Czerwionka-Leszczyny (german: Czerwionka-Leschczin) is a town in

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 V ...

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 populou ...

. It is the only town in

Rybnik county __NOTOC__ Rybnik County ( pl, powiat rybnicki) is a suburban county in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, created in 1999 as a result of Polish local government reforms. Its administrative seat is the city of Rybnik, although the city is not pa ...

(which is separate from

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; szl, Rybńik) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 miles) from the Czech border. It is ...

city) and the seat of the larger Czerwionka-Leszczyny municipality which also includes 6 villages. Czerwionka-Leszczyny was created by a merger of two towns (Czerwionka and Leszczyny) and two villages (Czuchów and Dębieńsko), which to this day maintain their separate identities. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 27,683. A former mining town, it has transformed into a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...

for the nearby cities of Rybnik,

Gliwice Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capi ...

and Katowice.

History

Pre-industrial age

People have settled in the area of Czerwionka-Leszczyny as early as

8th century BC The 8th century BCE started the first day of 800 BC and ended the last day of 701 BC. The 8th century BC is a period of great change for several historically significant civilizations. In Egypt, the 23rd and 24th dynasties lead to rule from ...

, as evidenced by a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

bracelet that was found in Czerwionka and is currently stored in a museum in Gliwice. The first written sources mentioning Leszczyny, ''Liber Fundationis Episcopus Wratislaviensis'' (book proclaiming the foundation of the Wrocław diocese), dates back to 1305. In 1420, a parish was founded in Dębieńsko, and in 1447 Leszczyny parish is mentioned for the first time. In the middle ages, the area of modern Czerwionka-Leszczyny belonged to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

, next Polish

Duchy of Racibórz Duchy of Racibórz (german: Herzogtum Ratibor, cs, Ratibořské knížectví) was one of the duchies of Silesia. Its capital was Racibórz in Upper Silesia. History After Bolesław I the Tall and his younger brother Mieszko I Tanglefoot backed ...

as a result of the division of Poland into districts in the Middle Ages, and since 1327 was under Czech patronage and became a part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. Since 1526, the area of Czerwionka-Leszczyny belonged to the Habsburg Monarchy. Following the

Silesian Wars The Silesian Wars (german: Schlesische Kriege, links=no) were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Prussia (under King Frederick the Great) and Habsburg Austria (under Archduchess Maria Theresa) for control of the Central European ...

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 ...

conquered these territories in 1742. In 1818, a new administrative division placed the area of modern Czerwionka-Leszczyny in

Industrial age

Early industrial age

The exploration of natural resources in Czerwionka-Leszczyny area started in the

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural moveme ...

. In 1788 the first test shaft were created to confirm hard coal reserves, and in 1792 the owner of Czerwionka and Dębieńsko, baron von Wilczek, secured a permit for the first mine, ''Neues Glück'' (''New luck''). In 1806, coal mine ''Ciossek'' and in 1807 coal mine ''Marianne'' were opened by

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Węgierski. In 1813 ''Neues Glück'' was merged with nearby ''Anton'' shaft to create ''Antons Glück'' (''Anthony's luck'') coal mine, which since 1823 produced 14,000 tonnes of coal annually. By 1850, around 25 other small shafts and mines were opened in the area. These establishments were selling coals locally, to nearby small-scale

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

smelters Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a c ...

and ironworks.

Dębieńsko Coal Mine

In 1856, Czerwionka and Leszczyny gained railway connection to Rybnik and Katowice, which opened the area to cheaper iron, zinc and steel, undercutting the local industry. However, rapidly growing demand for coal in the

Upper Silesian Industrial Region The Upper Silesian Industrial Region ( pl, Górnośląski Okręg Przemysłowy, , Polish abbreviation: ''GOP'' ; german: Oberschlesisches Industriegebiet) is a large industrial region in Poland.Chorzów) bought rights to coal fields in Czerwionka area and opened the mine in on November 2, 1898. Three shafts were built and later deepened in 1899-1900, which allowed the mine to increase coal production from 4,010 tonnes in 1899 to 492,478 tonnes in 1912. In 1910, a dam with electricity generators has been built on the nearby Bierawka river to create a reservoir for the mine's use, and in 1913 a cocking facility has been built next to the mine. The ''Dębieńsko'' Coal Mine has been a catalyst for a rapid population growth in Czerwionka and nearby villages. The coal mine built two housing estates for miners. First, the so-called ''Staro Kolonia'' (''Old Colony'') close to the mine, with director's villa, 14 8-family houses and a police station has been constructed along with the mine. Later, as the demand for workers could not be met by local population, a newer and larger housing estate called ''Familoki,'' with 96 houses of different sizes and shapes, have been constructed between 1902-1916. That later estate is now a tourist attraction and is under conservatorship.

20th century

After World War I

Following

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 ...

, the area of modern Czerwionka-Leszczyny, along with all of

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

, found itself between

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 ...

and newly-formed

. Under The Treaty of Versailles agreement, Upper Silesia was supposed to vote in a

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

whether it wants to stay in Germany or join Poland. The voting took place on March 20, 1921, and in the Czerwionka-Leszczyny area, the majority voted for Poland. The results per locality are shown in the table below Following the plebiscite and a disadvantageous division of Upper Silesia from the Polish point of view, local

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 C ...

started the

Third Silesian Uprising 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 ...

, after which the Entente powers granted Poland more territory than previously planned, including all of modern Czerwionka-Leszczyny. The area belonged to the autonomous

in the interwar period. In 1930s, the Great Depression took a heavy toll on the local mining industry, with as much as 25% if miners being on forced unpaid leave. The harsh economic conditions caused many people to involve in

bootleg mining Bootleg mining or shoemaker mining is a form of illegal coal mining. The term originated around the 1920s, though the practice probably predates that. Generally, a bootleg mine (sometimes called a bootleg pit) is a small mine dug by a handful of ...

World War II

Following 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 afte ...

, Czerwionka-Leszczyny was annexed into the

Third Reich 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 ...

. While some locals, particularly members of the local intelligentsia such as teachers, clerks and clergy were rounded up and shoot or sent to concentration camps for their pro-Polish stance during the interwar period, most of the population enjoyed relative peace compared to other parts of Poland. In 1940, after expulsion of ethnic Poles to the General Government, the

nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

introduced the

Deutsche Volksliste The Deutsche Volksliste (German People's List), a Nazi Party institution, aimed to classify inhabitants of Nazi-occupied territories (1939-1945) into categories of desirability according to criteria systematised by ''Reichsführer-SS'' Heinrich H ...

, a classification of desirability of the population in occupied western Poland. It divided people into four classes (1. ''Volksdeutcher'' - ethnic German, active in German minority before the war; 2. ''Deutschstämmige'' - ethnic German not active in German minority; 3. ''Eingedeutschte'' - native populations, considered by the nazis to be partially

polonized Polonization (or Polonisation; pl, polonizacja)In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэя� ...

Germans; 4. ''Rückgedeutschte'' - fully polonized Germans or Poles who were deemed racially worthy or collaborated with the Reich). In Czerwionka-Leszczyny area, as in most of Upper Silesia, the vast majority were classified as category 3 and given conditional, 10-year German citizenship. At the end of World War II, in late January 1945, one of the

Death Marches A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Conven ...

from Auschwitz led through Leszczyny, where hundreds of prisoners were killed by the SS men: 447 near the train station and 288 in a field nearby.

After World War II

Czerwionka-Leszczyny area has been liberated by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

on January 27, 1945. In the months immediately after the liberation, the Soviet military command and new Polish communist leadership deported many men to Donetsk Coal Area,

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

to work as

slave labor Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

for the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, while others were incarcerated and often killed in camps such as Zgoda because the new government considered

Silesians Silesians ( szl, Ślōnzŏki or Ślůnzoki; Silesian German: ''Schläsinger'' ''or'' ''Schläsier''; german: Schlesier; pl, Ślązacy; cz, Slezané) is a geographical term for the inhabitants of Silesia, a historical region in Central Euro ...

to be German. In September 1945 the new communist government made coal the most strategic natural resource to the country, which heavily influenced development of the Upper Silesian region, including Czerwionka-Leszczyny, in the subsequent decades through massive investment into coal mining industry and scaling up productions and employment. In the early 1950s the construction of a large mining estate started in Leszczyny, pulling people from all across Poland to work in coal industry, and in the 1960s similar estates started to pop up in Czerwionka. This new influx of Poles caused an ethnic conflict with native

in the 1960s and 70s, as natives saw new migrants as causing crime and public disorder, while the migrants considered migrants to be German and therefore not welcomed in Poland. In the 1970s and 1980s, many native Silesians emigrated to

through the family reunification scheme organized by both countries. Growing population was reflected by changes in administrative status: in 1962 Czerwionka, Leszczyny and Czuchów were merged into a town under the name Czerwionka-Leszczyny. In 1975, the name of the town was changed to only Leszczyny for political reasons (Leszczyny was majority-Polish, while Czerwionka was majority-Silesian and had a history of voting for Germany in the plebiscite), and in 1977 Dębieńsko was annexed by the town, creating the modern-day Czerwionka-Leszczyny. Following the collapse of communism, in 1992 the name was changed back to Czerwionka-Leszczyny.

1990s and 21st century

After the collapse of communism and return to the market economy, coal mining suffered from insufficient demand and rising costs against a government-regulated coal price, causing losses. Various restructuring programs in the 1990s alleviated the issue only partially, and by the end of 1990s it was clear the industry needs downsizing. The government of Jerzy Buzek adopted a plan which aimed at reducing employment in the industry through buy-outs and ultimately closing mines. In 1999, a list of mines to be closed was published, including ''Dębieńsko'', and production ended on October 25, 2000. At the time of the closure, 2,400 people were employed at the mine, or which 1,300 were granted various forms of social welfare such as early retirement or buy-outs. Since then, the town has re-oriented itself as a commuter town for nearby larger cities of

, Katowice and

Żory Żory (; german: Sohrau, szl, Żory) is a town and city county in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland with 62,462 inhabitants (2019). Previously it was in Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in the historic Upper Silesia region about sou ...

Geography

is a town 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

, on the Bierawka River (tributary of the Oder), located on

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 ...

, about 50 km (31 mi) north of the

Silesian Beskids Silesian Beskids ( Polish: , Czech: , german: Schlesische Beskiden) is one of the Beskids mountain ranges in Outer Western Carpathians in southern Silesian Voivodeship, Poland and the eastern Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. Most of ...

. It is an outer suburb of Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of over 3 million, and a suburb of

, both making

Silesian metropolitan area The Upper Silesian metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in southern Poland and northeastern Czech Republic, centered on the cities of Katowice and Ostrava in Silesia and has around 5 million inhabitants. Located in the three administrati ...

with a population of 4,676,983 people.

Demographics

Czerwionka-Leszczyny's population peaked in 1998 with 30,343 inhabitants and since then has been declining slowly. However, the population of the broader municipality has been on a steady rise, offsetting population loss within town limits. As of 2020, 27,888 people lived in the town, of which 4,648 (16.7%) were 14 or younger, 18,814 (67.5%) were 15-64, and 4,426 (15.8%) were 65 or older. This makes Czerwionka-Leszczyny relatively young compared to Poland as a whole, as countrywide only 15.4% of the population is 14 or younger while 18.6% is 65 or older. In 2019, 308 babies were born in Czerwionka-Leszczyny while 336 people died, a natural loss of 28 people. This represents a shift in natural change patterns as in prior years, Czerwionka-Leszczyny noted natural increases: +6 in 2018, +70 in 2017, +41 in 2016. In 2019, 203 people moved to Czerwionka-Leszczyny from elsewhere in Poland and 4 moved from abroad, while 377 people moved away from Czerwionka-Leszczyny to elsewhere in Poland and 5 moved abroad. In total, the town lost 175 people to migration - a sharp increase from a loss of 56 in 2018, 64 in 2017 and 31 in 2016. In 2019, neighborhood populations were as follows:

Economy

Since 1898, the town's main employer was the ''Dębieńsko'' coal mine, which was closed up in 2000, causing substantial job loss and unemployment. Employment in Czerwionka-Leszczyny municipality (the town and the surrounding villages) decreases from 8,434 in 1995 to 5,082 in 2000, achieving a low of just 3,784 in 2003. In Czerwionka-Leszczyny proper, it was 7,592, 3,971 and 3,111, respectively. Since then, the municipality succeeded in attracting outside investment and employment increased to 5,037 in 2019. As most of new investments are green fields, most of that growth happened in the rural part of the municipality, and the town itself had only 3,257 jobs as of 2019. Commuting has also helped ease the pressure on the job market. In 2006, 3,655 people from the town commuted to other localities for work (while 681 commuted to work in Czerwionka-Leszczyny). In 2016, these numbers have increased to 4,664 and 1,048, respectively. Both new investments and increase in commuting resulted in dramatic decline in unemployment. In 2003 (earliest available data), there were 2,384 registered unemployed people in the municipality of Czerwionka-Leszczyny. In 2019, only 546 remained in that status.

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Czerwionka-Leszczyny.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship Czerwionka Leszczyny it:Czerwionka-Leszczyny