The Dąbrowa Basin (also, Dąbrowa Coal Basin) or Zagłębie Dąbrowskie () is a geographical and historical region in southern Poland. It forms western part of
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...
, though it shares some cultural and historical features with the neighbouring
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...
. The region is sometimes referred to in English as Zaglembie or Zaglembia, especially in Jewish publications written in the English language.
Geography
Zagłębie is a highly industrialised and densely populated region of southern Lesser Poland, bordering
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
through the
Brynica
Brynica (German: ''Brinitz'') is a river in Silesia, Poland. It has a length of 55 km and is the main tributary of Czarna Przemsza. It has a source in Mysłów, and flows through Piekary Śląskie, Wojkowice, Czeladź, Siemianowice Śląs ...
river (running between
Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Indus ...
and
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popu ...
). Apart from the three main cultural and industrial centres of the area (
Dąbrowa Górnicza
Dąbrowa Górnicza is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. It is located in eastern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Czarna Przemsza and Biała Przemsza rivers (tributaries of the Vistula, see ...
,
Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Indus ...
and
Będzin
Będzin (; also ''Bendzin'' in English; german: Bendzin; yi, בענדין, Bendin) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula). Even though p ...
), the region also includes a number of smaller cities. Among them are
Czeladź,
Wojkowice
Wojkowice (german: Woikowize) is a small town in województwo śląskie, located in so-called Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland, near Katowice. Wojkowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river (tributary of the V ...
,
Siewierz and
Sławków, and also smaller villages:
Psary,
Ożarowice,
Bobrowniki and
Mierzęcice.
Since the borders of the region were never clearly defined, other towns are also sometimes listed among the cities of Zagłębie. These are:
Zawiercie
Zawiercie is a city in the south of Poland located in the Silesian Voivodeship with 49,334 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland near the source of the Warta River. The town lies near the historical region of Si ...
,
Poręba
Poręba is a town in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 8,525 inhabitants (2019). The town has the area of , and lies along National Road Nr. 78; it also has a rail station on a line from Miasteczko Śląskie to Zawiercie. Alm ...
,
Włodowice,
Kroczyce,
Ogrodzieniec
Ogrodzieniec is a town in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,282 inhabitants (2019). It is noted for the extensive ruins of a medieval castle.
Ogrodzieniec is a part of Lesser Poland. Ogrodzieniec lies among the hills of Le ...
,
Łazy
Łazy is a town in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. Until 1947 the town was the seat of the Rokitno Szlacheckie municipality. In the years 1975–1998 the town administratively belonged to the Katowice province. As of 2019, th ...
and
Olkusz
Olkusz ( yi, עלקיש ''Elkish'', german: 1941-45 Ilkenau) is a town in southern Poland with 36,607 inhabitants (2014). Situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998), it is the capital ...
.
Name and district capital
The name Zagłębie Dąbrowskie was first used in ca. 1850, by Jozef Cieszkowski, a clerk employed at Western Coal District in Dąbrowa Górnicza. At that time, the town of
Dąbrowa Górnicza
Dąbrowa Górnicza is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. It is located in eastern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Czarna Przemsza and Biała Przemsza rivers (tributaries of the Vistula, see ...
was quickly growing, emerging as a main center of the region. The adjective "dabrowskie" comes from the name of the town. The capital of the region has never been officially established.
Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Indus ...
is the largest city of Zaglebie, but
Czeladź is the oldest.
History
Until the 19th century, Zagłębie shared the fate of the rest of the region of
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...
, and belonged to
Kraków Voivodeship, with the exception of the
Duchy of Siewierz
The Duchy of Siewierz was a Silesian duchy with its capital in Siewierz. The area was part of the original Duchy of Silesia established after the death of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138 during the times of the fragmentation of Poland.
...
, which between 1177 and 1443 was under the rule of
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
n dukes. On 30 December 1443, the Duchy was incorporated back into
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...
as
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin scree ...
fief and a property of the
bishops of Kraków. After the
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania fo ...
, in 1795 Zagłębie was briefly annexed to the Prussian province of
New Silesia. In 1807 however, during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
and the
Polish–Austrian War
The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria). In this war, Polish forces of the ...
, it was liberated and became part of the
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, durin ...
.
After the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...
, along with the greater part of the Duchy, Zagłębie became part of the Russian-controlled
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
* Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
* Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...
. Simultaneously, in both Upper Silesia and neighbouring Zagłębie, large deposits of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dead ...
were discovered. With the opening of the
Warsaw–Vienna railway
The Warsaw-Vienna Railway ( pl, Kolej Warszawsko-Wiedeńska, german: Warschau-Wiener Eisenbahn) was a railway system which operated since 1845 in Congress Poland, then part of the Russian Empire. The main component of its network was a line 327.6 ...
in 1848, the region became the most industrialised part of the Kingdom. Despite developing simultaneously with adjacent Silesia, the region remained outside of German influence and remained largely Polish, a fact that is still a source of a certain animosity between the
Silesians
Silesians ( szl, Ślōnzŏki or Ślůnzoki; Silesian German: ''Schläsinger'' ''or'' ''Schläsier''; german: Schlesier; pl, Ślązacy; cz, Slezané) is a geographical term for the inhabitants of Silesia, a historical region in Central Euro ...
and the ''Zagłębiacy'', natives of Zagłębie. Zagłębie is sometimes called "Red", because of its Socialist or Communist traditions (it was one of main centers of the
Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–07)), while Silesia is more conservative and religious.
After Poland regained her independence in 1918, Zagłębie became part of the
Kielce Voivodeship
Kielce Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kieleckie) is a former unit of administrative division and the local government in Poland. It was originally formed during Poland's return to independence in the aftermath of World War One, and recreated within ...
, while the formerly German-held Upper Silesia became part of a separate
Silesian Voivodeship
Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital.
Despite the Silesian ...
. After World War II most of Zagłębie was attached to the
Silesian Voivodeship
Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital.
Despite the Silesian ...
, later
Katowice Voivodeship
Katowice Voivodeship () can refer to one of two political entities in Poland:
Katowice Voivodeship (1), initially "Silesian-Dabrowa Voivodeship" ( pl, województwo śląsko-dąbrowskie), was a unit of administrative division and local government ...
and recently
Silesian Voivodeship
Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital.
Despite the Silesian ...
. On March 25, 1992, the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sosnowiec was created. It is called sometimes the Diocese of Zagłębie.
Zagłębie dialect of the Polish language
Residents of the region spoke their own dialect, which now is largely extinct. It belonged to Lesser Poland group of dialects, with some Silesian and Russian additions (because Zagłębie in 1815–1915 was part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. T ...
). Several polonized words of Russian origin were in common use, such as "skolko" (standard Polish: "ile", English: "How much"), or "konfiety" (standard Polish: "cukierki", English: "sweets").
Jews of Zagłębie
At the start of World War II, 100,000 Jews lived in the area of Zagłębie. On August 12, 1942 all the Jews of the region were gathered together and after a ''selection'' process, 12,500 of them were deemed unfit for work and were sent to
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It c ...
for immediate extermination. The rest of the Jews were sent to slave labor camps throughout the Nazi empire. A forest was planted in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
near the city of
Modiin
Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ( he, מוֹדִיעִין-מַכַּבִּים-רֵעוּת) is an Israeli city located in central Israel, about southeast of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Highway 443. In t ...
in memory of the Jews of Zagłębie. The memorial plaque reads:
Tens of Jewish communities thrived and prospered throughout the Zagłęmbie region of south west Poland over the course of 700 years. The Jews of Zagłębie, who numbered 100,000 before the War, were destroyed by Nazi Germany. The Jews of Zagłęmbie resisted their Nazi enemies with honor and resourcefulness until death.
References
Wikizaglebie – the Zaglebie Wikipedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaglebie Dabrowskie
Regions of Poland
Silesian Voivodeship
Geography of Silesian Voivodeship
Holocaust locations in Poland