Bytom

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Bytom

(Flag)	(Coat of arms)


Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Silesian
Municipal government	Rada Miasta Bytom
Mayor	Krzysztof Wójcik
Area	69,3 km²
Population - city - urban - density	198 000 - 2856/km²
Founded	-
City rights	1254
Latitude Longitude	50°23' N 18°54' E
Area code	+48 32
Car plates	SY
Twin towns	-
Municipal Website

Bytom (['bitɔm] (help·info); German: Beuthen) is a city in southern Poland with 205,560 inhabitants (1999). Since 1999 it has been situated in the Silesian Voivodship, previously lying in the Katowice Voivodship (1975-1998).

1 History
2 Symbols of City
- 2.1 Flag
- 2.2 Coat of arms
3 Education
4 Politics
- 4.1 Bytom/Gliwice/Zabrze constituency
- 4.2 External links

[edit] History

Bytom is one of the oldest cities of Upper Silesia, having been known as Bitom in 1136 and Beuthen in 1450. It received city rights in 1254 and grew owing to its location on a strategic crossroads. In 1259 it was raided by the Mongols.

Bytom was moved from hand to hand as the time went by. It belonged originally to the Kingdom of Poland and became the seat of a Slavic duchy from 1281-1355. Bytom was administered by the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1289. Due to German settlers coming to the area, the city was slowly Germanised and became known as Beuthen. It came under Austrian Habsburg rule in 1526, which increased influence of the German language. The city became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742 and part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1945 it was transferred to Poland as a result of the Potsdam Conference. Its German population was largely expelled by the Polish and Soviet armies.

Bytom is an average post-industrial city. The majority of its coal mines are now closed, while steel mills are slowly fading. The city is struggling to transfer its profile from industry to services. Bytom cooperates with two cities with more-less the same problems: Recklinghausen Germany, and Butte-Silver Bow, United States. The city has a considerable unemployment rate, but it is centered in the poorest part of city, Bobrek.

[edit] Symbols of City

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[edit] Flag

[edit] Coat of arms

Left half of Coat of Arms shows a miner getting out the coal. Right half presents yellow eagle on the blue field - the symbol of Upper Silesia.

[edit] Education

Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomii i Administracji
Silesian University Of Technology - Faculty of Transport

[edit] Politics

[edit] Bytom/Gliwice/Zabrze constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Bytom/Gliwice/Zabrze constituency

Jan Chojnacki, SLD-UP
Stanisław Dulias, Samoobrona
Andrzej Gałażewski, PO
Ewa Janik, SLD-UP
Józef Kubica, SLD-UP
Wacław Martyniuk, SLD-UP
Wiesław Okoński, SLD-UP
Wojciech Szarama, PiS
Krystyna Szumilas, PO
Marek Widuch, SLD-UP

[edit] External links

v • d • e

Districts of Metropolis Katowice

Będzin • Bytom • Chorzów • Czeladź • Dąbrowa Górnicza • Gliwice • Jaworzno • Katowice • Knurów • Mysłowice • Piekary Śląskie • Ruda Śląska • Siemianowice Śląskie • Sosnowiec • Świętochłowice • Tychy • Zabrze

	Silesian Voivodship
Cities: Bielsko-Biała \| Bytom \| Chorzów \| Częstochowa \| Dąbrowa Górnicza \| Gliwice \| Jastrzębie Zdrój \| Jaworzno \| Katowice \| Mysłowice \| Piekary Śląskie \| Ruda Śląska \| Rybnik \| Siemianowice Śląskie \| Sosnowiec \| Świętochłowice \| Tychy \| Zabrze \| Żory Powiats: Będzin \| Bielsko \| Bieruń-Lędziny \| Cieszyn \| Częstochowa \| Gliwice \| Kłobuck \| Lubliniec \| Mikołów \| Myszków \| Pszczyna \| Racibórz \| Rybnik \| Tarnowskie Góry \| Wodzisław \| Zawiercie \| Żywiec