Duchy of Łowicz
| Księstwo Łowickie | |
|---|---|
| 1820–1918 (as an official entity under the name Duchy of Łowicz) | |
location on the map of the contemporary Łowicz and Skierniewice counties | |
| Capital | Łowicz |
| Demonym | Księżaks |
| History | |
• Established | 1820 |
• Disestablished | 1918 (as an official entity under the name Duchy of Łowicz) |
| Today part of | Poland |
The Duchy of Łowicz (Latin: Ducatus Loviciensis, Russian: Ловичское княжество, Księżak dialect: Ksinstwo) is a historical region in Poland, located in south-western Masovia, in the basin of the Bzura River, around the towns of Łowicz and Skierniewice. From the early Middle Ages until the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth it was an estate of the Roman Catholic archbishopric of Gniezno. In the 19th century it belonged to the Russian tsars.
The Duchy of Łowicz retains its identity of a separate historical and cultural region inhabited by the ethnic group of Księżaks (Łowiczans) who speak the Księżak dialect of the Polish language. Their cultural distinctiveness is a result of the centuries long affiliation with the land estate.