Silesia, Silesian Voivodeship
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History of Silesia

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39 articles
The Beskidenverein: the German society that marked the first trails in the Beskids Historia Śląska
The Beskidenverein: the German society that marked the first trails in the Beskids
A society founded in Frýdek in 1893 marked trails and built mountain huts in the Beskids before Polish organisations did. What remains of it on the ridges above Bielsko-Biała, on Czantoria and Hala Lipowska, and what the dispute with the Polish Tatra Society looked like.
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Bielsko and Biała: two towns on one river, joined in 1951 Historia Śląska
Bielsko and Biała: two towns on one river, joined in 1951
For more than six centuries Bielsko and Biała were two separate towns on the two banks of a river that also divided states and lands. A walk through squares, factories and parks shows what remains of that division after the merger of 1951.
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Cieszyn on the Olza: the division of the town in 1920 and its traces Historia Śląska
Cieszyn on the Olza: the division of the town in 1920 and its traces
On 28 July 1920 the Conference of Ambassadors divided Cieszyn Silesia, and the border cut through the town itself along the Olza river. The station ended up on one side, the old town on the other. Traces of this division can still be seen in Cieszyn today.
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Jewish cemeteries of Bielsko-Biała and Cieszyn Historia Śląska
Jewish cemeteries of Bielsko-Biała and Cieszyn
In Bielsko-Biała the Jewish cemetery in Aleksandrowice is still in use, while a second one, on Wyzwolenia Street, was closed down in 1966. In Cieszyn there are two necropolises on Hażlaska Street, the older of which goes back to 1647. The text describes their history, wartime losses and what has survived today.
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Jewish cemeteries in Pszczyna, Żory, Mikołów, Rybnik and Racibórz Historia Śląska
Jewish cemeteries in Pszczyna, Żory, Mikołów, Rybnik and Racibórz
Five towns, five different fates of Jewish cemeteries: from the fully preserved necropolis in Pszczyna, through Mikołów, linked with the death march of 1945, to a square in Rybnik and the liquidation of the kirkut in Racibórz. The text describes the history of each and what remains of them.
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Dąbrowa Górnicza: from Koniecpolska Wola to town rights in 1916 Historia Śląska
Dąbrowa Górnicza: from Koniecpolska Wola to town rights in 1916
A village founded around 1652 as Koniecpolska Wola became one of the centres of industry in the Dąbrowa Basin, yet received town rights only in 1916. The text leads from the starost of Będzin, through the Reden mine, to the places that remain from that era.
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Daisy von Pless: An Englishwoman in Pszczyna Castle Historia Śląska
Daisy von Pless: An Englishwoman in Pszczyna Castle
Daisy von Pless was born in Wales, married the Prince of Pless in 1891 and for over thirty years lived in the castles of Pszczyna and Książ. The text describes her life, her social work, her diaries and how she is remembered in Pszczyna.
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The riots in Katowice and the Second Silesian Uprising in 1920 Historia Śląska
The riots in Katowice and the Second Silesian Uprising in 1920
In August 1920, after riots in Katowice, the Second Silesian Uprising broke out and lasted several days. Its aim was to remove the German security police and create a mixed police force. The article sets out the course of events and the differing dates in two sources.
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Protestants in the Beskids: secret services on Równica and Czantoria, and Lutheran churches Historia Śląska
Protestants in the Beskids: secret services on Równica and Czantoria, and Lutheran churches
After 1654 the Protestants of Cieszyn Silesia were left without churches and prayed in the forest, by rocks and springs. Traces of these secret services can be seen today on Równica and Czantoria, and the following decades brought new churches to mountain villages.
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Gliwice: Villa Caro, the Gliwice Canal and the Silesian University of Technology Historia Śląska
Gliwice: Villa Caro, the Gliwice Canal and the Silesian University of Technology
An industrialist's residence from 1882-1885, a waterway from the 1930s and a technical university from 1945. Three Gliwice sites show how the city changed, and in several places the sources give different dates.
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Górnik Zabrze: Five Titles in a Row and the 1970 Final in Vienna Historia Śląska
Górnik Zabrze: Five Titles in a Row and the 1970 Final in Vienna
Górnik Zabrze was formed in 1948 from the merger of four clubs, and in 1963-1967 it became Polish champion five times in a row. In 1970 it lost the Cup Winners' Cup final in Vienna to Manchester City 1-2.
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Jasna Góra as a fortress: fortifications and the almost 40-day siege of 1655 Historia Śląska
Jasna Góra as a fortress: fortifications and the almost 40-day siege of 1655
For almost two centuries the hill with the Pauline monastery in Częstochowa was a fortress with bastions and a moat. The text describes the walls and the course of the siege of 1655, and separates the facts from Kordecki's account and Sienkiewicz's novel.
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