Greater Poland
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{{for|the Euro-constituency|Greater Poland (European Parliament constituency)}}
'''Greater Poland''' or '''Great Poland''', Polish '''Wielkopolska''' {{Audio-IPA-pl|Wielkopolska.ogg|w|j|e|l|k|o|'|p|o|l|s|k|a}} ({{lang-de|Großpolen}}, [[Latin]]: ''Polonia Maior'') is a historical region of west-central [[Poland]]. Its chief city is [[Poznań]]. Administratively, most of the region now forms [[Greater Poland Voivodeship]] ({{lang-pl|województwo wielkopolskie}}), although some parts lie in [[Lubusz Voivodeship|Lubusz]], [[Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship|Kuyavian-Pomeranian]] and [[Łódź Voivodeship|Łódź]] [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeships]].
== Name of the region ==
Greater Poland was the core of the [[History of Poland (966–1385)|early medieval Polish state]], is often termed "the cradle of Poland", and at times has simply been called "Poland" (Latin ''Polonia''). The name is first mentioned in the Latin form ''Polonia Maior'' in 1257, and in Polish ("w Wielkej Polszcze") in 1449. The region's name may be construed as referring to old Poland, as opposed to the new Poland, [[Lesser Poland]] ([[Polish language|Polish]]: ''Małopolska''; [[Latin]]: ''Polonia Minor''), a region in southern Poland with its capital at [[Kraków]].
== Geography ==
Greater Poland comprises much of the area drained by the [[Warta River]] and its tributaries, including the [[Noteć|Noteć River]]. There are two major geographic regions: a lake district in the north, characterized by post-glacial lakes and hills, and a rather flat plain in the south.
An area of {{convert|75.84|km2|sqmi}} of forest and lakeland south of Poznań is designated the [[Wielkopolska National Park]] (''Wielkopolski Park Narodowy''), established in 1957.
<gallery caption="Cities and towns of Greater Poland" widths="100px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
Image:Ratusz Poznań Woźna.jpg|[[Poznań]]
Image:PL Kalisz Ratusz..JPG|[[Kalisz]]
Image:Ratusz_w_Starym_Koninie.jpg|[[Konin]]
Image:PL Piła Dom.JPG|[[Piła]]
Image:PolandRatuszOstrowWlkp.jpg|[[Ostrów Wielkopolski]]
Image:Gniezno 14.jpg|[[Gniezno]]
Image:Leszno ratusz.jpg|[[Leszno]]
Image:Turek NSPJ.jpg|[[Turek]]
Image:Koło - Ratusz1.jpg|[[Koło]]
Image:Kórnik Zamek 234-07.jpg|[[Kórnik]]
</gallery>
==References==
{{reflist}}
*[http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/web/geography/regions/wielkopolska/link.shtml Information on Wielkopolska (Greater Poland)] at University at Buffalo, State University of New York
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{{Greater Poland historical}}
[[Category:Regions of Poland]]
[[Category:Greater Poland| ]]
[[Category:Historical regions]]
[[de:Großpolen]]
[[fr:Grande-Pologne]]
[[it:Grande Polonia]]
[[lv:Lielpolija]]
[[hu:Nagy-Lengyelország]]
[[no:Stor-Polen]]
[[nn:Stor-Polen]]
[[pl:Wielkopolska]]
[[pt:Grande Polônia]]
[[ru:Великая Польша]]
[[szl:Wjelgopolska]]
[[sr:Великопољска]]
[[sv:Storpolen]]
[[uk:Великопольща]]
[[yi:פולין גדול]]