Stare Bielsko

Bielsko [ˈbjɛlskɔ] (German: Bielitz, Czech: Bílsko) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town. Bielsko was founded by the Cieszyn Piast dukes in the late 13th century on the grounds of village later called Stare Bielsko (Old Bielsko), on the Biała River. It was first mentioned in a written document in 1312. Originally settled by Germans, it became the largest German-language center (Deutsche Sprachinsel Bielitz) in the Duchy of Teschen, and remained so until the end of World War II. In 1572 it gained autonomy as the Duchy (State) of Bielsko. During the 18th century a rapid development of textile industry occurred, and at the beginning of the 19th century more than 500 weavers worked in the town. After the 1920 division of Cieszyn Silesia between Poland and Czechoslovakia it became, despite the protests of local Germans, a part of Poland. According to the Austrian census of 1910 the town had 18,568 inhabitants. The census asked people for their native language: 15,144 (84.3%) were German-speaking, 2,568 (14.3%) were Polish-speaking and 136 (0.7%) were Czech-speaking. Jews were not allowed to declare Yiddish, and most of them thus declared German as their native language. The most populous religious groups were Roman Catholics with 10,378 (55.9%), followed by Protestants with 4,955 (26.7%) and the Jews with 3,024 (16.3%). The vast majority of the Jews were exterminated by Nazis during World War II, and the German population was expelled by the Soviets after the war under the terms demanded by Stalin at the Potsdam Conference.

Bielsko County (Polish: powiat bielski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian 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 is the city of Bielsko-Biała, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The county contains three towns: Czechowice-Dziedzice, 13 km (8 mi) north-west of Bielsko-Biała, Szczyrk, 14 km (9 mi) south of Bielsko-Biała, and Wilamowice, 12 km (7 mi) north-east of Bielsko-Biała. The county covers an area of 457.23 square kilometres (176.5 sq mi). As of 2019 its total population is 165,374, out of which the population of Czechowice-Dziedzice is 35,926, that of Szczyrk is 5,734, that of Wilamowice is 3,100, and the rural population is 120,614.

The Weaver's House is a unique example of the 18th-century craftsman architecture. Located in Bielsko-Biała, it is situated in the Old Uptown in a log cabin with its characteristic hay store. The building is a museum branch belonging to the Museum in Bielsko-Biała. The building functioned as a house and a workshop until the beginnings of the 20th century. The information about its tenants is incomplete. In the second half of the 18th century it certainly was the Bartke family's and in the 19th century the Bathelts’. From 1873 the owner of the building was Carl Nowak and after his death - Marie, the widow. At the beginning of the 20th century it belonged to the local shoemaker, Antoni Polończyk After the World War II the building became a tenement house until Antoni's son, Wiktor Polończyk, donated it to the Polish State in 1974 in order to establish a museum there. When in 1992 the long-lasting renovation works finished, the District Museum in Bielsko-Biała opened the exhibition to the public.

Silesian Foothills (Polish: Pogórze Śląskie, Czech: Slezské podhůří, Silesian: Pogōrze Ślōnske) are foothills located in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. It has an area of 545 km2. Its western border is Olza river, eastern Skawa. Other main rivers that cut the foothills are from west to east: Vistula, Biała and Soła. To the south are Silesian Beskids and Little Beskids, in north it converts into Ostrava Basin and Oświęcim Basin. The towns located on the foothills are: Cieszyn, Skoczów, Bielsko-Biała, Kęty, Andrychów and Wadowice.

The Bielsko-Biala School of Finance and Law (Wyższa Szkoła Finansów i Prawa w Bielsku-Białej) is a school in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. It was founded in 1995 and gained its current name in 2011. Currently, the school offers courses in two departments and four different majors are: Finance, Information Technology, Law, and Internal Security.

Kamienica (German: Kamitz) is an osiedle (district) of Bielsko-Biała, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. Historically it was a separate village but was merged into the city in 1968. The osiedle has an area of 7.1005 km2 and on December 31, 2006 had 4,910 inhabitants.The name is of topographic origin and is derived from stones (Polish adjective kamienny).

The Diocese of Bielsko–Żywiec (Latin: Dioecesis Bielscensis-Zyviecensis) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in the cities of Bielsko and Żywiec in the ecclesiastical province of Kraków in Poland. It was established as the Diocese of Bielsko–Żywiec from the Diocese of Katowice and Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kraków on 25 March 1992. In 2013 about a half of the then Catholic Church members attended church services at least once per week.

The Saint Nicholas' Cathedral (Kościół katedralny św. Mikołaja) is the main Roman Catholic Church of the city of Bielsko-Biała, in the Silesian Voivodship, Poland. It overlooks the market square (Rynek). Founded between 1443 and 1447, it was almost completely rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century according to a design by Viennese architect Leopold Bauer. Another artist from Vienna, Rudolf Harflinger, designed the stained-glass windows. The city was in that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in the crownland Silesia. In 1992, the church became the cathedral of the newly created dioceses of Bielsko and Żywiec. The tower rises 61 meters above the city and is a landmark for the surrounding area. The organ (III/51) is a work from Rieger-Kloss, built in 1915.

The Duchy of Bielsko (German: freie Standesherrschaft Bielitz, Fürstentum Bielitz, Herzogtum Bielitz, Latin: status minores Bilicensis, status maiores Bilicensis, ducatus Bilicensis, Polish: księstwo bielskie,Czech: Bílské knížectví ) was one of the duchies of Silesia. It was created in 1572 out of the Duchy of Cieszyn as vassal of Bohemia and sold by Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn to Charles Promnitz. Lately, in 1582 was sold to Adam Schaffgotsch, but ten years later was sold again to Sunnegh family. They in 1724 sold state country to Henry of Salm. In 1743 was county owned by Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz and in 1751 its status was changed to status maiores, so it can send deputies to Silesian Assembly. In 1752, the State Country (Status Maiores) of Bielsko was purchased by Aleksander Józef Sulkowski. In that same year, the State Country was changed to the status of a lower principality (Fürstentum). On November 2, 1754, Queen Maria Theresa of Austria created the Principality of Bielsko (Herzogtum Bielitz). The next owners of the Principality of Bielsko had the right to the title of Herzog (Duke), during which time the remaining members of the family counted themselves amongst the lesser noble status of Fürst (Prince). The Principality was till 1849 as autonomous principality in Austrian Silesia. After the 1920 division of Cieszyn Silesia between Poland and Czechoslovakia it became a part of Poland. Its capital was in Bielsko, dukes were vassals of the King of Bohemia.

Bielsko Synagogue was a synagogue in Bielsko, Poland. It was built in 1879–1881, designed by Karol Korn. The synagogue was completely destroyed by Nazis on 13 September 1939. Media related to Synagogue in Bielsko-Biała (3 Maja Street) at Wikimedia Commons

The Bielsko Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Bielsko-Biała. It was established on 1 June 1975, from the parts of the voivodeships of Katowice, and Kraków, and existed until 31 December 1998, when it was partitioned between then-established Lesser Poland, and Silesian Voivodeships.

Bielsko-Biała (Polish: [ˈbjɛlskɔ ˈbjawa] ; Czech: Bílsko-Bělá; German: Bielitz-Biala, Silesian: Biylsko-Biołŏ; Wymysorys: Byłc-Bejł) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of 124.51 km2 (48.07 sq mi). It is the core of the broader metropolitan area with around 335,000 inhabitants. It serves as the seat of the Bielsko County, Euroregion Beskydy, Roman Catholic Diocese of Bielsko–Żywiec and the Evangelical Church Diocese of Cieszyn. Situated north of the Beskid Mountains, Bielsko-Biała is composed of two former towns which merged in 1951—Bielsko in the west and Biała in the east—on opposite banks of the Biała River that once divided Silesia and Lesser Poland. The history of Bielsko dates back to the 13th century, while Biała was founded in the 16th century and obtained city rights in 1723. Despite the administrative separation, both towns effectively functioned as one urban area already in the 19th century. Industrialization, especially the textile and automotive industries, was of great importance for its development in the past. Between 1975 and 1998, the city was the seat of Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship and currently lies within the Silesian Voivodeship. Bielsko-Biała is the administrative, economic, academic and cultural centre for the Silesian-Lesser Polish border region, sometimes colloquially referred to as Podbeskidzie. It is also an important commercial and industrial hub, as well as a road and railway junction. It is a significant tourist destination due to its numerous architectural monuments (a popular slogan Little Vienna refers to many Revivalist and Art Nouveau buildings shaping the cityscape of the central districts) and its direct proximity to the mountains (fourteen mountain peaks lie within the city limits).