Poland
Location:
a country in central Europe on the Baltic Sea. It has the 63rd largest area in the world and 9th in Europe. The length of borders is 3582 km, including (km):
- sea – 528,
- With Russian Federation – 210,
- with the Republic of Lithuania – 103,
- with the Republic of Belarus – 416,
- with Ukraine – 529,
- with Slovak Republic – 539,
- with Chech Republic – 790,
- with Germany – 467.
Population:
The country is inhabited by over 38 mln people.
Capital:
Warsaw - over 1,6 mln people.
Official language
Polish.
Monetarny unit:
1 zloty = 100 groszes, 1 EURO = around 4.7 zl
Foreign currencies can be exchanged in banks and bureaus de change.
Climate:
has the changeable character of temperate zone, which often causes changes in weather and major fluctuations in the duration of respective seasons.
Podlasie Voivodship
Location:
north-east Poland. Its area constitutes 6.4 % of the total area of the country (20 180 km2), which makes it 6th largest voivodship.
Administrative division:
the voivodship is divided into 17 poviats (including three urban poviats: Biaůystok, Ůomýa, Suwaůki) and 118 gminas (13 urban, 23 urban-rural and 82 rural).
Capital:
Biaůystok with its 300 thousand inhabitants is the largest town in north-east Poland. Its role is that of an administrative, economic and scientific capital of the region. It is the seat of 15 higher education institiutions training students in various specialties.
The other major towns of the region are::
Ůomýa, around 66 thousand inhabitants, an important centre for trade and agricultural product processing industry.
Suwaůki, around 70 thousand inhabitants. The Suwalki Special Economic Zone established there offers investment relief, which creates favourable conditions for the development of private enterprises.
Population:
Podlasie Voivodship is inhabited by 1.220 mln people, which constitutes around 3.2 % of the total population of Poland.
Population density is 60 persons per km˛.
59% of the population is at productive age.
Economy:
according to REGON register in the year 2002 there were around 95 thousand companies registered in Podlasie region (97 % of them in private sector), dealing with;
- trade and servicing – 33.2 %
- providing services to real estates and companies – 11.8 %
- construction – 10.5%
- industrial processing – 9.7 %
- transport 8.3%
- agriculture, hunting and forestry 4.5%
Food, light and metal industries are of major importance, as well as based on home resources wood industry.
The sold production of industry in the year 2002 amounted to 714.15 mln zl.
To the amount of sold production of industry contributed mainly:
- production of food and drinks– 46.2%
- production of wood, wood products and furniture – 14.6 %
- production of and supplying electric energy, gas and water – 10.7%
- production of machines and appliances– 4.8 %
- textiles – 4.4 %
The brand sign of the region are excellent dairy products. At present, seven dairy companies are authorised to export to the EU countries. Also, meat processing industry is prosperous here. Around 40 meat and poultry companies fulfill EU export standards.
(Department of Environment and Agriculture
9 Mickiewicza Str.
tel: 085 74-15-941)
Agriculture:
is a dominant branch in the Voivodship economy. Arable land constitutes around 60 % of the total area of the region – most of which is ploughland (around 40 %), forests, meadows and pastures. Over 120 thousand farms are registered, the majority of which – around 50% - are small farms of the size of 1-5 ha and medium-sized farms of 5 – 10 ha. The small ones prefer intensive production (gardening, orcharding), whereas the large ones – cattle and crop production. The cattle-raising farms are maliny oriented at milk production.
Natural conditions of the region are conducive to the devlopment of ecologic production, which is at present realised by around 100 farms. Over 600 farms in the region run agrotouristic businesses.
(Department of Environment and Agriculture
9 Mickiewicza Str.
tel: 085 74-15-941)
Unemployment:
the unemployment rate is 14.1% (in Poland - 17.5%), the numer of the registered unemployed exceeds 79 thousand persons, including almost 40 thousand women.
Data for the third quarter of the year 2003.
(Department of Social Policy
3 Mickiewicz Str.
Tel: 085 74 – 39 – 476)
Cultural heritage:
in this aspect Podlasie is the most diversive of all Polish voivodships.
The area has been inhabited for centuries by members of different nations and religions: Belarussians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Russinas, Gypsies, Tatars, Jews and Filipons).
Many places of religious worship remain here: an eighteenth-century postcamedolite monastery on Wigry Lake, postjesuit monastery complex in Drohiczyn, Christ’s Transfiguration Orthodox church on the Holy Mount of Grabarka, Saint Nicolaus the Miracle Worker Orthodox church in Biaůystok, seventeenth-century synagogue in Tykocin, or the oldest Polish mosque in Kruszyniany.
The town of Suchowola was designated as the geographic centre of Europe in 1775. There is a spot in the town where straight lines drawn along and across the continent cross, joining together the remotest places in Europe.
Landscape assets:
The most precious asset of Podlasie is its nature. Around 30% of the area of the voivodship is under legal protection. There are four (Wigry, Biebrza, Biaůowieýa and Narew) national parks, 3 (Suwaůki, Ůomýa – Narew Valley and Knyszyn Forest) landscape parks, 88 nature reserves and 15 protected landscape areas. The voivodship constitutes a part of the ecologically clean area of ‘the Green Lungs of Poland’..
(Voivodship Nature Conservator
9 Mickiewicz Str.
tel: 085 74 – 39 – 303)
Nature preservation:
all the 36 towns of the voivodship have efficient mechanical and biological sewage treatment plants and equipment. 85% of gminas already have them, too, and the rest are planning to build such plants.
There are also 32 modern, environmentally safe urban waste dumps in the voivodship.
Podlasie has the lowest dust and gas emission factor.
(Department of Environment and Agriculture
9 Mickiewicza Str.
tel: 085 74-15-941)
Border crossing points:
Podlasie Voivodship borders:
- Lithuania - 102 km
- Belarus - 250 km
There function 9 (5 road and 4 railroad) border crossing points.
Road border crossing points between Poland and Belarus:
- Kuęnica Biaůostocka – Bruzgi for personal and goods traffic without any restrictions. One of the most modern border crossing points of the capacity of 8000 of passenger vehicles and 1500 trucks per day.
- Bobrowniki – Bierestowica – available for personal and goods traffic without any restrictions, the capacity being 500 trucks and 3000 passenger vehicles per day.
- Poůowce – Pieszczatka – only for persoanl traffic of the citizens of Poland and Belarus, the capacity being 700 vehicles excluding coaches.
Road border crossing points between Poland and Lithuania:
- Ogrodniki – Lazdijaj for personal and goods traffic (cars up to 3.5 tons) of the capacity of 500-700 vehicles per day.
- Budzisko – Kalvarija for personal and goods traffic without any restrictions, the capacity being 1000 trucks and 3000 passenger vehicles per day.
Teleaddress data:
Podlasie Voivodship Office
15-213 Biaůystok, 3 Mickiewicza Str.
Customer Service Office
tel: 085 74-39-493; fax: 085 74-39-231)