Trakai Voivodeship Lithuanian: Trakų vaivadija Latin: Palatinatus Trocensis Polish: Województwo trockie |
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Voivodeship of Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1413–1569) Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) |
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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 | |||||
• | 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 | 288,000 | |||
Density | 12.1 /km2 (31.2 /sq mi) | ||||
Political subdivisions | Counties: 4 | ||||
Today part of | Lithuania, Poland, Belarus | ||||
Population and area are given according to Vaitiekūnas, Stasys (2006). Lietuvos gyventojai: Per du tūkstantmečius (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. pp. 53, 71. ISBN . |
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)
Coat of arms
Trakai Voivodeship,Trakai Palatinate, or Troki Voivodeship (Lithuanian: Trakų vaivadija, Latin: Palatinatus Trocensis, Polish: Województwo trockie), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1413 until 1795.
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. 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: Grodno County, Kaunas, Trakai (ruled directly by the voivode), and Upytė. The biggest cities in the voivodeship were Kaunas, Grodno and Trakai.