Lesser Poland

It consisted of the three voivodeships of Kraków, Sandomierz and Lublin.

It was part of the Lesser Poland region.

It reached from Bielsko-Biała in the south-west as far as to Siedlce in the north-east.

Located north of the Beskid Mountains, Bielsko-Biała is composed of two former cities on opposite banks of the Biała River, Silesian Bielsko, that had been settled by German colonists, and Lesser Poland's Biała, which merged in 1951.

It consisted of the three voivodeships of Kraków, Sandomierz and Lublin.

Located in the southwestern corner of the country, it was part of the Little Poland province (together with two other ancient voivodeships of Poland – Sandomierz Voivodeship, and Lublin Voivodeship).

As a result of this long-lasting division, many inhabitants of the northern part of the pre-partition region of Poland (including those in such cities as Lublin, Radom, Kielce and Częstochowa) do not recognize their Lesser Polish identity. However, while Lublin (Lubelskie) was declared an independent Voivodeship as early as 1474, it still has speakers of the Lesser Polish dialect.

Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of Lesser Poland.

It reached from Bielsko-Biała in the south-west as far as to Siedlce in the north-east. Flat are northern and central areas of the province – around Tarnobrzeg, Stalowa Wola, Radom and Siedlce, also valleys of the main rivers – the Vistula, the Pilica, and the San.

The city, which is a part of the historical province of Lesser Poland, was most probably founded some time before the 15th century, and was first mentioned as Siedlecz in a document issued in 1448.

As a result of this long-lasting division, many inhabitants of the northern part of the pre-partition region of Poland (including those in such cities as Lublin, Radom, Kielce and Częstochowa) do not recognize their Lesser Polish identity.

However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not of Silesia, and before 1795 (see: Partitions of Poland), it belonged to the Kraków Voivodeship.

Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska (Polonia Minor), is a historical region of Poland; its capital is the city of Kraków.

In some languages, such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish, the country's name is derived from the Lendians (Lędzianie or Lachy), a Lechitic tribe, which dwelled on the south-eastern most edge of present-day Lesser Poland, in the Cherven Grods between the 7th and 11th centuries — lands which were part of the territorial domain ruled over by the Polans.

It should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only the south-western part of Lesser Poland (darker rose on map to the right). Currently, the region is divided between Polish voivodeships – Lesser Poland Voivodeship (whole), Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (whole), Silesian Voivodeship (eastern half), Podkarpackie Voivodeship (western part), Masovian Voivodeship (southern part), Łódź Voivodeship (southeastern corner), and Lublin Voivodeship (western part).

The province's name recalls the traditional name of a historic Polish region, Lesser Poland, or in Polish: Małopolska.

As a result of this long-lasting division, many inhabitants of the northern part of the pre-partition region of Poland (including those in such cities as Lublin, Radom, Kielce and Częstochowa) do not recognize their Lesser Polish identity. Flat are northern and central areas of the province – around Tarnobrzeg, Stalowa Wola, Radom and Siedlce, also valleys of the main rivers – the Vistula, the Pilica, and the San.

Despite being part of the Masovian Voivodeship, the city historically belongs to Lesser Poland.

As a result of this long-lasting division, many inhabitants of the northern part of the pre-partition region of Poland (including those in such cities as Lublin, Radom, Kielce and Częstochowa) do not recognize their Lesser Polish identity.

The city is located in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnica River, in northern part of the historical Polish province of Lesser Poland.

Flat are northern and central areas of the province – around Tarnobrzeg, Stalowa Wola, Radom and Siedlce, also valleys of the main rivers – the Vistula, the Pilica, and the San.

Tarnobrzeg is a city in south-eastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), on the east bank of the river Vistula, with 49,419 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2009.

In the wider sense (see Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown), Lesser Poland from the 14th century also encompassed Red Ruthenia.

The name of the province comes from historic land of Lesser Poland.

In the wider sense (see Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown), Lesser Poland from the 14th century also encompassed Red Ruthenia.

It has also sometimes included parts of Lesser Poland, Podolia, "Right-bank Ukraine" and Volhynia.

It consisted of the three voivodeships of Kraków, Sandomierz and Lublin.

Together with Sandomierz Voivodeship and Kraków Voivodeship, it was part of historic Lesser Poland (see Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown).

Flat are northern and central areas of the province – around Tarnobrzeg, Stalowa Wola, Radom and Siedlce, also valleys of the main rivers – the Vistula, the Pilica, and the San.

The city lies in historic Lesser Poland, near the confluence of the Vistula and San rivers and covers an area of 82.5 km2.

Lesser Poland lies in the area of the upper confluence of the Vistula river and covers a large upland, including the Świętokrzyskie Mountains with the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland further west, Małopolska Upland, Sandomierz Basin, and Lublin Upland.

Małopolska Upland (Wyżyna Małopolska, also known as Lesser Poland Upland or Lesser Polish Upland) is an upland located in southern part of Poland, in the historic region of Lesser Poland.

However, while Lublin (Lubelskie) was declared an independent Voivodeship as early as 1474, it still has speakers of the Lesser Polish dialect.

The Lesser Polish dialect (dialekt małopolski) is a cluster of regional varieties of the Polish language around the Lesser Poland historical region.

Apart from Rysy, there are several other peaks located in the province – Pilsko, Babia Góra, Turbacz, as well as Łysica in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains.

Turbacz is the highest peak of the Gorce Mountains, a mountain range located in southern Lesser Poland.

Currently, the region is divided between Polish voivodeships – Lesser Poland Voivodeship (whole), Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (whole), Silesian Voivodeship (eastern half), Podkarpackie Voivodeship (western part), Masovian Voivodeship (southern part), Łódź Voivodeship (southeastern corner), and Lublin Voivodeship (western part).

Despite the Silesian Voivodeship's name, most of the historic Silesia region lies outside the present Silesian Voivodeship — divided among Lubusz, Lower Silesian, and Opole Voivodeships — while the eastern half of Silesian Voivodeship (and, notably, Częstochowa in the north) was historically part of Lesser Poland.

Then it goes northwest, leaving Czeladź, Siewierz, Koziegłowy, Blachownia, Kłobuck and Krzepice within Lesser Poland.

Czeladź is a town in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (part of historic Lesser Poland), in southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec.

In the south, it goes along western boundary of ancient Duchy of Teschen, with the borderline along the Biała river, where Zwardoń, Milówka, and Rajcza are in Lesser Poland.

The ducal lands initially comprised former Lesser Polish territories east of the Biała River, which in about 1315 again split off as the Polish Duchy of Oświęcim, while the remaining duchy became a fiefdom of the Bohemian kings in 1327 and was incorporated into the Lands of the Bohemian Crown by 1347.

Currently, the region is divided between Polish voivodeships – Lesser Poland Voivodeship (whole), Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (whole), Silesian Voivodeship (eastern half), Podkarpackie Voivodeship (western part), Masovian Voivodeship (southern part), Łódź Voivodeship (southeastern corner), and Lublin Voivodeship (western part).

The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lublin, and its territory is made of four historical lands: the western part of the voivodeship, with Lublin itself, belongs to Lesser Poland, the eastern part of Lublin Area belongs to Red Ruthenia, and the northeast belongs to Polesie and Podlasie.

Unlike other historical parts of the country, such as Kujawy, Mazovia, Podlachia, Pomerania, or Greater Poland, Lesser Poland is mainly hilly, with Poland's highest peak, Rysy, located within the borders of the province.

Mazovia has a landscape without hills (in contrast to Lesser Poland) and without lakes (in contrast to Greater Poland).

Southern part of the province is covered by the Carpathian Mountains, which are made of smaller ranges, such as Pieniny, Tatry, and Beskidy.

They stand mainly along the southern border of Lesser Poland with northern Slovakia, stretching to the Moravia and Czech Silesia regions of the eastern Czech Republic and to Carpathian Ruthenia in western Ukraine.

Further north, the border goes along western boundaries of cities of Jaworzno, and Sosnowiec, along the Przemsza and Brynica rivers.

Jaworzno belongs to the historic province of Lesser Poland.