Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship ( ), also known as Holy Cross Voivodeship, is a voivodeship (province) in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland. The province's capital and largest city is Kielce. The voivodeship takes its name from the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mountains.

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is bounded by six other voivodeships: Masovian to the north, Lublin to the east, Subcarpathian to the south-central, Lesser Poland to the south, Silesian to the southwest, and Łódź to the northwest.

The province covers an area of , making it the second smallest province (after Opole). As at 2019, the total population of Świętokrzyskie Province was 1,237,369.

History

thumb|left|[[Sandomierz Castle|Sandomierz Royal Castle, a Historic Monument of Poland From 3900 BC to 1600 BC, striped flint was mined at Krzemionki, one of the largest known complexes of prehistoric flint mines in Europe, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Historic Monument of Poland.

The territory formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century. Sandomierz was mentioned as one of three centers of the Kingdom of Poland, along Kraków and Wrocław, in the early-12th-century Gesta principum Polonorum chronicle. Sandomierz and Wiślica, whose historic landmarks are designated Historic Monuments of Poland,The voivodeship contains 4 cities and 39 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019):

Administrative division

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is divided into 14 counties (powiats): 1 city county and 13 land counties. These are further divided into 102 gminas.

The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"

|-bgcolor="D0D8DD"

| align="center"|English and<br /> Polish names

| align="center"|Area<br /> <small>(km<sup>2</sup>)</small>

| align="center"|Population<br /> <small>(2019)</small>

| align="center"|Seat

| width="30%" align="center"|Other towns

| align="center"|Total<br /> gminas

|-bgcolor="F0F8FF"

|colspan=6|City counties

|-

| Kielce

| align="right"|110

| align="right"|195,266

| colspan=2 |

| align="center"|1

|-bgcolor="F0F8FF"

|colspan=6|Land counties

|-

|Kielce County<br /> powiat kielecki

| align="right"| 2,247

| align="right"|210,940

|Kielce *

|Chęciny, Chmielnik, Daleszyce, Bodzentyn, Łagów, Łopuszno, Morawica, Nowa Słupia, Piekoszów, Pierzchnica

| align="center"|19

|-

|Ostrowiec County<br /> powiat ostrowiecki

| align="right"| 616

| align="right"|109,512

|Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski

|Ćmielów, Kunów

| align="center"|6

|-

|Starachowice County<br /> powiat starachowicki

| align="right"| 523

| align="right"|89,925

|Starachowice

|Wąchock

| align="center"|5

|-

|Jędrzejów County<br /> powiat jędrzejowski

| align="right"| 1,257

| align="right"|85,757

|Jędrzejów

|Sędziszów, Małogoszcz, Sobków, Wodzisław

| align="center"|9

|-

|Końskie County<br /> powiat konecki

| align="right"| 1,140

| align="right"|80,154

|Końskie

|Stąporków, Radoszyce, Gowarczów

| align="center"|8

|-

|Sandomierz County<br /> powiat sandomierski

| align="right"| 676

| align="right"|77,352

|Sandomierz

|Koprzywnica, Zawichost, Klimontów

| align="center"|9

|-

|Skarżysko County<br /> powiat skarżyski

| align="right"| 395

| align="right"|74,343

|Skarżysko-Kamienna

|Suchedniów

| align="center"|5

|-

|Staszów County<br /> powiat staszowski

| align="right"| 925

| align="right"|72,000

|Staszów

|Bogoria, Oleśnica, Osiek, Połaniec, Szydłów

| align="center"|8

|-

|Busko County<br /> powiat buski

| align="right"| 967

| align="right"|71,807

|Busko-Zdrój

|Pacanów, Nowy Korczyn, Stopnica, Wiślica

| align="center"|8

|-

|Opatów County<br /> powiat opatowski

| align="right"| 912

| align="right"|52,336

|Opatów

|Iwaniska, Ożarów

| align="center"|8

|-

|Włoszczowa County<br /> powiat włoszczowski

| align="right"| 906

| align="right"|45,137

|Włoszczowa

|

| align="center"|6

|-

|Pińczów County<br /> powiat pińczowski

| align="right"| 611

| align="right"|39,100

|Pińczów

|Działoszyce

| align="center"|5

|-

|Kazimierza County<br /> powiat kazimierski

| align="right"| 422

| align="right"|35,770

|Kazimierza Wielka

|Opatowiec, Skalbmierz

| align="center"|5

|-bgcolor="F0F8FF"

|colspan=6 style="text-align:center;font-size:90%"|* seat not part of the county

|-

|}

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 11.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 2.3% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 15,400 € or 51% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 58% of the EU average. Świętokrzyskie Voivodship is the province with the fifth lowest GDP per capita in Poland.

Protected areas

thumb|[[Świętokrzyski National Park]]

Protected areas in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship include one National Park and nine Landscape Parks. These are listed below.

  • Świętokrzyski National Park
  • Chęciny-Kielce Landscape Park
  • Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park
  • Jeleniowska Landscape Park
  • Kozubów Landscape Park
  • Nida Landscape Park
  • Przedbórz Landscape Park (partly in Łódź Voivodeship)
  • Sieradowice Landscape Park
  • Suchedniów-Oblęgorek Landscape Park
  • Szaniec Landscape Park

Sights and tourism

thumb|[[Sandomierz is one of the main tourist destinations in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship]]

There are ten Historic Monuments of Poland and one World Heritage Site in the voivodeship:

  • Krzemionki Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining Region (listed as both)
  • Kraków Bishops Palace and Kielce Cathedral
  • Henryk Sienkiewicz Palace with park in Oblęgorek
  • St. Martin's Collegiate Church, Opatów
  • Camaldolese monastery complex in Rytwiany
  • Old Town of Sandomierz
  • Benedictine monastery complex at Święty Krzyż
  • Krzyżtopór Castle in Ujazd
  • Wąchock Abbey
  • Collegiate Basilica of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary and stronghold in Wiślica

Preserved old towns include Opatów and the fortified town of Szydłów. In Opatów and Sandomierz there are underground tourist routes in historic cellars under the old town market squares. There are multiple castles, including in Bodzentyn, Chęciny, Sandomierz and Szydłów, and palaces, including in Czyżów Szlachecki and Kurozwęki.

There are two spa towns: Busko-Zdrój and Solec-Zdrój.

Ćmielów, a town with a rich tradition of porcelain production, is home to the Living Porcelain Museum.

There are numerous World War II memorials, including memorials at the site of Nazi massacres of Poles and Holocaust memorials.

<gallery>

File:Krzemionki 20150519 6495.jpg|Krzemionki

File:Kielce-Kirche-5.jpg|Kielce Cathedral

File:20180816 Ratusz w Sandomierzu 1652 8985 DxO.jpg|Town Hall in Sandomierz

File:PL-SK Święty Krzyż - zespół klasztorny benedyktynów 2016-08-18--10-59-17-001.jpg|Święty Krzyż Monastery

File:Ruiny zamku Krzyżtopór 2.jpg|Krzyżtopór

File:Kapitularz klasztoru w Wachocku.jpg|Wąchock Abbey

File:Kurozwęki Castle 20230719 01.jpg|Kurozwęki Palace

File:Czyzow palace 20060623 1402.jpg|Czyżów Szlachecki Palace

File:Krakow Gate in Szydlow 01.jpg|Fortified town of Szydłów

File:PL - Opatów - ratusz - 2012-08-11--16-01-20-01.jpg|Town hall in Opatów

File:Busko park (Sanatorium Marconi).jpg|Sanatorium Marconi in Busko-Zdrój

File:MOs810 WG 25 2024 (Kielce-Wisła) Ćmielów Market Square 06.jpg|Fountain at the Market Square in Ćmielów

File:Zamek Checiny.jpg|Chęciny Royal Castle

File:MUZEUM IM. PRZYPKOWSKICH W JĘDRZEJOWIE, fot. A. Jamrozik (MIK, 2015) (18481782538).jpg|Przypkowscy Clock (Sundial) Museum in Jędrzejów

</gallery>

Sports

thumb|[[Iskra Kielce celebrating victory in the 2015–16 EHF Champions League]]

Handball and football enjoy the largest following in the province.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%"

|-

|+ Professional sports teams

|-

!Club

!Sport

!League

!Trophies

|-

|Barlinek Industria Kielce

|Handball (men's)

|Superliga

|20 Polish Championships<br>18 Polish Cups<br>1 EHF Champions League (2016)

|-

|Korona Kielce

|Football (men's)

|Ekstraklasa

|0

|-

|Korona Handball Kielce

|Handball (women's)

|Liga Centralna Kobiet

|0

|}

Curiosities

  • In the 16th-17th centuries, Scottish settlers were noted in various towns in the current province, including Busko-Zdrój, Chęciny, Kielce, Koprzywnica, Nowy Korczyn, Opatów, Pacanów, Pińczów, Połaniec, Raków, Sandomierz, Secemin.

See also

  • Świętokrzyskie cuisine
  • Second Polish Republic's Kielce Voivodeship (1919–1939)
  • Lesser Polish Way

References

  • Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship official website (Polish, English, German)
  • Świętokrzyski Urząd Wojewódzki Official website (Polish, English, Russian, Ukrainian, French)
  • Regional Tourist Information Center official website (Polish, English, German)