Powiat (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (LAU-1, formerly NUTS-4) in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county," although other terms are also sometimes used. It is arguably preferred to leave such national labels for levels of government untranslated to avoid the false suggestion of resemblance to e.g. the UK structure of government (Bankauskaite et al. 2007). A powiat is part of a larger unit or province called a voivodeship (Polish wojewdztwo). In turn a powiat is usually subdivided into gminas (sometimes called municipalities or communes). However the more important towns and cities function as separate counties in their own right, with no subdivision into gminas.