Lubelskie

Lubelskie, województwo (province), eastern Poland. It is bordered by the provinces of Mazowieckie to the northwest, Podlaskie to the north, Podkarpackie to the south, and Świętokrzyskie to the west as well as by the countries of Belarus and Ukraine to the east. It was created in 1999 when Poland’s 49 provinces (established 1975) were reorganized into 16. It comprises the former provinces of Lublin, Biała Podlaska, Chełm, and Zamość, as well as portions of the former provinces of Siedlce and Tarnobrzeg. The provincial capital is Lublin. Area 9,700 square miles (25,122 square km). Pop. (2011) 2,175,700.

Geography

The relief structure of Lubelskie province is varied. The main physiographic regions are the Południowopodlaska (South Podlasian) Lowland and Pripet Marshes (Polesie) to the north, the Lublin Upland in the central part of the province, and the Roztocze Hills to the south. The main rivers are the Vistula (Wisła), Bug, Wieprz, Krzna, Bystrzyca, and Huczwa. Numerous lakes are found within the Łęczna-Włodawa Plain. Much of the region is taken up by marshland and peat bogs, notably the Krowie Bagno (“Cow’s Marshes”). Forests (mainly coniferous) cover one-fourth of the province. The climate is predominantly continental, with warm summers and frosty winters. The average annual precipitation is 22–26 inches (550–650 mm). About half of the population is urban, with the largest cities being Lublin, Chełm, Zamość, Biała Podlaska, and Puławy. The eastern part of the province is home to a Ukrainian minority.

Lubelskie is one of the least-developed of all Polish provinces. About seven-tenths of the province is used for agriculture, the mainstay of the economy. The chief crops are cereals, potatoes, sugar beets, fodder, tobacco, hops, fruit, and vegetables. Pig raising and cattle breeding are of considerable importance. Arabian horses are bred at the world-famous stud farm in Janów Podlaski. Local manufacturing enterprises reflect the agricultural character of the region, with major industries being sugar refining, meatpacking, flour milling, tobacco processing, alcohol distilling, and brewing. Other key industries include chemical processing, cement manufacturing, automobile and aircraft manufacturing, and furniture manufacturing. Hard coal is mined near Łęczna, and gas production was recently begun. Tourism is not fully developed, though the province possesses lovely scenery and outstanding cultural sites. The Roztocze National Park consists of a number of forested land parcels crisscrossed with streams and ravines. Poleski National Park in the western part of the Łęczna-Włodawa Plain was established in 1990 to protect the marsh and peat bog ecosystem typical of the region.

Two of the most-visited towns in the province are Zamość and Kazimierz Dolny. The Old City of Zamość, a fine example of an Italianate Renaissance town, became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992. Kazimierz Dolny, a picturesque town in the Vistula valley, is popular with artists, writers, and tourists. The town features the ruins of a Gothic castle, several houses built in the Mannerist style, the Goldsmithery Museum, and a synagogue built in 1677. The provincial capital, Lublin, has a number of historic buildings, including the 14th-century Lublin Castle, whose Chapel of the Holy Trinity contains some remarkable Byzantine frescoes. The infamous Majdanek, the second largest Nazi concentration camp in Europe, where some 360,000 people died during World War II, was created just southeast of Lublin. Also notable are the magnificently landscaped Czartoryski Palace at Puławy and museums dedicated to Polish writers Bolesław Prus and Stefan Żeromski in the spa town of Nałęczów.

History

The region known as the Lublin Land (Lubelszczyzna) was incorporated into the Polish state by Mieszko I in the 10th century. During the period of divisions (the 12th and 13th centuries) it was part of the duchy of Sandomierz. Until the 14th century both Poland and Kievan Rus claimed the area, which endured Tatar, Russian, and Lithuanian invasions. Its convenient location on the important Kraków-Lvov trade route spurred economic development, and the region acquired some degree of political significance. During the 16th century Lublin enjoyed considerable economic prosperity, and artistic and cultural pursuits thrived. In addition, the city served as the meeting place of the state legislature and the Crown Tribunal. In 1569 the Union of Lublin established the dual Polish-Lithuanian state—the Commonwealth of Two Nations. Jan Zamoyski, the commander in chief of the Polish army, built the fortress-town of Zamość and founded Zamość Academy in the 16th century.

During the 17th century, following wars with the Cossacks and the Swedish and Russian invasions (which were accompanied by devastating epidemics), the region sank into decline. With the Third Partition (1795) it came under Austrian rule. In 1809 it was annexed to the Duchy of Warsaw, and in 1815 it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland, a dependency of Russia. In November 1918 Poland’s first independent government, headed by Ignacy Daszyński, was formed in Lublin. During World War II the Germans established more than 200 labour, prison, and concentration camps (e.g., Majdanek and Sobibór) in the area. At the same time, however, Lublin was one of the centres of the resistance movement in Poland. On July 22, 1944, in Chełm, the Soviet-sponsored Polish Committee of National Liberation issued the July Manifesto, which established a communist system, with the government seated in Lublin. Soon after the war ended, much of the population left the region’s ruined cities and towns and moved to land to the west that had been gained from defeated Germany.