Sucha Beskidzka - History

History

In the late Middle Ages, the area of Sucha Beskidzka belonged to Duchy of Oswiecim. In the early years of the 15th century, Prince Jan III of Oswiecim initiated a program of settlement of the sparsely populated forested areas in the Beskids. In 1405, a man named Strzala was allowed to found a settlement, which later took on the name Sucha. Most likely, the Strzala family remained owners of the settlement until the late 15th century, when Sucha was transferred into the hands of the Slupski family. In 1554, Stanislaw Slupski sold the village to an Italian-born goldsmith from Krakow, Gaspare Castiglione, who changed his name to Kasper Suski. Castiglione initiated the construction of the Sucha Castle.

In the early 17th century Sucha belonged to the Komorowski family. The village remained in private hands until 1939, as the so-called “Sucha State” (panstwo suskie). Among its owners were the Wielopolski family, the Branicki family, and the Tarnowski family. In the 1610s, Piotr Komorowski funded here a parish church, and vastly expanded the castle of Kasper Suski, turning it into a residence. Furthermore, Sucha was a center of early industry, with glass works, watermill, brewery, and iron works. Due to several royal privileges, Sucha emerged as a local trade center; the village prospered under Anna Konstancja Wielopolska, who owned it in 1693 – 1726. The area of Sucha was one of centers of the Bar Confederation, and in 1772 (see Partitions of Poland), the village, with the population of 3,000, became part of Austrian province of Galicia.

In the 1840s, Sucha was purchased by the Branicki family, Korczak Coat of Arms, which opened a large library together with a museum in the Sucha Castle. The village already had ironworks, which operated until the 1880s. In the same period, Sucha received a rail station, along the Galician Transversal Railway. Here, a northwards connection with Krakow was added in 1884, after which Sucha became an important rail junction. In 1896 Austrian authorities finally granted town charter to Sucha. In 1895 – 1907, a new church was built, and in 1910, new building of Bank Spoldzielczy. In the Second Polish Republic, Sucha belonged to Krakow Voivodeship, and was part of Zywiec County (later the town was transferred to Wadowice County). In 1922 - 1939, the castle belonged to the Tarnowski family. In 1939, population of the town was 6,200.

On September 3, 1939 (see Invasion of Poland), Sucha was captured by the Wehrmacht. In the late 1939, the town was annexed by the Third Reich, and was located near the border with the General Government. In the Holocaust, Sucha’s Jewish community of 500 was murdered by the Germans. After the war, the government of People's Republic of Poland again attached Sucha to Krakow Voivodeship. New districts with blocks of flats were built, new factories were opened. In 1956, for the first time in history, Sucha became the seat of a county, and in 1975, the town became part of Bielsko-Biala Voivodeship. In 1983, new hospital was completed.