Będzin, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

Districts | History | Industrial revolution | History : World War II | Jewish community | Transport | Sport

🇵🇱 Będzin is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza river. Even though part of Silesian Voivodeship, Będzin belongs to historic Lesser Poland, and it is one of the oldest towns of this province. Będzin is regarded as the capital of industrial Dąbrowa Basin.

It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999. Before 1999, it was located in the Katowice Voivodeship. Będzin is one of the cities of the conurbation - Katowice urban area and within a greater Silesian metropolitan area.

Będzin is located 12 km (7 mi) from Katowice and 4 km (2 mi) from the centre of Sosnowiec. Together with Sosnowiec, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Czeladź, Wojkowice, Sławków and Siewierz it is a part of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, a highly industrialised and densely populated part of western Lesser Poland. Będzin borders the cities of Sosnowiec, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Czeladź, Siemianowice Śląskie, and Wojkowice, as well as the village of Psary. The highest point of the town is St. Dorothy Mountain 382 m (1,253 ft) above sea level, and the area of Będzin is 37.37 km² (14.43 sq mi).

Districts Będzin is divided into eight districts: Grodziec in 1951–1975 was a separate town, Gzichów is part of Będzin since 1915, Ksawera is part of Będzin since 1923, Łagisza in 1967–1973 was a separate town, Małobądz is part of Będzin since 1915, Śródmieście is the historic centre, Warpie is part of Będzin since 1923.

History First mention of the village of Będzin comes from 1301, but a settlement (or a grod) had existed here since the 9th century, guarding ancient trade route from Kyiv to Western Europe. In the 1340s, a town was founded here, with King Casimir III the Great building a stone strongpoint. On August 5, 1358, Będzin was incorporated as a town, and became a royal city of Poland, administratively located in the Kraków Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown.

In the Jagiellonian period Będzin, located on the border between Lesser Poland and Silesia, was a major trade center. In 1565 King Sigismund II Augustus allowed the town to have five markets a week, and in 1589, at Będzin Castle, Polish–Austrian negotiations took place. At that time, a Jewish community already existed here. In 1655, during The Deluge, both town and castle were destroyed by the Swedes, and Będzin did not recover from the destruction for many years. Following the Third Partition of Poland, in 1795 the town was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, and was included within the newly established province of New Silesia. In 1807 it was regained by Poles and included in the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw and in 1815 it became part of Russian-controlled Congress Poland.

Industrial revolution In the late 18th century rich deposits of coal were found in the area. In the 19th century, Będzin and its vicinity enjoyed a period of rapid industrialization and urbanization. New settlements and towns were founded, and the region of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie was established in south-western corner of Congress Poland. In 1858, Będzin got its first rail connection, due to construction of the Warsaw–Vienna railway. The town increased in population and size, when town limits were expanded by including neighboring settlements. During the January Uprising, in February 1863, Będzin was captured by Polish insurgents after their victory in the Battle of Sosnowiec nearby.

Będzin was eventually restored to Poland, when the country regained independence in 1918, after World War I. In the Second Polish Republic Będzin was an important centre of local administration and industry. New rail station, waterworks, schools and offices were built.

History: World War II During the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II, the Wehrmacht entered Będzin on September 4, 1939, and in the following days the Germans committed the first atrocities in the city. On September 6, the Germans murdered 20 Poles, and on September 9, they murdered 100 Jews, set fire to the synagogue and Jewish houses, and then in attempt to blame the Poles they arrested and executed 42 Poles. Local Polish parish priest Wincenty Mieczysław Zawadzki [pl] rescued a group of Jews who escaped the German massacre by opening the gates of the Holy Trinity church to them and giving them shelter. The German police carried out mass searches of Polish houses. Inhabitants of Będzin were also among Poles murdered in Celiny in June 1940. The Będzin Ghetto was established by the German occupational authority in July 1940. During the occupation, the city's name was changed to a German form, Bendsburg, and it was part of Upper Silesia Province, as the capital of Landkreis Bendsburg.

During the war the city was the base for a working party (E716) of British and Commonwealth prisoners of war, under the administration of Stalag VIII-B/344 at Łambinowice (then known as Lamsdorf). In January 1945, as the Soviet armies resumed their offensive and advanced from the east, the prisoners were marched westward in the so-called Long March or Death March. Many of them died from the bitter cold and exhaustion. The lucky ones got far enough to the west to be liberated by the allied armies after some four months of travelling on foot in appalling conditions. Their sufferings, though severe, pale by comparison to those of the Jews of Będzin (see below). In 1943–1944, the Germans also operated a subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp in the present-day district of Łagisza, in which they held and brutalized from 300 to over 700 prisoners as forced labourers.

In August 1943, as the Germans attempted to round up the last Jews still in Będzin, Jewish resistance fighters staged an armed revolt that lasted several days. One of the leaders was a woman, Frumka Plotnicka, who had earlier been a fighter in Warsaw in the ghetto revolt there. All the resistance fighters were killed in the action. More than 1000 Będzin Jews survived the war, several given help by local Poles.

On January 27, 1945, the town was captured by the Red Army. Subsequently, the castle was rebuilt, now housing the Museum of Zagłębie. New districts with blocks of flats were built and new factories were opened, including the Łagisza Power Station.

Jewish community Until World War II, Będzin had a vibrant Jewish community. According to the Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 21,200, Jews constituted 10,800 (around 51% percent). According to the Polish census of 1921 the town had a Jewish community consisting of 17,298 people, or 62.1 percent of its total population. In September 1939, the German Army (Wehrmacht) overran this area, followed by the SS death squads (Einsatzgruppen), who burned the Będzin synagogue and murdered 200 Jewish inhabitants. A Będzin Ghetto was created in 1942. Eventually, in the summer of 1943, most of the Jews in Będzin were deported to the nearby German Auschwitz concentration camp. Since Będzin was one of the last Polish communities to be liquidated, there are a relatively large number of survivors from there, and an extensive collection of their personal photographs were recovered, offering photographic insight into the pre-war life there.

Transport Będzin is conveniently located at the intersection of two national roads - the 94th (Zgorzelec - Kraków), and the 86th (Katowice -Warsaw). Katowice International Airport is located 23 km (14 mi) away, at Pyrzowice. The town also is a rail hub, where two connections meet. Będzin has three rail stations (Będzin-Miasto, Będzin and Będzin-Ksawera), and convenient bus and tram connections to neighboring cities. The first tram line was opened there in 1928. At that time the Black Przemsza River which runs through the city was also an important transport hub. The "Black" Przemsza is so named because the river bed as it flows through Będzin exposes a coal seam, making the water above it appear black.

Sport The city's most notable sports club is volleyball team MKS Będzin, which competes in the PlusLiga (Poland's top division). Other clubs include association football teams Sarmacja Będzin [pl] and RKS Grodziec [pl], which compete in the lower leagues, and American football team Zagłębie Steelers.

Warsaw Time 
Warsaw Time
Image: Adobe Stock Drone in Warsaw #229651849

Będzin has a population of over 56,620 people. Będzin also forms the centre of the wider Będzin County which has a population of over 148,516 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Będzin see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Będzin has links with:

🇫🇷 Basse-Ham, France 🇷🇺 Izhevsk, Russia 🇱🇹 Kaišiadorys, Lithuania 🇺🇦 Obukhiv, Ukraine 🇭🇺 Tatabánya, Hungary
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Będzin is: -160.867,-50.334

Locations Near: Będzin 19.1327,50.3336

🇵🇱 Sosnowiec 19.133,50.283 d: 5.6  

🇵🇱 Dąbrowa Górnicza 19.183,50.317 d: 4.1  

🇵🇱 Siemianowice 19.049,50.326 d: 6  

🇵🇱 Siemianowice Śląskie 19.049,50.326 d: 6  

🇵🇱 Mysłowice 19.137,50.242 d: 10.2  

🇵🇱 Katowice 19.017,50.267 d: 11.1  

🇵🇱 Piekary Śląskie 18.968,50.396 d: 13.6  

🇵🇱 Chorzów 18.955,50.298 d: 13.2  

🇵🇱 Jaworzno 19.273,50.201 d: 17.8  

🇵🇱 Bieruń 19.1,50.133 d: 22.4  

Antipodal to: Będzin -160.867,-50.334

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 16533.6  

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 16231.8  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 15908.7  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 15838.3  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 12204.2  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 12102.3  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 12086.8  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 12083.4  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 12083.3  

🇺🇸 Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 12044.3  

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