. Voivodes had their residence in

city, near

Galvė Lake Lake Galvė is a lake in Trakai, Lithuania. It is approximately 361 hectares in size, has 21 islands, and one of them houses Trakai Island Castle. Trakai Peninsula Castle is located on its southern shore. There are ruins of the little Orthodox c ...

, 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 protecting ...

List of voivodes

Jonas Goštautas Jonas Gostautas or Goštautas (; c. 1393 in Geranainys or Vilnius – before 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 lan ...

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

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

(1466–1477) *

Martynas Goštautas Martynas Goštautas ( or ''Marcin Gasztołdowicz''; ; 1428, Vilnius – c. 1483, Vilnius) was a nobleman from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania of the Goštautai family. He was the Grand Marshal of Lithuania, Voivode of Navahrudak (1464–1471), firs ...

(1480–1483) *

Jan Zabrzeziński Jan Jurjewicz Zabrzeziński or Zaberezhsky (1437 – 2 February 1508) was a noble of Leliwa coat of arms from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who achieved the height of his influence during the reign of Alexander I Jagiellon (1492–1506). He was ...

(1498–1505) * Olbracht Gasztołd (Albrecht Goštautas) (1519–1522) *

Konstanty Ostrogski Konstanty Iwanowicz Ostrogski ( – 10 August 1530) was a Ruthenian prince and magnate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He later had the title of grand hetman of Lithuania from 11 September 1497 until his death in 1530. Career Ostrogski began ...

(1522–1530) * Stanisław Gasztołd (Stanislovas Goštautas) (1542) *

Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł Mikołaj is the Polish cognate of given name Nicholas, used both as a given name and a surname. It may refer to people: In Polish (or Polish-Lithuanian) nobility: * Mikołaj Kamieniecki, Polish nobleman and the first Grand Hetman of the Crown * ...

(1590–1604) *

Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz () ()(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 voivode of Mścisław (1621–1626), v ...

(1626–1640) * Piotr Pac (X 1640–VII 1642) *

Mikołaj Abramowicz Mikołaj Abramowicz or Abrahamowicz (; 1590s – 1651) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish–Lithuanian soldier who was one of the leading military and diplomatic figures of his period. Life A szlachcic of Jastrzębiec coat of arms ...

(1647–1651?) * Marcjan Ogiński (since 1670) *

Tadeusz Franciszek Ogiński Prince Tadeusz Franciszek Andrzej Ogiński (, ) was a szlachcic from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was Grand Clerk of Lithuania starting in 1737, castellan of Trakai starting in 1744, Trakai Voivodeship, voivode of Trakai starting in ...

(1770–1783) *

Józef Mikołaj Radziwiłł Prince Józef Mikołaj Radziwiłł () (13 November 1736–1813) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish–Lithuanian noble (szlachcic). The 8th Ordynat of Kleck, Grand Clerk of Lithuania since 1764, voivode of Minsk Voivodeship since 1773 ...

(since 1788)

References

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