Sventokshiskie province
Description
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Świętokrzyskie Province, or Holy Cross Province (Polish: województwo świętokrzyskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ ɕfjɛntɔˈkʂɨskʲɛ]) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It is situated in central Poland, in the historical province of Lesser Poland, and takes its name from the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) mountain range. Its capital and largest city is Kielce.
Świętokrzyskie Province is bounded by six other voivodeships: Masovian to the north, Lublin to the east, Subcarpathian to the southeast, Lesser Poland to the south, Silesian to the southwest, and Łódź to the northwest.
The province was created on 1 January 1999, out of the former Kielce Voivodeship,eastern part of Częstochowa Voivodeship and western part of Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. It covers an area of 11,672 square kilometres (4,507 sq mi), making it the second smallest of the voivodeships (after Opole). As at 2006, the total population of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is 1,281,796.
Protected areas
Protected areas in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship include one National Park and nine Landscape Parks. These are listed below.
- Świętokrzyski National Park
- Chęciny-Kielce Landscape Park
- Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park
- Jeleniowska Landscape Park
- Kozubów Landscape Park
- Nida Landscape Park
- Przedbórz Landscape Park (partly in Łódź Voivodeship)
- Sieradowice Landscape Park
- Suchedniów-Oblęgorek Landscape Park
- Szaniec Landscape Park
