page_title: Świętochłowice
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Świętochłowice / History
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Pomnik Powstańca Śląskiego w Chropaczowie
context_page_description: Świętochłowice is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is also the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union metropolis, with a population of 2 million, and is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa River.
  It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999, previously in Katowice Voivodeship, and before then, of the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. Świętochłowice 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 is 49,762.
context_section_description: Initially, Świętochłowice was divided into two parts: the older Małe Świętochłowice (Little Świętochłowice) and newer Duże Świętochłowice (Big Świętochłowice), which date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, respectively. The oldest known mention of Świętochłowice comes from 1313, while the present-day district of Chropaczów was mentioned in 1295. Both settlements were located within the Duchy of Bytom of fragmented Poland and remained under the rule of the Piast dynasty until 1532, as part of the duchies of Bytom and Opole, before passing to the Kingdom of Bohemia. The village received Magdeburg rights at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Until the end of the 17th century, the village of Świętochłowice was owned by the families of Świętochłowski, Paczyński, Kamieński, Rotter, Skall, Myszkowski and Guznar.
  In 1742 the settlement was annexed by Prussia and from 1871 to 1922 it was part of Germany. Both parts of Świętochłowice merged in 1790. In the 19th and first part of the 20th century the area rapidly industrialized (based on the numerous local resources, including coal and zinc), leading to the transformation of the village into an industrial settlement. In the early 20th century numerous Polish organizations were established there. During the Silesian Uprisings the present-day districts Lipiny and Piaśniki were captured by the Polish insurgents in 1920. In the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite, in Świętochłowice 51.9% voted for Germany, while in Chropaczów 70.0% voted for Poland, and in Lipiny and Piaśniki combined 56.4% voted for Poland. In 1922 all named settlements were integrated with the re-established Polish state. In 1929 Zgoda became part of Świętochłowice as its new district. In 1939 Świętochłowice was granted city rights with effect from January 1, 1940, however, due to outbreak of World War II, the actual implementation of this law did not take place until 1947.
  After the 1939 invasion of Poland, Świętochłowice was occupied by the Germans, who established the Eintrachthütte concentration camp. In early 1945 it was occupied by the Soviets, who established the Zgoda labour camp.
  After the war once again restored to Poland. In 1951 its city limits were extended with Chropaczów and Lipiny becoming new districts.
caption: Pre-war Silesian Insurgent Monument, destroyed by the Germans during the occupation of Poland
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