Dąbrowa Górnicza

MIASTO
Dąbrowa Górnicza
Administrative location
Voivodeship	Silesian Voivodeship
Powiat	city with county rights
Gmina	Dąbrowa Górnicza
Rodzaj gminy	urban municipality
History and residents
Prawa miejskie	1916
Powierzchnia (km²)	188.73
Population(2010)	127000
Population density (people/km²)	681
Mayor	Marcin Bazylak
Location and information
Tablice rejestracyjne	SD
City website

Dąbrowa Górnicza is a city with the rights of a county, and the largest city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie by area.

Historical and administrative location:
Like Sosnowiec, Dąbrowa Górnicza lies at the boundary of two former administrative units of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: the Kraków Voivodeship and the adjoining Duchy of Siewierz of the bishops of Kraków. During the Second Polish Republic, it was part of the Kielce Voivodeship along with the entire region; today it belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship.

The city developed rapidly at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 19th century, Dąbrowa was the administrative centre of the Western Mining District of the Kingdom of Poland.

It is one of the ten largest cities in Poland by area.

History

Until World War I, Dąbrowa Górnicza was a large industrial village. It was only during World War I that the Austrian occupying authorities designated it a city. Dąbrowa Górnicza received city rights in 1916.

The first mention of the village of Dąbrowa dates from 1655. The village was mentioned in the parish registers of the Holy Trinity parish in Będzin. It had been established several years earlier as Koniecpolska Wola, with the earliest surviving mention dating from 1652. At that time it was a royal village under the authority of the starosta of Będzin.

Before becoming a city, Dąbrowa was a major industrial centre, primarily associated with mining. Hard coal was discovered accidentally in 1785 by a group of boys tending sheep.

In 1796, one of the most important and oldest mines was opened. It was the Reden Mine, established on the initiative of Count von Reden, director of the Chief Mining Office in Wrocław. During this period, many Prussian specialists came to Dąbrowa (which was under Prussian rule from 1795 to 1807). Numerous state-owned and private mines were established at that time.

State-owned mines: Ksawery, Szuman, Hieronim, Łabęcki and Cieszkowski.
Private mines: Kazimierz, Jan, Antoni and Ludwik.

Between 1833 and 1839, a large industrial plant, Huta Bankowa steelworks, was built. Its construction was initiated by Henryk Łubieński, deputy director of the Bank of Poland.

Dąbrowa's importance increased in the 1830s when the headquarters of the administration of the Western Mining District were located there. The administration included chief mining officials, among them Józef Patrycjusz Cieszkowski, who coined the name Zagłębie Dąbrowskie.

In the second half of the 19th century, the Dąbrowa Mining School was established to train future mine foremen and steelworks supervisors. It was founded on 1 February 1889 by Tsar Alexander Romanov.

At that time, distinguished industrial specialists from France and Italy came to Dąbrowa. Architects from Italy or France also arrived to design new residential settlements.

Dąbrowa has a beautiful parish church, built to the designs of engineer Pomianowski. The church was the result of the efforts and dedication of the late Father Grzegorz Augustynik, a priest of exceptional kindness and intellect. Thanks to his considerable influence among workers, he played an outstanding role in the social life of Dąbrowa.

See Dąbrowa Górnicza on old postcards (catalogue)

See Dąbrowa Górnicza in old advertisements (catalogue)

Chronology

Selected chronology of Dąbrowa Górnicza:
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth:

15th century – the area of the present-day city belongs to two administrative units of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth:
- Kraków Voivodeship
- Duchy of Siewierz (which existed until 1790, when it was incorporated into the Kraków Voivodeship)
15th century – the first mentions of settlements (now districts of Dąbrowa Górnicza) in Jan Długosz's Book of Benefices of the Diocese of Kraków (Latin: Liber beneficiorum dioecesis Cracoviensis)

19th century:

1795–1807 – Prussian rule
1807–1815 – Dąbrowa in the Duchy of Warsaw (Kraków Department)
1815–1914 – Dąbrowa in the Kingdom of Poland under Russian rule until the outbreak of World War I. (Dąbrowa's precise administrative affiliation in the Kingdom of Poland was the same as that of Sosnowiec, apart from the four-year period of Austro-German occupation during World War I.)
1817 – the Mining Corps is established
1830s – the Bank of Poland establishes the Western Mining District. Dąbrowa becomes its administrative centre
1834 – construction of Huta Bankowa begins
1845 – construction of the Warsaw–Vienna Railway begins through Ząbkowice and Strzemieszyce

20th century:

1916 – city rights are granted

Second Polish Republic:

1918 – Poland regains independence
1919–1939 – Dąbrowa Górnicza is part of the Kielce Voivodeship

[...to be expanded]

Gallery of historical photographs

Construction of the basilica, around 1910
Królowej Jadwigi Street, 1925
Reden, 1919
View of the Paryż Mine, around 1930
Kościuszki Avenue, around 1930
May Day parade
May Day parade
"Grodziec" brass band
Miners from the "Generał Zawadzki" Mine marching in a May Day parade
May Day parade
May Day parade
May Day parade
May Day parade
May Day parade
May Day parade
May Day parade
May Day parade
May Day parade
May Day parade
Add a photograph:
Add a photograph:
Add a photograph:
Add a photograph:
Add a photograph:
Add a photograph:
Add a photograph:

Name

[...]