Bełchatów () is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in central

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 ...

with a population of 55,583, as of December 2021. It is located in

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced . Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...

, southwest of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The Elektrownia Bełchatów, located in Bełchatów, is the largest coal fueled power plant in Europe and the fifth largest in the world. It produces 27–28 TWh of electricity per year, or 20% of the total power generation in Poland. 8,000 people work directly for the company that runs the coal mine and electricity plants. The city is also known for the successful

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 ...

club

Skra Bełchatów Skra Bełchatów, competing for sponsorship reasons as PGE GiEK Skra Bełchatów and officially called KPS Skra Bełchatów SA, is a professional men's volleyball club based in Bełchatów in central Poland, founded in 1957. They compete in th ...

and local

krówki Krówki (, plural; ''krówka'' Grammatical number, singular), literally a dimunitive form of the Polish word for "cow," are Poland, Polish fudge, semi-soft milk toffee candy, candies. When hand-made, they are hard and crispy on the outside, but th ...

(traditional Polish candy).

Districts

One municipal division of Bełchatów comprises numerous

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision (land), subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to count ...

s, including the Budowlanych housing estate located in the central part of the town (close to the "Kultura" cinema, the Municipal Cultural Center, the Town Hall and the church). The estate is also close to the "Rakówka"

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

and Olszewski

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

. Other municipal divisions of Bełchatów include Dobrzelów District, Grocholice, and the following housing estates:

History

Grocholice was a private church town, whereas Bełchatów, Dobrzelów and Zdzieszulice were private villages of Polish nobility, administratively located in the Piotrków County in the Sieradz Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland.

Cuisine

The officially protected

traditional food Traditional foods are foods and Dish (food), dishes that are passed on through generations or which have been consumed for many generations. Traditional foods and dishes are traditional in nature, and may have a historic precedent in a national ...

of Bełchatów (as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland) is ''wyborowa krówka bełchatowska'', a local type of krówka (traditional Polish candy).

Sports

– men's

team playing in

PlusLiga The PlusLiga is the highest level of men's volleyball in Poland, a professional league competition featuring volleyball clubs located in this country. It is overseen by Polska Liga Siatkówki SA (PLS SA). It is currently a 14 teams league from Oc ...

(Polish top division), 9–time Polish Champions, 7–time Polish Cup winners. * GKS Bełchatów – men's

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 ...

team playing in the lower divisions, which has also played in

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

(top division) in the past.

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

Bełchatów is twinned with: * Aubergenville, France * Myślenice in Poland * Csongrád in Hungary * Alcobaça in Portugal *

Tauragė Tauragė (; see #Names and etymology, other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 20,956. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra, Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningr ...

in Lithuania

Former twin towns

* Sovetsk, Russia In February 2022, Bełchatów suspended its partnership with the Russian city of Sovetsk as a reaction to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Notable people

* Harry Haft (1925–2007), survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp and a professional boxer in the United States during 1948–1949

Gallery

File:Bełchatów -siedziba PGE 4.JPG, PGE headquarters File:Stadion GKS Bełchatów (Poland).JPG, GKS Bełchatów Stadium File:Dworek Olszewskich.jpg, Olszewski Manor File:MiPBP Bełchatów.JPG, Library File:Rogowiec, Elektrownia Bełchatów - fotopolska.eu (262558).jpg, A view of the Power Plants and the Brown Coal Mine

References

External links

Official website

Local News Portal
(in Polish)
Jewish community of Bełchatów
on Virtual Shtetl {{Authority control Cities and towns in Łódź Voivodeship Bełchatów County Socialist planned cities