Gliwice was first mentioned as a town in 1276, however, it was grantedtown rights earlier by DukeWładysław Opolski of thePiast dynasty.[7] It was located on atrade route connectingKraków andWrocław and was part of variousPiast-ruled duchies offragmented Poland:Opole until 1281,Bytom until 1322, from 1322 to 1342 Gliwice was a capital of theDuchy of Gliwice [pl], afterwards again part of the Duchy of Bytom until 1354, later it was also ruled by other regional Polish Piast dukes until 1532,[7] although in 1335 it fell under the suzerainty of theBohemian Crown, which itself was part of theHoly Roman Empire, and passed with that crown under suzerainty of the AustrianHabsburgs in 1526.
According to 14th-century writers, the town seemed defensive in character, when under rule ofSiemowit of Bytom.[8] In theMiddle Ages the city prospered mainly due to trade and crafts, especially brewing.[7]
After the dissolution of theDuchy of Opole and Racibórz in 1532, it was incorporated as Gleiwitz into theHabsburg monarchy. Because of the vast expenses incurred by the Habsburg monarchy during their16th century wars against theOttoman Empire, Gleiwitz wasleased to Friedrich Zettritz for the amount of 14,000thalers. Although the original lease was for a duration of 18 years, it was renewed in 1580 for 10 years and in 1589 for an additional 18 years. Around 1612, the Reformed Franciscans came fromKraków, and then theirmonastery [pl] andChurch of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross [pl] were built.[10] The city was besieged or captured by various armies during theThirty Years' War.[7] In 1645 along with the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz it returned to Poland under theHouse of Vasa, and in 1666 it fell to Austria again. In 1683, Polish KingJohn III Sobieski stopped in the city before theBattle of Vienna.[7] In the 17th and 18th century, the city's economy switched from trading and brewing beer to clothmaking, which collapsed after the 18th-centurySilesian Wars.[7]
The first coke-firedblast furnace on the European continent was constructed in Gleiwitz in 1796 under the direction ofJohn Baildon. Gleiwitz began to develop into a major city through industrialization during the 19th century.[citation needed] The town'sironworks fostered the growth of other industrial fields in the area. The city's population in 1875 was 14,156. However, during the late 19th century Gleiwitz had: 14distilleries, 2breweries, 5mills, 7 brick factories, 3sawmills, ashingle factory, 8chalk factories and 2glassworks.
Other features of the 19th-century era industrialized Gleiwitz were agasworks, afurnace factory, a beerbottling company, and a plant for asphalt and paste. Economically, Gleiwitz opened several banks,savings and loan associations, andbond centers. Its tram system was completed in 1892, while its theater was opened in 1899; untilWorld War II, Gleiwitz's theatre featured actors from throughout Europe and was one of the most famous theatres in the whole of Germany. DespiteGermanisation policies, thePoles established various Polish organizations, including the"Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society, and published local Polish newspapers.[7]
After the end ofWorld War I, clashes betweenPoles andGermans occurred during thePolish insurrections in Silesia. Some ethnically Polish inhabitants of Upper Silesia wanted to incorporate the city into theSecond Polish Republic, which had just regained independence. On 1 May 1919, a Polish rally was held in Gliwice.[12] Seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict, theLeague of Nations held aplebiscite on 20 March 1921 to determine which country the city should belong to. In Gleiwitz, 32,029 votes (78.7% of given votes) were for remaining in Germany, Poland received 8,558 (21.0%) votes, and 113 (0.3%) votes were declared invalid. The total voter turnout was listed as 97.0%. The majority in the present-day districts (then surrounding villages) of Brzezinka, Czechowice, Łabędy, Ostropa,Sośnica, Stare Gliwice, Wójtowa Wieś and Żerniki opted to reintegrate with Poland, with the result ranging from 55.7% voting for Poland in Łabędy to 80.2% in Czechowice, while in the present-day districts of Ligota Zabrska and Bojków 56.5% and 98.3%, respectively, voted to remain in Germany.[13][14] The results prompted another insurrection by Poles. The League of Nations determined that three Silesian cities: Gleiwitz (Gliwice),Hindenburg (Zabrze) andBeuthen (Bytom) would remain in Germany, and the eastern part ofUpper Silesia with its main city ofKatowice (Kattowitz) would join restored Poland. After delimiting the border in Upper Silesia in 1921, Gliwice found itself in Germany, but near the border withPoland – nearbyKnurów was already in Poland.[citation needed]
The present Administrative Court building in the 1920s
During theinterbellum the city witnessed not onlyanti-Polish, but alsoanti-French incidents and violence by the Germans. In 1920, local Polish doctor and citycouncillorWincenty Styczyński [pl], protested against the German refusal to treat French soldiers stationed in the city.[12] In January 1922, he himself treated French soldiers shot in the city.[12] On 9 April 1922, 17 Frenchmen died in an explosion during the liquidation of a German militia weapons warehouse in the present-daySośnica district.[12] Styczyński, who defended the rights of local Poles and protested against German acts of violence against Poles, was himself murdered by a German radical/militant on 18 April 1922.[12] Nevertheless, various Polish organizations and enterprises still operated in the city in the interbellum, including a local branch of theUnion of Poles in Germany, Polish banks and ascout troop.[15]
On 9 June 1933, Gliwice was the site of the first conference of the Nazi anti-Polish organizationBund Deutscher Osten in Upper Silesia.[16] In a secretSicherheitsdienst report from 1934, Gliwice was named one of the main centers of the Polish movement in western Upper Silesia.[17] Polish activists were increasingly persecuted starting in 1937.[18]
TheGleiwitz incident was a false-flag attack on a radio station in Gleiwitz on 31 August 1939, staged by the German secret police, which served as a pretext, devised byReinhard Heydrich under orders from Hitler, forNazi Germany toinvade Poland, and which marked the start of theSecond World War. Shortly after the outbreak of the war, on 4 September 1939, theEinsatzgruppe I entered the city to commitatrocities against Poles.[19] After the invasion of Poland, the assets of local Polish banks were confiscated by Germany.[20] The Germans formed aKampfgruppe unit in the city.[21] It was also thecremation site of many of around 750 Poles murdered in Katowice in September 1939.[22]
In early 1940, the advancedshaped charge explosive developed for the attack onFort Ében-Émael as part of theBlitzkrieg attack on theMaginot Line on 10 May 1940 were tested at places in Gleiwitz to ensure secrecy.[23]
During the war, the Germans operated aDulag transit camp for Polish prisoners of war,[24] and a Nazi prison in the city,[25] and established numerousforced labour camps,[7] including aPolenlager camp solely for Poles,[26] a camp solely for Jews,[27] a penal "education" camp,[28] a subcamp of the prison inStrzelce Opolskie,[29] and six subcamps of theStalag VIII-B/344prisoner of war camp.[30] In October 1943, the Germans brought a large transport ofItalian POWs to a forced labour camp in today's Łabędy district.[31] From July 1944 to January 1945, Gliwice was the location of four subcamps of theAuschwitz concentration camp.[32] In the largest subcamp, whose prisoners were mainly Poles, Jews and Russians, nearly 100 either died of hunger, mistreatment and exhaustion or were murdered.[33] During the evacuation of another subcamp, the Germans burned alive or shot 55 prisoners who were unable to walk.[34] There are two mass graves of the victims of the early 1945death march from Auschwitz in the city, both commemorated with monuments.[35]
During the final stages of the war, 124 inhabitants committed suicide fearing the advancingRed Army.[36] On 24 January 1945, Gliwice was occupied by the Red Army. Soviet troops then murdered over 1,000 civilians, mostly women, children and elders.[36] In February 1945, the Soviets carried out deportations of local men to Soviet mines.[37] Under borders changes dictated by the Soviet Union at thePotsdam Conference, Gliwice fell inside Poland's new borders after Germany's defeat in the war. It was incorporated into Poland'sSilesian Voivodeship on 18 March 1945, after almost 300 years of being outside of Polish rule.
The earliest population estimate of Gliwice from 1880, gives 1,159 people in 1750.[40] The same source cites population to have been 2,990 in 1810, 6,415 in 1838, and 10,923 in 1861. A census from 1858 reported the following ethnic makeup: 7,060 - German, 3,566 -Polish, 11 -Moravian, 1 -Czech. Since theIndustrial Revolution, Gliwice saw rapid economic growth which fuelled fast population increase. In 1890, Gliwice had 19,667 inhabitants, and this number has increased over twofold over the next 10 years to 52,362 in 1900.[41] Gliwice gained its status of a large city (Großstadt in German) in 1927, when population reached 102,452 people.[citation needed]
In 1945, with the approaching Red Army, a significant number of residents were either evacuated or fled the city at their own discretion. Following theYalta Conference, Gliwice, along most ofSilesia, was incorporated intocommunist Poland, and the remaining German population wasexpelled.[citation needed] Ethnic Poles, some of them themselvesexpelled fromthe Polish Kresy (which were incorporated intoSoviet Union), started to settle down in Gliwice.[citation needed]
As of 31 December 2016, Gliwice's population stood at 182,156 people, a decrease of 1,236 over the previous year.[citation needed]
Historically, Gliwice was ethnically diverse, initially inhabited byPoles, later it had a German majority as a result of Germancolonization, with a significant autochthonous Polish minority. In theUpper Silesian Plebiscite in 1921, 78.9 percent of voters opted for Germany (however 15.1 percent of the vote in Gliwice was cast by non-residents, who are believed to overwhelmingly vote for Germany across the region). After Germany's defeat in World War II, the Germans either fled or were displaced to Allied-occupied Germany in accordance with thePotsdam Agreement. Polish inhabitants remained in Gliwice, and were joined by Polesdisplaced from formereastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union, including the city ofLwów (Lviv),[37]Volhynia,Polesie, theWilno region (Vilnius region) and theGrodno region. In addition, Poles from other regions of Poland, including the vicinity ofKielce,Rzeszów,Łódź orPoznań, as well as Poles from other countries, settled in Gliwice.[citation needed] Many of these new inhabitants were academics from theLwów Polytechnic who created theSilesian University of Technology.
According to the2011 Polish Census, 93.7 percent of people in Gliwice claimed Polish nationality, with the biggest minorities beingSilesians (or both Poles and Silesians at the same time) at 9.7 percent (18,169 people) and Germans at 1.3 percent (2,525). 0.3 percent declared another nationality, and the nationality of 2.1 percent of people could not be established.[42] These numbers do not sum up to 100 percent as responders were allowed to choose up to two nationalities. The most common languages used at home werePolish (97.7 percent),Silesian (2.3 percent), German (0.7 percent) and English (0.4 percent).[42]
Except for a short period immediately afterReformation, Gliwice has always had aCatholic majority, with sizeable Protestant and Jewish minorities. According to the population estimate in 1861, 7,476 people (68.4 percent) wereCatholic, 1,555 (14.2 percent)Protestant, and 1,892 Jewish (17.3 percent, highest share in city history).[40][43]
Currently, as of 2011 census, 84.7 percent of inhabitants claim they belong to a religion. The majority – 82.73 percent – belongs to the Catholic Church. This is significantly lower than the Polish average, which is 89.6 and 88.3 percent, respectively. According to theCatholic Church in Poland, weekly mass attendance in the Diocese of Gliwice is at 36.7 percent of obliged, on par with Polish average.[44] Other larger denominations includeJehovah's Witnesses (0.56 percent or 1,044 adherents) andProtestants (0.37 percent or 701 adherents).[42]
Gliwice's Jewish population reached its height in 1929 at approximately 2,200 people, but started to decline in the late 1930s, as theNazi Party gained power inGermany, of which Gliwice was then a part. In 1933, there were 1,803 Jews living in the city; this number had dropped by half (to 902) by 1939 due to emigration.[45] Between 1933 and 1937, Jews living in Upper Silesia enjoyed somewhat lesslegal persecution compared to Jews in other parts of Germany, thanks to the Polish-German Treaty of Protection of Minorities' Rights in Upper Silesia. This regional exception was granted thanks to theBernheim petition that Gliwice citizen Franz Bernheim filed againstNazi Germany with theLeague of Nations.[46][47] TheNew Synagogue was destroyed in 1938 during the Nazi November pogroms known asKristallnacht. Duringthe Holocaust, Jews from Gliwice were transported toAuschwitz-Birkenau in 1942 and 1943.[45]
Only 25 Jews from Gliwice's pre-war Jewish population survived World War II in the city, all of them being in mixed marriages with gentiles.[48] Immediately after the war, Gliwice became a congregation point for Jews who had survivedthe Holocaust, with the Jewish population standing at around a 1,000 people in 1945. Since then, the number of Jews in Gliwice has declined as survivors moved to larger cities or emigrated to Israel, the United States, and other western countries.[43] Currently, Gliwice's Jewish community is estimated at around 25 people and is part of the Katowice Jewish Religious Community.
Gliwice has oneJewish prayer house, where religious services are held everySabbath and on holidays. It is located in the house that the Jewish Religious Community elected in 1905.
Notable members of the Jewish community in Gliwice include:
Wilhelm Freund (1806–1894), philologist and director of the Jewish school.
Market Square (Rynek) with the Town Hall (Ratusz), Neptune Fountain and colourful historic townhouses, located in the Old Town
TheGliwice Radio Tower ofRadiostacja Gliwicka ("Radio Station Gliwice") inSzobiszowice is the only remaining radio tower of wood construction in the world, and with a height of 118 meters, is perhaps the tallest remaining construction made out of wood in the world. It is listed as aHistoric Monument of Poland and now it is a branch of the local museum.
Piast Castle dates back to the Middle Ages and hosts a branch of the local museum.
Museum of Upper Silesian Jewry, a part of the local museum; located in the mortuary at the New Jewish Cemetery, which was designed by the Viennese ArchitectMax Fleischer
Gliwice Trynek narrow-gauge station is a protected monument. The narrow-gauge line to Racibórz via Rudy closed in 1991 although a short section still remains as a museum line.
The Weichmann Textile House was built during the Summers of 1921 and 1922. It was never referred to as Weichmann Textile House from its completion in Summer 1922 until its closing in 1943. Rather it was founded under the name Seidenhaus Weichmann ("Silk House Weichmann") by a JewishWWI veteran, Erwin Weichmann (1891–1976), who had been awarded theIron Cross 2nd Class by Germany. Erwin Weichmann a long time friend ofErich Mendelsohn, commissioned the architect to design Seidenhaus Weichmann. Today a monument can be seen near the entrance to the bank, that now occupies the building. Seidenhaus Weichmann is a two-floor structure. The second floor was initially a bachelor's pad for Erwin Weichmann, as he did not marry until 1930. In 1936 the newly createdNuremberg Laws forced Erwin Weichmann to sell Seidenhaus Weichmann and move temporarily to Hindenberg (Zabrze) before emigrating to the United States in July 1938. The individual, who had purchased Seidenhaus Weichmann in 1936, never saw a profit, as the economic strain ofWWII severely reduced the market demand for nonessentials, which included the fine imported silks of sold by Seidenhaus Weichmann. Then in 1943, the purchaser of Seidenhaus was killed in anAllied bombing raid, which marked the end of Seidenhaus Weichmann.
The Polish north–southA1 and east–westA4 motorways, which are parts of the European routesE75 andE40, respectively, run through Gliwice, and their junction is located in the city. In addition the PolishNational roads 78 and 88 also run through the city.
TheGliwice Canal (Kanał Gliwicki) links the harbour to theOder River and thus to the waterway network across much of Germany and to theBaltic Sea. There is also an olderKłodnica Canal (Kanał Kłodnicki) which is no longer operational.
The city's President (i.e. mayor) is Adam Neumann. He succeeded Zygmunt Frankiewicz who was mayor for 26 years (1993–2019) before being elected as a Polish Senator.
Gliwice has 21 city districts, each of them with its ownRada Osiedlowa. They include, in alphabetical order: Bojków, Brzezinka, Czechowice, Kopernik, Ligota Zabrska, Łabędy, Obrońców Pokoju, Ostropa, Politechnika, Sikornik,Sośnica, Stare Gliwice,Szobiszowice, Śródmieście, Żwirki I Wigury, Trynek, Wilcze Gardło, Wojska Polskiego, Wójtowa Wieś, Zatorze, Żerniki.
Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Bytom/Gliwice/Zabrze constituency include: Brzeziński Jacek (PO), Chłopek Aleksander (PiS), Gałażewski Andrzej (PO), Głogowski Tomasz (PO), Kaźmierczak Jan (PO), Martyniuk Wacław (LiD), Religa Zbigniew (PiS), Sekuła Mirosław (PO), Szarama Wojciech (PiS), Szumilas Krystyna (PO).
Zbigniew Messner (1929–2014), professor and former rector of Economic Academy in Katowice, deputy prime minister ofPeople's Republic of Poland 1983–1985, prime minister 1985–1988
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^"About us".www.polsl.pl (in Polish).Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved7 October 2018.
^Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 526.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
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^"Gleiwitz I".Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau.Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved1 November 2020.
^"Gleiwitz IV".Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau.Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved1 November 2020.
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Rosenbaum, Sebastian; Węcki, Mirosław (2010).Nadzorować, interweniować, karać. Nazistowski obóz władzy wobec Kościoła katolickiego w Zabrzu (1934–1944). Wybór dokumentów (in Polish).Katowice:IPN.ISBN978-83-8098-299-4.
Max Lamla:Merkwürdiges aus meinem Leben (1917–1999), Saarbrücken 2006,ISBN3-00-018964-5
Boleslaw Domanski (2000) "The Impact of Spatial and Social Qualities on the Reproduction of Local Economic Success: The Case of the Path Dependent Development of Gliwice", in: Prace Geograficne, zeszyt 106, Cracow, pp 35–54.
B. Nietsche,Geschichte der Stadt Gleiwitz (1886)
Seidel,Die königliche Eisengiesserei zu Gleiwitz (Berlin, 1896)
The list includes the 107 urban municipalities governed by acity mayor (prezydent miasta) instead of a town mayor (burmistrz) ·Cities with powiat rights are initalics · Voivodeship cities are inbold
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