Pszczyna

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Pszczyna town hall

Pszczyna (German: Pleß) is a town in southern Poland with 26,827 inhabitants (2003) within the immediate gmina rising to 50,121 inhabitants in the powiat, which includes the town of Pszczyna, itself, Brzeźce (1041), Czarków (1852), Ćwiklice (2569), Jankowice (2591), Łąka (2729), Piasek (3252), Poręba (924), Rudołtowice (1111), Studzionka (2176), Studzienice (1612), Wisła Mała (1323) and Wisła Wielka (2114).

Situated in the Silesian Voivodship (since 1999), previously in Katowice Voivodship (1975–1998).

The total area of 174.09 km² includes 94.66 km² of farmland (67.99 km² of arable land, 1.51 km² of orchards, 16.11 km² of meadows, 9.05 km² of pasture) and 51.27 km² of forest grounds (49.71 km² of forests and forest landasy, 1.56 km² of tree-planted and shrub-planted land). (Pszczyna in figures, 2003)

The name of Pszczyna is known to every student for being an exception to the Polish spelling rule that there is always “rz” instead of “sz” after “p” and for appearing in some versions of a tongue-twister, used by Jan Brzechwa in his poem Chrząszcz.

1 History
2 Duchy
3 People
4 External links

[edit] History

The history of Pszczyna is intertwined with the history of the 12th century palace, now the Muzeum Zamkowe (Palace Museum), on the main square.

The city is first mentioned in a document from 1327, probably founded in the late 13th century on the trade route from Krakow to Cieszyn. The city was famed for its fish, mostly carp, exported to Krakow and beyond.

In the beginning of the 19th century, small-scale industrialisation started with factories manufacturing [[Garter (clothing)}garters]]. The first newspaper in Upper Silesia was founded here and in 1868 the railroad to Czechowice-Dziedzice arrived.

One of the Silesian Uprisings, led by Wojciech Korfanty, started in the city on August 16, 1919. In 1922, the city was officially joined to Poland.

When, during the Invasion of Poland, the Wehrmacht marched in in September 1939, they met with fierce resistance. In the winter of 1944-1945, death-marches from the Auschwitz death camp passed through the city.

Georg Philipp Telemann, a German Baroque music composer was once kapellmeister in the city.

[edit] Duchy

Early in the 12th century, Pszczyna was allegedly a stronghold of the Piasts. The city belonged to Lesser Poland (Malopolska) until 1177, when it became part of the Duchy of Racibórz. From this time on, it also was part of the Krakow bishopric.

In 1336, the main line of the dukes of Racibórz died out and the Duchy was ruled by the Přemyslid dynasty. From 1412 until 1452, Helena, sister of Jogaila, ruled the Duchy. After her stepdaughter governed from 1452 until 1462, the Podebradies took over. The Thurzó family acquired the Duchy and sold it in 1548 to the Promnitz family, who ruled the Duchy with the acquittal of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor until 1765.