Mazovia

Masovian Voivodeship or Mazovia Province of east-central Poland, and has 5,324,500 million inhabitants. Its principal cities are Warsaw (1.729 million) in the centre of the Warsaw metropolitan area, Radom (226,000) in the south, Płock (127,000) in the west, Siedlce (77,000) in the east, and Ostrołęka (55,000) in the north. The capital of the voivodeship is the national capital, Warsaw.

The province was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Warsaw, Płock, Ciechanów, Ostrołęka, Siedlce and Radom Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. The province's name recalls the traditional name of the region, Mazowsze (sometimes rendered in English as "Masovia"), with which it is roughly coterminous. However, southern part of the voivodeship, with Radom, historically belongs to Małopolska (Lesser Poland), while Łomża and its surroundings, even though historically part of Masovia, now is part of Podlaskie Voivodeship.

It is bordered by six other voivodeships: Warmian-Masurian to the north, Podlaskie to the north-east, Lublin to the south-east, Świętokrzyskie to the south, Łódź to the south-west, and Kuyavian-Pomeranian to the north-west.

Historical

Masovian Voivodeship (1526–1795)

Masovia Voivodeship, 1526–1795 (Polish: Województwo Mazowieckie) was an administrative region of the Kingdom of Poland, and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, from the 15th century until the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1795). Together with Płock and Rawa Voivodeships, it formed the province (prowincja) of Masovia.

Masovian Voivodeship (1816–1837)

Masovian Voivodeship was one of the voivodeships of Congress Poland. It was formed from Warsaw Department, and transformed into Masovia Governorate.

Transport

There are three main road routes that pass through the voivodship: Cork-Berlin-Poznań-Warszawa-Minsk-Moscow-Omsk, Prague-Wrocław-Warsaw-Białystok-Helsinki and Pskov-Gdańsk-Warsaw-Kraków-Budapest.

Currently there are only small stretches of autostrada in the area. However, the A2 autostrada, upon its completion, will be the first autostrada to connect the region, and therefore the capital city, with the rest of Europe. The autostrada will pass directly through the voivodship from east to west connecting it with Belarus and Germany.

The railroad system is based on Koleje Mazowieckie and PKP Intercity.

The main international airport in the region is Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport.

Economy

Masovian Voivodeship is the wealthiest in Poland. It produces 22% of Polish GDP, and GDP per capita is 160% of country average.