Zabrze

Zabrze
	Zabrze
	Wolności Street
; Flag	; Coat of arms
	; Zabrze
	Coordinates: 50°18′N 18°47′E / 50.3°N 18.783°E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Silesian
County	city county
Established	thirteenth century
Town rights	1922
	Government
- Mayor	Małgorzata Mańka-Szulik
	Area
- City	80.40 km2 (31 sq mi)
	Population (2008)
- City	189,062
- Density	2,351.5/km2 (6,090.4/sq mi)
- Urban	2,746,000
- Metro	5,294,000
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	41-800 to 41-820
Area code(s)	+48 32
Car plates	SZ
Website	http://www.um.zabrze.pl/

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This article is on the city in Poland, see Hindenburg (disambiguation)

Zabrze [ˈzabʐɛ] ( listen) (German: Hindenburg O.S.) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (tributary of the Oder).

It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999, previously it was in Katowice Voivodeship. Zabrze 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^[1]. The population of the city is 189,062 (2008)^[2].

[edit] History

Biskupice (Biskupitz), which is now a Zabrze subdivision, was first mentioned in 1243 as Biscupici dicitur cirka Bitom. Zabrze (later Alt-Zabrze) was mentioned in 1295-1305 as Sadbre sive Cunczindorf. Beginning in the Late Middle Ages, the local Silesian Piast dukes invited German settlers to the territory resulting in increasing German settlement of the area. Zabrze was inherited by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria in 1526 and was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia during the 18th century Silesian Wars. In 1774 nearby Dorotheendorf settlement was founded. With the first mine opened in Zabrze in 1790, the town became an important site for mining in 19th century. When Upper Silesia was partitioned between Poland and Germany in 1921, Zabrze remained in Germany. The settlement received its city charter in 1922.

In 1905 the Zabrze commune was formed by the former communes Alt-Zabrze, Klein-Zabrze and Dorotheendorf. The Zabrze commune was renamed Hindenburg in 1915 to honor Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg. In 1922 the commune and other places were formed into a new city, named Hindenburg. After the city became part of Poland in that year following World War II the city was renamed on May 19, 1945 in Zabrze and most of the remaining German inhabitants were expelled according to the Potsdam Conference.

[edit] Politics

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Bytom/Gliwice/Zabrze constituency

Chojnacki Jan, SLD-UP
Dulias Stanisław, Samoobrona
Gałażewski Andrzej, PO
Janik Ewa, SLD-UP
Kubica Józef, SLD-UP
Martyniuk Wacław, SLD-UP
Okoński Wiesław, SLD-UP
Szarama Wojciech, PiS
Szumilas Krystyna, PO
Widuch Marek, SLD-UP

[edit] Sport

Górnik Zabrze - men football team (Polish Champion 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988; Polish Cup winner 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972; Polish Supercup winner 1988; 1st league in season 2005/2006)

Wojtek Wolski - Pro hockey player for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League

[edit] Economy

Like other towns in this populous region, it is an important manufacturing centre, having coal-mines, iron, wire, glass, chemical and oil works, breweries, etc.