Zabrze is located in theSilesian Voivodeship. It is one of the cities composing the 2.7 million inhabitant conurbation referred to as theKatowice urban area, itself a major centre in the greaterKatowice-Ostrava metropolitan area which is populated by just over five million people.[4] The population of Zabrze as of December 2021 was 168,946, down from June 2009 when the population was 188,122.[1] Zabrze is bordered by three other cities of the metropolitan area:Gliwice,Bytom andRuda Śląska. The city is particularly known as the home ofGórnik Zabrze, one of the most accomplished Polish football clubs. The local historic coal mine complex is listed as aHistoric Monument of Poland as one of the most valuable of its kind in Poland.[5]
Biskupice, which is now a subdivision of Zabrze, was first mentioned in 1243 asBiscupici dicitur cirkaBitom.[7] Zabrze (orOld Zabrze) was mentioned in 1295–1305 asSadbre sive Cunczindorf (German forKonrad/Kunze's village;sive = "or"). According to historical sources, mining in Zabrze dates back to the 13th century.[8] The present-day districts of Mikulczyce and Rokitnica were locations ofmotte-and-bailey castles from the 13th-15th century, which are now archaeological sites.[9][10] In the 1970s, archaeologists discovered anEpipalaeolithic flintwork andflint tools from theMesolithic at the Mikulczyce archaeological site.[9] In theLate Middle Ages, the localSilesianPiast dukes invited German settlers into the territory, resulting in increasingGerman settlement[citation needed]. The settlement was part of theSilesian duchies of fragmented Poland. Zabrze became part of theHabsburg monarchy in 1526. In 1645, along with theDuchy of Opole, Zabrze returned to Polish rule under theHouse of Vasa, in 1666 it fell back to the Habsburgs, and was later annexed by theKingdom of Prussia during theSilesian Wars[citation needed]. In 1774, theDorotheendorf settlement was founded. In 1791, acoking coal seam was discovered in Zabrze, and then its first coking coal mine was opened.[8] In the 19th century, new coal mines, steelworks, factories and a power plant were created. A road connectingGliwice andChorzów and a railway connectingOpole andŚwiętochłowice were led through Zabrze.
In 1905, the Zabrze commune was created from the former communes of Alt-Zabrze, Klein-Zabrze, and Dorotheendorf. In 1915, it was renamedHindenburg in honour ofGeneralfeldmarschallPaul von Hindenburg, with the change approved by EmperorWilhelm II on 21 February 1915.[11] Until that time, it was among the few cities in Upper Silesia whose Polish name had been retained under German rule.
In 1904, the"Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society was established in Zabrze as both a sporting and patriotic organization promoting Polish national identity.[12] It was dissolved by Prussian authorities in 1911 but reactivated twice, in 1913 and 1918.[13][12] Members of the organization later took an active role in theUpper Silesia plebiscite campaign and in theSilesian uprisings.[12]
TypicalJugendstil architecture on Wolności (Liberty) Street in Zabrze
During the plebiscite held afterWorld War I, 21,333 inhabitants (59%) of the Hindenburg commune voted to remain in Germany, while 14,873 (41%) voted for incorporation to Poland, which had just regained its independence.[11] In May 1921 the ThirdSilesian Uprising broke out and Hindenburg was captured by Polish insurgents, who held it until the end of the uprising.[11] WhenUpper Silesia was divided between Poland and Germany in 1921, the Hindenburg commune remained in Germany, while the present-day districts of Kończyce,Makoszowy and Pawłów were reintegrated with Poland.[11] It received itscity charter in 1922. Just five years after receiving city rights Hindenburg became the biggest city in German-ruled western Upper Silesia and the second biggest city in German-ruled Silesia afterWrocław (thenBreslau). Nevertheless, various Polish organizations still operated in the city in theinterbellum, including a local branch of theUnion of Poles in Germany,[14] Polish libraries,sports clubs,credit unions, choirs,scout troops and an amateur theater.[15] Polish newspaperGłos Ludu was published in the city.[16] In a secretSicherheitsdienst report from 1934, Zabrze was named one of the main centers of the Polish movement in western Upper Silesia.[17] In terms of religion, most of the city's population adhered to theCatholic Church.[18]
In the 1920s, thecommunists,Christian democrats andnationalists enjoyed the greatest support among the German population, while Poles supported Polish parties.[19] In 1924 theCommunist Party of Germany won the local elections and proposed changing the name of the city toLeninburg.[20] In 1928, among the largest cities in western Upper Silesia, Polish parties received the most votes in Zabrze.[15] In theMarch 1933 elections, most of the citizens voted for theNazi Party, followed byZentrum and theCommunist Party. Nazi politicianMax Fillusch [de] became the city's mayor and remained in the position until 1945.[21]
The anti-Polish organizationBund Deutscher Osten was very active in the city, it dealt withpropaganda, indoctrination and espionage of the Polish community, as well as denouncing Poles to local authorities.[22] When, the Barbórka (traditional holiday of miners) church services were organized separately for Poles and Germans in 1936, the Polish service enjoyed a greater attendance,[23] however, due to Nazi oppression and propaganda, the attendance at Polish services in the 1930s gradually decreased, according to Bund Deutscher Osten.[24] Polish activists were increasingly persecuted since 1937.[14] People were urged toGermanise their names, Polish inscriptions were removed from tombstones.[22] Some Polish priests were expelled from the city, both before[25] and duringWorld War II.[26] As a result of German persecution theJewish community dropped from 1,154 people in 1933 to 551 in 1939, and its remainder was deported toconcentration camps in 1942.[18] The town's synagogue, that had stood since 1872, was destroyed in theKristallnacht pogroms of November 1938.[27]
DuringWorld War II, in 1941 the German authorities requisitioned church property and removed Polish symbols and memorabilia.[28]Church bells were confiscated for war purposes in 1942.[29] The Germans also established threeforced labour subcamps of theStalag VIII-B/344prisoner-of-war camp in the city, two of which operated in the local coal mines,[30] and one subcamp ofAuschwitz III was also located there. Another subcamp of Stalag VIII-B/344 (E51) operated at a coal mine in the present-day Mikulczyce district.[30][31]
On 24 January 1945, the city was captured by theRed Army. According to historian Andrzej Hanich, around 100 inhabitants were killed during and after the takeover.[32] Some inhabitants were later deported to theSoviet Union, and others wereresettled west in accordance with thePotsdam Agreement.[33]
FollowingWorld War II, according to thePotsdam Agreement the city was handed over to Poland in 1945 and the town's name was changed to the historicZabrze on 19 May 1945. The first post-war mayor of Zabrze was Paweł Dubiel, pre-war Polish activist and journalist in Upper Silesia, prisoner of theDachau andMauthausen concentration camps during the war.[34] The pre-war Polish inhabitants of the region, who formed the majority of the city's population in 1948,[35] were joined by Poles expelled fromformer eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. Moreover, Polish settlers from the central part of Poland also settled in Zabrze.
The city limits were largely expanded in 1951, by includingMikulczyce, Rokitnica, Grzybowice,Makoszowy, Kończyce and Pawłów as new districts.[35] New neighbourhoods were built from the 1950s to 1990s.[35] In 1948,Górnik Zabrze football club was founded, which won its first Polish championship in 1957, and soon became the pride of the city as one of the most successful clubs in Poland. Zabrze was administratively part of theKatowice Voivodeship until 1998.
On 17 September 2012, the Zabrze city council decided on a new administrative division of the city. Zabrze was subsequently divided into 15 districts and 3 housing estates.[36]
The Polish north–southA1 and east–westA4 motorways, which are parts of the European routesE75 andE40, respectively, run through Zabrze, and their junction is located just outside the city limits. In addition the PolishNational roads 78, 88 and 94 also run through the city.TheDrogowa Trasa Srednicowa leads through the town.
^"Główny Urząd Statystyczny" [Central Statistical Office] (in Polish). To search: Select "Miejscowości (SIMC)" tab, select "fragment (min. 3 znaki)" (minimum 3 characters), enter town name in the field below, click "WYSZUKAJ" (Search).
^Zalega, Dariusz (2024).Chachary. Ludowa historia Górnego Śląska (in Polish). Warszawa. p. 201.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Hanich, Andrzej (2012). "Losy ludności na Śląsku Opolskim w czasie działań wojennych i po wejściu Armii Czerwonej w 1945 roku".Studia Śląskie (in Polish).LXXI. Opole: 216.ISSN0039-3355.
^Dawid Smolorz. "Fußballegende mit deutsch-polnischem Hintergrund".Kulturkorrespondenz östliches Europa (in German) (1441): 30.
Cygański, Mirosław (1984). "Hitlerowskie prześladowania przywódców i aktywu Związków Polaków w Niemczech w latach 1939 – 1945".Przegląd Zachodni (in Polish) (4).
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.
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
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
