Everything about The Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship totally explained
The
Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship () was an
autonomous region of the
Poland created as the result of the popular plebiscite in
1921, the
treaty in
Geneva, three
Silesian Uprisings, and the partition of
Upper Silesia between
Poland,
Germany and then-
Czechoslovakia. The special status of the
voivodeship dated to a
July 15 1920 act of
Sejm. The act was forcibly renounced in
May 6 1945 by the ruling
communists.
General description
Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship was the richest and best developed of all provinces of interbellum Poland. It owed its wealth to rich deposits of
coal, which resulted in construction of numerous coal mines and steelworks. For this reason, this Voivodeship was crucial to Polish armament production. However, its location - right on the border with
Germany, made it vulnerable. So, in mid-1930s, Polish government decided to move some sectors of heavy industry to the nation’s heartland, creating
Centralny Okreg Przemyslowy. With highly effective agriculture, Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship also was a major producer of food, despite its small size.
According to the 1931 census, 92.3% of population stated Polish as their mother tongue, which made it the most “Polish” of all Voivodeships.
Germans made 7% and
Jews - only 0.5%, which was the lowest percentage in the whole nation. Poles lived mainly in the villages (95.6% of population there), while Germans preferred cities (12.9% of Polish Upper Silesian cities’ population was German).
Population density (299 persons per 1 km²) was the highest in the country (by comparison - in
Polesie Voivodeship the density was only 31 persons per 1 km²). On January 1, 1937, forested was 27.9% of area (with the national average of 22.2%). Rail density was the highest in the country (18.5 km. per 100 km², by comparison - in Polesie Voivideship it was only 3.1 km. per 100 km²) In 1931, illiterate was only 1.5% of population (with the national average of 23.1%, in Polesie Voivodeship - 48.4%).
History
Politics
This region possessed wide autonomy, including having its own
Silesian Parliament as well as its own
national treasury - the Silesian
Treasury, all of which were connected to autonomic Silesia (excluding
foreign policy and
military laws to competence of the Silesian Lower House of Parliament. There was a separate
Silesian Parliament with 48 MPs elected in democratic elections. Sejm elections designated a Silesian Voivod as the head of administration.
Administrative divisions
Counties (powiaty)
In mid-1939 the population of the Voivodeship was 1,533,500 (together with
Zaolzie, annexed in October 1938) and its area was 5 122 sq. km. The Voivodeship was divided into these counties:
| Powiaty |
a href=http://Population.totallyexplained.com title="Population - Totally Explained">Population |
a href=http://Area.totallyexplained.com title="Area - Totally Explained">Area |
| Katowice county (powiat katowicki) |
357,300 |
213 km² |
| Rybnik county (powiat rybnicki) |
212,900 |
890 km² |
| Cieszyn county (powiat cieszyński) |
176,600 |
1 305 km² |
| Pszczyna county (powiat pszczyński) |
151,500 |
1 046 km² |
| Fryštát county (powiat frysztacki) |
143,000 |
262 km² |
| Chorzów (powiat grodzki) |
128,900 |
32 km² |
| Katowice (powiat grodzki) |
126,200 |
42 km² |
| Tarnowskie Góry county (powiat tarnogórski) |
107 000 |
268 km² |
| Bielsko county (powiat bielski) |
59,500 |
339 km² |
| Lubliniec county (powiat lubliniecki) |
45,200 |
715 km² |
| Bielsko (powiat grodzki) |
25,400 |
10 km² |
Cities
Biggest cities of the Voivodeship within its 1939 boundaries were (population based on 1931 census):
| Cities |
a href=http://Population.totallyexplained.com title="Population - Totally Explained">Population |
| Chorzów¹ |
128,900 |
| Katowice |
126,200 |
| Siemianowice Śląskie |
37,800 |
| Cieszyn |
28,000 |
| Bielsko |
25,400 |
| Rybnik |
23 000 |
| Mysłowice |
22,700 |
| Karwina |
22,300 |
| Tarnowskie Góry |
15,500 |
| Mikołów |
11,900 |
| Bogumin |
10,800 |
| Orłowa |
10 000 |
¹ – in 1934 the cities of Królewska Huta, Maciejkowice and Chorzów municipality joined with Chorzów
Voivodes
Józef Rymer 16 June 1922 – 5 December 1922
Zygmunt Żurawski 15 December 1922 – 1 February 1923 (acting)
Antoni Schultis 1 February 1923 – 3 March 1924
Tadeusz Koncki 15 October 1923 – 2 May 1924 (acting till 3 March 1924)
Mieczysław Bilski 6 May 1924 – 3 September 1926
Michał Grażyński 6 September 1926 – 5 September 1939Further Information
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