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Encyclopedia > Wielkopolska

Greater Poland (also Great Poland; Polish: Wielkopolska, German: Grosspolen, Latin: Polonia Maior) is one of the historical regions of Poland. It is located in western-central Poland, encompassing much of the area drained by the Warta River and its tributaries.


The Greater Poland Voivodship (in Polish województwo wielkopolskie) is an administrative region or voivodship of western-central Poland It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Poznan, Kalisz, Konin, Pila and Leszno voivodships as a result of Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998. The voivodship's name recalls the region's traditional name of Greater Poland(Wielkopolska).


It is second in area and third in population among the country's sixteen voivodships, with 29,826 km˛ and 3.4 million inhabitants. Its principal cities are:


Its principal cities are Poznan, Leszno, Kalisz and Gniezno. Most of the historical region (except some southwestern communities) is included the Greater Poland voivodship (administrative province) created in 1999.

Contents
1 Name of the region

1.1 Major cities and towns
1.2 Administrative division
1.3 Major corporations

2 Most popular surnames in the region
3 Further reading
4 See also
5 External links

Name of the region

Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) was the core of the early medieval Polish state, often called the cradle of Poland, and at times was called simply Poland (in Latin: Polonia). The name of Greater Poland is mentioned first in Latin form Polonia Maior in 1257, and in Polish form w Wielkej Polszcze in 1449. The name of the region can be understool as the Old Poland as opposed to the New Poland (Lesser Poland, Małopolska, Polonia Minor, a region in south-eastern Poland with Kraków as its capital) and in opposition to the whole Poland as a state and country.


Major cities and towns

(population 2003)

Administrative division

Major corporations

  • Jeronimo Martins Dystrybucja sp. z o.o (Biedronka), Poznan
  • Grupa Energetyczna Enea SA, Poznan
  • Volkswagen Poznań sp. z o.o., Poznan
  • Kompania Piwowarska SA, Poznan
  • Selgros Cash & Carry sp. z o.o., Poznan
  • Zespół Elektrowni Pątnów-Adamów-Konin SA, Konin
  • Skoda Auto Polska, Poznan
  • Philips Lighning Poland SA, Pila
  • Eurocash sp. z o.o., Poznan
  • GlaxoSmithCline Pharmaceuticals SA, Poznan
  • KDWT SA, Poznan
  • Energetyka Kaliska SA, Kalisz
  • Amica Wronki SA, Wronki
  • Żabka Polska SA, Poznan
  • Wrigley Poland sp. z o.o., Poznan
  • Kopalnia Węgla Kamiennego Konin SA, Kleczew
  • Aluminium Konin-Impexmetal SA, Konin
  • Wistil SA, Kalisz
  • miniMal sp. z o.o., Poznan
  • Man Star Trucks & Buses sp. z o.o, Tarnowo Podgorne
  • Grupa Raben, Poznan
  • Grupa Mahle, Krotoszyn
  • Winkowski sp. z o.o., Pila
  • Beiersdorf-Lechia SA, Poznan
  • Inter Groclin Auto SA, Wolsztyn+Grodzisk Wielkopolski
  • Aluplast sp. z o.o., Poznan
  • Lidl Polska sp. z o.o., Tarnowo Podgorne
  • Kuehne & Nagel sp. z o.o., Gądki
  • Apexim AB SA, Poznan
  • Arko PH s.j., Komorniki
  • PHUP Andrzej Szeszycki, Gniezno
  • Zespół Elektrociepłowni Poznańskich SA, Poznan
  • Hydrobudowa 9 sp. z o.o., Poznan
  • Sanitec Koło SA, Kolo
  • H. Cegielski-Poznań SA, Poznan
  • Maxer SA, Poznan
  • Centra SA, Poznan
  • Bridgestone Poland sp. z o.o., Poznan
  • Rehau sp. z o.o., Przeźmierowo
  • Marol sp. z o.o., Poznan
  • Wavin Metalplast-Buk sp. z o.o, Buk
  • Solaris Bus & Coach sp. z. o.o., Bolechowo

Most popular surnames in the region


 
Greater Poland
Historical administrative divisions
Duchy of Greater Poland (12th-13th centuries) • Poznań Voivodship and Kalisz Voivodship (until 1793) • South Prussia (until 1806) • Duchy of Warsaw (until 1815) • Grand Duchy of Poznań (until 1918) • Poznań Voivodship (until 1939) • Reichsgau Posen (1939) • Reichsgau Wartheland (until 1945) • Poznań Voivodship (until 1975) • Poznań Voivodship, Kalisz Voivodship, Leszno Voivodship, Konin Voivodship and Piła Voivodship (until 1998) • Greater Poland Voivodship
Greater Poland Uprisings
1794 • 1806 • 1846 • 1848 • 1918

Further reading

  • Zygmunt Boras, Książęta Piastowscy Wielkopolski, Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, Poznań 1983

See also

  • Poznań (city)
  • History of Poznań (city)

External links

  • Greater Poland Voivodship Office (http://www.poznan.uw.gov.pl/)
  • Greater Poland Local Government Office (http://www.wielkopolska.mw.gov.pl/)
  • ChefMoz Dining Guide Greater Poland (http://chefmoz.org/Poland/WP/)
  • Open Directory Project Greater Poland (http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/Poland/Voivodships/Wielkopolska/)


 
Poland
Voivodships of Poland
Greater Poland | Kuyavia-Pomerania | Lesser Poland | Łódź | Lower Silesia | Lublin | Lubusz | Masovia | Opole | Podlachia | Pomerania | Świętokrzyskie | Silesia | Subcarpathia | Warmia and Masuria | West Pomerania
Principal cities
Warsaw | Łódź | Kraków | Wrocław | Poznań | Gdańsk | Szczecin | Bydgoszcz | Lublin | Katowice | Białystok | Częstochowa | Gdynia | Toruń | Radom | Kielce | Rzeszów | Olsztyn

  Results from FactBites:
 
Welcome to Poznan & Wielkopolska 07/2000 (756 words)
Wielkopolska's favourable location and the related ease of communication and transportation are amongst important assets of the region which enable broad contacts and facilitate decision making processes for investors.
Wielkopolska is also as one of the most important academic regions hosting 22 institutions of higher learning, 2 vocational schools of higher education as well as 28 institutes, research centres and branches of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
The beauty and diversity of the Wielkopolska countryside with its prevailing wooded plains and moraine hills is conducive to tourism and relaxation.
Greater Poland (76 words)
Greater Poland (sometimes Great Poland; Polish Wielkopolska) is one of the historical regions of Poland.
It is located in western-central Poland, in the valleys of the Warta River and its confluences.
Wielkopolska was the core of the early medieval Polish state, and at times was called just Poland.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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