Duchy of Oświęcim

The Jewish cemetery in Oświęcim (German: Auschwitz), Poland, was destroyed by the Germans during World War II and partly restored by returning Jewish survivors after the Holocaust. In Communist Poland it fell into disrepair and was fully restored in the 1990s.

Oświęcim County (Polish: powiat oświęcimski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Oświęcim, which lies 51 kilometres (32 mi) west of the regional capital Kraków. The county contains four other towns: Kęty, 17 km (11 mi) south of Oświęcim, Brzeszcze, 9 km (6 mi) south-west of Oświęcim, Chełmek, 8 km (5 mi) north of Oświęcim, and Zator, 16 km (10 mi) east of Oświęcim. The county covers an area of 406.03 square kilometres (156.8 sq mi). As of 2006, its total population is 153,390, out of which the population of Oświęcim is 40,979, that of Kęty is 19,252, that of Brzeszcze is 11,730, that of Chełmek is 9,065, that of Zator is 3,726, and the rural population is 68,638. The county contains the sites of the Auschwitz concentration camp complex (Auschwitz being the German name for Oświęcim).

Gmina Oświęcim is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the town of Oświęcim, although the town is not part of the territory of the gmina. The gmina covers an area of 74.47 square kilometres (28.8 sq mi), and as of 2006 its total population is 16,708.

Oświęcim (Polish: [ɔˈɕfjɛɲtɕim] ; German: Auschwitz [ˈaʊʃvɪts] ; Yiddish: אָשפּיצין, romanized: Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland (Polish: Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated 33 kilometres (21 mi) southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (Wisła) and Soła rivers. The city is known internationally for being the site of the German Nazi-built Auschwitz concentration camp (the camp is also known as KL or KZ Auschwitz Birkenau) during World War II, when Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany.

The Oświęcim Synagogue, also called the Auschwitz Synagogue, is the only active synagogue in the town of Oświęcim, Poland. The formal, as well as pre-war, name of the synagogue is Chevre Loymdei Mishnayos (English translation: Association of Those Who Study Mishna). It is now part of the Auschwitz Jewish Center, which includes a Jewish Museum, a cafe in the house of Shimson Kleuger and an education center.

The Great Synagogue Memorial Park in Oświęcim is a memorial park devoted to the Great Synagogue in Oświęcim, Poland. The Synagogue was destroyed at the beginning of the Second World War.

The Soła (Polish: [ˈsɔwa]) is a river in southern Poland, a right tributary of the Vistula. The Soła originates in the Western Beskids mountain range near the border with Slovakia. It is made up of the confluence of several small creeks at the village of Rajcza. It runs downhill northeastwards through Żywiec Basin to the towns of Żywiec and Kęty, forming the border between the Silesian and the Żywiec Beskids. After 89 km (55 mi), the Soła empties into the Vistula River after passing through the town of Oświęcim. The river flows within metres of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum informs that the human ashes and ground bones of those murdered there were often dumped into the river.Soła flows through or near the following settlements: Rajcza, Milówka, Cisiec, Węgierska Górka, Cięcina, Radziechowy, Wieprz, Żywiec, Tresna, Czernichów, Międzybrodzie Żywieckie, Międzybrodzie Bialskie, Porąbka, Czaniec, Kobiernice, Kęty, Nowa Wieś, Hecznarowice, Bielany, Łęki, and Oświęcim.

Zaborze [zaˈbɔʐɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Oświęcim, within Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately five kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Oświęcim and 51 kilometres (32 mi) west of the regional capital Kraków.

Broszkowice [brɔʂkɔˈvit͡sɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Oświęcim, within Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north of Oświęcim and 51 km (31.7 mi) west of the regional capital Kraków. It is located on the Vistula river.

Bobrek [ˈbɔbrɛk] is a village located adjacent to the city of Oświęcim, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. During the Second World War, Nazi Germany operated a concentration camp at Bobrek. It lies approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) south of Chełmek, 2 km (1 mi) north-east of Oświęcim, and 49 km (30 mi) west of the regional capital Kraków. The concentration camp at Bobrek is mentioned in an episode of the U.S. TV show Law & Order.

The Przemsza (German: Przemsa) is a river in the south of Poland, and a tributary of the Vistula. According to one view, it originates at the confluence of the Black (Polish: Czarna) Przemsza and White (Biała) Przemsza, between the towns of Mysłowice and Jaworzno. For about 24 km (15 mi) it flows southwards to its Vistula mouth at Czarnuchowice (a district of Bieruń). Another view places its beginning at the source of the Black Przemsza, giving it the length of 88 kilometers. The Przemsza is one of the most polluted rivers of Poland. It carries industrial waste from the Upper Silesia and Zagłębie Dąbrowskie Coal Basin, and its water is regarded as dead. Furthermore, due to high level of pollution, the Przemsza does not freeze over in winter. Among the towns located along the Przemsza are Dąbrowa Górnicza, Mysłowice, Jaworzno, Chełmek, and Jęzor, a district of Sosnowiec. The Przemsza has been used for water transport since the mid-18th century. By the mid-19th century, it emerged as one of the most important waterways of the region. Large flat-bottomed rowing boats, called pl:galars, were used to transport goods on the Przemsza to the Vistula. One galar took up to 70 tons of coal or stone from quarries at Jeleń or Dziećkowice. In June 1926, the Piast Mine from Lędziny began mass water transportation of its coal, using a specially constructed port, located at the village of Chełm Mały. Other mines followed Piast, opening their own loading facilities. By 1937, there were eight such facilities along the Przemsza. The government of the Second Polish Republic had far-reaching plans for the river. A river port at Niwka (a district of Sosnowiec) was to be built, a Mysłowice - Spytkowice - Kraków canal, and a waterway to the Baltic Sea. The outbreak of World War II terminated these plans. Since the 12th century, the river formed the eastern border of the Silesian Duchy of Racibórz, with Lesser Poland. From 1846 until 1918, the so-called Three Emperors' Corner at the confluence of Black and White Przemsza marked the tripoint of the Kingdom of Prussia, the Austrian Empire and the Russian Empire. Nowadays the lower Przemsza is the border between the Silesian Voivodeship in the west and the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in the east.

Gorzów [ˈɡɔʐuf] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Chełmek, within Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) south of Chełmek, 5 kilometres (3 mi) north of Oświęcim, and 51 km (32 mi) west of the regional capital Kraków.Gorzów lies close to two rivers: the Vistula and Przemsza, on a wide and flat terrace common to both rivers, an area of 391 hectares (970 acres). The western and southern borders are naturally drawn by Przemsza river and Vistula river, on the other side of the rivers are located: south side - the city Oświęcim, west side - Czarnuchowice – district of the city Nowy Bieruń. The east and north borders are delimited artificially and runs irregularly: east side - village Bobrek, north side - the municipal city Chełmek. Citizens of Gorzów use the local names of individual rural districts, such as Babin, Kopanki, Cholerny cmentarz, Orliska, Piaski, Małowy and New Village. Main roads in Gorzów are Oświęcimska, Gorzowska, Szkolna, Nowowiejska which are regional/county roads administered by the County Roads Administration in Oświęcim; other roads are administered by the municipality city Chełmek. To the east is the regional road number 1809K (previously inter-reginal road 933), which is partiallythe border between Bobrek and Gorzów.