Zawiercie is a city in southern Poland located near the source of the Warta River. While historically part of Lesser Poland, it is now associated with the neighboring region of Silesia. The city began as a village called Kromołów and received its town charter in 1915 as it grew around industries including coal mining and steel production facilitated by the railroad connecting Warsaw and Vienna. Today Zawiercie has over 49,000 inhabitants and remains an important transportation hub and industrial center.

1. My little homeland

2. Zawiercie [zaˈvʲɛrt͡ɕɛ]
is a city in the south of Poland located in
the Silesian Voivodeship with 49,334
inhabitants as for 2019. It is situated in
the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland near the
source of the Warta River. The town lies
near the historical region of Silesia, but
belongs to Lesser Poland.

4. Zawiercie, even though currently
associated with Silesia, historically belongs
to Lesser Poland. The city lies near the
source of the Warta river, and its name
probably comes from the location.

5. The inhabitants of the ancient village
of Kromołów, to reach another village located
on the other side of the river, would go behind
the Warta, or in Polish - za Wartę. From the
perspective of Kromołów, Zawiercie is located
behind the Warta. There is also a theory that
the name of the city comes from settlers
who zawiercili (or circled) the settlement
area. The town is a gateway to the Polish
Jura, where several castles, which used to
defend western border of Lesser Poland, are
located.

7. Zawiercie has the area of 85 square
kilometers, and until 1945, the town was
administratively tied with Lesser
Poland's Kielce. It is located along
the Warsaw–Vienna railway, and is a road
hub, on the National Road No. 78.

9. First mention of the village of Kromołów (now a
district of Zawiercie) comes from 1193. In the 14th
century, the village was located in western Lesser
Poland, along a merchant road
from Kraków to Poznań. In 1431, Duke Bolko IV of
Opole allowed a man named Mikołaj Czenar to
open an inn here, and in his document, the name
Zawiercie is mentioned for the first time. In the
15th century, the area became the early center of
iron manufacturing, but despite this Zawiercie
remained for centuries a small village.

10. Until the 19th century, Zawiercie was divided into Zawiercie Małe (Small
Zawiercie) and Zawiercie Duże (Big Zawiercie). On December 1, 1847, first
train came to the village, along the newly built Warsaw–Vienna railway. This
gave Zawiercie a boost, and in the second half of the 19th century, several
companies and coal mines were opened in the village, including Zawiercie
Steel Plant, opened in 1901. In 1878, construction of a settlement for
workers was initiated, with schools, parks and churches. By 1914, the
population of the village grew to 30,000.
Zawiercie finally got its town charter on July 1, 1915.

11. In 1847, the Warsaw-Vienna Railway was completed. The railroad
connection facilitated the trade between Russia, Germany and Austria. The
fact that Zawiercie was located less than one kilometre from the railroad
triggered the rapid development of the region. Twenty-five years later, there
were coal and iron ore mines in Zawiercie and an industry was developed
around the mines in the town. The first industrial plant, a glass factory,
started around 1870. Immediately other industries followed; a large cotton
spinnery, large weaving mill, iron mining, malleable foundry, brick
manufacturing, sawmill, chemical laboratories, steam and water flour mills,
machining, etc. The flourishing economics accelerated the local population
growth.

14. Steelworks in the early XX
century

17. During the German invasion of Poland, which
started World War II, the Nazi Germans entered
Zawiercie on 4 September 1939. The town was
directly annexed to the Upper Silesia
Province (Regierungsbezirk Oppeln), and its name
was changed to Warthenau to erase traces of
Polish origin.
German occupation ended in January 1945 and
the town was restored to Poland. Afterwards
Zawiercie was transferred from Kielce Voivodeship
to Katowice Voivodeship.

18. One of the main streets of Zawiercie
– 3 Maja Street, then Adolf Hitler
Strasse.

27. The old facade
Town Hall at present

34. Kromołów is a former town (from 1870 to 1977), it
is the oldest, and most
historic borough of Zawiercie, located on
the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. The hamlet of
Kromołów was founded before 1193, by the knight
Kromol, from which the settlement's name comes
from. The first owners of this land were the
Kromołowscy.
Kromołów gained town rights in the 14th or 15th
centuries, and lost them in the 19th century, as
part of Russian repressions on the land due to
the January Uprising. In between the years of 1973
and 1977, the settlement was the headquarters of
the Kromołów Gmina. On 1 February 1977, the
village was incorporated into the town of Zawiercie,
as one of its boroughs.

37. St. Jan Nepomucen’s Chapel where
the Warta river rises from.
The image of a knight standing guard,
from whom the river got its name.

43. A fountain near the railway station