“Poznań Voivodeship, together with Kalisz and Kujawy, was in the ancient times inhabited by the Polans. As early as the times of Boleslaw Chrobry, the Land of Poznań had its own voivodes, while the city of Poznań itself was main gord of the ancient Lechia (...) When, following the Testament of Boleslaw III Krzywousty Poland was divided among his sons, for more than 150 years Greater Poland was a separate duchy. In 1305 it was united with the Kingdom of Poland, by Wladyslaw Lokietek, who turned it into a voivodeship (...) In 1346, King Kazimierz Wielki took control of the Land of Wschowa, uniting it with Poznań Voivodeship.

The voivodeship, split by the Warta river into two almost equal halves, made western part of Greater Poland. Its area was 294 sq. miles, divided into Poznań County (162 sq. miles), Koscian County (92 sq. miles), Walcz County behind the Notec river (30 sq. miles), and the Land of Wschowa (9 sq. miles). In the mid-16th century, it had 259 Roman-Catholic parishes. Most densely populated was the Land of Wschowa, while Walcz County was covered by vast forests.

Poznań Voivodeship had nine senators. These were: the Bishop of Poznań, the Voivode of Poznań and the Castellan of Poznań, as well as six minor castellans - those of Miedzyrzecz, Rogozno, Srem, Przemecz, Krzywin and Santok. The Land of Wschowa had its own starosta, as well as its separate civil servants (...) The sejmiks for both Poznań and Kalisz Voivodeships took place in Sroda Wielkopolska, where the two voivodeships elected 12 deputies to the Sejm, and 4 deputies to the Greater Poland Tribunal at Piotrkow Trybunalski.”