Blachownia
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Blachownia is a town in
Częstochowa County Częstochowa County () 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 reforms passed in 1998. Its adm ...
,
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 ...
, in 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 ...
. It lies approximately west of the city of
Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...
. The town belongs to 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 ...
. As of December 2021, it has a population of 9,383.


History

The history of Blachownia dates back to 1356, when King
Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...
gave permission to establish two villages in the area under the jurisdiction of a
starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...
from nearby
Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...
. This resulted in an influx of settlers, and this area of western lesser Poland, located near the border with Czech-ruled
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, ...
, emerged as a center of industry, with several
forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
s and bloomeries. In the 16th century, when the settlement of ''Łojki'' (future Blachownia) belonged to Kraków Voivodeship, it had as many as 36 forges, powered by
water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous b ...
s. Furthermore,
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...
was excavated here, and in one of the still-existing documents from 1531, King
Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...
allowed a man named Błażej Łojek to run a forge. In 1606, within the boundaries of today's Blachownia, was a settlement called ''Trzepizury'', which consisted of three houses and an inn. In 1610, Mikołaj Wolski, the
starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...
of
Krzepice Krzepice is a Polish town near Częstochowa, in Kłobuck County, Silesian Voivodeship, in northwestern Lesser Poland. It is near the historic border of Lesser Poland and Silesia, which goes along the Liswarta river. A few kilometers to the nort ...
built two early
blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...
s, also purchasing a forge with two hammers, powered by water. By 1630, local metal plants manufactured app. 800 wagons of
iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () 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, forming much of Earth's o ...
annually, together with farming tools,
sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil (metal), foil or Metal leaf, leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25  ...
, and cannonballs. In 1631, the metal plants were visited by King
Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...
. In the second half of the 17th century, the Blachownia industrial center declined, together with whole Lesser Poland, following the
Swedish invasion of Poland The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense, it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Pol ...
. For 150 years local plants were not mentioned in any sources. In 1782, two bloomeries near Krzepice are described. After the
Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...
, Blachownia since 1815 belonged to Russian-controlled
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 ...
, from 1867 on as part of
Piotrków Governorate Piotrków Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire, established in 1867 by splitting some areas of Radom and Warsaw Governorates. Its capital was in Petrokov ( Piotrków Trybuna ...
. Due to efforts of
Stanisław Staszic Stanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic (baptised 6 November 1755 – 20 January 1826) was a leading figure in the Polish Enlightenment: a Catholic priest, philosopher, geologist, writer, poet, translator and statesman. A physiocrat, monist, pan-Sla ...
, artisans from
Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...
and technology from
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
were brought to Blachownia, to recreate metal industry. In 1834,
Bank Polski The Bank Polski (), sometimes referred to as the "First Bank of Poland" to distinguish it from its 20th-century namesake, was a public bank in Congress Poland. It was created in 1828, initially with a broad scope of activities that soon started s ...
leased area for the future steel mill, with two modern blast furnaces. Soon afterwards, the first iron ore mines were opened, and in 1837, the furnaces were in use. The mill was managed by a German engineer Heinrich Karl Kaden from
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, and the cost of the construction of the factory was 382,099 zlotys. To increase energy input, a steam machine was brought from England, making Blachownia one of the most modern mills in Congress Poland. In 1838, Huta Blachownia employed 74 people, soon afterwards, a
foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
was added. By 1848, however, the cost of manufacturing turned out to be too high, and there was no demand for Blachownia's products. In 1872, the mill was taken over by the Russian Imperial family, which in 1897 leased it to a Berlin company ''Laura und Konigshutte''. The mill employed app. 500 people, and its products were exported mostly to the vast
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 ...
, including its Far East. Workers from Blachownia actively participated in the
Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...
. Blachownia was one of the first settlements, which was captured by the German Imperial troops at the beginning of
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 ...
. German occupation lasted from August 1914 to November 1918, and during that time, there was a sharp decline in the living standards, and employment was reduced from 1200 (as for 1913) to 400. 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 ...
, Blachownia belonged to
Kielce Voivodeship Kielce Voivodeship () is a former unit of administrative division and the local government in Poland. It was originally formed during Poland's return to independence in the aftermath of World War One, and recreated within the new Polish borders af ...
. The steel mill was nationalized and later sold to ''B. Handtke Association'' from Warsaw. The settlement had its own sports association, fire brigade and schools. As Blachownia was captured on the third day of 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 ...
(Sept. 3, 1939, at 5 a.m.), 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 ...
. Blachownia was directly annexed into the
Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
, as part of ''Gau Upper Silesia'' (see
Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany Following the Invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II, nearly a quarter of the entire territory of the Second Polish Republic was Areas annexed by Nazi Germany, annexed by Nazi Germany and placed directly under the German civil ad ...
). The Germans changed its name into ''Blachstadt'', and created a county (''Kreis Blachstadt''). Blachownia was the seat of the local
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
and Arbeitsamt office. The mill was renamed into ''Eisenwerke Handler'', and Polish forced workers (
OST-Arbeiter ' (, "Eastern worker") was a Nazi German designation for foreign slave workers gathered from occupied Central and Eastern Europe to perform forced labor in Germany during World War II. The Germans started deporting civilians at the beginning ...
) were treated like slaves, working for 11 hours a day, with minimum salaries. After the war, Blachownia belonged to Kielce Voivodeship until 1950, and in that year it was moved to
Katowice Voivodeship Katowice Voivodeship () can refer to one of two political entities in Poland: Katowice Voivodeship (1), initially "Silesian-Dabrowa Voivodeship" (), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the years 1946–1975. It was super ...
.


Transport

The town is located along the national road 46;
voivodeship road According to classes and categories of public roads in Poland, a voivodeship A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed sinc ...
s nr. 492 and 904 also pass through the town. The A1 motorway passes to the east of Blachownia. The town also has a railroad station. Since Blachownia lies close to Częstochowa, it is served by the city mass transit system.


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship Częstochowa County