Bielszowice (german: Bielschowitz) is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the west of

Ruda Śląska Ruda Śląska (formerly ) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is a district in the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of two million. It is in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica River (t ...

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian ...

, 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 ...

. In 2006 it had an area of 10.6 km² and was inhabited by 9,505 people. On January 12, 2006 a part of it was split off to form a new district, Czarny Las.

History

The settlement was first mentioned in 1452 as ''Bilechowitz''. It was a seat of a Catholic parish in

Diocese of Kraków In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

, established probably around 1440. The village 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 ...

in the 18th century, and from 1871 it was also 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 ...

. Beginning with the 19th century it was heavily affected by industrial development. Bielszowice Coal Mine was built in years 1896–1904. In 1891 the German state purchased the village from private hands. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the

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 ...

4,546 out of 6,461 voters in Bielszowice voted in favour of rejoining Poland which just regained independence, against 1,874 opting for staying in Germany. Afterwards it became a part of

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

. 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 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 village was invaded and then

occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, and already on September 3, 1939 the Germans carried out the first execution of a local Polish man (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 ...

''). , notable local member of the Polish resistance movement, who as its secret agent joined and infiltrated the German '' SA'', was publicly hanged by the Germans in Bielszowice in 1942. There is monument at the execution site. After the war, the settlement was restored to Poland. Bielszowice constituted a

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...

(municipality) that was merged into

Nowy Bytom Nowy Bytom (german: Friedenshütte) is a district serving as administrative centre of Ruda Śląska, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. In 2006 it had an area of 4.6 km2 and was inhabited by 12,058 people. On January 12, 2006 a part of it ...

in 1951, and as part of Nowy Bytom was amalgamated with Ruda to form Ruda Śląska on December 31, 1958.

Notable people

Marian Foik Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queensla ...

(1933–2005), Polish male sprinter, silver medalist of the 1964 Summer Olympics *

Waldemar Słomiany Waldemar Piotr Słomiany (born 1 November 1943 in Bielszowice, now Ruda Śląska) is a retired Polish football defender. Słomiany spent the most successful years of his career at Górnik Zabrze, winning several championships of Poland in the 19 ...

(born 1943), retired Polish footballer and member of the

Poland national football team The Poland national football team ( pl, Reprezentacja Polski w piłce nożnej) has represented Poland in men's international tournaments football competitions since their first match in 1921. The team is controlled by the Polish Football Associ ...

* (born 1948), Polish Catholic bishop * Adam Kompała (born 1973), retired Polish footballer

Gallery

Kościół św. Marii Magdaleny Bielszowice.JPG, Saint Mary Magdalene church Ks. Niedzieli 22 (Ruda Śląska).jpg, Typical old house at Niedzieli Street Ruda Śląska Kokota pomnik DSC 7072.jpg, Monument at the site of the execution of Edmund Kokot Św. Jan Nepomucen.JPG, Statue of Saint

John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) ( cs, Jan Nepomucký; german: Johannes Nepomuk; la, Ioannes Nepomucenus) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus IV ...

References

Districts of Ruda Śląska {{Silesian-geo-stub