Siewierz

Siewierz (in french: Sievers, in german: Severien) is a town in the Silesian Voivodship, Poland. Recently, it has 5,500 inhabitants.

History

In history, Siewierz was first mentioned in 1125, which was administered by the castellan of Bytom. In 1177, Kazimierz II the Just granted Siewierz to Mieszko IV Tanglefoot duke of Silesia and Racibórz, together with the duchy of Bytom. The town became a seat of a separate castellan by the beginning of the 13th century. In 1241, the Mongols burned the city, and razed the fort to ground.

In 1276, Siewierz received city status. On 26 February 1289, in front of the city gates of Siewierz, the allied forces of Władysław I the Elbow-high, then Duke of Kujawy and Mazovia, the future King of Poland, defeated the army of Henryk IV Probus, duke of Wrocław and Kraków. Henryk IV Probus accepted vassalage and protection from the Bohemian king, Wenceslaus II. He was the first Piast Silesian duke to become Bohemian vassal, leading to Bohemian annexation of most Silesia in the coming years.

In 1337, the duchy of Bytom sold Siewierz to Kazimierz I Cieszyński, duke of Cieszyn. On 30 December 1443, Zbigniew Olesnicki, the bishop of Kraków, bought Siewierz from Waclaw I of Cieszyn who was got deeply in debts. The city becomes the seat of the bishops of Kraków, who received also the title duke of Siewierz. They also constructed a castle in Siewierz.

In 1790, near to the doom of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the ecclesiastic duchy of Siewierz was re-incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland. In 1795, Siewierz and its adjacent regions are annexed by Prussia, into the new province of New Silesia (in german: Neuschlesien), by the third partition of Poland. In 1800, the seat of the bishop moved away from Siewierz.

In 1807, Napoleon recreated the duchy of Siewierz, and granted it to Jean Lannes, after Prussia was forced to cede all her acquisitions from the 2nd and 3rd partitions of Poland. After the failure of Napoleon, Siewierz was included in the Congress Kingdom of Poland, under Russian rule. The city declined continuously, due to the lacking of industry and communication. In 1870, it lost its city status. In 1918, Siewierz reunited with the Republic of Poland, and in 1962 it regained its city status.

See also

• Silesia
• New Silesia
• Jean Lannes

External links

• Website of Public Information Bulletin: http://siewierz.bip.info.pl
• Municipal Website: http://www.siewierz.pl/