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Białystok

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Białystok
Image:POL Białystok flag.svg Image:POL Białystok COA.svg
(Flag) (Coat of arms)
Location of Białystok
Country Poland
Voivodeship Podlachia
Municipal government Rada miejska Białegostoku
Mayor Ryszard Tur
Area 102 km²
Population
 - city
 - urban
 - density
295 000 (01.2006)
402 000
3102.12/km²
Founded 1320?
City rights 18th century
Latitude
Longitude 		53° 20'N
23° 10'E
Area code +48 85
Car plates BI
Twin towns Częstochowa, Eindhoven, Kaliningrad, Kaunas, Jelgava, Hrodna, Milwaukee, Dijon
Municipal Website

Białystok ([bȋaːˈwɨstɔk] (help·info), Belarusian: Беласток, Biełastok, Lithuanian: Balstogė, Yiddish ביאַליסטאָק, Eng. frequently Belastok, English meaning of Białystok: "White Slope") is the largest city (pop. 295,000 in 2006) in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlachian Voivodeship since 1999, previously of Białystok Voivodeship (1921-1998). Białystok is located in north-eastern Poland near the border with Belarus; it is the largest city and the historical capital of the Podlachia region.

Contents

[edit] History

Image:3 Bialystok 37.jpg

According to legend, Białystok was given its name by the Lithuanian prince Gediminas in about 1320. The first mention of the place in historical sources dates from 1437 when the land around the Bialka river was given by King Kazimierz Jagiellończyk of Poland to Raczko Tabutowicz, then in 1547 it passed to the Wiesiołowski family. They built a brick castle and a church here. In 1645 after the death of Krzysztof Wiesiołowski, the last of the clan, Białystok became the property of the Commonwealth. In 1661 it was given to Stefan Czarniecki as a reward for his service in the victory over the Swedes. Four years later, as a dowry of his daughter Alexandra, it passed to the Branicki family.

In the second half of the 18th century Hetman Jan Klemens Branicki, a commander in chief, became the heir of the Białystok area. It was he who transformed the previously existing abode into the magnificent residence of a great noble. Several artists and scientists came to Białystok to take advantage of Branicki's patronage. Białystok received its city charter in 1749.

After the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795 it first belonged to the Prussian Kingdom, then after the Peace of Tilsit signed in 1807 it passed to Russia. During the 19th century the city became a major centre of textile industry. Due to an industrial boom the population grew from 13,787 in 1857, and 56,629 in 1889, to 65,781 in 1901. In this period the majority of the city's population was Jewish and Polish.

After the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, first heavy bombing of the town took place on 20 April 1915. On 13 August 1915 German soldiers appeared in Białystok. The city was included in Ober Ost occupational region. In March of 1918 it was declared part of the Belarusian National Republic, in July of 1918 it was made part of Lithuanian Province and became capital of the Southern Lithuania government precinct. On February 19, 1919 the city was taken by Poland. During 1920, when overrun by Soviet forces during the Polish-Soviet War, it briefly served as headquarters of the Polish Revolutionary Committee headed by Julian Marchlewski, which attempted to declare the Polish Soviet Socialist Republic.

Image:3 Bialystok 44.jpg

In the years 1920-1939 the city was again part of independent Poland. In September 1939, Białystok was occupied by the German army, but then passed on to the Soviet Union with respect to the Secret protocol of Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, when it was annexed into the Byelorussian SSR. The Biełastok vobłasć with the centre in Bielystok was created in 1939.

On June 27, 1941, Białystok again fell into German hands, as a result of the invasion of the Soviet Union. From the very beginning, the Germans pursued a ruthless policy of pillage and extermination of the non-German population. The numerous Jewish population, some 50-60 thousand, were confined in a Ghetto, which during August 1941 was exterminated. On June 27, 1941 German troops locked over 3,000 Jews within the Great Synagogue (the largest wooden synagogue in Eastern Europe) and burned it down.

In the last year of the occupation, a clandestine upper Commercial School came into existence. The pupils of the school also took part in the underground resistance movement. As a result, some of them were jailed, some killed and others deported to concentration camps.

A number of anti-fascist groups came into existence in Białystok during the first weeks of the occupation. In the following years, there developed a well-organized resistance movement.

On August 15, 1943 the Białystok Ghetto Uprising began, and several hundred Polish Jews started an armed struggle against the German troops who were carrying out the planned liquidation of the Ghetto.

[edit] Ecclesiastical history

For most of its existence, Białystok was part of the diocese of Vilna, the Lithuanian capital.

Only on June 5, 1991 was the diocese of Białystok (Latin rite bishopric) established; it was quickly, on March 25, 1992, promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Białystok with two Suffragan dioceses: Drohiczyn (also established in 1991) and Łomża (established on March 25, 1798 as the Diocese of Sejny / Augustów / Sejna).

[edit] Education

Branicki Palace in Białystok.
Garden of Branicki Palace.

[edit] Politics

[edit] Białystok constituency

Image:Powiat Grodzki Bialystok.png Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Białystok constituency

  • Borawski, Edmund : PSL
  • Cimoszewicz, Włodzimierz : SLD-UP
  • Ciruk, Barbara: SLD-UP
  • Czerniawski, Mieczysław: SLD-UP
  • Czuż, Aleksander: SLD-UP
  • Czykwin, Eugeniusz: SLD-UP
  • Fedorowicz, Andrzej: LPR
  • Jurgiel, Krzysztof: PiS
  • Kamiński, Michał: PiS
  • Krutul, Piotr: LPR
  • Laskowski, Józef: Samoobrona
  • Mioduszewski, Józef: PSL
  • Wiśniowska, Genowefa: Samoobrona
  • Zagórski, Marek: PO
  • Zaworski, Jan: SLD-UP
  • Zieliński, Jarosław: PiS

[edit] Municipal politics

to be written yet

[edit] Administrative division

Image:Osiedla1.png

The City of Białystok is divided into 27 districts:

[edit] Monuments

Location of Białystok in Europe.

[edit] Historical population

Image:Bialystok population graph.png

Year 1921 1931 1939 1946 1949 1950 1955 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Male 35384 42416 - 24325 - 30253 45454 55439 58432 59922 61394 63240 64880 66979 72923 74777 76648
Female 41408 48685 - 32434 - 38250 51738 65482 67018 68712 70723 73119 75106 77499 83816 86022 88290
Overall 76792 91101 107000 56759 60330 68503 97192 120921 125450 128634 132117 136359 139986 144478 156739 160799 164938
Year 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Male 77890 80569 83243 85391 87803 90386 93075 95770 99009 102133 104722 107176 110027 112552 115292 118016 120536
Female 90153 93336 96420 99221 102350 105475 108320 111646 113002 116627 119465 122475 125399 127752 130137 132801 135157
Overall 168043 173905 179663 184612 190153 195861 201395 207416 212011 218760 224187 229651 235426 240304 245429 250817 255693
Year 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Male 122587 124757 126649 128279 129740 129997 131035 131624 132175 133036 133727 134230 134745 134905 135335 137350 137288
Female 136964 139137 141436 142289 143562 144098 145010 145427 146314 147556 148803 149707 150285 150602 151030 154310 154643
Overall 259551 263894 268085 270568 273302 274095 276045 277051 278489 280592 282530 283937 285030 285507 286365 291660 291931

[edit] Famous people

Image:Bialystok seal.png
Image:Lipowa street.jpg

[edit] Birthplace of

[edit] Sports

Jagiellonia Białystok, Polish football club

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources and external links


Counties of Podlasie Voivodeship

<td style="vertical-align: middle; width: 1px" rowspan="2"> Image:POL województwo podlaskie COA.svg </td>

City counties: Białystok • Łomża • Suwałki

Land counties: Augustów • Białystok • Bielsk • Grajewo • Hajnówka • Kolno • Łomża • Mońki • Sejny • Siemiatycze • Sokółka • Suwałki • Wysokie Mazowieckie • Zambrów

Voivodeships of Poland Image:Flag of Poland.svg
Greater Poland | Kuyavia-Pomerania | Lesser Poland | Lower Silesia | Lublin | Lubusz | Łódź | Masovia | Opole | Podlachia | Pomerania | Silesia | Subcarpathia | Świętokrzyskie | Warmia and Masuria | West Pomerania
Principal cities: Warsaw | Łódź | Kraków | Wrocław | Poznań | Gdańsk | Szczecin | Bydgoszcz | Lublin | Katowice | Białystok | Częstochowa | Gdynia | Toruń | Olsztyn | Radom | Kielce | Rzeszów | Opole | Gorzów Wielkopolski

Coordinates: 53°08′N 23°09′Ebg:Бялисток be:Беласток br:Białystok ca:Białystok da:Białystok de:Białystok et:Białystok es:Białystok eo:Białystok fr:Białystok ko:비아위스토크 id:Białystok it:Białystok he:ביאליסטוק lv:Bjalistoka lt:Balstogė hu:Białystok mo:Белосток na:Białystok nl:Białystok nds:Białystok ja:ビャウィストク no:Białystok pl:Białystok pt:Białystok ro:Białystok ru:Белосток sq:Białystok fi:Białystok sv:Białystok

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