Łódź Voivodship

Understand

Łódzkie Vovoidship is located in the center of Poland. The capital is Łódź, which is the second biggest city in Poland. In geographical terms, the Łódź region is located on the Central Polish Lowland, in proximity to the Świętokrzyskie Mountains.

In the early middle ages Łódzkie was part of Wielkopolskie which was the major part of Poland in the 10th century. However, the capital of Poland was moved from Gniezno to Kraków in 1040. When in 1138 the Seniorat of Poland was formed, nowerdays Łódzkie was part of three differnt duchies, the south-eastern part of Wielkopolskie, Sieradz and Łęczyca. The later both soon were again reunited with Wielkopolskie and subsequently bacame part of the Kingdom of Poland in the beginning of the 14th century. Piotrków Trybunalski played an important role in Polish parliamentarism, as this was the place where the most Polish Sejms gathered since the 15th century. After the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 most of its territory was annexed by Prussia, but became independent as part of the Duchy of Warsaw between 1807-1815. After the Congress of Vienna it became part of the Kingdom of Poland, ruled by the Russian Tsar. Łódź, often refered to as the Polish Manchester, emerged as a major industrial city in Central Europe in the early 19th century. After World War I Łódzkie became part of the Second Polish Republic, but was occupied by Nazi-Germany between 1939 and 1944, when it was part of the German Generalgovernement. After World War II it again became part of Poland. Nowerdays it is situated quite in the heart of the country.