Opoczno poviat - poviat in Poland in the eastern part of the Lodz voivodeship, created in 1999 as part of an administrative reform. Its seat is in the city Opoczno.
Neighboring counties
Konec County(Świętokrzyskie Province) Piotrkowski poviat Przysuski (Masovian) poviat Tomaszów poviat
The poviat's area is 1040.19 km², which is 5.71% of the voivodeship's area. 78388 people live in the poviat, which is 3% of the entire voivodship's population and gives a population density of 75.4 people / km². The poviat consists of:
- cities: Drzewica and Opoczno,
- urban-rural communes: Drzewica and Opoczno,
- rural communes: Białaczów, Mniszków, Paradyż, Sacred, Sławno (Łódź Voivodeship), Żarnów.
Data on the poviat's population according to the Central Statistical Office statistics as of June 30, 2012 are as follows:
Opoczno district 78 388 38 933 39 455; 26 411 12 854 13 557; 51 977 26 079 25 898.
gm.w. Białaczów 6 033 2 992 3 041; - - -; 6 033 2 992 3 041
gm. m-w. Drzewica 10 880 5 364 5 516; 4,000 1,964 2,036; 6 880 3 400 3 480
gm.w. Mniszków 4 719 2 394 2 325; - - -; 4 719 2 394 2 325
gm. m-w. Opoczno 35 392 17 355 18 037; 22 411 10 890 11 521; 12 981 6 465 6 516
gm.w. Paradyż 4 442 2 283 2 159; - - -; 4 442 2 283 2 159
gm.w. Poświętne 3 309 1 687 1 622; - - -, 3 309 1 687 1 622
gm.w. Sławno 7 538 3 784 3 754; - - -; 7 538 3 784 3 754
gm.w. Żarnów 6 075 3 074 3 001; - - -; 6 075 3 074 3 001
The numbers above mean in turn: total, men, women; in total, men and women in cities; in villages there were men and women in general.
The poviat borders with voivodships Mazowieckie and Świętokrzyskie.
For the most part it lies within the Opoczyńskie Hills. The relief of the area is dominated by forms formed during the accumulation of glaciers. The valleys of the Pilica, Drzewiczka, Waglanka and Brzuśnia valleys stand out in the landscape.
The district is rich in quite rich deposits of sedimentary rocks, mainly quartz sands, Jurassic clays, ceramic clays and fine-grained sandstones.
The poviat is a typically agricultural region (agricultural land covers 64%) despite the relatively large forest area (the poviat's forest cover index is 30%) and quite unfavorable climatic conditions (insufficient rainfall) and even despite the existing natural resources.
Houses built of limestone rocks are a distinguishing feature of the cultural landscape.
The region has a rich and still living folk culture.
14.4% of the district's area is covered by protected areas. These include nature reserves, e.g. "Devil's Mountain", Firs Sieleckie and Spała Landscape Park and Sulejów Landscape Park.
The products of folk art are best preserved in the northern part of the poviat. Wooden cottages, traditionally furnished interiors decorated with cut-outs, fabrics, costumes and Easter eggs are particularly interesting objects. Cutting out is still practiced. The Opoczno costume and embroidery also deserve attention.
The traditional Opoczno architecture was characterized by quite rich external ornamentation (pazdura, window sills, window sills). The cottages were small and their interiors were often decorated with wreaths made of dried plants. Cutouts, spiders and tissue paper flowers were similar to those in the Rawa region. The Opoczno costume is interesting and slightly different than in the regions described earlier. Although striped fabrics (skirts, aprons) dominate, embroidered shirts and men's white, black trimmed suits are also clearly visible in the outfit. The male attire was complemented by caps, less often hats, and the female one with flowery scarves.
Weaving, mainly kilims and carpets of very different colors, played an important role.
Exhibits related to the Opoczno folk art can be seen in the Regional Museum in Opoczno.
The originality of the Opoczno region is emphasized by folk groups and several dozen folk artists. The village of Bielowice is notable for its activity, with 80 female artists associated with embroidery, weaving, egg-making and paper products.
At the Municipal Cultural Center in Opoczno, there is a Song and Dance Ensemble "Tramblanka" with dances and songs from the Opoczno region in its repertoire.
County website: http://www.opocznopowiat.pl/