à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice (; ; ) 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. à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice is one of the cities of the 2.7 million conurbation â 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).
à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice 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.
Initially, à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice was divided into two parts: the older Maà Âe à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice (Little à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice) and newer Duà ¼e à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice (Big à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice), which date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, respectively. The oldest known mention of à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice comes from 1313, while the present-day district of Chropaczów was mentioned in 1295. Both settlements were located within the Duchy of Bytom of fragmented Poland and remained under the rule of the Piast dynasty until 1532, as part of the duchies of Bytom and Opole, before passing to the Kingdom of Bohemia. The village received Magdeburg rights at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Until the end of the 17th century, the village of à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice was owned by the families of à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowski, Paczyà Âski, Kamieà Âski, Rotter, Skall, Myszkowski and Guznar.
In 1742 the settlement was annexed by Prussia and from 1871 to 1922 it was part of Germany. Both parts of à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice merged in 1790. In the 19th and first part of the 20th century the area rapidly industrialized (based on the numerous local resources, including coal and zinc), leading to the transformation of the village into an industrial settlement. In the early 20th century, numerous Polish organizations were established there. During the Silesian Uprisings the present-day districts Lipiny and were captured by the Polish insurgents in 1920. In the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite, in à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice 51.9% voted for Germany, while in Chropaczów 70.0% voted for Poland, and in Lipiny and Piaà Âniki combined 56.4% voted for Poland. In 1922 all named settlements were integrated with the re-established Polish state. In 1929 Zgoda became part of à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice as its new district. In 1939 à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice was granted city rights with effect from January 1, 1940, however, due to outbreak of World War II, the actual implementation of this law did not take place until 1947.
In early September 1939, during the German invasion of Poland which started World War II, à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice was the site of Polish defense, also by the civilian population. Already on September 3âÂÂ4, 1939, Wehrmacht and Freikorps troops murdered 10 Poles in à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice (see Nazi crimes against the Polish nation). 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, à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice once again restored to Poland. In 1951 its city limits were extended with Chropaczów and Lipiny becoming new districts.
Currently (2013) à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice has about 53,000 inhabitants and is thus the city county with the highest population density in Poland. The population of the entire urban area is about 3.5 million.
à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice is situated in Silesian-Krakowian climate-zone. The annual precipitation totals to about . The wettest month is July and the driest February. The average temperature is approximately in January and in July.
Brunate and swamp soils predominate in à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice.
à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice has five administrative subdivisions:
The , devoted to the history of the Silesian Uprisings (1919âÂÂ1921), is located in à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice. In addition, the city has historical industrial architecture, town halls, churches, tenement houses and familoks.
The most popular sport in à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice is motorcycle speedway. The Skaà Âka Stadium is located in the Centrum.
The President of à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice is Daniel Beger. He was elected in 2018.
à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice is twinned with: