Dąbrowa Basin Zagłębie Dąbrowskie | |
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 Interactive map of Dąbrowa Basin | |
| Country |  Poland |
| Historical region | Lesser Poland |
| Largest city | Sosnowiec |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
TheDąbrowa Basin (also, Dąbrowa Coal Basin)[1] orZagłębie Dąbrowskie (Polish pronunciation:[zaˈɡwɛmbjɛdɔmˈbrɔfskʲɛ]; is a geographical and historical region in southern Poland. It forms western part ofLesser Poland, though it shares some cultural and historical features with the neighbouringUpper Silesia. The region is sometimes referred to in English as Zaglembie or Zaglembia, especially in Jewish publications written in the English language.[2]
Zagłębie is a highly industrialised and densely populated region of southern Lesser Poland, borderingSilesia through theBrynica river (running betweenSosnowiec andKatowice). Apart from the three main cultural and industrial centres of the area (Dąbrowa Górnicza,Sosnowiec andBędzin), the region also includes a number of smaller cities. Among them areCzeladź,Wojkowice,Siewierz andSławków, and also smaller villages:Psary,Ożarowice,Bobrowniki andMierzęcice.
Since the borders of the region were never clearly defined, other towns are also sometimes listed among the cities of Zagłębie. These are:Zawiercie,Poręba,Włodowice,Kroczyce,Ogrodzieniec,Łazy andOlkusz.
The name Zagłębie Dąbrowskie was first used in ca. 1850, by Jozef Cieszkowski, a clerk employed at Western Coal District in Dąbrowa Górnicza. At that time, the town ofDąbrowa Górnicza was quickly growing, emerging as a main center of the region. The adjective "dąbrowskie" comes from the name of the town. The capital of the region has never been officially established.Sosnowiec is the largest city of Zagłębie, butCzeladź is the oldest.[3]
Until the 19th century, Zagłębie shared the fate of the rest of the region ofLesser Poland, and belonged toKraków Voivodeship, with the exception of theDuchy of Siewierz, which between 1177 and 1443 was under the rule ofSilesian dukes. On 30 December 1443, the Duchy was incorporated back intoLesser Poland asPolish fief and a property of thebishops of Kraków. After thePartitions of Poland, in 1795 Zagłębie was briefly annexed to the Prussian province ofNew Silesia. In 1807 however, during theNapoleonic Wars and thePolish–Austrian War, it was liberated and became part of theDuchy of Warsaw.
After theCongress of Vienna, along with the greater part of the Duchy, Zagłębie became part of theRussian-controlledKingdom of Poland. Simultaneously, in both Upper Silesia and neighbouring Zagłębie, large deposits ofcoal were discovered. With the opening of theWarsaw–Vienna railway in 1848, the region became the most industrialised part of the Kingdom. Despite developing simultaneously with adjacent Silesia, the region remained outside of German influence and remained largely Polish, a fact that is still a source of a certain animosity between theSilesians and theZagłębiacy, natives of Zagłębie. Zagłębie is sometimes called "Red", because of its Socialist or Communist traditions (it was one of main centers of theRevolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–07)), while Silesia is more conservative and religious.
After Poland regained her independence in 1918, Zagłębie became part of theKielce Voivodeship. After World War II most of Zagłębie was attached to theSilesian Voivodeship, laterKatowice Voivodeship and recentlySilesian Voivodeship. On March 25, 1992, theRoman Catholic Diocese of Sosnowiec was created. It is called sometimes the Diocese of Zagłębie.
Residents of the region spoke their own dialect, which now is largely extinct. It belonged to Lesser Poland group of dialects, with some Silesian and Russian additions (because Zagłębie in 1815–1915 was part of theRussian Empire). Several polonized words of Russian origin were in common use, such as "skolko" (standard Polish: "ile", English: "How much"), or "konfiety" (standard Polish: "cukierki", English: "sweets").
At the start of World War II, 100,000 Jews lived in the area of Zagłębie. On August 12, 1942 all the Jews of the region were gathered together and after aselection process, 12,500 of them were deemed unfit for work and were sent toAuschwitz for immediate extermination. The rest of the Jews were sent to slave labor camps throughout the Nazi empire. A forest was planted inIsrael near the city ofModiin in memory of the Jews of Zagłębie. The memorial plaque reads:
Tens of Jewish communities thrived and prospered throughout the Zagłęmbie region of south west Poland over the course of 700 years. The Jews of Zagłębie, who numbered 100,000 before the War, were destroyed by Nazi Germany. The Jews of Zagłęmbie resisted their Nazi enemies with honor and resourcefulness until death.
Józef Cieszkowski związał swoje losy z Dąbrową Górniczą. Był naczelnym zawiadowcą kopalń Okręgu Zachodniego, a od 1834 r. ich naczelnikiem. Wynalazł nowe metody wydobycia.
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