Piekary Śląskie

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Piekary Śląskie
The neo-romanesque basilica of St Mary and St Bartholomew
The neo-romanesque basilica of St Mary and St Bartholomew
Flag of Piekary Śląskie
Flag
Coat of arms of Piekary Śląskie
Coat of arms
Location of Piekary Śląskie
Piekary Śląskie (Poland)
Piekary Śląskie
Piekary Śląskie
Coordinates: 50°23′N 18°57′E / 50.383, 18.95
Country Flag of Poland Poland
Voivodeship Silesian
County city county
Established 12th century
Town rights 1939
Government
 - Mayor Stanisław Korfanty
Area
 - City 40 km² (15.4 sq mi)
Highest elevation 350 m (1,148 ft)
Lowest elevation 261 m (856 ft)
Population (2006)
 - City 59,494
 - Density 1,487.4/km² (3,852.2/sq mi)
 - Metro 3,487,000
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 41-940 to 41-949
Area code(s) +48 32
Car plates SPI
Website: http://www.piekary.pl/

Piekary Śląskie [pjɛˈkarɨ ˈɕlɔ̃skjɛ] (German: Deutsch Piekar) is a town in south Poland, situated in the Silesian Voivodship (since 1999, previously in the Katowice Voivodship from 1975). Piekary is a spiritual center of Upper Silesia, a Marian shrine which is a pilgrimage site for thousands of the faithful, and a mining town. It was the stage for patriotic Polish demonstrations and one of the centers of Silesian Uprisings and in 1922 was ceded to the Second Polish Republic by Germany as 86 % of the population voted for joining the re-established Polish state.

[edit] History

Quire of the basilica in Piekary Śląskie with the painting of St. Mary of Piekary Śląskie (17th cent.)
Quire of the basilica in Piekary Śląskie with the painting of St. Mary of Piekary Śląskie (17th cent.)

The town Piekary Śląskie was created in 1934 by joining the communes of Szarlej and Wielkie Piekary. In 1975 the administrative reform led to joining the nearby towns: Dąbrówka Wielka, Brzeziny Śląskie, Brzozowice, Kamień and Kozłowa Góra.

Between 1303 and 1318, the first church and independent parish were created there. In the 15th century zinc and lead mining industry developed and the process of settlement evolution begun.

In the 12th and 14th centuries, the germanized Silesian dukes governed the town, but a short visit of the King Jan III Sobieski rushing to relief Vienna in 1683 cause that memory about the Polish origin livened among them. The next years brought several peasant revolts against the German magnates. In 1697, Augustus II the Strong visited Piekary. He converted himself into Catholic religion in the local church and at the same time he sworn the pacta conventa.

In the 18th, colonization and germanization of Piekary Śląskie got stronger. The result was a strong movement towards maintaining the Polish origins of the land. In 1842, Piekary's rector, priest Alojzy Ficek started to build new, neo-romanesque temple according to the Daniel Grötschel's design. The miraculous painting of the Virgin Mary was placed there.

[edit] Districts

  • 1 Kozłowa Góra
  • 2 Piekary-Centre
  • 3 Szarlej
  • 4 Brzozowice
  • 5 Kamień
  • 6 Brzeziny Śląskie
  • 7 Dąbrówka Wielka

[edit] External links