Geographical Terms

The words below appear frequently in birth, marriage, and death records, as well as books of residents and other records.

In current use:

wieś village
miasto (or m.) town or city
osada (or os.) settlement / town
gmina (or gm.) administrative district (often translated as “commune” or “municipality”)
powiat (or pow.) large administrative district (often translated as “county”)
wojewódstwo largest administrative unit (anglicized version: voivodeship)

No longer in use in Poland:

gubernia (or gub.) province or region (used before 1917)

Thinking of joining CRARG? Feel free to write to me (danielkazez@crarg.org) to ask if we have records for your family! — Daniel Kazez, CRARG President (a volunteer/unpaid position)

If you are ready to join CRARG, visit our Pre-Holocaust Database page.