Trakų vaivadija
Województwo Trockie
Trakai Voivodeship |
Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth (from 1569) |
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Coat of arms
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Trakai Voivodeship (in red) in the 17th century |
| Capital |
Trakai |
| Government |
Monarchy |
| Legislature |
Sejmik |
| History |
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| - Established by Union of Horodło |
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 |
| Population and area are given according to (Lithuanian) Vaitiekūnas, Stasys (2006). Lietuvos gyventojai: Per du tūkstantmečius. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas, 53, 71. ISBN 5-420-01585-4. |
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Trakai Voivodeship,[1] Trakai Palatinate, 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.
History
Trakai Voivodeship together with Vilnius Voivodeship was established by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great in 1413 according to the Union of Horodło.[1] Vytautas copied Polish system of administrative division in order to centralize and strengthen the government. Trakai Voivodeship replaced the former Duchy of Trakai, which was ruled directly by the Grand Duke or his close relative (brother or son). The Duke of Trakai (Latin: dux Trocensis) was replaced by appointed officials – voivodes and his deputy castellan.
The voivodeship was divided into four powiats: Hrodna, Kaunas, Trakai (ruled directly by the voivode), and Upytė.[1] The biggest cities in the voivodeship were Kaunas, Hrodna and Trakai. After the Union of Lublin the voivodeship, together with whole Grand Duchy of Lithuania, became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until the partitions of the Commonwealth in 1795. Most of the territory became part of Russian Empire while territories west of the Neman River – part of the Province of East Prussia.
Voivodes
The Voivode of Trakai (Lithuanian: Trakų vaivada) was one of the most important state offices in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They were appointed from prominent magnate families and competed only with voivode of Vilnius and Grand Chancellors for power and prestige.[3] Voivodes were 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.
List of voivodes
Notes
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