Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a centre of the Bielsko Urban Agglomeration with 325,000 inhabitants and is an administrative, automotive, education, transport, and tourism hub of Podbeskiedzie Region as well as the Bielsko Industrial Region. It serves as the seat of the

Bielsko County __NOTOC__ Bielsko County ( pl, powiat bielski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government ( powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government ref ...

, Euroregion Beskydy, Roman Catholic Diocese of Bielsko–Żywiec and the Evangelical Church Diocese of Cieszyn. Situated north of the Beskid Mountains, Bielsko-Biała is composed of two former towns which merged in 1951 – ''Bielsko'' in the west and ''Biała'' in the east – on opposite banks of the Biała River that once divided

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) 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 around 8,000,000. S ...

and

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 ...

. Between 1975 and 1998, the city was the seat of Bielsko Voivodeship and currently lies within 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 V ...

. The city is currently subdivided into 12 districts and is a member of the Association of Polish Cities (''Związek Miast Polskich'').

History

Both city names, Bielsko and Biała refer to the Biała River, with etymology stemming from either ''biel'' or ''biała'', which means "white" in Polish.

Bielsko

The remnants of a fortified settlement in what is now the Stare Bielsko (Old Bielsko) district of the city were discovered between 1933 and 1938 by a Polish archaeological team. The settlement was dated to the 12th – 14th centuries. Its dwellers manufactured

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

from ore and specialized in smithery. The current centre 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 The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...

dukes of

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city l ...

invited German settlers to colonize the Silesian Foothills. As the dukes then also ruled over the Lesser Poland lands east of the Biała River, settlements arose on both banks like ''Bielitz'' (now Stare Bielsko), ''Nickelsdorf'' ( Mikuszowice Śląskie), ''Kamitz'' ( Kamienica), ''Batzdorf'' ( Komorowice Śląskie) and '' Kurzwald'' in the west as well as ''Kunzendorf'' ( Lipnik), ''Alzen'' (

Hałcnów Hałcnów is an osiedle (district) of Bielsko-Biała, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It is located in the north-east part of the city. It was a separate municipality, but was merged into Bielsko-Biała in 1977. The osiedle has an area of 13 ...

) and ''Wilmesau'' (

Wilamowice Wilamowice (earlier ''Willamowice'', german: Wilmesau, Wymysorys: ''Wymysoü'') is a rural town in southern Poland, situated in the Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town is inhabited by a Germanic ethnic group of Vilamovians, who spea ...

) in the east. Nearby settlements in the mountains were ''Lobnitz'' ( Wapienica) and ''Bistrai'' ( Bystra). After the partition of the Duchy of Opole in 1281, Bielsko passed to the Dukes of Cieszyn within fragmented

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. The town was first documented in 1312 when Duke Mieszko I of Cieszyn granted a

town charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter ...

. The Biała again became a border river, when in 1315 the eastern Duchy of Oświęcim split off from Cieszyn as a separate under Mieszko's son Władysław. After the Dukes of Cieszyn had become vassals of the Bohemian kings in 1327 and the Duchy of Oświęcim was sold to the Polish Crown in 1457, returning to Lesser Poland after three centuries, the Biała River for next centuries marked the border between the Bohemian crown land of Silesia within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

and the Lesser Poland Province of the

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 ...

and the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

. With Bohemia and the Upper Silesian Duchy of Cieszyn, Bielsko in 1526 was inherited by the Austrian

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

and incorporated into the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. From 1560 Bielsko was held by Frederick Casimir of Cieszyn, son of Duke Wenceslaus III Adam, who due to the enormous debts his son left upon his death in 1571, had to sell it to the Promnitz noble family at Pless. With the consent of Emperor Maximilian II, the Promnitz dynasty and their Schaffgotsch successors ruled the Duchy of Bielsko as a Bohemian

state country State country (german: Freie Standesherrschaft; cs, stavovské panství; pl, państwo stanowe) was a unit of administrative and territorial division in the Bohemian crown lands of Silesia and Upper Lusatia, existing from 15th to 18th centuries. ...

; acquired by the Austrian chancellor

Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Haugwitz (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Haugwitz), cs, Fridrich Vilém Haugwitz; 11 December 1702, Saxony – 30 August 1765, Deutsch Knönitz ( cs, Miroslavské Knínice), Habsburg Moravia) was Supreme Chancel ...

in 1743, and afterwards by Polish aristocrat Aleksander Józef Sułkowski in 1752, the ducal status was finally confirmed by Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

in 1754. It remained in possession of the Polish

Sułkowski family The House of Sułkowski (Polish plural: ''Sułkowscy'') is a Polish princely family and gentry who owned palaces in Rydzyna and Bielsko. Coat of arms and motto Family motto: ''All for the Fatherland''. image:POL_COA_Sułkowski_hrabia.svg, Coa ...

until the dissolution of the duchy in 1849, while the castle was still owned by the Sułkowskis until World War II. After the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

king

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

had invaded Silesia, Bielsko remained with the Habsburg monarchy as part of

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...

according to the 1742 Treaty of Breslau. In late 1849 Bielsko became a seat of

political district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

. In 1870 it became a statutory city.

Biała

The opposite bank of the Biała River, again Polish since 1454, had been sparsely settled since the mid-16th century. A locality was first mentioned in a 1564 deed, it received the name Biała in 1584, and belonged at that time to Kraków Voivodeship. Its population increased during the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

in the Habsburg lands, when many

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

artisans from Bielsko moved across the river. Though already named a town in the 17th century, Biała officially was granted city rights by the Polish king

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as K ...

in 1723. In the course of the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Biała was annexed by the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and incorporated into the crownland of

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

. The Protestant citizens received the right to establish parishes according to the 1781 Patent of Toleration by Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

. ''Biala'' was head of the district with the same name, one of the 78 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in the

crownland.

Modern times

Although separate, the two cities effectively functioned as one urban area known as Bielsko-Biała since the 19th century. With the dissolution of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

in 1918 according to the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, both cities became part of the reconstituted Polish state, although the majority of the population was German, forming a German language island. Some

ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

citizens formed an

anti-Polish Polonophobia, also referred to as anti-Polonism, ( pl, Antypolonizm), and anti-Polish sentiment are terms for negative attitudes, prejudices, and actions against Poles as an ethnic group, Poland as their country, and their culture. These incl ...

, anti-Jewish ''

Jungdeutsche Partei ''Jungdeutsche Partei in Polen'' (JDP), or the Young German Party in Poland ( pl, Partia Młodoniemiecka w Polsce), was a Nazi German extreme right-wing political party founded in 1931 by members of the ethnic German minority residing in the Seco ...

'', supported financially by the Foreign Ministry of Nazi Germany. Its members smuggled weapons and waged a campaign of intimidating other German residents to leave for Germany. A considerable number of young Germans joined this Party during the mid-1930s. Bielsko-Biała, Plac Chrobrego 1937

During the German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

, which started World War II, the '' Einsatzgruppe I'' entered Bielsko-Biała in the first half of September 1939 to torture, plunder, and murder Jews. During the war Bielsko-Biała was annexed and

occupied ' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 Octobe ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. In 1939 Germans arrested several Polish teachers and principals who were then deported to

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

and murdered there. A prison for Poles was operated by the Germans in Bielsko-Biała. Many of its

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

residents were murdered at the nearby Auschwitz extermination camp. Less than 1000 of Bielsko-Biała's Jewish community of nearly 8000 survived the war. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, the remaining German population fled westward or were expelled. The town was

polonized Polonization (or Polonisation; pl, polonizacja)In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэя� ...

and gradually repopulated by Polish settlers. Several widely known Holocaust survivors from Bielsko-Biała were Roman Frister,

Gerda Weissmann Klein Gerda Weissmann Klein (May 8, 1924 – April 3, 2022) was a Polish-born American writer and human rights activist. Her autobiographical account of the Holocaust, ''All but My Life'' (1957), was adapted for the 1995 short film, ''One Survivor Re ...

and Kitty Hart-Moxon, all of whom wrote accounts of their experiences during World War II. The combined city of Bielsko-Biała was created administratively on 1 January 1951 when the two cities of Bielsko, and Biała (known until 1951 as Biała Krakowska), were unified.

Geography

The city is situated on the border of historic

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 ...

and

at the eastern rim of the smaller

Cieszyn Silesia Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( pl, Śląsk Cieszyński ; cs, Těšínské Slezsko or ; german: Teschener Schlesien or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český T� ...

region, about south of

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 ...

. Administrated within

since 1999, the city was previously

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

(1975–1998). Bielsko-Biała is one of the most important cities of the Beskidy Euroregion and the main city of the Bielsko Industrial Region ( pl, ), part of the

Upper Silesian metropolitan area The Upper Silesian metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in southern Poland and northeastern Czech Republic, centered on the cities of Katowice and Ostrava in Silesia and has around 5 million inhabitants. Located in the three administrative ...

Climate

Bielsko-Biała has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

( Köppen :''Cfb'') with cold, damp winters and warm, wet summers. However, using the 0 °C isotherm, the climate is a Dfb-type called of

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

, which explains its considerable thermal amplitude for

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

. The extremes may still be moderated by the western patterns and winds of this direction, which still maintains hybrid characteristics in the city's climate. Foëhn winds help maintain a milder winter in Bielsko-Biała and average about 4 °C lower than the surrounding mountains each year. The sunniest days are between late summer and early fall, with a few months reaching 9 sunny days. In the 1960s 55 cm of snow cover was recorded.

Economy and industry

Bielsko-Biała is one of the most business friendly medium size cities in Poland. In the 2014 ranking of the 'Most Attractive Cities for Business' published yearly by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' the city was ranked 3rd in the category of cities with 150,000–300,000 inhabitants.WP.PL
Ranking miast najlepszych do inwestowania.
Finanse.wp.pl: "Forbes" i Centralny Ośrodek Informacji Gospodarczych (COIG). About 2% of people are unemployed (compared to 5.8% for Poland). Bielsko-Biała is known for its textile, machine-building, and especially

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % ...

FCA Poland Stellantis Poland (formerly, FCA Poland S.A., until April 1, 2015 "Fiat Auto Poland SA") is an automobile factory belonging to Stellantis formed on May 28, 1992, after Fiat acquired Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych (FSM) in Bielsko-Biała an ...

, a subsidiary of

Stellantis Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed in 2021 on the basis of a 50–50 cross-border merger between the Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group. The comp ...

, has a car factory based in the city. Four areas in the city belong to the Katowice Special Economic Zone. The city region is a home for several manufacturers of high-performance gliders and aircraft including

Margański & Mysłowski Margański & Mysłowski Zakłady Lotnicze (''Margański & Mysłowski Aviation Works'') is a Polish aircraft and glider manufacturer, located in Bielsko-Biała. It designs and manufactures unlimited category aerobatic gliders and powered aircraft, ...

, a local producer and designer of business long range small aircraft. The labor market in the city shows deficits in the workforce in such professions as: construction workers, operators of construction machines, electricians, electromechanics, dressmakers, couriers.

Transport

Road transport

Bielsko-Biała is located within a short distance to Czech and Slovakian borders on the crossroads of two Expressways (S1 and S52) connecting Poland with Southern Europe: * Expressway S1 connects the city with Slovakia via the border town Zwardoń. * Expressway S52 connects the city with the Czech Republic via the border town

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...

. Bielsko-Biała is connected with the rest of Poland by the

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

DK1 road running to Tychy where it intersects the Expressway S1 and further to Katowice where it intersects the Motorway A4. It is planned to extend S1 north along the existing dual carriageway DK1 from Bielsko-Biała to Tychy and

, thus building an expressway connection of the city with the national motorway network of Poland. National Road DK52 connects Bielsko-Biała with

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

in the east. The most important interchange in the area is the cloverleaf north of Bielsko-Biała where S1, DK1 and S52 meet. Voivodeship roads nr. 940 and 942 pass through the city.

Rail transport

Bielsko-Biała is connected by direct train services with the following large Polish cities (November 2014):

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with mor ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

, Warszawa (Warsaw),

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...

Airports

There are 3 international airports within the 90 km distance from Bielsko-Biała, all serving connections with major European cities:

Katowice International Airport Katowice Wojciech Korfanty Airport ( pl, Katowice Airport im. Wojciecha Korfantego) is an international airport, located in Pyrzowice, north of Katowice, Poland. The airport has the 4th-biggest annual passenger flow in Poland. Katowice Airpor ...

, Kraków John Paul II International Airport, Ostrava Leoš Janáček Airport.

Sights

Bielsko-Biała is known for its

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

architecture and is often referred to as Little Vienna . Sights include: * The Bielsko-Biała Museum, housed in the castle of the Dukes of Cieszyn from 15th century, later Castle of the

Sułkowski Sułkowski (feminine: Sułkowska) is a Polish-language surname associated with the Polish noble Sułkowski family. Russified version: Sulkovsky. Notable people with this surname include: *Alexander Joseph Sulkowski (1695–1762), a Saxon-Polish g ...

princes * built in 1897 * ''Ulica 11 Listopada'' ("November 11 Street"), the main

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

of the city center * ''Plac Bolesława Chrobrego'' (" Bolesław the Brave Square"), the main square in the city center * Frog House (''Kamienica Pod Żabami''), an Art Nouveau mansion * The only statue of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

in Poland. * built in 1888 * BWA Bielsko-Biała Gallery of Art * St. Nicholas Cathedral built in 1447 and rebuilt in 1909–1910 * built in 1890 * , the city's oldest church, built in the Middle Ages in

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style * Jewish Cemetery, founded in 1849 * Weaver's House Museum, Dom Tkacza, reconstructed workshop of a draper * Museum of Technology and Textile Industry * mountain located within the city borders and the * Dębowiec ski slope Apart from being an attractive destination itself the city is a convenient base for hiking in Silesian Beskids and

Żywiec Beskids The Żywiec Beskids ( pl, Beskid Żywiecki) is a mountain range in the Outer Western Carpathians in southern Poland. It is the second highest range in Poland, after the Tatra Mountains. The highest peak is Babia Góra (1,725 m) and Pilsko ...

as well as for skiing in one of the most popular Polish ski resorts

Szczyrk Szczyrk (german: Schirk) is a town in the Beskid Śląski mountains of southern Poland, situated in the valley of the Żylica river. It is part of the Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously being part of the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship ( ...

(located from the city centre) and in a couple of smaller nearby ski resorts. Kamienica Patria

Districts

* Aleksandrowice * Biała *

* Kamienica * Komorowice Śląskie i Komorowice Krakowskie * Leszczyny * Lipnik * Mikuszowice Śląskie and Mikuszowice Krakowskie * Olszówka Dolna and Olszówka Górna * Stare Bielsko * Straconka * Wapienica

Education

* University of Bielsko-Biała * * * * * Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomiczno-Humanistyczna * Teacher Training College of Bielsko-Biała

Politics

The executive body of the

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...

is the President (Mayor) of the City of Bielsko-Biała. This office was created in 1951 when Bielsko and Biała became one city. Previously the city of Bielsko was governed by a President while the city of Biała was governed by a

burmistrz Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...

. The city is divided into five constituencies during the

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct v ...

Bielsko-Biała constituency

Senators from Bielsko-Biała constituency: * Agnieszka Gorgoń-Komor (

Civic Platform Civic Platform ( pl, Platforma Obywatelska, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a political party in Poland. It is currently led by Donald Tusk. It ...

) Members of Sejm from Bielsko-Biała constituency: * Przemysław Drabek (

Law and Justice Law and Justice ( pl, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość , PiS) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Poland. Its chairman is Jarosław Kaczyński. It was founded in 2001 by Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński as a direct s ...

) * Grzegorz Gaża (

) * Kazimierz Matuszny (

) * Grzegorz Puda (

) * Stanisław Szwed (

) * Mirosława Nykiel (

) * Małgorzata Pępek (

) * Mirosław Suchoń (

Poland 2050 Szymon Hołownia's Poland 2050 ( pl, Polska 2050 Szymona Hołowni, PL2050) is a centrist political party in Poland. It was founded as a social movement in 2020, shortly after the presidential election. It was officially registered as a politica ...

) * Przemysław Koperski (

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights ...

)

Municipal politics

Mayor

* Mayor – Jarosław Klimaszewski ( PO) * Deputy Mayor – Przemysław Kamiński * Deputy Mayor – Adam Ruśniak * Deputy Mayor – Piotr Kucia

City council

* President of the council – Dorota Piegzik-Izydorczyk ( PO) * Deputy Chairman – Piotr Ryszka ( PiS) * Deputy Chairman – Jacek Krywult (KWW JK)

Sports

Kolej linowa na Szyndzielnie z widokiem na Bielsko-Białą

The city co-hosted the 1978 UEFA European Under-18 Championship and

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 197 ...

Major teams and athletes

* TS Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała – men's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team playing in the

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 ...

, Poland's top division. * BTS Rekord Bielsko-Biała – men's

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

team playing in Polish Futsal Ekstraklasa, Polish Champions 2013/2014, Polish Cup and Supercup winners 2012/2013. *

BKS Stal Bielsko-Biała BKS Stal Bielsko-Biała is a Polish sports club, with two departments: the men's football team and the women's volleyball team. The club is based in Bielsko-Biała. The football team plays in the Polish lower divisions, whereas the volleyball te ...

– women'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 Sum ...

team playing in Polish , Polish Champions 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2010; Polish Cup winners 1955, 1979, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2004, 2006, 2009. * BBTS Siatkarz Original Bielsko-Biała – men's

team playing in Polish Plus Liga. * KS Sprint – a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

club based in Bielsko-Biała which organized the international athletics meeting ''Beskidianathletic''. * Podbeskidzie Kuloodporni Bielsko-Biała – an amputee football club that plays in the Polish Amp Futbol Ekstraklasa. * Bielsko-Biała Aeroclub – a flying club founded in 1945 based in Bielsko-Biała. * Sebastian Kawa, member of the local aeroclub, is the eight times

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, World's most accomplished glider competition pilot in history, World's ( FAI) leading glider competition pilot (currently number two in the world rankings of the

FAI Gliding Commission The International Gliding Commission (IGC) is the international governing body for the sport of gliding. It is governed by meetings of delegates from national gliding associations. It is one of several Air Sport Commissions (ASC) of the Fédérati ...

) and the current World Champion in Standard Class and

15m Class Competition classes in gliding, as in other sports, mainly exist to ensure fairness in competition. However the classes have not been targeted at fostering technological development as in other sports. Instead classes have arisen because of: * ...

Notable people

* Adam Broż (born 1935), art historian and journalist * Heinrich Conried (1855–1909), Austrian theatre director * Marek Dopierała (born 1960), sprint canoeist, Olympic medallist * Piotr Fijas (born 1958), ski jumper * Alfred Hetschko (1898–1967), music educator * Adolf Hyła (1897–1965), painter and art teacher * Jolanta Januchta (born 1955), middle-distance runner * Małgorzata Klimek (born 1957), mathematical physicist *

Jacek Koman Jacek Koman (born 15 August 1956) is a Polish actor and singer. Early life Koman was born in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, to actors Halina Koman (née Dobrowolska; born 3 January 1923) and Adam Koman (24 December 1922 – 1 December 2005), and ca ...

(born 1956), actor and singer * Maria Koterbska (born 1924), singer * Przemysław Lechowski (born 1977), classical pianist * Tadeusz Pietrzykowski (1917–1991), boxer and soldier, known as the "boxing champion of Auschwitz" * Grzegorz Pilarz (born 1980), volleyball player * Radosław Piwowarski (born 1948), film director, screenwriter and actor * Jerzy Porębski (born 1957), film producer and screenwriter * Zbigniew Preisner (born 1955), film score composer *

Renata Przemyk Renata Janina Przemyk (born February 10, 1966, in Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, ...

(born 1966), singer and songwriter *

Aneta Sablik Aneta Sablik (born 12 January 1989) is a Polish pop singer. She gained popularity in Europe after winning the eleventh season of ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (''DSDS''; "Germany Seeks the Superstar") which was broadcast on RTL. Sabl ...

(born 1989), singer-songwriter * Franz Sauer (1894–1962), organist * Oswald Seeliger (1858–1908), German zoologist * Kriss Sheridan (born 1989), Polish-American singer, songwriter, actor, model and traveler * Josef Strzygowski (1862–1941), Polish-Austrian art historian * Jan Szarek (1936–2020), bishop of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland * Sabina Wojtala (born 1981), figure skater * Jakub Wolny (born 1995), ski jumper *

Aleksander Zawadzki Aleksander Zawadzki, alias Kazik, Wacek, Bronek, One (; 16 December 1899 – 7 August 1964) was a Polish communist politician, first Chairman of the Council of State of the People's Republic of Poland, divisional general of the Polish Ar ...

(1798–1868), Polish naturalist * Emil Zegadłowicz (1888–1941), poet, prose writer, novelist, playwright and translator *

Sigmund Zeisler Sigmund Zeisler (1860-1931) was a German-Jewish U.S. attorney born in Austria and known for his defense of radicals in Chicago in the 1880s. His wife was the famed concert pianist Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler. Childhood, marriage and legal educ ...

(1860–1931), German-Jewish lawyer *

Wojciech Zurek Wojciech Hubert Zurek ( pl, Żurek; born 1951) is a theoretical physicist and a leading authority on quantum theory, especially decoherence and non-equilibrium dynamics of symmetry breaking and resulting defect generation (known as the Kibble–Zu ...

(born 1951), theoretical physicist

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Bielsko-Biała is twinned with: *

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

, Israel *

Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; hu, Nagybánya; german: Frauenbach or Groß-Neustadt; la, Rivulus Dominarum) is a municipality along the Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramur ...

, Romania *

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

, France *

Berdyansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea ...

, Ukraine *

Frýdek-Místek Frýdek-Místek (, pl, Frydek-Mistek; german: Friede(c)k-Mistek) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 54,000 inhabitants. The historic centres of both Frýdek and Místek are well preserved and are protecte ...

, Czech Republic *

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, United States *

Kirklees Kirklees is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Kirklees Council with the status of a metropolitan borough. The largest town and administrative centre of Kirklees is Huddersfield, and the district also inclu ...

, United Kingdom *

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...

, Serbia *

Nyíregyháza Nyíregyháza (, sk, Níreďháza) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the seventh-largest city in Hungary and the second largest in ...

, Hungary *

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by other #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A City with county rights, city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, i ...

, Hungary * Tienen, Belgium * Třinec, Czech Republic * Ustka, Poland *

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

, Germany *

Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of S ...

, Slovakia

References

External links

Official website

Bielsko - Aerial photos

Bielsko-Biała Museum

Jewish Community of Bielsko-Biała
on

Virtual Shtetl The Virtual Shtetl ( pl, Wirtualny Sztetl) is a bilingual Polish-English portal of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, devoted to the Jewish history of Poland. History The Virtual Shtetl website was officially launched on June ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bielsko-Biala City counties of Poland Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship 1312 establishments in Europe Populated places established in 1951 Kraków Voivodeship (14th century – 1795) Populated places in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939) Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939) Shtetls Holocaust locations in Poland 14th-century establishments in Poland Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust