Bełchatów () is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...
in central
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
with a population of 55,583 as of December 2021.
[ It is located in ]Łódź Voivodeship
Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its Polish language, Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a province-Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź ...
, from Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
.
The Elektrownia Bełchatów, located in Bełchatów, is the largest coal fueled power plant in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It produces 27–28 TWh of electricity per year, or 20% of the total power generation in Poland.
Districts
One municipal division of Bełchatów comprises numerous housing estate
A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country.
Popular throughout the United States a ...
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 flowing watercourse, usually freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...
and Olszewski Park.
Other municipal divisions of Bełchatów include Dobrzelów District, Grocholice, and the following housing estates:
Cuisine
The officially protected traditional food 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
* Skra Bełchatów – men's 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 ...
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 16 teams league from Oc ...
(Polish top division), 9–time Polish Champions, 7–time Polish Cup
The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa titl ...
winners.
* GKS Bełchatów – men's football team playing in the second division, which also played in Ekstraklasa
Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams.
Contested by 18 ...
(top division) in the past.
International relations
Twin towns - sister cities
Bełchatów is twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:Tauragė
Tauragė (; see other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 21,520. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast, and not far from ...
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.
Notable people
* Harry Haft
Harry Haft (also known as ''Herschel Haft''; born ''Hertzko'' or ''Hertzka Haft'' on 28 July 1925 in Bełchatów, Poland;Benjamin Knaack''Boxen auf Leben und Tod'' '' Der Spiegel'' 9 June 2009 died 3 November 2007) was a survivor of the Auschwi ...
(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
Jewish community of Bełchatów
on Virtual Shtetl
The Virtual Shtetl ( pl, Wirtualny Sztetl) is a bilingual Polish-English portal of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, devoted to the Jewish history of Poland.
History
The Virtual Shtetl website was officially launched on June ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belchatow
Cities and towns in Łódź Voivodeship
Bełchatów County
Sieradz Voivodeship (1339–1793)
Piotrków Governorate
Łódź Voivodeship (1919–1939)
Socialist planned cities