La Habana Province
La Habana Province, formerly known as Ciudad de La Habana Province, is a province of Cuba that includes the territory of the city of Havana, the Republic's capital. The province's territory is the seat of the superior organs of the state and its provincial administration.
Between 1878 and 2010, the name referred to a different province that covered a much larger area, and after 1976 restructuring, the then-La Habana Province did not include the city of Havana. The larger province was subdivided in 2010 into the present-day provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque.
History
The Province of Havana was created in 1878, is one of the 6 original provinces in which the island was divided, still under Spanish colonial rule.In the political administrative division of 1976, in which the country was divided into 14 provinces, the original Province of Havana was divided into Havana City Province and Havana Province. Havana City Province integrated the territories of the metropolitan region of the capital, including Havana, Marianao, Guanabacoa, Regla, and Santiago de las Vegas. From 1976 until 2010, the provincial administration of Havana Province had its headquarters located in Havana City Province, since it lacked a capital of its own.
On August 1, 2010, the National Assembly made another modification of the territorial organization of Cuba, segmenting the then-Province of Havana, colloquially called "Habana Campo", in two new provinces; Artemisa Province to the west, and Mayabeque Province to the east. With this change, which went into effect as of January 1, 2011, Havana City Province became known simply as Havana Province, as differentiation was no longer needed. Additionally, three municipalities of Pinar del Río Province were transferred to the new Artemisa Province.