Mazovia

Mazovia is a region in Central-Eastern Poland. It is currently the largest of the 16 administrative regions (voivodships) in the country, comparable to Slovakia, Denmark and Switzerland in terms of both territory and number of inhabitants.

Facts and figures

• Capital: Warsaw
• Area: 35,597 km sq (11,4% of the area of Poland)
• Population: 5.072 million inhabitants (13,1% of the total population)
• Population density: 143 inhabitants / km sq
• Major cities: Plock, Ciechanow, Ostroleka, Radom, Warsaw
• Major river: Vistula

History

Mazovia was most probably conquered by Mieszko I, the first ruler of the Polish state, in the 10th century AD. During the chaos following the death of Mieszko II in 1033 and the subsequent invasion of the Czechs, it split temporarily from Poland under an independent ruler. It was later reunited with Poland under Casimir I "the Great" with the help of Rusin units. After death of Boleslaw III, Mazovia was ruled by dukes from the Piast dynasty, and was incorporated into the Polish kingdom in the 15th and 16th centuries.

After the Partitions of Poland, the region was under the rule of the Russian Empire most of the time. It became part of the Second Polish Republic after independence was regained in 1918. During World War II Mazovia was annexed by the Third Reich. In 1945 it once again became a part of Poland.