Stężyca Land
Former administrative area in Poland / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stężyca Land (Polish: ziemia stężycka) was an administrative unit, the so called ziemia, of both the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The land was composed of only one county, or powiat, and had its seat in the town of Stężyca after which it was named. Until the end of the 16th century, this area was called ziemia or powiat alternatively. From the beginning of the 17th century up to its dissolution, it was usually referred to, especially in official sources, as Stężyca Land. However, this did not mean that it had special political or administrative rights as could be the case with other ziemias. It was called a land because of its peripheral geographic location, being the only county in the northeastern corner of Sandomierz Voivodeship located east of the Vistula river.[1] Today, the territory of former Stężyca Land covers all of Ryki County, the southern part of Garwolin County, and the southwestern corner of Łuków County. Its biggest urban center is Dęblin, which was granted town rights in 1954.