Sosnowiec - History

History

Sosnowiec was granted city rights only in 1902, over a century after the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The city was created by joining together a number of settlements often several centuries old. The history of the village of Sosnowiec dates back to the year 1727, when it was mentioned for the first time. Sosnowiec was a small settlement, located in close vicinity of much larger and better developed villages of Sielce and Zagórze (both are now districts of the city). Other districts are even older. Milowice was first mentioned in 1123 as Miley. Documents from 1228 mention Milowice, Klimontów, and Zagórze. Furthermore, Milowice was placed on a 1561 map.

Sosnowiec belonged to the Kraków Voivodeship, one of three voivodeships of Lesser Poland. As a result of the third partition of Poland, however, it was seized by the Kingdom of Prussia and joined with the New Silesia. During the Napoleonic Wars, it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw and later, Congress Poland ruled by the namestniks of the Russian Empire. In the 19th century, Sosnowiec became famous for the Three Emperors' Corner, which was located within current limits of the city.

In June 1902, by the order of tsar Nicholas II, Sosnowiec was legally named a city with the area of 19 km² and with 60,000 inhabitants. Obtaining the city rights helped the dynamic economic and cultural development of the town. Apart from steelworks and coal-mines and many enterprises of heavy and light industry, new cultural and social establishments were opened as well. The newly established town consisted of the districts of Sosnowiec, Pogoń, Ostra Górka, Sielec, Kuźnica and Radocha, all of which had been separate villages before 1902. The very fact that Russian authorities waited for so long to grant Sosnowiec town rights is seen as a consequence of the January Uprising, after which numerous towns had seen their status reduced to a village. Sosnowiec was first post-1860s location in Congress Poland to have received town charter, second was Puławy (1906).

Natural resources and good geographical location near the borders of German and Austro-Hungarian Empires, had an important influence on the development of Sosnowiec. The opening of a branch line of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway in 1859 was vitally important for the growth of the town. Development of industry with the new factory of rope and wire, rolling mill, steelworks, iron foundry, steam boilers factory, and later spinning mill, dye-house and paper mill sealed the new image of the town as entirely urban. The Summer Theatre and, in 1887, the Winter Theatre were founded, the second of which was called City Theatre from 1924 in independent Poland, and later the Theatre of Zagłębie. In 1914, the village of Środula was annexed by Sosnowiec. In the Second Polish Republic, it was part of Kielce Voivodeship, and in 1934 the City County of Sosnowiec was established.

Sosonowiec suffered war damages during both military conflicts in the 20th century: the First World War, which caused mainly destruction to industry, and World War II, which brought about the terror of executions. Thousands of Jews were deported from Sosnowiec ghetto to Auschwitz in June 1943. The Ghetto was liquidated two months later and almost all remaining Jews (around 15,000) were also deported to Auschwitz. Previously there had been considerable underground activity among them. January 1945 brought about the liberation of the city, which gave it a chance for gradual rebuilding and further development.

After World War Two, Sosnowiec further developed. On June 1, 1975, the city was expanded, when such locations, as Zagórze, Kazimierz Górniczy, Porąbka, Klimontów and Maczki became its districts. Due to this fact, by 1977 the population of the city reached 200,000. Further growth was accelerated by the construction of Katowice Steelworks, and in 1981, the population of Sosnowiec was 250,000, reaching its peak in 1987, when it was 259,000. Since then, the population has been declining. In 1992, the city became seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sosnowiec.