Bialystok
Bialystok is the largest city in north-eastern
Poland and the capital of the
Podlachian Voivodeship since 1999, previously of
Bialystok Voivodeship . Bialystok is located in north-eastern
Poland near the border with
Belarus; it is the largest city and the historical capital of the
Podlachia region.
Encyclopedia
Bialystok is the largest city in north-eastern
Poland and the capital of the
Podlachian Voivodeship since 1999, previously of
Bialystok Voivodeship . Bialystok is located in north-eastern
Poland near the border with
Belarus; it is the largest city and the historical capital of the
Podlachia region.
History
According to legend, Bialystok was given its name by the Lithuanian prince
Gediminas in about 1320. The first mention of the place in historical sources dates from 1437 when the land around the Bialka river was given by King
Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk of Poland to Raczko Tabutowicz, then in 1547 it passed to the
Wiesiolowski family. They built a brick castle and a church here. In 1645 after the death of Krzysztof Wiesiolowski, the last of the clan, Bialystok became the property of the Commonwealth. In 1661 it was given to
Stefan Czarniecki as a reward for his service in the victory over the Swedes. Four years later, as a dowry of his daughter Alexandra, it passed to the
Branicki family.
In the second half of the
18th century Hetman Jan Klemens Branicki, a commander in chief, became the heir of the Bialystok area. It was he who transformed the previously existing abode into the magnificent residence of a great noble. Several artists and scientists came to Bialystok to take advantage of Branicki's patronage. Bialystok received its city charter in 1749.
After the
third partition of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795 it first belonged to the
Prussian Kingdom, then after the
Peace of Tilsit signed in 1807 it passed to
Russia. During the
19th century the city became a major centre of
textile industry.
Due to an industrial boom the population grew from 13,787 in 1857, and 56,629 in 1889, to 65,781 in 1901. In this period the majority of the city's population was Jewish and Polish.
After the outbreak of the
First World War in 1914, first heavy bombing of the town took place on 20 April 1915. On 13 August 1915 German soldiers appeared in Bialystok. The city was included in
Ober Ost occupational region, in July of 1918 it was made part of Lithuanian Province and became capital of the
Southern Lithuania government precinct. On February 19, 1919 the city was taken by
Poland.
During 1920, when overrun by
Soviet forces during the
Polish-Soviet War, it briefly served as headquarters of the Polish Revolutionary Committee headed by Julian Marchlewski, which attempted to declare the Polish Soviet Socialist Republic.
In the years 1920-1939 the city was again part of independent Poland. In September 1939, Bialystok was occupied by the
German army, but then passed on to the Soviet Union with respect to the Secret protocol of
Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, when it was annexed into the Byelorussian SSR. On June 27, 1941, Bialystok again fell into German hands, as a result of the invasion of the
Soviet Union. From the very beginning, the Germans pursued a ruthless policy of pillage and extermination of the non-German population. The numerous Jewish population, some 50-60 thousand, were confined in a Ghetto, which during August 1941 was exterminated. On June 27, 1941 German troops locked over 3,000
Jews within the
Great Synagogue and burned it down.
In the last year of the occupation, a clandestine upper Commercial School came into existence. The pupils of the school also took part in the underground resistance movement. As a result, some of them were jailed, some killed and others deported to
concentration camps.
A number of anti-fascist groups came into existence in Bialystok during the first weeks of the occupation. In the following years, there developed a well-organized resistance movement.
On August 15, 1943 Bialystok Ghetto Uprising was outbroken - several hundreds of Polish Jews started an armed struggle against the German troops carrying over the plan of liquidation of the Ghetto.
Ecclesiastical history
For most of ts existence, Bialystok was part of the diocese of Vilna, the Lithuanian capital.
Only on June 5, 1991 was the diocese of Bialystok established; it was quickly, on March 25, 1992, promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bialystok with two
Suffragan dioceses: Drohiczyn and
Lomza .
Education
Politics
Bialystok constituency
Members of Parliament elected from Bialystok constituency
- Borawski, Edmund : PSL
- Cimoszewicz, Wlodzimierz : SLD-UP
- Ciruk, Barbara: SLD-UP
- Czerniawski, Mieczyslaw: SLD-UP
- Czuz, Aleksander: SLD-UP
- Czykwin, Eugeniusz: SLD-UP
- Fedorowicz, Andrzej: LPR
- Jurgiel, Krzysztof: PiS
- Kaminski, Michal: PiS
- Krutul, Piotr: LPR
- Laskowski, Józef: Samoobrona
- Mioduszewski, Józef: PSL
- Wisniowska, Genowefa: Samoobrona
- Zagórski, Marek: PO
- Zaworski, Jan: SLD-UP
- Zielinski, Jaroslaw: PiS
Municipal politics
to be written yet
Administrative division
The City of Bialystok is divided into 27 districts:
Monuments
Historical population
| Year | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1946 | 1949 | 1950 | 1955 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|
| Male | 35384 | 42416 | - | 24325 | - | 30253 | 45454 | 55439 | 58432 | 59922 | 61394 | 63240 | 64880 | 66979 | 72923 | 74777 | 76648 |
|---|
| Female | 41408 | 48685 | - | 32434 | - | 38250 | 51738 | 65482 | 67018 | 68712 | 70723 | 73119 | 75106 | 77499 | 83816 | 86022 | 88290 |
|---|
| Overall | 76792 | 91101 | 107000 | 56759 | 60330 | 68503 | 97192 | 120921 | 125450 | 128634 | 132117 | 136359 | 139986 | 144478 | 156739 | 160799 | 164938 |
|---|
| Year | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 |
|---|
| Male | 77890 | 80569 | 83243 | 85391 | 87803 | 90386 | 93075 | 95770 | 99009 | 102133 | 104722 | 107176 | 110027 | 112552 | 115292 | 118016 | 120536 |
|---|
| Female | 90153 | 93336 | 96420 | 99221 | 102350 | 105475 | 108320 | 111646 | 113002 | 116627 | 119465 | 122475 | 125399 | 127752 | 130137 | 132801 | 135157 |
|---|
| Overall | 168043 | 173905 | 179663 | 184612 | 190153 | 195861 | 201395 | 207416 | 212011 | 218760 | 224187 | 229651 | 235426 | 240304 | 245429 | 250817 | 255693 |
|---|
| Year | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|
| Male | 122587 | 124757 | 126649 | 128279 | 129740 | 129997 | 131035 | 131624 | 132175 | 133036 | 133727 | 134230 | 134745 | 134905 | 135335 | 137350 | 137288 |
|---|
| Female | 136964 | 139137 | 141436 | 142289 | 143562 | 144098 | 145010 | 145427 | 146314 | 147556 | 148803 | 149707 | 150285 | 150602 | 151030 | 154310 | 154643 |
|---|
| Overall | 259551 | 263894 | 268085 | 270568 | 273302 | 274095 | 276045 | 277051 | 278489 | 280592 | 282530 | 283937 | 285030 | 285507 | 286365 | 291660 | 291931 |
|---|
Famous people
Birthplace of
Sports
...
- football team
See also
Sources and external links
