Jaworzno is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in southern

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 ...

, near

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 ...

. It lies in the

Silesian Highlands Silesian Upland or Silesian Highland ( pl, Wyżyna Śląska) is a highland located in Silesia and Lesser Poland, Poland. Its highest point is the St. Anne Mountain (406 m). See also * Silesian Lowlands * Silesian-Lusatian Lowlands *Silesia ...

, on the

Przemsza Przemsza (german: Przemsa) is a river in the south of Poland, a tributary of the Vistula. According to one view, it originates at the confluence of the Black ( pl, Czarna) Przemsza and White (''Biała'') Przemsza, between the towns of Mysłowi ...

river (a tributary of the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

). Jaworzno belongs to the historic province 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 ...

. The city is situated in 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 ...

since its formation in 1999, previously (1975–1999) it was in Katowice Voivodeship. Jaworzno is one of the cities of the 2,7 million conurbation –

Katowice urban area The Katowice urban area ( pl, Konurbacja katowicka, ), also known as the Upper Silesian urban area ( pl, Konurbacja górnośląska, ), is an urban area/conurbation in southern Poland, centered on Katowice. It is located in the Silesian Voi ...

and within a greater

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 ...

populated by about 5,294,000 people. The population of the city is 89,350 (2021).

Geography

Location

The municipality is situated a short distance to the north-east of Junction 41 on the A4 Highway. It lies in the

, in the historical region of

, and since its foundation until 1975, it was administratively tied with Lesser Poland's capital,

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 ...

. Until 1795, it belonged to Kraków Voivodeship, then, together with Kraków, was seized by the Habsburg Empire in 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 for 12 ...

. In 1815–1846 it belonged to the Free City of Kraków, which was annexed by Austria and merged with

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...

. In 1918 Jaworzno returned to Poland. The name of the city comes from the ''jawor'' trees (

sycamore maple ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved tree, to ...

), which in the past were abundant in this area.

Administrative position

Jaworzno was placed into the

(province) effective January 1, 1999 under the Local Government Reorganization Act. Previously, it was attached to the Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998) and before that to the Kraków Voivodeship. Jaworzno lies in the east of the largest metropolis in Poland and one of the largest in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, numbering about 3,5 million. This urban expansion bloomed in the 19th century thanks to the rapid development of mining and metallurgical industries. In 2006 Jaworzno and 14 neighboring cities formed a multimunicipal structure, the

Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union The Metropolis GZM ( pl, Metropolia GZM, formally in Polish Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia) is a metropolitan unit composed of 41 contiguous municipalities in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland. The seat of the metropolitan council i ...

. Its population is 2 million and its area is . Górnośląski Związek Metropolitalny

Climate

The climate of the area is continental humid. The annual average temperature is (January average and July average °C). Yearly rainfall averages at , the most rainy month being July. The area's characteristic weak winds blow at about 2 m/s from the west (

Moravian Gate The Moravian Gate ( cs, Moravská brána, pl, Brama Morawska, german: Mährische Pforte, sk, Moravská brána) is a geomorphological feature in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic and the Upper Silesia region in Poland. It is formed by the ...

Transport

* Routes Jaworzno is located at the intersection of a number of road routes such as the A4 motorway (part of

European route E40 European route E40 is the longest European route, more than long, connecting Calais in France via Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, with Ridder in Kazakhstan near the border with R ...

), the S1 expressway which is connected with the

A1 motorway A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...

(both forming part of the

European route E75 European route E 75 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe. The E 75 starts at the town of Vardø in Norway by the Barents Sea and it runs south through Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, ...

), the

National road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

No. 79 (Warsaw–Bytom), and Voivodeship road 903. * Public transport Public transport is provided by PKM Jaworzno (Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Miejskiej w Jaworznie – public transport company in Jaworzno) not belonging to the KZK GOP. PKM Jaworzno was one of the first public transport companies in Poland which introduced the magnetic card called Jaworznicka Karta miejska (Jaworzno Urban Card) instead of paper tickets. Currently PKM Jaworzno is one of the most modern public transport companies in Poland. The PKM Jaworzno's fleet is based 40% on electric vehicles.

Districts and housing estates

*Bory *Byczyna *Cezarówka *Ciężkowice *Dąbrowa Narodowa *Długoszyn *Dobra *Gigant *Góra Piasku *Jeleń *Jeziorki *Koźmin *Niedzieliska *Pieczyska *Siłownia *Podwale *Stara Huta *Stare Miasto (Old City) *

Szczakowa Szczakowa is a district of the Polish city of Jaworzno. It is located in the northern part of the city and is one of the most important rail hubs of the area. It was first mentioned in 1427 as ''Sczacowa''. In the years 1933–1956, it was a separ ...

*Śródmieście (Downtown) *Wilkoszyn *Wysoki Brzeg *Osiedle Stałe *Osiedle Awaryjne *Osiedle Cegielniana *Osiedle Chrząstówka *Osiedle Energetyków *Osiedle Gagarina *Osiedle Górnicze *Osiedle Kościuszki *Osiedle Warpie *Osiedle Leopold *Osiedle Łubowiec *Osiedle Pańska Góra *Osiedle Podłęże *Osiedle Skałka *Osiedle Pszczelnik *Osiedle Sobieski

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, a gord was established on the ''Grodzisko'' hill, traces of which can still be found. First known mention of Jaworzno comes from the year 1229, and in 1335, a parish church of St. Wojciech existed here. Jaworzno remained a small village, located in western

, near the much larger and more important town of Chrzanów. From 1179, the nearby

river marked the border between Lesser Poland and

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 ...

. It also became a state border of Poland until 1922. The area of Jaworzno was originally under the rule of the

bishops of Kraków A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

. After

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

seized

at the end of the 17th century, several

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

s were developed near Jaworzno. In the 18th century, deposits of silver, lead, iron and zinc were found here. In 1767, first coal mine in 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 ...

was opened in

After the

Jaworzno belonged to the Habsburg Empire. In 1809 – 1815 it was 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, during ...

, and in 1815–1846, it belonged to the Free City of Krakow, which in 1846 was annexed by the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

. Jaworzno remained in Austrian

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 ...

until November 1918. In the 19th century, the village became famous for the so-called Three Emperors' Corner, where borders of three powers met (

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

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 ...

and

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 1847 a new railway line connects Jaworzno's Szczakowa district with

and Prussian

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 village became a center of industrialization. A power plant was opened in 1898, and Jaworzno's coal mines extracted 84% of Galician coal. Several new factories were established here in the late 19th and early 20th century. As a result, on September 21, 1901, Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until ...

granted a town charter to Jaworzno. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, in 1918, Poland regained independence and control of the town. 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 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

, Jaworzno belonged to the Kraków Voivodeship, in which it also remained after the war, until 1975. Following the joint German-Soviet

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in September 1939, the town was occupied by Germany. The Germans operated several

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

camps in the town, including a Nazi prison/forced labour camp, a

subcamp Subcamps (german: KZ-Außenlager), also translated as satellite camps, were outlying detention centres (''Haftstätten'') that came under the command of a main concentration camp run by the SS in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The Nazi ...

of the

Auschwitz concentration camp 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. I ...

and the E596 subcamp 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 by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

for Western Allied POWs at the Jan Kanty Coal Mine (under occupation named ''Dachsgrube''), and the E561, E563 and E732 subcamps of Stalag VIII-B/344, located at a local railway depot, at the Sobieski Coal Mine (then renamed ''Robertsgrube'') and in the present-day district of

, respectively. After the war, the town was restored to Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the

Fall of Communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...

in the 1980s. The communists converted the former Nazi German subcamp of Auschwitz into the

Central Labour Camp Jaworzno The Jaworzno concentration camp was a concentration camp in WW2 German-occupied Poland and later in Communist Poland. It was first established by the Nazis in 1943 during the Second World War and was later used from 1945 to 1956 by the Soviet NKVD a ...

. In the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

Jaworzno developed as an important center of industry. Its population quickly grew, when thousands of migrants came here in search of work at coal mines, power plants and other factories. Furthermore, several villages were integrated with Jaworzno. As a result, Jaworzno's area reaches . In 1975 the city became part of Katowice Voivodeship. Despite the fact that most towns of pre-1975

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

returned to

, Jaworzno was attached to the

in 1999.

Environment

Greens, forests, and undeveloped land constitute 60 percent of the town's area. Jaworzno has environmentally valuable areas which as a group present a diversity of landscapes and vegetation as well as a richness of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

. These include the Dolina Zabnika nature reserve, the Dobra Wilkoszyn landscape protection area, the Sasanka natural surface monument, Grodzisko hill, and Sosina lake. Within Jaworzno's boundaries there are 41 plant species under strict protection and 11 under partial protection.

Media

* Online News ** Jaw.pl ** Jaworzno.naszemiasto.pl ** Mojejaworzno.pl * TV Station ** DlaCiebie.TV * Newspapers ** ''Co Tydzień'' ** ''Tydzień w Jaworznie'' ** ''Extra'' ** ''Sokół Jaworznicki''

Sport and culture

Jaworzno Hala Sportowa - MCKIS w Jaworznie

The city of Jaworzno has many sporting facilities at the Europe-wide level and offers a rich variety of educational and cultural activities. The city major arena, the ''Hala Widowiskowo-Sportowa'', can seat 2,500 spectators. The ''Sosina'' water sports centre is the venue for the annual Polish

water-skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffi ...

championships.

Football

Szczakowianka Jaworzno Garbarnia Szczakowianka Jaworzno is a Polish football club based in Szczakowa, Jaworzno, Poland. The club is currently playing in the IV liga History The club was founded on 9 July 1923 as fusion of three local clubs: ''Kartagina'', ''Rewia and ...

– football team (1st league 2002/2003) * GKS Victoria Jaworzno – Poland's oldest miner's team *The Puma Youth Academy ''(Akademia Los Puma)'' – football team (Junior league 2012/2013)

Notable people

Shelomo Selinger Shelomo Selinger (born May 31, 1928) is a sculptor and artist living and working in Paris since 1956. Biography Selinger was born to a Jewish family in the small Polish town of Szczakowa (today part of Jaworzno) near Oświęcim (Auschwitz''Le P ...

(born 1924), Polish-Jewish sculptor * Andrzej Stalmach (1942–2020), athlete *

Basia Trzetrzelewska Barbara Stanisława Trzetrzelewska (Polish: , born 30 September 1954), better known as Basia, is a Polish singer-songwriter and recording artist noted for her Latin-inspired jazz-pop music. She began singing professionally in various Polish ban ...

(born 1954), singer and songwriter * Bogdan Wołkowski (born 1957), professional

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...

player * Andrzej Karweta (1958–2010), Polish Navy Admiral * Jan Urban (born 1962), footballer * Wojciech Saługa (born 1969), economist and politician * Paweł Sarna (born 1977), poet *

Grzegorz Proksa Grzegorz Proksa (born 23 November 1984) is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2014. He is a two-time former European middleweight champion and a world title challenger. Professional boxing record , - , align="center ...

(born 1984), boxer

Twin towns – sister cities

Jaworzno is twinned with: *

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Karviná Karviná (; pl, Karwina, , german: Karwin) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Olza River in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Karviná is known as an indust ...

, Czech Republic * Szigethalom, Hungary *

Yiwu Yiwu () is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jinhua in Central Zhejiang Province, East China. As of the 2020 census, the city had 1,859,390 inhabitants and its built-up (or metro) area, joined with that of the neighboring Dongy ...

, China

References

;Notes

Jaworzno Jaworzno is a city in southern Poland, near Katowice. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Przemsza river (a tributary of the Vistula). Jaworzno belongs to the historic province of Lesser Poland. The city is situated in the Silesian Voivod ...

Kraków Voivodeship (14th century – 1795) Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939)