Świętochłowice (; german: Schwientochlowitz; szl, Świyntochłowice) is a city with powiat rights in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, near

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...

. It is also one of the central cities of the

Metropolis GZM The Metropolis GZM ( pl, Metropolia GZM, formally in Polish Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia) is a metropolitan unit composed of 41 contiguous municipalities in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland. The seat of the metropolitan council is ...

, with a population of 2 million, and is located in the

Silesian Highlands Silesian Upland or Silesian Highland ( pl, Wyżyna Śląska) is a highland located in Silesia and Lesser Poland, Poland. Its highest point is the St. Anne Mountain (406 m). See also *Silesian Lowlands *Silesian-Lusatian Lowlands *Silesian ...

, on the

Rawa River Rawa (pronounced: ; older name ''Roździanka'') is a minor river (about 19.6 kilometres in total length) in Silesia, Poland.http://www.bspnews.kiss.pl/bspnews/991/991-34.htm#RAWA Rawa River Project It is the largest right tributary of the Brynic ...

(tributary of the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

). It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999, previously in Katowice Voivodeship, and before then, of the

Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

. Świętochłowice is one of the cities of the 2.7 million conurbation –

Katowice urban area The Katowice urban area ( pl, Konurbacja katowicka, ), also known as the Upper Silesian urban area ( pl, Konurbacja górnośląska, ), is an urban area/ conurbation in southern Poland, centered on Katowice. It is located in the Silesian Voivo ...

and within a greater Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area populated by about 5,294,000 people. The population of the city is 49,762 (2019).

History

Initially, Świętochłowice was divided into two parts: the older Małe Świętochłowice (''Little Świętochłowice'') and newer Duże Świętochłowice (''Big Świętochłowice''), which date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, respectively. The oldest known mention of Świętochłowice comes from 1313, while the present-day district of

Chropaczów Chropaczów (between 1909 and 1922 ) is a district in the north-east of Świętochłowice, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. In 2013 it had a population of 12,589 people. History The village was first mention in 1295 as ''Chropazcow''. The ...

was mentioned in 1295. Both settlements were located within the Duchy of Bytom of fragmented

and remained under the rule of the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...

until 1532, as part of the duchies of Bytom and

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

, before passing to the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

.''Miejska strategia rozwiązywania problemów społecznych Świętochłowic na lata: 2006–2015'', Świętochłowice 2005, p. 13 (in Polish)
/ref> The village received

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Until the end of the 17th century, the village of Świętochłowice was owned by the families of Świętochłowski, Paczyński, Kamieński, Rotter, Skall, Myszkowski and Guznar. Pomnik Powstanca Slaskiego w Chropaczowie

Pomnik Powstanca Slaskiego w Chropaczowie

In 1742 the settlement was annexed by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

and from 1871 to 1922 it was part of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Both parts of Świętochłowice merged in 1790. In the 19th and first part of the 20th century the area rapidly industrialized (based on the numerous local resources, including coal and zinc), leading to the transformation of the village into an industrial settlement. In the early 20th century, numerous Polish organizations were established there. During the

Silesian Uprisings The Silesian Uprisings (german: Aufstände in Oberschlesien, Polenaufstände, links=no; pl, Powstania śląskie, links=no) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic ...

the present-day districts Lipiny and were captured by the Polish insurgents in 1920. In the 1921

Upper Silesia plebiscite The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and Poland. The region was ethnically mixed with bot ...

, in Świętochłowice 51.9% voted for Germany, while in Chropaczów 70.0% voted for Poland, and in Lipiny and Piaśniki combined 56.4% voted for Poland. In 1922 all named settlements were integrated with the re-established Polish state. In 1929 Zgoda became part of Świętochłowice as its new district. In 1939 Świętochłowice was granted

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

with effect from January 1, 1940, however, due to outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the actual implementation of this law did not take place until 1947. In early September 1939, during the German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

which started World War II, Świętochłowice was the site of Polish defense, also by the civilian population. Already on September 3–4, 1939, ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

'' and ''

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, regar ...

'' troops murdered 10

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

in Świętochłowice (see ''

Nazi crimes against the Polish nation Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occupation of Poland in World War II, consisted of the murder of ...

''). Afterwards, the town was occupied by Germany. In 1943, the Germans established the

Eintrachthütte concentration camp Eintrachthütte concentration camp (german: Arbeitslager Eintrachtshütte) was a labour subcamp of the German concentration camp Auschwitz, opened in the Zgoda district in Świętochłowice in German-occupied Poland on 26 May 1943, in operation ...

, a

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

subcamp of the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. In early 1945 it was occupied by the Soviets, who established the Zgoda labour camp. After the war, Świętochłowice once again restored to Poland. In 1951 its city limits were extended with Chropaczów and Lipiny becoming new districts.

Location

Świętochłowice is situated in the middle of a highly populated area of Upper Silesia and is part of the

, the largest urban center in Poland and one of the largest in Europe.

Population

Currently (2013) Świętochłowice has about 53,000 inhabitants and is thus the city county with the highest

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

in Poland. The population of the entire urban area is about 3.5 million.

Climate and soil

Świętochłowice is situated in Silesian-Krakowian climate-zone. The annual precipitation totals to about . The wettest month is July and the driest February. The average temperature is approximately in January and in July. Brunate and swamp soils predominate in Świętochłowice.

Districts

Świętochłowice has five administrative subdivisions: *

Centrum (Latin for ''center'') may refer to: Places In Greenland * Nuuk Centrum, a district of Nuuk, Greenland * Centrum Lake, Greenland In the Netherlands * Amsterdam-Centrum, the inner-most borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands * Rotterdam Centrum, a borou ...

* Lipiny * * Zgoda

Sights

The , devoted to the history of the

(1919–1921), is located in Świętochłowice. In addition, the city has historical industrial architecture, town halls, churches, tenement houses and

familok Familok is a type of house for many families, designed for workers of the heavy industry, mainly coal miners, built at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century in the cities and towns of Silesia. "Familok" is a Silesian way ...

s. File:Muzeum Powstań Śląskich SW.jpg, Silesian Uprisings Museum File:Swietochlowice town hall.jpg, Town Hall File:Świętochłowice kościół ewangelicki im. Jana Chrzciciela DSC 7508.jpg, Church of St. John the Baptist File:Swietochlowice Katowicka 30d-e-f 2022.jpg, Former mine and steelwork headquarters

Sport

The most popular sport in Świętochłowice is

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

. The Skałka Stadium is located in the Centrum.

Sport clubs

Śląsk Świętochłowice Śląsk Świętochłowice (full name: Miejski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Świętochłowice (Silesia Świętochłowice City Sports Club) is one of the Polish sports clubs from Upper Silesia, strongly connected with the region, which is reflected in its ...

–

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

Naprzód Lipiny GKS Naprzód Świętochłowice Lipiny is a sports club from Świętochłowice's district of Lipiny ( Upper Silesia, Poland), founded in 1920 by Alfons Maniura, who became Naprzód first chairman. Throughout the years, the club for many times ch ...

–

* Czarni Świętochłowice –

Sportspeople of Świętochłowice in Olympic Games

*1928 –

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

**football – Teodor Peterek **gymnastics – Paweł Galus, Franiciszek Pampuch, Teofil Rost, Franciszek Tajstra *1936 –

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

**football –

Hubert Gad Hubert Gad, also known as Hubert God (15 August 1914 – 3 July 1939), was a Polish football player, a very skilled and aggressive forward, who for a while was the top scorer of Poland. Born in Świętochłowice, Gad represented both Śląsk Św ...

Ryszard Piec Ryszard Leon Piec (born Richard Leon Pietz; 17 August 1913 – 24 January 1979) was a Polish footballer. Piec spent whole life in his native town of Lipiny, which now today is a district of Świętochłowice, in Upper Silesia. He played for Napr ...

, Teodor Peterek **gymnastics –

Klara Sierońska-Kostrzewa Klara may refer to: * Klara, a female given name, see Clara (given name) * Klara (radio), a classical-music radio station in Belgium * Klara (singer), birth name Klára Vytisková (born 1985), Czech singer * Klara (Stockholm), an area of central S ...

*1952 –

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

**football –

Ewald Cebula Edward Cebula (also known as Ewald; 22 March 1917 – 1 February 2004) was a Polish football player and defender. He played in five matches for the Poland national team as well as one match representing Poland at the Olympic Games. He started ...

**swimming –

Gotfryd Gremlowski Gotfryd Gremlowski (5 November 1931 – 10 November 1987) was a Polish freestyle swimmer. He competed in three events at the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), ...

*1956 –

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

**gymnastics – Małgorzata Błaszczyk-Wasilewska *1960 –

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

**football –

Roman Lentner Roman Jan Lentner (15 December 1937 – 15 March 2023) was a Polish footballer. An international player for Poland for many years, he most notably competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics. He won 8 national titles and 3 domestic cups with Górn ...

*1964 –

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

**gymnastics –

Gerda Bryłka-Krajciczek Gerda is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: A *Gerda Ahlm (1869–1956), Swedish-born American painter and art conservator *Gerda Alexander (1908–1994), Danish teacher and therapist *Gerda Antti (born 1929), Swedish ...

Małgorzata Wilczek-Rogoń Małgorzata () is a common Polish female given name derived through Latin ''Margarita'' from Ancient Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs), meaning "pearl". It is equivalent to the English "Margaret". Its diminutive forms include Małgośka, Ma ...

*1976 –

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

**fencing –

Barbara Wysoczańska Barbara Wysoczańska (née Szeja).Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Adelige Häuser XXX, Limburg a. d. Lahn 2008, vol 145, pp. 412-420, ISBN 978-3-7980-0845-8, OCLC 1570546 (born 12 August 1949) is a Polish fencer. She won a bronze medal in th ...

**weightlifting – Leszek Skorupa *1976 –

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

**ice-hockey –

Kordian Jajszczok Kordian Klaudiusz Jajszczok (born September 4, 1950) is a former Polish ice hockey player. He played for the Poland men's national ice hockey team at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, ...

*1980 –

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

**fencing –

Politics

The President of Świętochłowice is

Daniel Beger Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

. He was elected in 2018.

Notable people

(1917–2004), footballer *

Arthur Goldstein Arthur Goldstein (18 March 1887 in Lipine, German Empire – 1943 in Auschwitz, German-occupied Poland) was a German Jewish journalist and communist politician. Life Goldstein joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1914, and was ...

(1887–1943), German journalist and communist politician *

Krzysztof Hanke Krzysztof () is a Polish given name, equivalent to English ''Christopher''. The name became popular in the 15th century. Its diminutive forms include Krzyś, Krzysiek, and Krzysio; augmentative – Krzychu Individuals named Krzysztof may choose to ...

(born 1957), actor and satiris *

Salomon Morel Salomon Morel (November 15, 1919 – February 14, 2007) was an officer in the Ministry of Public Security in the Polish People's Republic. Morel was a commander of concentration camps run by the NKVD and communist authorities until 1956. Aft ...

(1919–2007), commandant of Zgoda labour camp * Teodor Peterek (1910–1969), footballer * Jacob Sonderling (1878–1964), German-American Rabbi *

Paweł Waloszek Paweł Waloszek (28 April 1938 – 7 September 2018) was a Polish international motorcycle speedway rider who was second in 1970 Individual Speedway World Championship. Career details World Championships * Individual World Championship ** 19 ...

(1938–2018), motorcycle speedway rider

Twin towns – sister cities

Świętochłowice is twinned with: * Heiloo, Netherlands * Laa an der Thaya, Austria *

Nový Jičín Nový Jičín (; german: Neutitschein) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic centre of Nový Jičín is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservatio ...

, Czech Republic *

Rimavská Sobota Rimavská Sobota (; hu, Rimaszombat, german: Großsteffelsdorf) is a town in southern Slovakia, in the Banská Bystrica Region, on the Rimava river. It has approximately 24,000 inhabitants. The town is a historical capital of Gömör és Kishont ...

, Slovakia *

Tai'an Tai'an () is a prefecture-level city in Western Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China. Centered on Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng to ...

, China * Tiszaújváros, Hungary *

Torez Chystiakove ( uk, Чистякове, ), formerly Torez ( uk, Торез), is a city of regional significance in the Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine. The city is a center of the regional coal industry and much of its economy relies on mining industr ...

, Ukraine

References

External links

Official web

Jewish Community in Świętochłowice
on Virtual Shtetl
Świętochłowician discussion forum
{{Authority control City counties of Poland Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939) Holocaust locations in Poland Sites of Nazi war crimes during the Invasion of Poland