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The Lodz Voivodship
The region of Łódź is located in central Poland.
Its shape resembles a circle, whose central point is its capital city -
Łódź. The region borders on six other regions. Within the region there intersect
the geometrical north-south and east-west axes of Poland. This is why it
is a good area for transit, which is one of its valuable assets.
In geographical terms, the region of Łódź is located on the Central Polish
Lowland, with only a narrow southernmost strip of highlands in proximity to the
Świętokrzyskie Mountains. The region's major riv-ers are the Warta, the Pilica,
the Prosna and the Bzura Rivers. On the Pilica River, which supplies the capital
city's water mains, there has been built a retention reservoir with a surface of
198 km2, known as Lake Sulejów. On the Warta River there is another such
reservoir - Jeziorsko. Both reservoirs are some of the region's most
popular tourist and recreational attractions. Nearly the whole area of the
region is covered with coniferous and mixed forests.
The region's area totals 18 219 km2 and population 2 643 thousand.
The density of population is 145 persons per 1 km2, and the
urbanisation level is higher than in other parts of Poland. The level of
education of the region's inhabitants approximates the national average.
The region of Łódź is divided into 24 districts (poviats), and 177
municipalities and townships (gminas). The local executive bodies of gminas and
poviats are, respectively, mayors and poviat administration officers (starosts),
with councillors, elected in democratic elections, equipped with legislative
powers.
The region is rich in natural resources: brown coal, quartz sands,
post-glacial rocks, limestone, rock-salt, and geothermal and mineral waters.
The region's strategic communication connections are the three trans-European
transport routes, determining the geographical directions of economic
cooperation:
- the A-2 motorway north-east-bound, which leads to
Russia and Moscow,
- the A-2 motorway, westbound, which leads to
Western Europe via Berlin.
- the A-1 motorway, northbound, which leads to Scandinavia and Kaliningrad.
However, it is not only the region's good transport connections that can
decide about its development prospects. The rich natural resources and technical
infrastructure may play an important role in the region's economic growth. It is
planned to expand the Bełchatów-Szczerców power production complex, develop gas
supply networks, and utilise the geothermal waters.
The region of Łódź is the largest supplier of ceramic tiles in Poland. The
companies from Opoczno, Paradyż, and Tubądzin manufacture approx. 70% of
the country's global ceramic tiles production output.
Another important component of the region's economic growth is the Łódź
Special Economic Zone, with 283 ha in area, located in Łódź, Zgierz, Ozorków,
the township of Ksawerów, and within the territory of Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Rawa
Mazowiecka, Radomsko, Kutno, and Łęczyca. Investors in the Zone obtain public
support in the form of tax relief, with a mandatory warranty that the acquired
rights to such a relief shall not be altered.
The region of Łódź boasts a lot of tourist attractions. The Sulejów and
Jeziorsko reservoirs are unique natural life reserves and recreation spots. The
Przedbórz and Małopolska Range of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains gives the
feel of the mountains. The region maintains 88 natural life reserves and 7
landscape parks (Przedbórz, Sulejów, Spała, Załęczno, Bolimów, and Łódź Heights,
Międzyrzecza Warty i Widawki). Additionally, the region has many historical
buildings. These are town halls, churches, cemeteries, palaces, or complex
developments in towns and cities, which remind of the era of the first-time
urbanisation of the region nearly 170 years ago.
The region of Łódź displays a high growth potential and splendid prospects of
becoming a major business hub in the middle of Poland and the Central and
Eastern part of Europe. Very soon, per-haps, entrepreneurs will create
another promised land here which, just like two centuries ago, will become a
land of success.
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