Lubuskie (Lubusz Voivodeship)

Lubusz Voivodeship (Polish: województwo lubuskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ luˈbuskʲɛ] ) is a voivodeship (province) in western Poland with a population of 972,140. Its regional capitals are Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra. The region is characterized by a landscape of forests, lakes, and rivers, and is bordered by Germany to the west.

The functions of regional capital are shared between two cities – Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra. Gorzów serves as the seat of the centrally-appointed voivode (wojewoda), or governor, and Zielona Góra is the seat of the elected regional assembly (sejmik) and the executive elected by that assembly, headed by a marshal (marszałek). In addition, the voivodeship includes a third city (Nowa Sól) and a number of towns.

Lubusz Voivodeship borders West Pomeranian Voivodeship to the north, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the east, Lower Silesian Voivodeship to the south, and Germany (Brandenburg and Saxony) to the west.

It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Gorzów Voivodeship and Zielona Góra Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. The province's name recalls the historic Lubusz Land (Lebus or Lubus), although parts of the voivodeship belong to the historic regions of Lower Silesia, Greater Poland, and Lusatia.