Bielsko-Biała
Bielsko-Biała
| Bielsko-Biała | |||
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 Bielsko-Biała
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| Coordinates: 49°49′21″N 19°2′40″E / 49.8225°N 19.04444°E | |||
| Country |  Poland |
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| Voivodeship | Silesian | ||
| County | city county | ||
| Town rights | 1312 Bielsko 1723 Biała |
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| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Jacek Krywult | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 124.51 km2 (48.1 sq mi) | ||
| Highest elevation | 1,117 m (3,665 ft) | ||
| Lowest elevation | 262 m (860 ft) | ||
| Population (2009) | |||
| - City | 175,513 | ||
| - Density | 1,409.6/km2 (3,650.9/sq mi) | ||
| - Urban | 584,000 | ||
| - Metro | 5,294,000 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 43-300 to 43-382 | ||
| Area code(s) | +48 033 | ||
| Car plates | SB | ||
| Website | http://www.um.bielsko.pl | ||
Bielsko-Biała [ˈbjɛlskɔ ˈbjawa] (
listen) (German: Bielitz-Biala; Czech: Bílsko-Bělá) is a city in southern Poland with 175,513 inhabitants (June 2009). Bielsko-Biała is composed of two former cities on opposite banks of the Biała River, Bielsko and Biała, amalgamated in 1951. Situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), the city was previously capital of Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship (1975–1998). Bielsko-Biała is one of the most important cities of the Beskidy Euroregion. Main city of Bielsko Industrial Region (Polish: Bielski Okręg Przemysłowy).
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History
Both parts of the name stem from "biel" or "biała", which means "white" in Polish.
Between 1933 and 1938 an archaeological team discovered remains of a fortified settlement in what is now Stare Bielsko (Old Bielsko) district of the city. The settlement was dated to the 12th - 14th centuries. Its dwellers manufactured iron from ore and specialized in smithery.
The current center of the town was probably developed as early as the first half of the 13th century. At that time a castle (which still survives today) was built on a hill.
In the second half of the 13th century, the Piast Dukes of Opole invited German settlers to land between Silesia and Lesser Poland in order to colonize the Silesian Beskids. Nearby settlements west of the Biała River were Nikelsdorf, Kamitz, Alt-Bielitz (now Stare Bielsko), Batzdorf and Kurzwald. Nearby settlements east of the river Bialka were Kunzendorf, Alzen and Wilmesau. Nearby settlements in the mountains were Lobnitz and Bistrai.
After the partition of the Duchy of Oppeln in 1281, Bielsko passed to the Dukes of Cieszyn (Teschen). The town was first documented in 1312 when a Duke of Cieszyn granted a town charter. From 1457 the Biała River was the border between Silesia (within the Holy Roman Empire) and Lesser Poland. The town of Biała was established on the opposite bank of the Biała River in 1723.
During the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Biała was annexed by Austria and included in the crownland of Galicia. In 1918 both cities became part of a reconstituted Polish state, even though the majority of the population was ethnic German. During World War II the city was annexed by Nazi Germany and its Jewish population was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. After the liberation of the city by the Red Army in 1945, the ethnic German population was expelled westward.
The city of Bielsko-Biała was created on 1 January 1951 when the adjacent cities of Bielsko and Biała were unified.
Economy and Industry
Nowadays Bielsko-Biała is one of the best-developed parts of Poland. It was ranked 2nd best city for business in that country by Forbes. About 5% of people are unemployed (compared 9,6% for Poland). Bielsko-Biała is famous for its textile, machine-building, and especially automotive industry. In Bielsko-Biała there are four areas that belong to Katowice Special Economic Zone. Another reason for the low unemployment rate is that large numbers of young families have become economic migrants and have moved to the UK for employment. There are large communities originally from Bielsko-Biała now living in towns such as Slough and Southampton.
Transportation
Road transport
Although Bielsko-Biała is not served by an Autostrada (motorway), it is served by the Expressway S1, which was completed in late 2006, and runs from Bielsko-Biała to Cieszyn at the Czech border. Another expressway, the S69, is under construction around Bielsko-Biała and will run to Žilina in Slovakia. It is planned to extend S1 north along the existing dual carriageway DK1 from Bielsko-Biała to Tychy and Katowice, thus connecting Bielsko-Biała with the national motorway network of Poland. National Road DK52 connects Bielsko-Biała with Kraków in the east. The most important interchange in the area is the cloverleaf north of Bielsko-Biała where S1, DK1 and DK52 meet.
Sights
Bielsko-Biała is a beautiful city. It has a vibrant modernistic presence being a student-city with its associated nightlife, as well as having numerous historical sights.
- The Bielsko-Biała Museum, housed in the castle of the Dukes of Cieszyn from 15th century, later Castle of the Sułkowski princes
- Town Hall built in 1897
- Hotel Prezydent
- Train Station (Bielsko-Biała Główna) from 1888
- Jewish Cemetery founded in 1849
- Theater built in 1890
- St. Nicholas' Cathedral from 1447 and rebuilt in 1909 - 1910
- House of Frogs, an Art Nouveau mansion
- The Bielsko Biała Gallery of Art, galeria BWA
- Weaver's House Museum, Dom Tkacza, reconstructed workshop of a draper
Boroughs
- Biała
- Stare Bielsko
- Straconka
- Mikuszowice Śląskie i Mikuszowice Krakowskie
- Aleksandrowice
- Wapienica
- Olszówka Dolna i Olszówka Górna
- Hałcnów
- Komorowice Śląskie i Komorowice Krakowskie
- Leszczyny
- Lipnik
Education
- University of Bielsko-Biała
- The Academy of Computer Science and Management
- Bielska Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu i Informatyki im. J. Tyszkiewicza
- Wyższa Szkoła Administracji
- Wyższa Szkoła Bankowości i Finansów
- Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomiczno-Humanistyczna
- Teacher Training College of Bielsko-Biała
Politics
Bielsko-Biała constituency
Senators from Bielsko-Biała constituency:
- Sławomir Kowalski (Civic Platform)
- Rafał Muchacki (Civic Platform)
Members of Sejm from Bielsko-Biała constituency:
- Jacek Falfus (Law and Justice)
- Tadeusz Kopeć (Civic Platform)
- Bożena Kotkowska (Democratic Left Alliance)
- Kazimierz Matuszny (Law and Justice)
- Mirosława Nykiel (Civic Platform)
- Stanisław Pięta (Law and Justice)
- Stanisław Szwed (Law and Justice)
- Tomasz Tomczykiewicz (Civic Platform)
- Adam Wykręt (Civic Platform)
Municipal politics
- Mayor - Jacek Krywult
- Deputy Mayor - Waldemar Jędrusiński
- Deputy Mayor - Zbigniew Giełda
- Deputy Mayor - Zbigniew Michniowski
Notable residents
Sports
- Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała - men's soccer team (playing in Polish First League since 2002/2003).
- BBTS Siatkarz Original Bielsko-Biała - men's volleyball team playing in Polish Volleyball League (Polska Liga Siatkówki, PLS: Seria A in 2003/2004, Seria B in 2004/2005 season).
- BKS Stal Bielsko-Biała - women's volleyball team:Polish Champion 2004, playing in Polish Seria A Women's Volleyball League.
International relations
Twin towns - Sister cities
Bielsko-Biała is twinned with the following cities:
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See also
- Bielsko-Biała Museum
- Bolek and Lolek
- Sfera shopping mall
- Silesian Metropolitan Area
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Bielsko-Biała - Partner Cities". © 2008 Urzędu Miejskiego w Bielsku-Białej.. http://www.um.bielsko.pl/. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
- ^ "Kragujevac City Partners". © 2008 Information service of Kragujevac City. http://www.kragujevac.rs/en/city_partners.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-27.[dead link]
- ^ "Žilina - oficiálne stránky mesta: Partnerské mestá Žiliny (Žilina: Official Partner Cities)". © 2008 MaM Multimedia, s.r.o... http://www.zilina.sk/mesto-zilina-o-meste-partnerske-mesta. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
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Municipalities in the Czech part of the region: Albrechtice 
Municipalities in the Polish part of the region: Bąków 
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Coordinates: 49°49′21″N 19°02′40″E / 49.8225°N 19.04444°E