Bytom

Coordinates: 50°20′54″N 18°54′56″E / 50.34833°N 18.91556°E / 50.34833; 18.91556
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bytom
Market square; Szombierki Heat Power Station
; View of Władysław Sikorski Square; Church of St. Margaret
Car plates
SY
Primary airportKatowice Airport
Websitewww.bytom.pl

Bytom (Polish pronunciation: [ˈbɨtɔm] ⓘ; Silesian: Bytōm, Bytōń, German: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital.

It is one of the oldest cities in the Upper Silesia, and the former seat of the Piast dukes of the Duchy of Bytom. Until 1532, it was in the hands of the Piast dynasty, then it belonged to the Hohenzollern dynasty. After 1623 it was a state country in the hands of the Donnersmarck family. From 1742 to 1945 the town was within the borders of Prussia and Germany, and played an important role as an economic and administrative centre of the local industrial region. Until the outbreak of World War II, it was the main centre of national, social, cultural and publishing organisations fighting to preserve Polish identity in Upper Silesia. In the interbellum and during World War II, local Poles and Jews faced persecution by Germany.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1950173,955—    
1960182,578+5.0%
1970187,500+2.7%
1980234,292+25.0%
1990231,206−1.3%
2000195,807−15.3%
2010181,617−7.2%
2020163,255−10.1%
source[2]

After the war, decades of the Polish People's Republic were characterized by a constant emphasis on the development of heavy industry, which deeply polluted and degraded Bytom. After 1989, the city experienced a socio-economic decline. The population has also been rapidly declining since 1999. However, it is an important place in the cultural, entertainment, and industrial map of the region.

Geology

The bedrock of the Upland of Miechowice consists primarily of sandstones and slates. The rocks are punctuated with abundant natural resources of coal and iron ore from the Carboniferous period. In the north part of the upland, in the Bytom basin lays the broad range of the triassic rocks, from sandstones to limestones, with rich ore, zinc and lead reserves. The upper layer is composed of clay, sand and gravel.

Coat of arms

One half of the coat of arms of Bytom depicts a miner mining coal, while the other half presents a yellow eagle on the blue field – the symbol of Upper Silesia.

History

Kosciuszko Square in the 1890s

Bytom is one of the oldest cities of

gród) here, probably founded by the Polish King Bolesław I the Brave in the early 11th century.[3]

After the

Germanized
.

It came under the control of the

Marie Casimire, visited the city, greeted by the townspeople and clergy, on the king's way to the Battle of Vienna.[5] The city became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742 during the Silesian Wars and part of the German Empire
in 1871. In the 19th and the first part of the 20th centuries, the city rapidly grew and industrialized.

Polish Gymnasium in Bytom in the 1930s
The Sleeping Lion at Bytom's Market Square

Bytom was one of the main centers of Polish resistance against Germanization in Upper Silesia in the 19th century, up until the mid-20th century. Polish social, political and cultural organizations were formed and operated here. From 1848, the newspaper

Germany, in which a Polish gymnasium was allowed to operate. In 1923 a branch of the Union of Poles in Germany was established in Bytom. There was also a Polish preschool,[9] two scout troops and a Polish bank.[10] In a secret Sicherheitsdienst report from 1934, Bytom was named one of the main centers of the Polish movement in western Upper Silesia.[11] Polish activists were persecuted since 1937.[12] The Bytom Synagogue was burned down by Nazi German SS and SA troopers during the Kristallnacht on 9–10 November 1938. Before 1939, the town, along with Gleiwitz (now Gliwice
), was at the southeastern tip of German Silesia.

World War II and post-war period

Building of IV Secondary School in Bytom

During the German

Auschwitz-Birkenau.[18][19][20]

The Germans operated a Nazi prison in the city with a

prisoner of war camp.[22]

In 1945, the city was transferred to Poland as a result of the

expelled by the Soviet Army and the remaining indigenous Polish inhabitants were joined mostly by Poles repatriated from the eastern provinces annexed by the Soviets.[citation needed
]

In 2017, the

World Heritage List.[23]

Districts

Districts of Bytom.

The city of Bytom is divided into 12 districts (

Polish
: Dzielnice), year of inclusion within the city limits in brackets:

Radzionków with Rojca (currently a district of Radzionków) were located within the city limits of Bytom from 1975 until 1997. Somehow there is (probably) autonomic district named "Vitor" in South Stroszek.

Economy

Agora Bytom shopping centre

Trade is one of the main pillars of the economy of Bytom. Being a city with long traditions of commercial trade, Bytom is fulfilling its new

postindustrial
role. In the centre of Bytom, and mainly around Station Street and the Market Square, is the largest concentration of registered merchants in the county.

In 2007, Bytom and its neighbours created the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, the largest urban centre in Poland. The Union was superseded by Metropolis GZM in 2018.

Public transport

A Pesa Twist tram in Bytom
Tenement house on Weber's Street

The tram routes are operated by Silesian Interurbans Tramwaje Śląskie S.A

Sport

Bytom is home to Polonia Bytom which has both a football and an ice hockey team (TMH Polonia Bytom). Its football team played in the Ekstraklasa from 2007 to 2011, winning it twice in 1954 and in 1962. The Szombierki district is home to another former Polish champion Szombierki Bytom which won the title in 1980, and is one of the oldest clubs in the region.

Culture

Silesian Opera

Bytom's cultural venues include:

Among Bytom's art galleries are: Galeria Sztuki Użytkowej Stalowe Anioły, Galeria "Rotunda" MBP, Galeria "Suplement", Galeria "Pod Czaplą", Galeria "Platforma", Galeria "Pod Szrtychem", Galeria Sztuki "Od Nowa 2", Galeria SPAP "Plastyka" – Galeria "Kolor", Galeria "Stowarzyszenia.Rewolucja.Art.Pl", and Galeria-herbaciarnia "Fanaberia".

Festivals

  • Annual International Contemporary Dance Conference and Performance Festival
  • Theatromania – Theatre Festival
  • Bytom Literary Autumn
  • Festival of New Music

Education

Kraszewski Street in Bytom
Townhouses on Jainty Street
  • The list of Bytom universities includes:
  • Secondary schools:
    • I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Jana Smolenia
    • II Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Stefana Żeromskiego
    • IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Bolesława Chrobrego
    • 21 other secondary schools

Politics

Bytom/Gliwice/Zabrze constituency

Members of 2001–2005 Parliament (Sejm) elected from Bytom/Gliwice/Zabrze constituency

  • Jan Chojnacki, SLD-UP
  • Stanisław Dulias, Samoobrona
  • Andrzej Gałażewski, PO
  • Ewa Janik, SLD-UP
  • Józef Kubica, SLD-UP
  • Wacław Martyniuk, SLD-UP
  • Wiesław Okoński, SLD-UP
  • Wojciech Szarama,
    PiS
  • Krystyna Szumilas, PO
  • Marek Widuch, SLD-UP

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Bytom is twinned with:[26]

Gallery

  • Bobrek power station in the 1930s
    Bobrek power station in the 1930s
  • Market square
    Market square
  • Bytom city hall
    Bytom city hall
  • St. Hyacinth's Church – an example of Neo-Romantic architecture in Bytom
    Neo-Romantic
    architecture in Bytom
  • Plac Akademicki – public square
    Plac Akademicki – public square
  • Holy Trinity Church
    Holy Trinity Church

References

  1. ^ "Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved June 2, 2022. Data for territorial unit 2462011.
  2. ^ "Bytom (śląskie) » mapy, nieruchomości, GUS, noclegi, szkoły, regon, atrakcje, kody pocztowe, wypadki drogowe, bezrobocie, wynagrodzenie, zarobki, tabele, edukacja, demografia".
  3. ^ J. Kramer, Chronik der Stadt Beuthen in Ober-Schlesien, Bytom, 1863, p. 1
  4. ^ Roman Majorczyk, Historia górnictwa kruszcowego w rejonie Bytomia, Bytom, 1985, p. 9
  5. ^ Paweł Freus. "Jan III Sobieski na Śląsku w drodze na odsiecz Wiedniowi roku 1683". Muzeum Pałacu Króla Jana III w Wilanowie (in Polish). Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  6. ^ Pater, Mieczysław (1963). "Wrocławskie echa powstania styczniowego". Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka (in Polish) (4): 418.
  7. ISBN 978-3-87969-267-5.[permanent dead link
    ]
  8. ^ "Aktuelle News, Schlagzeilen und Berichte aus aller Welt - Arcor.de". www.arcor.de. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  9. ISBN 978-83-8098-299-4
    .
  10. ^ Cygański, Mirosław (1984). "Hitlerowskie prześladowania przywódców i aktywu Związków Polaków w Niemczech w latach 1939 - 1945". Przegląd Zachodni (in Polish) (4): 31, 33.
  11. ^ Rosenbaum, Węcki, p. 60
  12. ^ Cygański, p. 24
  13. ^ Wardzyńska, Maria (2009). Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warszawa: IPN. p. 78.
  14. ^ Cygański, p. 32
  15. ^ Cygański, p. 33
  16. ^ Wardzyńska, Maria (2009). Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warszawa: IPN. p. 58.
  17. ^ Cygański, p. 63
  18. ^ Jews deported from Beuthen (Bytom), list prepared in 1942 Archived 15 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Elsa Drezner, Yizkor Book Project Manager Avraham Groll, Names of Jews deported from Beuthen Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Translations: deportation Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "Zuchthaus Beuthen". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  22. ^ "Working Parties". Stalag VIIIB 344 Lamsdorf. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  23. ^ "Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine and its Underground Water Management System". UNESCO. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  24. ^ "Home". biblioteka.bytom.pl.
  25. ^ DESIGN, ARF. "Bytomskie Centrum Kultury". www.becek.pl.
  26. ^ "Miasta partnerskie". bytom.pl (in Polish). Bytom. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Bytom.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bytom.
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