HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dębica (; ''Dembitz'') is a town in southeastern
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 44,692 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of
Dębica County __NOTOC__ Dębica County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998 ...
. Since 1999 it has been situated in the
Podkarpackie Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshal, it is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional Assembly. The name deriv ...
; it had previously been in the Tarnów Voivodeship (1975–1998). Dębica belongs to the historic province of
Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...
, and for centuries it was part of the
Sandomierz Voivodeship Sandomierz Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Poland region and the Lesser Poland Province. Originally Sandomier ...
.


Area and location

According to the 2006 data, Dębica's area is .
Arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...
makes 42% of the area of the town, while forests make 19%. Dębica is the seat of the
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
, and the town covers 4.34% of the county's area. Dębica lies at the border of two geographical regions of Poland – the Carpathian Piedmont in southern districts of the town, and the Sandomierz Basin in its north, along the
Wisłoka The Wisłoka is a river in south-eastern Poland, and a tributary of Vistula River. It is long and has a basin area of . Its highest elevation is , while the lowest point in the valley of the river Wisłoka lies at an elevation of above sea ...
river.


Economy

Since the mid-1930s Dębica, despite its size, has been a large industrial hub. A number of companies were then created thanks to government-led industrial development programs. Most of these companies still exist today, though they were privatized in the 1990s: * Firma Oponiarska Dębica S.A. (Tire Company Dębica) now owned by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, previous name - Stomil Dębica * Lerg S.A. - a chemical manufacturer located in the village of Pustków, a village in Dębica County * Tikkurila Polska S.A. (formerly Polifarb Dębica) - a paint manufacturer * Wytwórnia Urządzeń Chłodniczych WUCh (Manufacturer of Refrigeration Equipment WUCh) * Zakłady Mięsne (Meat Processing Plant) Since the early 1990s a relatively large number (relative to the city's size) of successful companies have been started and run by local residents: * Bicycle, motorcycle and electric car manufacturer Arkus and Romet Group * Sportatut - producer of sports nutritionals *
Chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies and other organizations that develop and produce industrial, specialty and other chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, the chemical industry converts raw materials ( oil, natural gas, air, ...
manufacturers (paint producers such as Śnieżka Brzeźnica and Plastbud Pustków) * Marble producer Jabo Marmi and brickyard Igloobud * Food companies such as Igloomeat and Animex Poludnie


Transport

The A4 highway passes just north of the city, with two exits providing access to Dębica. The westbound section of the highway, from Dębica to Tarnów, was completed in October 2014. As a result, the city now has a direct highway connection to Poland's western border, and consequently to all of Western Europe. A drive to
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
(approximately 120 km) takes about an hour, while
Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...
, the capital of the
Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshal, it is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional As ...
, located east of Dębica, can be reached in under 30 minutes. Dębica is also situated along National Road 94, which was previously part of the European route E40. This two-lane road has been renovated in recent years, but with the completion of the A4 highway, its importance has diminished. Additionally, Dębica is connected to the cities of
Mielec Mielec () is the largest city and County seat, seat of Mielec County. Mielec is located in south-eastern Poland (Lesser Poland), in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo Podkarpackie). The population of Mielec in December 2021 was 59,509. ...
and
Tarnobrzeg Tarnobrzeg is a city in south-eastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), on the east bank of the river Vistula, with 49,419 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Polish: ''Województwo podkarpackie'') since ...
via local road number 985. Dębica is located on a key railway line that runs from Poland's western to eastern borders. Trains on this line can reach speeds of up to 160 km/h, allowing the fastest Express InterCity Premium services to reach Kraków in just over an hour. Between 1988 and 1990, Dębica was also connected to Straszęcin by a trolleybus line.


Education

Dębica has been home to two branches of higher education institutions: * Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Zarządzania in
Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...
, branch in Dębica * University of Economics in Kraków, branch in Dębica


History


Middle Ages

One of the oldest documented references to this area dates back to the year 1293. It records a settlement by the name of ''Dambicha'', belonging to the noble Gryfita family. In 1305, the village was raided by the
Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
, who burned down a wooden church. The church was rebuilt in 1318, and by 1325, Dębica became the seat of a
deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...
, located on the outskirts of the mighty Sandomierz Forest. The Dębica Deanery consisted of fourteen parishes, including Przecław, Sędziszów Małopolski, and
Strzyżów Strzyżów is a town in Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, along the Wisłok river valley. Strzyżów is one of the towns within the Strzyżowsko-Dynowskie Foothill, located south-east of Kraków and 30 km from Rzeszó ...
. In 1358,
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...
granted local nobleman Świętosław Gryfita permission to establish a town, and Dębica received
town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
, along with the privilege to hold weekly markets on Wednesdays. However, the town was not officially founded until June 10, 1372, when Mikołaj of Lipiny was appointed its first
wójt A wójt is the highest administrative officer of a Polish ''rural gmina'', i.e., of a commune (''gmina'') comprising only villages. (The head of a town or city is called, respectively, the ''burmistrz'' or "president".) History and etymology T ...
. Dębica was conveniently located along the main merchant route from
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
to
Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
, but the newly founded town struggled to compete with older urban centers in the area, such as Pilzno and Ropczyce. In 1446, King
Władysław III of Poland Władysław III of Poland (31 October 1424 – 10 November 1444), also known as Ladislaus of Varna, was King of Poland and Union of Horodło, Supreme Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1434 as well as King of Hungary and List of duk ...
authorized annual
fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
s to be held on
Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...
s, spurring the town's growth. Despite this, Dębica remained a small town for many years, located in Pilzno County, part of the
Sandomierz Voivodeship Sandomierz Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Poland region and the Lesser Poland Province. Originally Sandomier ...
in the province of
Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...
. Without a
defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...
for protection, the town was vulnerable to invasions by the Tatars,
Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...
, and
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
, who frequently burned or plundered it. As a result, few historical monuments have survived in Dębica. One notable exception is the Saint Jadwiga church, originally built in the 14th century but completely reconstructed in the late 19th century. In 1474, Dębica, along with other towns in southern
Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...
, was ransacked by the Black Army of Hungary. In 1502, a Crimean Tatar raid caused widespread devastation, leaving the town burned and depopulated.


Early modern era

To prevent the complete disappearance of Dębica, its owners exempted residents from all taxes for 14 years, also allowing them to collect free timber and firewood in local forests. In 1504, Dębica was exempted from royal taxes by King
Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon (; ; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1492 and King of Poland from 1501 until his death in 1506. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV and a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty. Alexander was el ...
. Due to all these privileges, Dębica emerged in the 16th century as a local center of skilled craftsmen. Still, it was much smaller than Pilzno and Ropczyce, also because it remained a private town, whose owners argued with each other. In 1554, most of Dębica burned down, together with the wooden parish church of St. Margaret. In the late 16th century, the population of the town was app. 700. Like most of Lesser Poland's towns and cities, Dębica was completely destroyed in the
Swedish invasion of Poland The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense, it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Pol ...
, when Swedes and Transylvanians of George II Rakoczi burned and ransacked the town (1655 - 1660). After the invasion, the population of Dębica was reduced to app. 200, with only 30 houses. As a result, the owners of the town allowed the first Jews to settle in Dębica. The first settlers arrived in 1676–1690. They expanded the town's population, and had a positive influence on the town's economy. In the late 17th century, the so-called ''New Dębica'' was established, around the now non-existing St. Barbara church, app. one kilometre () west of ''Old Dębica''. Both Dębicas had different mayors, who were governed by one
wójt A wójt is the highest administrative officer of a Polish ''rural gmina'', i.e., of a commune (''gmina'') comprising only villages. (The head of a town or city is called, respectively, the ''burmistrz'' or "president".) History and etymology T ...
. In the course of time, the towns merged, and the market square of ''New Dębica'' now serves as the center of the town. Dębica was completely destroyed during the
Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...
, and the destruction was so severe that the town slowly turned into a farming village. In the late 18th century, it belonged to the
Radziwiłł family The House of Radziwiłł (; ; ; ) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian origin, and one of the most powerful magnate families originating from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later also prominent in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. Pa ...
.


Late modern era

A battle between Poles and Russians took place here during the
Bar Confederation The Bar Confederation (; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles (''szlachta'') formed at the fortress of Bar, Ukraine, Bar in Podolia (now Ukraine), in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian C ...
, and in 1772, as a result of the
First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...
, Dębica was annexed by the Habsburg Empire, as part of newly established Galicia, where it remained until November 1918. Austrian authorities decided that it should no longer be regarded as a town, but rather a village and renamed it ''Dembitz''. This decision marked the decline of the town. Bad times came to an end in the second half of the 19th century, when the Austrian government decided to build a main West-East
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
line (see Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis), connecting two major urban centres of Galicja -
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
and
Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
. A
railroad station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such ...
was built in Dębica, and at the end of the 19th century, another, northbound line was constructed, joining Dębica and the town of
Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...
, which was located on the Austrian-Russian boundary. The town became a rail junction, which was a huge boost for its citizens. In 1900 a
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
was opened, and in 1908 students from this school founded one of the oldest sports clubs in Poland, Wisłoka Dębica (whose name comes from the River Wisłoka, which flows by the town). Just before
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 ...
, Dębica was again incorporated as a town. The war was a disaster for the town, as it was almost completely destroyed. During several campaigns, Dębica was occupied by Russian, Austrian, Hungarian and German troops, which fought in this area for many months in 1914 - 1915. The Entente Powers wanted to get through the Carpathian Range towards
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, Bohemia and Hungary, while the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
managed to stop them at the beginning of 1915. These events had a great impact on the town and hampered its development for many years. In 1918, after Poland regained independence, Dębica was included in the Kraków Voivodeship, in the
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of Ropczyce. The economic situation of the town did not change - there was no industry, very few jobs available and surrounding villages were strongly overpopulated. This started to change in 1936, when
Polish government The government of Poland takes the form of a Unitary state, unitary semi-presidential republic, semi-presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Poland, president is the head of state and t ...
announced the creation of the
Central Industrial Area The Central Industrial District (, abbreviated COP), is an industrial region in Poland. It was one of the biggest economic projects of the Second Polish Republic. The 5-year-long project was initiated by a famous Polish economist, deputy Prime Minis ...
. It was a huge
public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...
project, aimed at fighting unemployment in this overpopulated part of Poland, as well as creating
heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
, concentrated on the production of arms. Dębica started to develop very fast; so fast, that in 1937 the county's capital was moved here from Ropczyce. Among several factories built in the town at that time, the most important was ''Stomil'' (now called ''Tire Company Dębica'', and belonging to the Goodyear). Other factories were: ''Wytwórnia Urządzeń Chłodniczych WUCh'' and ''Zakłady Tworzyw Sztucznych "Pustków"'', built from scratch, together with a workers' settlement, in Pustków Osiedle, northeast of Dębica. Some time in 1938 or 1939 work on another rail connection from Dębica to
Jasło Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesser ...
, via Pilzno was started. the Second World War stopped this construction, and after the war it was not continued.


World War II

The occupation of Dębica by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
started on September 8, 1939. The '' Einsatzgruppe I'' entered the town in September 1939 to commit various crimes against Poles. The Germans created a
ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...
for the town's
Jewish 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 ...
population, eventually killing most of them either on the spot or in the
Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
. In the forested hills south of the town, strong Polish underground forces operated, with numerous units of the
Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
(''AK''). It was too dangerous for AK officers to stay in Dębica, thus the headquarters of a local underground district (known as ''Deser'') were located at a nearby village of Gumniska, located in the hilly area south of the town. Resistance fighters were very active here, often attacking the main Kraków-Lwów rail line, used by German troops. In early 1944, units of the local Armia Krajowa district unsuccessfully tried to blow up a train with Hans Frank, which was passing through the village station at Czarna Tarnowska, some west of Dębica. As a reprisal, on February 2, 1944, the Germans murdered 50 Poles by the rail track in Dębica (also see Otto Schimek). On the outskirts of Dębica, near the villages of Pustków and Blizna and several neighboring ones, the Germans established a massive military base called Heidelager in the fall of 1941, which included the Blizna V-2 missile launch site for weapons testing, and the training of new Ukrainian collaborationist military formations including the '' SS
Galizien Division The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) (; ), commonly referred to as the Galicia Division, was a World War II infantry division (military), division of the Waffen-SS, the military wing of the German Nazi Party, made up predom ...
''. It is estimated that over the duration of the ''SS Heidelager'' training base operation, some 15,000 slave-labour prisoners perished there, including 7,500 Jews, 5,000 Soviet POWs, and 2,500 Poles, on top of an estimated 1,000 Soviet soldiers who died in the area during the Nazi-Soviet war. Their remains are buried in the cemetery along the road to Pustków Drips. Originally, the cemetery was located inside the ring IV (Dąbrówki). Later, the graves of soldiers were exhumed and moved. A Russian colonel killed in the fighting is buried in one of the tombs. Implicated in war crimes was SS-man Alois Kurz (ID 382378) who, from 1940 to 21 April 1941, served in the SS Regiment ''Westland,'' then was assigned to a construction battalion for the SS training ground and labor camp serving the '' SS Truppenubungsplatz Heidelager'' in Pustków. Also implicated in war crimes was Wilhelm Schitli, commander of the "Jewish camp" at the SS training area ''HL-Heidelager'' from October 1942 to September 1943. Polish priest Jan Nagórzański, who joined the Polish resistance and rescued Jews during the occupation, was arrested by the Germans, but was soon liberated by the Home Army in 1944. In 1945, he was beaten by Russian troops, and then fell ill with
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
and died in Dębica. In 1945 the town was restored to Poland, although with a
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
-installed communist regime, which remained in power until the
Fall of Communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...
in the 1980s.


Post-war

After the war, in new, Communist Poland, Dębica again became the seat of a county, but the town was moved from the Kraków to the Rzeszów Voivodeship. In 1946, executions of anti-communist activists took place there ( 1946 Public execution in Dębica). Polish priest Jan Wójcik, who aided Polish partisans and Jews during the German occupation, died in Dębica in 1954, shortly after he was released from prison by the communists, who imprisoned him in 1949. War destruction again stopped the town's development, but recovery this time was fast and based on pre-war factories. In 1975, after administrative reform, counties in Poland ceased to exist and were replaced by numerous and small Voivodeships. Dębica again was moved - this time from Rzeszów to the newly created Tarnów Voivodeship. In the late 1970s, Dębica gained importance as a centre of food and agricultural production. This was due to the creation of ''Kombinat Rolno-Spozywczy Igloopol'', which, under an influential Communist dignitary Edward Brzostowski, developed very fast. ''Igloopol'' built a huge factory and a completely new district, with numerous condominiums, located on the northern side of the rail line. The company achieved its peak in the late 1980s. After the collapse of the Communist regime, the company was divided into several smaller firms, controlled by former Communist activists.


Sports

There are two major sports clubs in Dębica. Klub Sportowy (Sports Club) Wisłoka Dębica, founded in 1908, is one of the oldest sports organizations in the country. Wisłoka is famous for its wrestlers, who have won numerous medals in the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
, World and European Championships. Other fields in which Wisłoka's athletes achieved significant achievements are: soccer, boxing, cycling and karate. The club was sponsored by Tire Company Dębica and it had its heyday in the 1970s. Another team, Igloopol Dębica, was founded in 1978 and is the brainchild of a prominent activist of Polish communist party, Edward Brzostowski. Igloopol enjoyed strong support from the local government. Brzostowski was for some time Minister of Agriculture and director of
Polish Football Association The Polish Football Association ( PZPN) is the governing body of association football in Poland. It organizes the Polish football leagues (without the ), the national cups, and manages the men's and women's national teams. It also runs the nati ...
, so his favorite team prospered in soccer as well as in boxing, achieving significant successes. Igloopol's best years, the late 1980s, are closely associated with the peak of its sponsor. Lately, both teams played in regional lower divisions, hoping to win promotion. Both clubs contest the Dębica derby, one of the fiercest derbies in south-eastern Poland.


Notable residents

* Paweł Bochniewicz (born 1996), Polish professional footballer * Krzysztof Cios (born 1950), computer scientist * Jarosław Duda, computer scientist * Seweryn Gancarczyk (born 1981), football defender * Artur Jędrzejczyk (born 1987), Polish professional footballer * Józef Lipień (born 1949), wrestler * Kazimierz Lipień (1949–2005), wrestler *
Tadeusz Łomnicki Tadeusz Łomnicki (; 18 July 1927 – 22 February 1992) was a Polish actor, one of the most notable stage and film artists of his time in Poland. He is remembered mostly for his roles in comedies and dramas, as well as for the role of Kordian in ...
(1927–1992), one of the most popular Polish actors * Teresa Orlowski (born 1953), Polish film star and producer *
Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...
(1933–2020), composer and conductor * Waldemar Piatek (born 1979), football goalkeeper * Leszek Pisz (born 1966), footballer * Krzysztof Pyskaty (born 1974), Polish footballer * Radek Rak (born 1987), writer,
Nike Award The Nike Literary Award (, pronounced ) is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award for Polish literatu ...
laureate * Ryszard Siwiec (1909—1968),
Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
resistance member who committed suicide by
self-immolation Self-immolation is the act of setting oneself on fire. It is mostly done for political or religious reasons, often as a form of protest or in acts of martyrdom, and known for its disturbing and violent nature. Etymology The English word ' ...
in protest against the Soviet-led invasion of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
* Paweł Wolak (born 1981), professional boxer, nicknamed "The Raging Bull" *
Jerzy Żuławski Jerzy Żuławski (; 14 July 1874 – 9 August 1915) was a Polish literary figure, philosopher, translator, Alpinism, alpinist and patriot whose best-known work is the science fiction, science-fiction epic, ''Trylogia Księżycowa'' (''The Lun ...
(1874–1915), writer, philosopher and translator


Twin towns - sister cities

Dębica is twinned with: * Carei, Romania * Kapuvár, Hungary * Muro, Spain * Obzor, Bulgaria *
Svishtov Svishtov ( ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous S ...
, Bulgaria Former twin towns: *
Puurs Puurs () is a former Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. It is located in the Flanders, Flemish Region. The municipality comprised the towns of Breendonk, Liezele, , Ruis ...
, Belgium On 13 November 2020, the Belgian municipality of
Puurs-Sint-Amands Puurs-Sint-Amands () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp that arose on 1 January 2019 from the merging of the municipalities of Puurs and Sint-Amands. The merged municipality has an area of 48.99 km ...
suspended its 20-year-long partnership with the Dębica because of the town's adoption of the Charter of The Rights of The Family, which discriminates against
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
people.


See also

* Public execution in Dębica (1946) * Adam Lazarowicz * 1985 Zieliński brothers escape


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1358 establishments in Europe Populated places established in the 1350s Cities and towns in Subcarpathian Voivodeship Dębica County Holocaust locations in Poland Sites of World War II massacres of Poles 14th-century establishments in Poland Sites of Nazi war crimes during the Invasion of Poland