Koszęcin (german: Koschentin) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Lubliniec County __NOTOC__ Lubliniec County ( pl, powiat lubliniecki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat A ''powiat'' (pronounced ; Polish plural: ''powiaty'') is the second-level unit of local government and administration ...

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 ...

, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the

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 ...

(administrative district) called

Gmina Koszęcin __NOTOC__ Gmina Koszęcin is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Lubliniec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the village of Koszęcin, which lies approximately south-east of Lubliniec and north of the regional ...

. It lies approximately south-east of

Lubliniec Lubliniec (german: Lublinitz) is a town in southern Poland with 23,784 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Lubliniec County, part of Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Częstochowa Voivodeship (1975–1998). Geography ...

and north of the regional capital

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 ...

. The village has a population of 4,471.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1277, when it was part of fragmented

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule i ...

-ruled Poland. Later on it passed to Bohemia (Czechia). In 1640, Koszęcin was bought by Fryderyk Blacha. It 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 ...

. It was the site of fights during the Polish

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 ...

against Germany in 1921, and afterwards it was reintegrated with Poland, which just regained independence 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 ...

. It was occupied by Germany following the joint German-Soviet

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 ...

in September 1939. The occupiers operated the E416

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 Stalag VIII-B/344

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

in the village. After Germany's defeat in the war, in 1945, the village was restored to Poland. It was previously in

Częstochowa Voivodeship Częstochowa Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975–1998, superseded mainly by Silesian Voivodeship, with a few eastern gminas attached to the freshly created Świętokrzyskie Voivodesh ...

(1975–1998).

Sights and culture

There is a historic palace and two heritage churches (Holy Trinity church and Sacred Heart church) in the village. A Culture Center is located in Koszęcin. The Koszęcin radio transmitter is located nearby.

Transport

Koszęcin is located at the intersection of the

Voivodeship road According to classes and categories of public roads in Poland, a voivodeship road ( pl, droga wojewódzka) is a category of roads one step below national roads in importance. The roads are numbered from 100 to 993. Total length of voivodeship r ...

s 906 and 907, and there is also a train station.

Gallery

Palace in Koszęcin, Poland, April 2021 01.jpg, Palace Sacred Heart church in Koszęcin, Poland, April 2021 (1).jpg, Sacred Heart church Forest inspectorate in Koszęcin, Poland, April 2021 (1).jpg, Forestry Kościół Koszęcin 1.5.jpg, Holy Trinity church

References

External links

www.koszecin.pl
Villages in Lubliniec County {{Lubliniec-geo-stub