Editing Lesser Poland Voivodeship (section)

== History ==
[[File:Nuremberg chronicles - CRACOVIA.png|thumb|left|15th-century view of Kraków]]
In the [[Early Middle Ages]], the territory was inhabited by the [[Vistulans]], an old [[Polish tribes|Polish tribe]]. It formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century, with the regional capital [[Kraków]] becoming the seat of one of Poland's oldest dioceses, est. in 1000, contributing to the [[Christianization of Poland]]. In 1038, Kraków became the capital of Poland by decision of [[Casimir I the Restorer]], retaining its role for several centuries with short-term breaks. It also became the location of the [[Jagiellonian University]], Poland's oldest university and one of world's oldest, established by King [[Casimir III the Great]]. In the [[Late Middle Ages]], [[Oświęcim]] and [[Zator, Lesser Poland Voivodeship|Zator]] were ducal seats of local lines of the [[Piast dynasty]]. Following the late-18th-century [[Partitions of Poland]], the region witnessed several uprisings against foreign rule, i.e. the [[Kościuszko Uprising]] of 1794, [[Kraków uprising]] of 1846 and [[January Uprising]] of 1863–1864, and Kraków remained one of the main cultural centers of partitioned Poland, taking advantage of the more relaxed policies of the [[Austro-Hungary|Austrian]] partitioners than those of the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussians]] and [[Russian Empire|Russians]]. In the [[interbellum]], the region was part of reborn independent Poland.

During [[World War II]], it was [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupied by Germany]], with the occupiers committing their genocidal policies against [[Nazi crimes against the Polish nation|Poles]] and [[The Holocaust|Jews]] in the region, massacring civilians and prisoners of war, including at [[Szczucin massacre|Szczucin]] and [[Bloody Wednesday of Olkusz|Olkusz]], operating prisons, [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] camps and, most notably, the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] with a network of subcamps in various localities. There was also a [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|German prisoner-of-war camp]] for [[French prisoners of war in World War II|French]], Belgian, Dutch and Soviet prisoners of war.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Banaś|first1=Jan|last2=Fijałkowska|first2=Grażyna|year=2006|title=Miejsca Pamięci Narodowej na terenie Podgórza|location=Kraków|language=pl|page=30}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|pages=374|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}</ref> 

The Lesser Poland Voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former [[Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998)|Kraków]], [[Tarnów Voivodeship|Tarnów]], [[Nowy Sącz Voivodeship|Nowy Sącz]] and parts of [[Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship|Bielsko-Biała]], [[Katowice Voivodeship|Katowice]], [[Kielce Voivodeship|Kielce]] and [[Krosno Voivodeship|Krosno]] Voivodeships, pursuant to the [[Polish local government reforms]] adopted in 1998.