Czernihów (Chernihiv) Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland (part of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) from 1635 until Khmelnytsky Uprising in 1648 (technically it existed up until 1654). Also it was used as a fictitious title in the Commonwealth until the Partitions of Poland in 1772/1795. In 1635, Marcin Kalinowski was the first voivode (governor) of the Chernihiv Voivodeship.
The voivodeship was part of the Lesser Poland Province, and was divided into two counties: Czernihów and Nowogród Siewierski. Local sejmiks took place at Czernihów, and it had two senators in the Polish–Lithuanian Senate. Together with Kijów Voivodeship (Kyiv) and Bracław Voivodeship (Bratslav) it made the territory that came to be known as Ukraine.
History The history of Czernihow Voivodeship dates back to 1618, when after the Truce of Deulino, the Commonwealth gained control of the towns of Smolensk, Czernihow and Nowogród Siewierski. Since the truce was set to expire in 14.5 years, new acquisitions were not organized in official way. Smolensk was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, while both Czernihow and Nowogrod became part of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland forming the Duchy of Siveria.Kulakovskyi, P. Chernihiv Voivodeship (ЧЕРНІГІВСЬКЕ ВОЄВОДСТВО). Encyclopedia of History of UkraineKulakovskyi, P. Duchy of Siveria (СІВЕРСЬКЕ КНЯЗІВСТВО). Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine In 1633, during the Smolensk War, Polish Parliament (Sejm) introduced a bill in which both land court and starosta office were established at Czernihow. In 1634 the Treaty of Polyanovka confirmed that Czernihow remained part of Poland, so finally in 1635 the Sejm created the voivodeship, with two senators – the Voivode and the Castellan of Czernihow. Both county elected two deputies to the Sejm, and one deputy to the Lesser Poland Tribunal at Lublin. In 1637, construction of a fortress at Konotop began, whose purpose was to protect the newly acquired province. The fortress was completed in 1642.
The Commonwealth lost control of the province as early as 1648, during the Khmelnytsky Uprising. In the Treaty of Hadiach (1658), the Duchy of Ruthenia was created out of Czernihow Voivodship, Kiev Voivodeship and Bracław Voivodeship. The idea however was quickly abandoned, and after the Truce of Andrusovo (1667), Czernihow Voivodeship was annexed by the Tsardom of Russia.
The history of Czernihow Voivodeship does not end in 1667. Following the example of other provinces lost by the Commonwealth in the mid-17th century (e.g. Smolensk Voivodeship), the government in Warsaw continued to claim it as a titular voivodeship, with fictitious titles of voivode, senators, deputies and starostas named by the King, and remaining in use until the Partitions of Poland. The nobility of former Czernihow Voivodeship had its sejmiks at Wlodzimierz Wolynski. Last voivode of Czernihow was a man named Ludwik Wilga, nominated in 1783. In 1785, Stanisław August Poniatowski gave fictitious title of starosta of Nowogrod Siewierski to Tadeusz Czacki.
Zygmunt Gloger in his monumental book Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland gives a detailed description of Czernihow Voivodeship:
Seat and administrative division
Voivodeship Governor (Wojewoda) seat: Czernihów (Chernihiv)
Administrative divisions: Powiat Czernihów, a successor of the Principality of Chernihiv Powiat Nowogród Siewierski, a successor of the Principality of Novhorod-Siversky
Voivodes
Marcin Kalinowski 1602–1652 Stefan Bieniewski 1598–1648 Krzysztof Łohojski-Tyszkiewicz 1616–1666 Stanisław Kazimierz Bieniewski 1611–1695 Mariusz Stanisław Jaskólski 1624–1683 Jan Gniński 1650–1703 Otto Fryderyk Felkerzamb 1641–1705 Franciszek Jan Załuski 1660–1735 Mikołaj Franciszek Krosnowski 1652–1723 Piotr Jan Potocki 1679–1726 Józef Lubomirski 1680–1732 Józef Remigian Potulicki 1732–1734 Jakub Florian Narzymski 1690–1759 Piotr Michał Miączyński 1695–1776 Franciszek Antoni Ledóchowski 1755–1835 Ludwik Wilga, died 1797
References
External links
Czernihow Voivodeship, description by Zygmunt Gloger Central European Superpower, Henryk Litwin, BUM Magazine, October 2016.