Oświęcim County

Oświęcim County Powiat oświęcimski
County
Flag Coat of arms
Location within the voivodeship
Coordinates (Oświęcim): 50°3′N 19°14′E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lesser Poland
Seat	Oświęcim
Gminas	Total 9 (incl. 1 urban) Oświęcim Gmina Brzeszcze Gmina Chełmek Gmina Kęty Gmina Osiek Gmina Oświęcim Gmina Polanka Wielka Gmina Przeciszów Gmina Zator
Area
• Total	406.03 km2 (156.77 sq mi)
Population  (2006)
• Total	153,390
• Density	380/km2 (980/sq mi)
• Urban	84,752
• Rural	68,638
Car plates	KOS
Website	http://www.powiat.oswiecim.pl

Oświęcim County (Polish: powiat oświęcimski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Oświęcim, which lies 51 kilometres (32 mi) west of the regional capital Kraków. The county contains four other towns: Kęty, 17 km (11 mi) south of Oświęcim, Brzeszcze, 9 km (6 mi) south-west of Oświęcim, Chełmek, 8 km (5 mi) north of Oświęcim, and Zator, 16 km (10 mi) east of Oświęcim.

The county covers an area of 406.03 square kilometres (156.8 sq mi). As of 2006, its total population is 153,390, out of which the population of Oświęcim is 40,979, that of Kęty is 19,252, that of Brzeszcze is 11,730, that of Chełmek is 9,065, that of Zator is 3,726, and the rural population is 68,638.

The county contains the sites of the Auschwitz concentration camp complex (Auschwitz being the German name for Oświęcim).

Neighbouring counties

Oświęcim County is bordered by the city of Jaworzno to the north, Chrzanów County to the north-east, Wadowice County to the south-east, Bielsko County to the south, Pszczyna County to the west and Bieruń-Lędziny County to the north-west.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into nine gminas (one urban, four urban-rural and four rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

Gmina	Type	Area (km2)	Population (2006)	Seat
Oświęcim	urban	30.3	40,979
Gmina Kęty	urban-rural	75.8	33,598	Kęty
Gmina Brzeszcze	urban-rural	46.1	21,557	Brzeszcze
Gmina Oświęcim	rural	74.5	16,708	Oświęcim *
Gmina Chełmek	urban-rural	27.2	12,827	Chełmek
Gmina Zator	urban-rural	51.4	9,049	Zator
Gmina Osiek	rural	41.2	7,857	Osiek
Gmina Przeciszów	rural	35.4	6,679	Przeciszów
Gmina Polanka Wielka	rural	24.1	4,136	Polanka Wielka
* seat not part of the gmina

References

• Polish official population figures 2006