Mazovia

historical region in Poland

Mazovia or Masovia (Polish: Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It goes across the North European Plain. It is between Łódź and Białystok. Warsaw is the unofficial capital city. Warsaw is also the largest city in the region. Throughout the centuries, Mazovia made a different culture than other Polish cultures.

Mazovia
Mazowsze
Historical region
Three historical Mazovian voivodeships in comparison with contemporary Polish voivodeships
Three historical Mazovian voivodeships in comparison with contemporary Polish voivodeships
Country Poland
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)

Historical Mazovia existed from the Middle Ages until the partitions of Poland. It was made up of three voivodeships with the capitals in Warsaw, Płock and Rawa. The main city of the region was Płock.[1] At the time, Płock was the capital of Poland. Later, however, Płock lost its importance to Warsaw. Warsaw then became the capital of Poland. From 1138, Mazovia was led by a branch of the Piast dynasty. When the last ruler of the independent Duchy of Mazovia died, it became fully part of the Polish Crown in 1526. The Mazovian Governorate was made in 1816. It had land in the south part of the region along with Łęczyca Land and south-eastern Kuyavia. The Mazovian Governorate lasted until 1844. The old ethnic group of Mazovia are the Masurians. They settled in Masuria in southern Prussia in the Late Middle Ages. There they converted to Protestantism in the Reformation era.

Historical lands of Mazovia

The Mazovian Voivodeship was created in 1999. The borders of this voivodeship are not the same as the region of Mazovia. This is because the borders do not have the Mazovian cities of Łomża and Łowicz, but do have the Lesser Polish cities of Radom and Siedlce.

Main cities and towns

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The following table lists the cities in Mazovia with a population greater than 20,000 (2015):

City Population (2015)[2] Voivodeship in 1750 Voivodeship in 2016 Additional information
1.   Warsaw 1 724 404   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Capital of Poland, former royal city of Poland.
2.   Płock 122 815   Płock Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Historical capital of Masovia, former capital of Poland, former royal city of Poland.
3.   Łomża 62 711   Masovian Voivodeship   Podlaskie Voivodeship Former royal city of Poland.
4.   Pruszków 59 570   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
5.   Legionowo 54 231   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
6.   Ostrołęka 52 917   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Former royal city of Poland.
7.   Skierniewice 48 634   Rawa Voivodeship   Łódź Voivodeship Former private bishop town of Poland.
8.   Otwock 45 044   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
9.   Piaseczno 44 869   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Former royal city of Poland, part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
10.   Ciechanów 44 797   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Former royal city of Poland.
11.   Żyrardów 41 096   Rawa Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship
12.   Mińsk Mazowiecki 39 880   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
13.   Wołomin 37 505   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
14.   Sochaczew 37 480   Rawa Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Former royal city of Poland.
15.   Ząbki 31 884   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
16.   Mława 30 880   Płock Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Former royal city of Poland.
17.   Grodzisk Mazowiecki 29 907   Rawa Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Former private town of the Mokronoski family, part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
18.   Łowicz 29 420   Rawa Voivodeship   Łódź Voivodeship Temporary de facto capital of Poland in years 1572–1573, former private bishop town.
19.   Marki 29 032   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
20.   Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki 28 287   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Former private town, part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
21.   Wyszków 27 222   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Former private bishop town of Poland.
22.   Piastów 22 826   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
23.   Ostrów Mazowiecka 22 796   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Former royal city of Poland.
24.   Płońsk 22 494   Płock Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Former royal city of Poland.
25.   Zambrów 22 451   Masovian Voivodeship   Podlaskie Voivodeship Former royal city of Poland.
26.   Grajewo 22 246   Masovian Voivodeship   Podlaskie Voivodeship Northernmost and easternmost town of Mazovia. It borders the regions of Podlachia and Masuria.
27.   Kobyłka 20 855   Masovian Voivodeship   Masovian Voivodeship Part of the Warsaw metropolitan area.
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References

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  1. Mazowsze: Obraz Etnograficzny, Volume 1, by Wojciech Gerson and Oskar Kolberg, BiblioBazaar, 2009 – 372 pages
  2. "Lista miast w Polsce (Spis miast, mapa miast, liczba ludności, powierzchnia, wyszukiwarka)".

Other websites

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