Trakai Voivodeship

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Trakų vaivadija
Województwo Trockie
Trakai Voivodeship
Voivodeship of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1413-1569), that was a confederal part of Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth since 1569

1413 – 1795

Coat of arms of Trakai

Coat of arms

Location of Trakai
Trakai Voivodeship in the 17th century
Capital Trakai
Government Monarchy
Legislature Sejmik
History
 - Established by Vytautas the Great 1413
 - Union of Lublin 1569
 - Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1795
Area
 - 1570 31,100 km² (12,008 sq mi)
 - 1790 23,885 km² (9,222 sq mi)
Population
 - 1790 est. 288,000 
     Density 12.1 /km²  (31.2 /sq mi)
Political Subdivisions Powiat
Today part of Lithuania, Poland, Belarus

Trakai Voivodeship[1] or Troki Voivodeship[2] (Lithuanian: Trakų vaivadija, Polish: Województwo Trockie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1413 until 1795.

Contents

[edit] History

Troki Voivodeship in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Troki Voivodeship in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Trakai Voivodeship was established by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas in 1413, replacing the former Duchy of Trakai, which existed as early as under the rule of Vytenis. The Duke of Trakai (Latin: dux Trocensis) was a significant title of Lithuanian rulers formally denoting the regency of the whole western Grand Duchy of Lithuania including ethnic Lithuanian lands. The title of the Duke of Trakai was inherited by Kęstutis from Gediminas, then passed to Jogaila was transferred by him to Skirgaila and finally to Vytautas following the Astrava Agreement.

After the Union of Lublin the voivodeship, together with whole Grand Duchy of Lithuania, became part of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until the Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. The biggest cities in the voivodeship had been Kaunas, Hrodna and Trakai.

[edit] Voivodes

The Voivode of Trakai (Lithuanian: Trakų vaivada) was one of the most important state offices in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The voivode had been the ex officio member of the Lithuanian Council of Lords. Voivodes had their residence in Trakai city, near Galvė Lake, north of the Trakai Peninsula Castle.

[edit] List of voivodes

[edit] Administrative division

The Voivodeship was divided into 4 powiats:

  • Hrodna powiat
  • Kaunas powiat
  • Trakai powiat
  • Upytė powiat (note: the capital of this powiat was not Upytė, but Panevėžys)

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Trakų vaivadija. Retrieved on 2008-06-07
  2. ^ Anatol Leszczyński, Żydzi ziemi bielskiej od połowy XVII w. do 1795 r.: studium osadnicze, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1980, ISBN 8304003899, p.248