| Pszczyna | |||
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| Lutheran church and town hall in Pszczyna | |||
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Pszczyna
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Poland | ||
| Voivodeship | Silesian | ||
| County | Pszczyna County | ||
| Gmina | Gmina Pszczyna | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Dariusz Skrobol | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 21.86 km2 (8.4 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 262 m (860 ft) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| • Total | 33,654 | ||
| • Density | 1,539.5/km2 (3,987.3/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 43-200 | ||
| Car plates | SPS | ||
| Website | http://www.pszczyna.pl | ||
Pszczyna [ˈpʂt͡ʂɨna] (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). Pszczyna County is the capital of Pszczyna County in the Silesian Voivodship. Previously it was 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)
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The origins of name Pszczyna are explained in different ways by different historians. Ezechiel Zivier (1868–1925) hypothesized that the land was first owned by Pleszko (alternatively Leszko, or possibly Leszek, Duke of Racibórz). Polish scholar Aleksander Brückner in turn, explained the name based on its old spelling Plszczyna, from the ancient Polish word pło or pleso meaning a lake or a place by the lake – thus suggesting that the name Plszczyna as well as its German equivalent Pleß had similar background. The version by Brückner, suggesting a lakeside rich with marshlands, based on a Proto-Slavic word plszczyna, is generally accepted in literature. Yet another version belongs to Prof. Jan Miodek from Wrocław University, who derived the name from a nearby river Blszczyna.
The history of Pszczyna is intertwined with the history of the Polish Piast dynasty and their local residence, the 12th century castle palace[1] now a site of the Muzeum Zamkowe (Castle Museum) at the main square.
Early in the 12th century, Pszczyna laid within the territory of the Polish Piast dynasty. The city belonged to Lesser Poland (Małopolska) until 1177, when it became part of the Duchy of Racibórz. From this time on, it was also a part of the Kraków bishopric.
In 1336, the main line of the dukes of Racibórz died out and the Duchy was ruled by the Czech Přemyslid dynasty. From 1412 until 1452, Countess 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, with the approval of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1548 to the Promnitz family, who ruled the Duchy until 1765; it was inherited from them by the Dukes of Anhalt-Köthen-Pless, and in 1846 by the Counts of Hochberg.
The city is first mentioned in a document from 1327, as most probably founded in the late 13th century on the trade route from Kraków to Cieszyn. The city was famed for its fish, mostly carp, exported to Kraków and beyond, due to many streams and swamps in the area. During the Middle Ages the region became part of the Duchies of Silesia known as the Duchy of Pszczyna. Pszczyna and the surrounding area was populated by German settlers during Medieval Ostsiedlung, but from the 16th century on it was predominantly Polish again.[1] Frederick II of Prussia conquered the Duchy from its Habsburg rule in the War of the Austrian Succession, encompassing most of Silesia.
In the beginning of the 19th century, small-scale industrialisation started with factories manufacturing garters. The first Polish newspaper in all of Upper Silesia, Tygodnik Poświęcony Włościanom was printed here in 1843 by Kristian Schemmel.[2] In 1868 the railroad to Czechowice-Dziedzice arrived. Because of the Germanisation under Prussian rule the German share of the population increased. For example, in 1829, 94,3% of the population in Pszczyna county declared themselves Polish,[2], but according to the 1900 census this number had decreased to 86,6%.[3][4] In 1910 census 105,744 citizens spoke Polish (86,0%), 16,464 German, 447 Polish and German and 242 another language.[5] In the city itself there was traditionally a higher percentage of Germans, who soon formed the majority (for instance 67% in 1910).[1]
One of the Silesian Uprisings, led by Wojciech Korfanty, started in the city on August 16, 1919. In 1922, the city was officially joined with Poland. In the March 1921 at Silesian plebiscite 2,843, or 75% of Pszczyna City citizens casted their vote for remaining in Germany while in the entire (rural, mostly Polish inhabited) Pszczyna county 53,378 votes (74%) were for Poland and 18,676 (26%) for Germany.[6][7]
During the Invasion of Poland the Wehrmacht marching into Pszczyna in September 1939 was met with fierce resistance. On 14 September, 14 Poles were murdered by Germans invading the county.[8] In the winter of 1944-1945, death marches from the Auschwitz concentration camp passed through the city.
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