Będzin Castle

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.

Będzin (Polish: [ˈbɛɲd͡ʑin] ; also Bendzin in English; German: Bendzin; Yiddish: בענדין, romanized: Bendin) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula). Even though part of Silesian Voivodeship, Będzin belongs to historic Lesser Poland, and it is one of the oldest towns of this province. Będzin is regarded as the capital of industrial Dąbrowa Basin. It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999. Before 1999, it was located in the Katowice Voivodeship. Będzin 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 city itself as of December 2021 is 55,183.Będzin is located 12 km (7 mi) from Katowice and 4 km (2 mi) from the center of Sosnowiec. Together with Sosnowiec, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Czeladź, Wojkowice, Sławków and Siewierz it is a part of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, a highly industrialized and densely populated part of western Lesser Poland. Będzin borders the cities of Sosnowiec, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Czeladź, Siemianowice Śląskie, and Wojkowice, as well as the village of Psary. The highest point of the town is St. Dorothy Mountain 382 m (1,253 ft) above sea level, and the area of Będzin is 37.37 km2 (14.43 sq mi).

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")

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.

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.

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.

Środula is a former village in Poland, now the northern district of the town of Sosnowiec, Poland. Edward Gierek, a former leader of Poland (the 4th First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party) during the communist era, is buried there.

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.

Dietel Palace (Polish: Pałac Dietla) is a neo-baroque palace built for Heinrich Dietel, located in Sosnowiec (Poland).

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.

Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association. Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Region, Sosnowiec is one of the cities of the Katowice urban area, which is a conurbation with the overall population of 2.7 million people; as well as the greater Upper Silesian metropolitan area populated by about 5.3 million people. The population of the city is 194,818 as of December 2021.

Sielecki Castle is a castle in the city of Sosnowiec in southern Poland, located in the Sielc district. The castle is located on the left bank of the Czarna Przemsza River. It was built in the 17th century and it is the oldest building in the city.