, capital of the voivodeship, in the 16th century The voivodeship history can be traced to the
Principality of Polotsk, conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania around late 14th / early 15th centuries. From 1504 the former Principality was recognized as a
voivodeship.
Zygmunt Gloger in his monumental book Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland provides this description of the Połock Voivodeship: “Połock, in Latin Polocia, Polocium, lies on the right bank of the
Dvina, and is regarded as one of the oldest
gords of
Rus’. In the 13th century, the
Principality of Polotsk was ruled by Kievan princes, but in app. 1225 it was seized by the Lithuanians under Duke
Mindaugas (...) Duke
Vytautas named the first
starosta of Połock, and in app. 1500, the starosta was renamed into the
Voivode of Połock, while the Duchy was turned into a voivodeship, divided into halves by the Dvina (...) The voivodeship had two senators, who were the Voivode and the Castellan of Połock (...) Since it was not too large and its population was not numerous, furthermore, its capital was located in the middle, the voivodeship was not divided into counties. Its courts were located in Połock, where the
sejmiks also took place. Połock Voivodeship had two envoys in the
Sejm, and two deputies to the Lithuanian Tribunal”. ==Population==