Łaziska Górne (, ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, near

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

. Outer town of the

Metropolis GZM The Metropolis GZM (, formally in Polish (Upper Silesian-Dąbrowa Basin Metropolis)) is a metropolitan association () composed of 41 contiguous gminas, with a total population of over 2 million, covering most of the Katowice metropolitan area i ...

– metropolis with a population of 2 million. Located in the Silesian Highlands. It is situated in the

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...

since its formation in 1999, previously in

Katowice Voivodeship Katowice Voivodeship () can refer to one of two political entities in Poland: Katowice Voivodeship (1), initially "Silesian-Dabrowa Voivodeship" (), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the years 1946–1975. It was super ...

, and before then, of the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. Łaziska is one of the towns of the 2,7 million conurbation -

Katowice urban area The Katowice urban area (, ), also known as the Upper Silesian urban area (, ), is an urban area/conurbation in southern Poland, centered on Katowice. It is located in the Silesian Voivodeship. The Katowice urban area is the largest urban are ...

and within a greater

Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area The Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan areaBrookings Institutionbr>Redefining global cities: The seven types of global metro economies(2016), p. 16. European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON"''Metroborder: Cross-border Polycentric Metropol ...

populated by about 5,294,000 people. The population of the town is 22,298 as of 2019.

History

Łaziska is historically subdivided into three parts:

Łaziska Dolne Łaziska may refer to several localities in Poland: *Łaziska Górne, a town in Silesian Voivodeship (south Poland) *Łaziska, Silesian Voivodeship (south Poland) *Łaziska, Kielce County in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (south-central Poland) *Łazi ...

(''Lower Łaziska''), Łaziska Średnie (''middle Łaziska'') and ''Łaziska Górne'' (''upper Łaziska''). All of them are now part of the town, which was named only after the last one. The oldest settlement was located in what is now Łaziska Średnie. The village ''Łaziska'' was first mentioned in 1287 as ''villa Lasiszka'', although the document could have been a falsificate. The second in seniority was ''Łaziska Dolne'', and the youngest ''Łaziska Górne''. It was part of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

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

-ruled

, and then passed under Bohemian (Czech) suzerainty. During the political upheaval caused by

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

the land around

Pszczyna Pszczyna (, ) is a town in Silesia Province in Poland, with a population of 25,823 (2019), and is the seat of a local gmina (commune) and district. It was previously part of Katowice Province from 1975 until 1998 administrative reforms. Etymo ...

was overtaken by Casimir II, Duke of Cieszyn, who sold it in 1517 to the Hungarian

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

s of the Thurzó family, forming the

Pless Pleß or Pless may refer to: Places *Pleß, a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany * Pszczyna (German: Pleß), a town in southern Poland ** Duchy of Pless, a historic territory in Silesia * Pleß (mountain), a mountai ...

state country State country (; ; ) was a unit of administrative and territorial division in the Bohemian crown lands of Silesia and Upper Lusatia, existing from 15th to 18th centuries. These estates were exempt from feudal tenure by privilege of the Bohemian ...

. In the accompanying sales document issued on 21 February 1517 the two villages were mentioned as ''Lazyska Dolny'' and ''Lazyska Horny''. Łaziska Średnie was, in contrary to Łaziska Dolne and Łaziska Górne, a private village until 1814. The Kingdom of Bohemia in 1526 became part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. In the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

most of Silesia was conquered by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, including the three sister settlements, and from 1871 all were part of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1913, the Polish choir "Echo" was founded in Łaziska Górne, as one of the oldest in the region, and then it operated despite repressions from the German authorities, before the temporary suspension of activities during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1918 the war ended and Poland regained independence, and after the subsequent Polish Silesian Uprisings, which were also fought in Łaziska, all three settlements were reintegrated with Poland. Already on September 2–3, 1939, in the beginning of the German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, German troops committed massacres of

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

in Łaziska Górne, Łaziska Dolne and Łaziska Średnie, killing 26, 17 and 19 people, respectively (see ''

Nazi crimes against the Polish nation War crime, Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with Schutzmannschaft#Police battalions, auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occu ...

''). On September 6, 1939, the ''

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

'' murdered seven more Poles in Łaziska Górne. Among the victims of the massacres were former insurgents of the Silesian Uprisings, activists, miners, craftsmen, workers, a teacher, local official, farmer, and also teenagers and women. The town was then occupied by Germany until 1945. Seven Polish policemen who were either born or served in Łaziska were murdered by the Russians in

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

in April–May 1940 during the large

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

. The Germans established and operated 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, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

camp for

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

in Łaziska Górne, and the E393 forced labour 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 as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

in Łaziska Średnie. In 1951, Łaziska Górne was granted town rights, and in 1973 Łaziska Dolne and Łaziska Średnie were included within its town limits as new districts.

Industry

* Łaziska Power Station * Bolesław Śmiały Coal Mine * Łaziska Steel Mill * Wilk Elektronik S.A. (computer memory)

Sports

Polonia Łaziska Górne sports club is based in the town, with

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

sections.

Twin towns – sister cities

Łaziska Górne is twinned with: * Fulnek, Czech Republic *

Vrútky Vrútky (; (rare); ) is a town in northern Slovakia, close to the city of Martin, Slovakia, Martin. It lies in the historic Turiec region. Geography The town lies at the confluence of Váh and the Turiec River (Váh), Turiec, in the Turčianska ...

, Slovakia

References

{{Mikołów County Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship Mikołów County Sites of Nazi war crimes during the Invasion of Poland