Sosnowiec

Sosnowiec is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, western Lesser Poland in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is one of the central districts of the Silesian Metropolis - a metropolis with a combined population of over two million people located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river (tributary of the Vistula).

It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999. Previously (since 1945), it was part of Katowice Voivodeship, and before World War Two, Sosnowiec belonged to Kielce Voivodeship. Sosnowiec is one of the cities of the 2.7 million person conurbation - Katowice urban area and within a greater Silesian metropolitan area populated by about 5,294,000 people. The population of the city is 220,450 (June 2009). The city, despite its proximity to Katowice, is not part of Silesia, but belongs to historical Polish province of Lesser Poland.

Its name comes from Polish word sosna, referring to the pine forests which were common prior to 1830. It was originally known as Sosnowice. Other variations of the name include Sosnowietz, Sosnowitz, Sosnovitz (Yiddish), Sosnovyts, Sosnowyts, Sosnovytz, Sosnowytz, Sosnovetz. There are 5 other smaller towns in Poland also called Sosnowiec. They are located in the regions of Kielce, Łódź, and Opole.