Będzin

Będzin County (Polish: powiat będziński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Będzin, which lies 13 kilometres (8 mi) north-east of the regional capital Katowice. The county contains four other towns: Czeladź, 3 km (2 mi) west of Będzin, Wojkowice, 7 km (4 mi) north-west of Będzin, Sławków, 20 km (12 mi) east of Będzin, and Siewierz, 18 km (11 mi) north-east of Będzin. The town of Sławków, which became part of Będzin County in 2002 when it was transferred from Lesser Poland Voivodeship to Silesian Voivodeship, forms an exclave. It is separated from the rest of the county by the cities of Dąbrowa Górnicza and Sosnowiec. The county covers an area of 368.02 square kilometres (142.1 sq mi). As of 2019 its total population is 148,516. The most populated towns are Będzin with 56,624 inhabitants, Czeladź with 31,545 inhabitants and Wojkowice with 8,927 inhabitants.

The Będzin Castle is a castle in Będzin in southern Poland. The stone castle dates to the 14th century, and is predated by a wooden fortification that was erected in the 11th century. It was an important fortification in the Kingdom of Poland and later, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Gródków [ˈɡrutkuf] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Psary, within Będzin County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of Psary, 4 km (2 mi) north of Będzin, and 15 km (9 mi) north-east of the regional capital Katowice.

Łagisza Power Station (Polish: Elektrownia Łagisza) is a coal-fired thermal power station at Łagisza in Będzin, Poland. The power plant has a total installed power capacity of 1,060 MW and installed cogeneration thermal capacity of 335 MW. It is operated by Południowy Koncern Energetyczny, a subsidiary of the Tauron Group.Construction of the power station started in 1960, after it was decided in 1958 to build it. In 1963–1967, seven units with 120 MW generation capacity each were built. These units used two flue gas stacks: one with a height of 200 metres (660 ft) and one with a height of 160 metres (520 ft). On 12 May 2006, construction of a new unit with 460 MW unit started. It was the world's first supercritical circulating fluidized bed project with the world's largest circulating fluidized bed boiler. The boiler was supplied by Foster Wheeler, while automation was supplied by Metso Automation. The generator was supplied by Alstom. The power station went in service on 30 June 2009, being built adjacent to the two old boilers it replaced. An interesting feature is that it has no chimney, as the new 133.2 metres (437 ft) tall cooling tower takes this function.

Czeladź ([ˈt͡ʂɛlat͡ɕ]; Yiddish: טשעלאַדזש, romanized: Chelodz) is a town in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (part of historic Lesser Poland), in southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. Located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river (tributary of the Vistula), it is the oldest urban center of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie. The area of Czeladź is 16 km2, and it borders Będzin, Sosnowiec, Katowice and Siemianowice Śląskie. The town is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999, previously it was in Katowice Voivodeship. Czeladź is one of the cities of the 2,7 million conurbation – Katowice urban area and within a greater Silesian metropolitan area populated by about 5,294,000 people. The population of the town as of December 2021 is 30,732. Founded in the 13th century, Czeladź was granted city status in 1262. In the years 1434–1790, it belonged to the Duchy of Siewierz. In the 19th century, Czeladź became an important mining center, with the Saturn coal mine opened there in the late 19th century. It also was a main center of Jewish culture, destroyed in The Holocaust.

Będzin Power Station (Polish: Elektrociepłownia Będzin) is a cogeneration plant in Będzin, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland.The plant is operated by the Elektrociepłownia Będzin S.A. company. It is the major energy provider for the Zagłębie Dąbrowskie. Its construction begun in 1913, and it started operating in 1916. The company is a stock action company since 1993, and is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Electrical production in 2014 was 151,140 MW·h.Rated capacity of the two OP-140 utility boilers is 2 x 145 t/h = 290 t/h, equivalent to 112,6 MWt each, 225,2 MWt total.Rated heat capacity of the heating boilers (1 x WP-70 and 1 x WP-120) is 220.2 MWt. The total installed heat capacity is 445.4 MWt plus 83.5 MWt in cogeneration from the 13UCK 80 turboset. (UCK is a turbine classification acronym which stands for "kondensacyjne z upustami przemysłowymi i ciepłowniczymi", polish for "condensation with industrial and district heating")

Schön Palace is a palace located in Sosnowiec in southern Poland. The building is located near the Warsaw–Vienna railway and surrounded by a neo-Romantic park (the Schön Park). Since 1985 it has housed the Museum in Sosnowiec. Wilhelm Palace is located nearby. It is one of the two palaces of the Schön family in Sosnowiec; the other being the New Schön Palace.

Gmina Psary is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Będzin County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the village of Psary, which lies approximately 6 kilometres (4 mi) north of Będzin and 17 km (11 mi) north-east of the regional capital Katowice. The gmina covers an area of 45.98 square kilometres (17.8 sq mi), and as of 2019 its total population is 12,190.

Psary [ˈpsarɨ] is a village in Będzin County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Psary. It lies approximately 6 kilometres (4 mi) north of Będzin and 17 km (11 mi) north-east of the regional capital Katowice.

The Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle in Sosnowiec is a Roman Catholic parish church in Sosnowiec, Poland. It belongs to the deanery of St. Thomas the Apostle. It is located at Orla Street, in the Pogoń district.The temple was built in the years 1904-1911 in the gothic revival style according to the design of the architect Józef Pomian-Pomianowski. It is a brick building, built on a Latin cross plan with an extensive presbytery. It is a building with three naves, basilica type. The body of the temple is varied, there are two contemporary openwork towers next to the façade, because in the years 2004–2007 they were added thanks to the efforts of the parish priest, Fr. Jan Szkoc, designed by Ewa and Tomasz Taczewski.The furnishings of the temple were built in stages, but neo-Gothic elements dominate. The interior was enriched by a wooden, carved main altar with the features of the Art Deco style, located at the intersection of the nave and the transept.

Sarnów [ˈsarnuf] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Psary, within Będzin County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) east of Psary, 6 km (4 mi) north-east of Będzin, and 18 km (11 mi) north-east of the regional capital Katowice.

The Battle of Sosnowiec was one of battles of the January Uprising. It took place in the night of 6–7 February 1863, between Polish insurgents under Colonel Apolinary Kurowski, and Imperial Russian Army garrison, which guarded the town of Sosnowiec, Congress Poland. On 5 February 1863 Kurowski and his men left Ojców, and marched towards Olkusz. He had some 150 men, who were joined by additional 100, including cavalry, riflemen and kosynierzy. The unit spent the night at Olkusz, and in the morning of 6 February they marched westwards, to Sławków and then Maczki (now a district of Sosnowiec). At that time Maczki was a very important railroad station, located at the border of the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. The insurgents, assisted by rail workers and coal miners from Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, captured a train, and at 9 p.m. left Maczki, heading to Sosnowiec, via Dąbrowa Górnicza. At 2 a.m. on 7 February, insurgent infantry left the train near Sielec, marching to the Sosnowiec Main Station. Then they attacked Russian garrison, which manned the station and nearby custom house. After some time, the Russians fled either to Modrzejów, or towards the nearby Prussian border. The Poles then released 30 captured prisoners of war, but several joined the insurgents.The insurgents seized 40 horses, weapons, and 97,000 roubles, sharing the money with Polish National Government. For the next two weeks, Poles controlled Sosnowiec and other areas of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, with Polish banners hanging from administration buildings.