Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern

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 ...

, in the

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...

, which is also part of the

Metropolis GZM The Metropolis GZM (, formally in Polish (Upper Silesian-Dąbrowa Basin Metropolis)) is a metropolitan association () composed of 41 contiguous gminas, with a total population of over 2 million, covering most of the Katowice metropolitan area i ...

municipal association.
—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Region, Sosnowiec is one of the cities of the

Katowice urban area The Katowice urban area (, ), also known as the Upper Silesian urban area (, ), is an urban area/conurbation in southern Poland, centered on Katowice. It is located in the Silesian Voivodeship. The Katowice urban area is the largest urban are ...

, which is a

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

with a total population of 2.7 million people; as well as the greater

Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area The Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan areaBrookings Institutionbr>Redefining global cities: The seven types of global metro economies(2016), p. 16. European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON"''Metroborder: Cross-border Polycentric Metropol ...

populated by about 5.3 million people. The population of the city is 189,178 as of December 2022.

Geography

It is believed that the name Sosnowiec originates from the Polish word '' sosna'', referring to the

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

forests growing in the area prior to 1830. The village was originally known as ''Sosnowice''. Other variations of the name include ''Sosnowietz, Sosnowitz, Sosnovitz'' (

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

), ''Sosnovyts, Sosnowyts, Sosnovytz, Sosnowytz,'' and ''Sosnovetz''. There are five other smaller settlements in Poland also called Sosnowiec, located in the Kielce Voivodship, Łódź Voivodship, and Opole Voivodship. Sosnowiec serves as one of the administrative centres of the geographical and historical area of southern Poland known as the Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (the Dąbrowa Basin). It lies within the historic

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 ...

region near the border with

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. It is located about north-east to the centre of

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

and north-west of

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 ...

, situated in the

Silesian Upland Silesian Upland or Silesian Highland () is a highland located in Silesia and Lesser Poland, 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 Ca ...

on the rivers Brynica and Przemsza, a tributary of the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

. The full list of rivers includes Biała Przemsza as well as Czarna Przemsza, Brynica, Bobrek, and Potok Zagórski creek. The city is part of the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999. Previously (since 1945), it was part of Katowice Voivodeship, and before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sosnowiec belonged to Kielce Voivodeship.

History

Early history

The history of the city begins in 1902 when it was granted

city 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 ...

after the merger a number of older settlements. However, the history of the village of Sosnowiec dates back to the year 1227, when it was mentioned for the first time. It was a small settlement in the Polish Duchy of Kraków, located in close vicinity of much larger and better-developed villages of Sielce and Zagórze (both are now districts of the city). Other districts are even older. Milowice was first mentioned in 1123 as ''Miley''. Documents from 1228 already mention Milowice, Klimontów, and Zagórze. Furthermore, Milowice was placed on a 1561 map. As part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, Sosnowiec belonged to Kraków Voivodeship in the larger Lesser Poland Province. It became a

border town A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. Usually the term implies that the nearness to the border is one of the things the place is most famous for. With close proximities to a different coun ...

after the neighbouring

Duchies of Silesia The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the King ...

passed to the Bohemian Crown in 1335. In the result of the

third partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

in 1795, however, it was seized by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

and was included into the newly established province of New Silesia. During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, it became part of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

in 1807 and later, of

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

ruled by the namiestniks of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Located at the borders with the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, Sosnowiec became famous for the

Three Emperors' Corner Three Emperors' Corner (, , ) is a former tripoint at the confluence of the Black and White Przemsza rivers, near the towns of Mysłowice, Sosnowiec and Jaworzno in the present-day Silesian Voivodeship of Poland. During the Partitions of Poland, f ...

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

, which was located within current limits of the city. During the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

, in February 1863, the Battle of Sosnowiec was fought, in which Polish insurgents led by defeated the Russians. The victory allowed the Poles to take control of the surrounding towns as well.

City rights

With effect from 10 June 1902, by the order of Emperor

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...

, Sosnowiec was legally named a city with the area of and with 60,000 inhabitants. Obtaining the city rights helped the economic and cultural development of the town. Apart from steelworks and coal-mines and many enterprises of heavy and light industry, new cultural and social establishments were opened as well. The newly established town consisted of the districts of Sosnowiec, Pogoń, Ostra Górka, Sielec, Kuźnica and Radocha, all of which had been separate villages before. The very fact that Russian authorities waited for so long to grant Sosnowiec town rights is seen as a punishment for local support for the Polish

1863/64, after which numerous towns had seen their status, and were reduced to a village status. Sosnowiec was the first post-1860s location in Congress Poland to have received town charter, the second being

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka River, Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was Cen ...

in 1906. Natural resources and a good geographical location had an important influence on the development of Sosnowiec. The opening of a branch line of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway in 1859 was vitally important for the growth of the town. Development of industry with the new factory of rope and wire, rolling mill, steelworks, iron foundry, steam boilers factory, and later spinning mill, dye-house and paper mill sealed the new image of the town as entirely urban. The ''Summer Theatre'' and, in 1887, the ''Winter Theatre ''were founded, the second of which was called City Theatre from 1924 in independent Poland, and later the ''Theatre of Zagłębie''. In 1915, the village of Środula was incorporated into Sosnowiec. Poland finally regained independence in 1918, after

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 ...

. In the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, Sosnowiec became part of the Kielce Voivodeship, and in 1934 the ''City County of Sosnowiec'' was established. Sosnowiec suffered war damages during both major military conflicts in the 20th century:

, which caused mainly destruction to industry, and

, which brought about the terror of executions.

World War II

After the 1939

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, which started

, the city was occupied 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 ...

and renamed ''Sosnowitz''. On September 4, 1939, German troops murdered 10 Poles, including 15-year-old boy Henryk Słomka, in Sosnowiec in revenge for Polish defense. Around the same time, the Germans murdered nine Poles in nearby Klimontów (present-day district of Sosnowiec). The '' Einsatzgruppe zbV'' entered the city on September 12, 1939. The German police carried out mass searches of Polish houses. Initially under

military administration Military administration identifies both the techniques and systems used by military departments, agencies, and armed services involved in managing the armed forces. It describes the processes that take place within military organisations outs ...

set up as part of the

General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...

, Sosnowiec was annexed by Germany and incorporated into the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...

on 20 November 1939. In March 1940, the Germans established a transit camp (''Gefangenensammellager'') for arrested Poles in Sosnowiec. Inhabitants of Sosnowiec were also among Poles murdered in Celiny in June 1940. The Germans operated three labour subcamps of the Stalag VIII-B/344

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

in the city, and two more in the present-day district of Klimontów. The Polish underground resistance movement was active in the city. Sosnowiec Ghetto liquidation

In June 1943 thousands of Jews were deported from Sosnowiec Ghetto to 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 ...

. The ghetto was liquidated two months later and almost all remaining Jews (around 15,000) were also deported to Auschwitz. Previously there had been considerable underground activity among them. The Germans established and operated two subcamps of the Auschwitz concentration camp in the city. In the first subcamp they held about 100 Polish forced labourers, and in the second, larger, they held hundreds of forced labourers, initially mostly Jews. In 1944, the Germans sent kidnapped Polish children from Sosnowiec to the Potulice concentration camp. The Vistula–Oder Offensive of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in January 1945 brought about the liberation of the city.

Post-war

After World War II, Sosnowiec further developed. On June 1, 1975, the metropolitan area was expanded when the neighbouring locations of Zagórze, Kazimierz Górniczy, Porąbka, Klimontów, and Maczki, became its districts. By 1977 the population of the city reached 200,000. Further growth was accelerated by the construction of

Katowice Steelworks Katowice Steelworks (Polish: ''Huta Katowice'') is a large steel plant, located in southern Poland, on the boundary between the historical provinces of Lesser Poland and Upper Silesia. The current name of the plant is ArcelorMittal Poland Dąbrow ...

, and in 1981, the population of Sosnowiec was 250,000, reaching its peak in 1987, when it was 259,000. Since then, the population has been declining. In 1992, the city became the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sosnowiec.

Economy

Sosnowiec is characterised by its urban dynamics, economic activity, cultural heritage, and natural environment. In recent years, Sosnowiec was further developed from an industrial centre (with mainly mining and heavy industries) into a hub of trade and services. Nevertheless, it still operates several important coal mines, steel factories and other industrial plants. Its Special Economic Zone, established in Sosnowiec thanks to the efforts of local authorities, plays a major role in attracting new businesses into the area. As a result, several companies with Polish and foreign capital opened their businesses in the city. Sosnowiec City Office was awarded the

ISO 9001 The ISO 9000 family is a set of international standards for quality management systems. It was developed in March 1987 by International Organization for Standardization. The goal of these standards is to help organizations ensure that they meet ...

2001 quality certificate for its management system for providing services for the local community.

Demographics

Districts

For Sosnowiec's 100th birthday, the downtown area was thoroughly rebuilt, to harmonise its architectural layout and give the city a more modern image. In 2004 Sosnowiec authorities and designers were awarded the Grand Prix for the rebuilding of the downtown area in a competition for the best public space in the ''Śląskie'' Provinces. This investment had been accompanied by a program designed to improve the esthetic qualities of the city, under which a comprehensive program for unifying the colors of the elevations, and advertisements entitled “rainbow city” were introduced. Among the city districts there are: *Dańdówka * Dębowa Góra *Jęzor *Juliusz *Kazimierz Górniczy * Klimontów *Maczki *Milowice *Modrzejów *Niwka *Ostra Górka *Ostrowy Górnicze *Pogoń *Porąbka *Radocha *Rudna *Sielec *Stary Sosnowiec * Środula *Sosnowiec Śródmieście * Zagórze

Points of interest

There are many relics of the industrial era, especially residences of industrialists. Most of them are located outside the strict city center, on the Czarna Przemsza river bank. One of the oldest is a 17th-century castle known as the Sielecki Castle. Other main tourist attractions include: * The Dietel Palace * Schöen Palace and museum * Oskar Schöen's Palace called also New Schöen Palace * Wilhelm Palace * Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary * Orthodox Church of the Holy Virgin, Hope, Luby and their mother Zofia * St. John Evangelical Church * St Thomas Church * Railway Station Sosnowiec Główny * Railway Station Sosnowiec Maczki * Old Jewish cemetery *

Parks and gardens

Sosnowiec has more than 2,250 ha of green areas occurring as parks, squares, protection zones, lot gardens and forests. In the area of the city preserved many parks established at the residence of industrialists, and also created a lot of new. Many of them present historical and natural value. Main parks and green areas include the Sielec Park, which is a historical park at the

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

with many natural monuments; the historical Dietel Park; the Park-Palace Complex of Schöen with two palaces; the Millennium Park, the Środula Park with a sports complex; the nature park "Szopienice-Borki"; as well as the peat bog "Bory" protected area, part of

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

Education and science

Institutions of higher learning in Sosnowiec include: * The University of Silesia in Katowice (schools of modern languages, natural science, technology and a language teacher training college) ** Faculty of Earth Science ** Faculty of Computer and Materials Science ** Faculty of Philology * The Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, ** Faculty of Pharmacy * The private School of Marketing and Management Among general secondary level schools in Sosnowiec there are high-schools such as the II Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Emilii Plater, III Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Bolesława Prusa, and IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Stanisława Staszica.

Sports

* Zagłębie Sosnowiec – men's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team, four times

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

winner * KH Zagłębie Sosnowiec –

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team, which competes in the

Polska Hokej Liga The Polska Hokej Liga (''PHL'') is the premier ice hockey league in Poland. The highest professional level of ice hockey in Poland is the Polish Hockey League (PHL); also referred to as the Polska Hokej Liga. Previously, it was known as the I Li ...

(top division), five times Polish champions * Płomień Sosnowiec – 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 Polish Volleyball League (top division), phoenix club of Płomień Milowice, in total 3 times Polish champions and winners of the 1977–78

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tota ...

Czarni Sosnowiec Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Czarni Sosnowiec, commonly referred to as Czarni Sosnowiec, is a football club from Sosnowiec, Poland. The club was founded in 1924, and its home ground is the Jan Ciszewski's Stadium. It has a women's and a men's section ...

– most accomplished Polish women's football club, 12 times Polish champions, playing in the Ekstraliga (top division)

Notable people

* Ignaz von Szyszylowicz (1857–1910), Polish botanist * Shlomo Chanoch Rabinowicz (1882–1942), fourth and last Rebbe of the Radomsk Hasidic dynasty * Jacek Mierzejewski (1883–1925), Polish painter * Shlomo Sztencl (1884–1919), Polish Orthodox Jewish rabbi * Władysław Szafer (1886–1970), Polish botanist and palaeobotanist * Zbigniew Babiński (1896–1940), Polish military and sports aviator * Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft (1915–2005), Orthodox Jewish Rabbi * Jan Kiepura (1902–1966), Polish singer and actor * Paul Godwin (1902–1982), Polish-German violinist * Jędrzej Giertych (1903–1992), Polish politician * Władysław Spiegelman (1906–1982), father of

Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...

* Yehiel Feiner (1909–2001), the widely translated writer of Holocaust novels known by his pseudonym Ka-Tzetnik *

Władysław Szpilman Władysław Szpilman (; 5 December 1911 – 6 July 2000) was a History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jewish pianist, Classical music, classical composer and Holocaust survivor. Szpilman is widely known as the central figure in the Roman Polansk ...

(1911–2000), Polish pianist and classical composer, widely known as the central figure in the 2002

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

film '' The Pianist'' *

Edward Gierek Edward Gierek (; 6 January 1913 – 29 July 2001) was a Polish communist politician who served as the '' de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic between 1970 and 1980. Gierek replaced Władysław Gomułka as the First Secretary of the ...

(1913–2001), Polish communist politician; first secretary of the ruling

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party (, ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parti ...

(PZPR) *

Haim Hefer Haim Hefer (; 29 October 1925 – 18 September 2012) was a Polish-born Israeli songwriter, poet, columnist, translator and writer. He wrote for numerous composers and musical artists, as well as for military bands. Several of his songs are consi ...

(1925–2012), Israeli poet and songwriter * Stanisław Jaros (1932–1963), Polish anti-communist activist * Krystyna Czajkowska (born 1936), Polish volleyball player * Jacek M. Zurada (born 1944), Polish engineer *

James Spigelman James Jacob Spigelman (born 1 January 1946) is a former Australian judge who served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1998 to 2011, and also as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales from 1998 to 2012. He served on the Court of Final ...

(born 1946), Australian judge who served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1998 to 2011 * Jacek Majchrowski (born 1947), Polish politician and historian, Mayor of Kraków * Magdalena Piekorz (born 1974), Polish film director and screenwriter * Piotr Łukasiewicz (born 1974) is a Polish diplomat * Łukasz Simlat (born 1977), Polish actor * Joanna Krupa (born 1979), Polish-American model, actress and animal rights activist * Marcin Drzymont (born 1981), Polish footballer * Marcin Koniusz (born 1983), Polish sabre fencer * Daria Gosek-Popiołek (born 1985), Polish politician * Eugen Polanski (born 1986), Polish footballer * Łukasz Litewka (born 1989), Polish politician * Paula Kania (born 1992), Polish tennis player * Szwedzki, street artist, active since 2000

International relations

Consulates

There is an Honorary Consulate of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

in Sosnowiec.

Twin towns – sister cities

Sosnowiec is twinned with: *

Derhachi Derhachi (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Kharkiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine. The town is northwest of the administrative center of the oblast, Kharkiv. The settlement was founded in the second half of the 17th century a ...

, Ukraine * Dziwnów, Poland *

Idar-Oberstein Idar-Oberstein () is a town in the Birkenfeld (district), Birkenfeld Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. As a ''Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (large city belonging to a district), it assumes some of the respons ...

, Germany * Komárom, Hungary * Maârif (Casablanca), Morocco * Les Mureaux, France *

Roubaix Roubaix ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, depar ...

, France *

Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...

, Romania *

Sambir Sambir (, ; ; ) is a city in Sambir Raion, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the Capital city, administrative center of Sambir Raion (Raion, district) and is located close to the border with Poland. Sambir hosts the administration of Sambir urba ...

, Ukraine

Notes

References

External links

Official web site of SosnowiecSosnowiec on an old photography
(in Polish)
Local weather in Sosnowiec, Weather.comMapquest link to 6 towns in Poland called SosnowiecPictures of Sosnowiec
(in Polish)
Jewish Community in Sosnowiec
on Virtual Shtetl
Note about Haim Hefer (1925–2012)
(in Hebrew) * {{Authority control City counties of Poland Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship Populated riverside places in Poland Holocaust locations in Poland Sites of Nazi war crimes during the Invasion of Poland