Świętochłowice (; ; ) is a city with powiat rights in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is also one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM, with a population of 2 million, and is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa River (tributary of the Vistula).

It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999, previously in Katowice Voivodeship, and before then, of the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. Świętochłowice is one of the cities of the 2.7 million conurbation – Katowice urban area and within a greater Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area populated by about 5,294,000 people. The population of the city is 49,762 (2019).

Location

thumb|left|Świętochłowice in the center of the [[Metropolis GZM.]]

Świętochłowice is situated in the middle of a highly populated area of Upper Silesia and is part of the Metropolis GZM, the largest urban center in Poland and one of the largest in Europe.

History

Initially, Świętochłowice was divided into two parts: the older Małe Świętochłowice (Little Świętochłowice) and newer Duże Świętochłowice (Big Świętochłowice), which date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, respectively. The oldest known mention of Świętochłowice comes from 1313, while the present-day district of Chropaczów was mentioned in 1295. The village received Magdeburg rights at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Until the end of the 17th century, the village of Świętochłowice was owned by the families of Świętochłowski, Paczyński, Kamieński, Rotter, Skall, Myszkowski and Guznar. Afterwards, the town was occupied by Germany. In 1943, the Germans established the Eintrachthütte concentration camp, a forced labour subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp. In early 1945 it was occupied by the Soviets, who established the Zgoda labour camp.

After the war, Świętochłowice once again restored to Poland. In 1951 its city limits were extended with Chropaczów and Lipiny becoming new districts.

  • Heiloo, Netherlands
  • Laa an der Thaya, Austria
  • Nový Jičín, Czech Republic
  • Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia
  • Tai'an, China
  • Tiszaújváros, Hungary
  • Torez, Ukraine

Notable people

  • Ewald Cebula (1917–2004), footballer
  • Arthur Goldstein (1887–1943), German journalist and communist politician
  • Krzysztof Hanke (born 1957), actor and satiris
  • Salomon Morel (1919–2007), commandant of Zgoda labour camp
  • Teodor Peterek (1910–1969), footballer
  • Jacob Sonderling (1878–1964), German-American Rabbi
  • Paweł Waloszek (1938–2018), motorcycle speedway rider

References

  • Official web
  • Jewish Community in Świętochłowice on Virtual Shtetl
  • Świętochłowician discussion forum