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Lesser Poland (Polish: ''Małopolska'', Latin: ''Polonia Minor'') is a historical region (''dzielnica'') of Poland; its capital is the city of Kraków. It should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only the south-western part of Lesser Poland. Historical Lesser Poland is much bigger than the current voivodeship which bears its name, stretching from Bielsko-Biała in the south-west as far as to Siedlce in the north-east.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Malopolska (Little Poland) )〕 It consisted of three voivodeships with the capitals in Kraków, Sandomierz and Lublin. It has almost 60,000 km2 and about 9,000,000 inhabitants. Its landscape is mainly hilly, with Karpaty mountains in the south; it is located it the basin of upper Vistula. It has been famous for its mighty aristocracy (''magnateria'') and rich nobility (''średnia szlachta''). In the wider sense (see Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown), Lesser Poland encompassed from the 14th century also Ruś Czerwona, and from 16th century Podlasie and Ukraine. In the era of partitions its southern part was Galicia, which sometimes used to be called incorrectly Lesser Poland. As a result of this long-lasting division, many inhabitants of the northern part of the pre-partition region of Poland (with such cities as Lublin, Radom, Kielce and Częstochowa) have lost their Lesser Poland's identity. == Geography and boundaries == Lesser Poland lies in 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. 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. 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. Apart from Rysy, there are several other peaks located in the province – Pilsko, Babia Góra, Turbacz, as well as Łysica in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. Southern part of the province is covered by the Carpathian Mountains, which are made of smaller ranges, such as Pieniny, Tatry, and Beskidy. Almost whole area is located in the Vistula Basin, with the exception of western and southern parts, belonging to the Odra and Dunaj Basins. Main rivers of the province are the Vistula, upper Warta, Soła, Skawa, Raba, Dunajec, Wisłok, Wisłoka, San, Wieprz, Przemsza, Nida, Kamienna, Radomka, and Pilica. Major lakes of the province are: Lake Rożnów, Lake Czchów, Lake Dobczyce, Lake Czorsztyn, Lake Czaniec, Lake Międzybrodzie, Lake Klimkówka and Żywiec Lake. Most of them are man-made reservoirs. Lesser Poland stretches from the Carpathians in the south to Pilica and Liwiec rivers to the north. It borders Mazovia to the north, Podlaskie to the northeast, Red Ruthenia to the east, Slovakia to the south, Silesia to the west, and Greater Poland to the northwest. 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). In Silesian Voivodeship, the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland is easy to draw, because with few exceptions, it goes along boundaries of local counties. 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. Bielsko-Biała is a city made of two parts – Lesser Poland's Biala (also called ''Biala Krakowska''), makes eastern half of the city, and only in 1951 it merged with Silesian Bielsko. Further north, the border goes along western boundaries of cities of Jaworzno, and Sosnowiec, along the Przemsza and Brynica rivers. Then it goes northwest, leaving Czeladź, Siewierz, Koziegłowy, Blachownia, Kłobuck and Krzepice within Lesser Poland. From Krzepice, the border goes eastwards, towards Koniecpol, and along the Pilica river, with such towns as Przedborz, Opoczno, Drzewica, Białobrzegi, and Kozienice within Lesser Poland. East of Białobrzegi, the boundary goes mainly along the Radomka river, to the Vistula. East of the Vistula, the boundary goes north of Łaskarzew and Żelechów, and south of Mazovian town of Garwolin, turning northwest. Extreme northern point of the province is marked by the Liwiec river, with both Siedlce, and Łuków being part of Lesser Poland. The line then goes south, with Miedzyrzec Podlaski being part of historical Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Radzyń Podlaski〔(Gmina Radzyn Podlaski, History ) 〕 as well as Parczew left in Lesser Poland. Between the Vistula and the Bug Rivers, eastern border of Lesser Poland goes west of Leczna, but east of Krasnystaw and Szczebrzeszyn, both of which historically belong to Red Ruthenia. Further south, Lesser Poland includes Frampol, and Biłgoraj, which lies in the southeastern corner on Lesser Poland's historical Lublin Voivodeship, close to the border with Red Ruthenia. The border then goes west of Biłgoraj, turning south, towards Lezajsk (which belongs to Red Ruthenia). Boundary between Lesser Poland and Red Ruthenia was described by Ukrainian historian and geographer Myron Korduba along the line Dukla – Krosno – Domaradz – Czudec – Krzeszów nad Sanem. Lesser Poland border towns were: Rudnik, Kolbuszowa,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Notariusz Zalewska-Watras Barbara )〕 Ropczyce, Sędziszów Małopolski, Strzyżów, Jasło, Gorlice, and Biecz. Southern border of Lesser Poland goes along the Carpathian Mountains, and with minor changes, it has not changed for centuries. Cities of Leżajsk, Rzeszów, Sanok, Brzozów, and Krosno do not belong to historical Lesser Poland, as they are part of Red Ruthenia (Lwów Voivodeship). Historically, Lesser Poland was divided into two lands - Kraków Land and Sandomierz Land, both of which emerged after the Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty. In the 14th century, Sandomierz Voivodeship and Kraków Voivodeship were created, and in 1474, Lublin Voivodeship was carved of three Sandomierz Voivodeship counties, located on the right bank of the Vistula. Historian Adolf Pawiński, who in the late 19th century was director of Polish Central Archives of Historical Records, estimated in his book "Polska XVI wieku pod względem geograficzno-statystycznym", that the size of Kraków Voivodeship was 19,028 km2. Sandomierz Voivodeship had the area of 25,762 km2., and Lublin Voivodeship - 11,033 km2. Together with the Duchy of Siewierz (607 km2.), and the parts of Spiš that belonged to Poland after the Treaty of Lubowla (1211 km2.), total area of Lesser Poland was 57,640 square kilometers.〔(Adolf Pawiński, Polska XVI wieku pod względem geograficzno-statystycznym. Tom III, Małopolska. Warszawa 1886 )〕 Apart from the three historic lands, Lesser Poland has other smaller regions, such as Podhale, Ponidzie, and Zagłębie Dąbrowskie. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lesser Poland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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