Bielszowice () is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in the west of

Ruda Śląska Ruda Śląska (; ) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is a city in the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of two million. It is in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica River (tributary of the Oder). It h ...

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 ...

, 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 2006 it had an area of 10.6 km² and was inhabited by 9,505 people. On January 12, 2006 a part of it was split off to form a new district, Czarny Las.

History

The settlement was first mentioned in 1452 as ''Bilechowitz''. It was a seat of a Catholic parish in Diocese of Kraków, established probably around 1440. The village was annexed by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in the 18th century, and from 1871 it was also part of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Beginning with the 19th century it was heavily affected by industrial development. Bielszowice Coal Mine was built in years 1896–1904. In 1891 the German state purchased the village from private hands. 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

Upper Silesia plebiscite The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and the Second Polish Republic. The region was ethni ...

4,546 out of 6,461 voters in Bielszowice voted in favour of rejoining Poland which just regained independence, against 1,874 opting for staying in Germany. Afterwards it became a part of

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 ...

. During the German

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

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 ...

, the village was invaded and then 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 already on September 3, 1939 the Germans carried out the first execution of a local Polish man (see ''

Nazi crimes against the Polish nation War crime, Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with Schutzmannschaft#Police battalions, auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occu ...

''). , notable local member of the Polish resistance movement, who as its secret agent joined and infiltrated the German '' SA'', was publicly hanged by the Germans in Bielszowice in 1942. There is monument at the execution site. After the war, the settlement was restored to Poland. Bielszowice constituted a

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...

(municipality) that was merged into Nowy Bytom in 1951, and as part of Nowy Bytom was amalgamated with Ruda to form Ruda Śląska on December 31, 1958.

Notable people

* Marian Foik (1933–2005), Polish male sprinter, silver medalist of the 1964 Summer Olympics * Waldemar Słomiany (born 1943), retired Polish footballer and member of the

Poland national football team The Poland national football team () represents Poland in men's international Association football, football competitions since their first match in 1921. It is governed by the Polish Football Association (PZPN), the governing body for football ...

* (born 1948), Polish Catholic bishop * Adam Kompała (born 1973), retired Polish footballer

Gallery

Kościół św. Marii Magdaleny Bielszowice.JPG, Saint Mary Magdalene church Ks. Niedzieli 22 (Ruda Śląska).jpg, Typical old house at Niedzieli Street Ruda Śląska Kokota pomnik DSC 7072.jpg, Monument at the site of the execution of Edmund Kokot Św. Jan Nepomucen.JPG, Statue of Saint

John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) (; ; ) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was a saint of Bohemia (a western part of what is now the Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. Later accounts st ...

References

Districts of Ruda Śląska {{Silesian-geo-stub