Bielsko County
# Bielsko County

Bielsko County (Polish: powiat bielski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian 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 is the city of Bielsko-Biała, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The county contains three towns: Czechowice-Dziedzice, 13 km (8 mi) north-west of Bielsko-Biała, Szczyrk, 14 km (9 mi) south of Bielsko-Biała, and Wilamowice, 12 km (7 mi) north-east of Bielsko-Biała.

The county covers an area of 457.23 square kilometres (176.5 sq mi). As of 2019 its total population is 165,374, out of which the population of Czechowice-Dziedzice is 35,926, that of Szczyrk is 5,734, that of Wilamowice is 3,100, and the rural population is 120,614.

## Neighbouring counties

Apart from the city of Bielsko-Biała, Bielsko County is also bordered by Pszczyna County and Oświęcim County to the north, Wadowice County to the east, Żywiec County to the south, and Cieszyn County to the west.

## Administrative division

The county is subdivided into 10 gminas (one urban, two urban-rural and seven rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

| Gmina | Type | Area $(km^2)$ | Population (2019) | Seat |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Gmina Czechowice-Dziedzice | urban-rural | 66.3 | 45,451 | Czechowice-Dziedzice |
| Gmina Jasienica | rural | 91.7 | 24,264 | Jasienica |
| Gmina Wilamowice | urban-rural | 56.7 | 17,613 | Wilamowice |
| Gmina Porąbka | rural | 64.6 | 15,582 | Porąbka |
| Gmina Wilkowice | rural | 33.9 | 13,409 | Wilkowice |
| Gmina Kozy | rural | 26.9 | 12,979 | Kozy |
| Gmina Bestwina | rural | 37.6 | 11,816 | Bestwina |
| Gmina Buczkowice | rural | 19.3 | 11,196 | Buczkowice |
| Gmina Jaworze | rural | 21.3 | 7,330 | Jaworze |
| Szczyrk | urban | 39.1 | 5,734 | |
