Białystok

Białystok (, , , Yiddish ביאַליסטאָק, English meaning of Bialystok: "White Slope") is the largest city (pop. 295,000 in 2006) in north-eastern Poland and the capital of Podlasie Voivodship since 1999, previously of Bialystok Voivodship (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.

History

According to legend, Bialystok 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. Bialystok 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 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.

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. 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 24 July 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 Białystok Ghetto Uprising was outbroken - several hundreds of Polish Jews started an armed struggle against the German troops carrying over the plan of liquidation of the Ghetto.

Education

Bialystok University (Uniwersytet w Białymstoku)
Bialystok Technical University (Politechnika Białostocka)
Medical University of Bialystok (Akademia Medyczna w Białymstoku)
School of Public Administration in Bialystok (Wyższa Szkoła Administracji Publicznej)
Bialystok Institute of Cosmetology (Wyższa Szkoła Kosmetologii w Białymstoku)
Academy of Economics in Bialystok (Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomiczna w Białymstoku)
Academy of Finance and Management in Bialystok (Wyższa Szkoła Finansów i Zarządzania w Białymstoku)
Musical Academy in Bialystok (Akademia Muzyczna w Białymstoku) http://chopin.man.bialystok.pl
Akademia Teatralna http://puppet.man.bialystok.pl
Archidiecezjalne wyższe Seminarium Duchowne http://www.awsd.bialystok.pl
Instytut Nauk Politycznych (Filia w Białymstoku) http://www.wsd.com.pl/moduly/artykuly/index.php
Wyższa Szkoła Matematyki i Informatyki Użytkowej http://wsmiiu.edu.pl/
Nauczycielskie Kolegium Rewalidacji i Resocjalizacji http://www.nkrr.bialystok.pl
Niepaństwowa Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna http://www.nwsp.bialystok.pl
Wyższa Szkoła Gospodarowania Nieruchomościami (Filia w Białymstoku) http://www.wsgn.pl
Papieski Wydział Teologiczny (Studium Teologii)
Wyższa Szkoła Menedżerska http://www.wsm.pl
Niepubliczne Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języków Obcych
Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języków Obcych "Inter - Lingua" http://www.nkjo.bialystok.pl

Famous people

Birthplace of

Hermann Friedmann, philosopher
Boris Kaufman
Dziga Vertov (Kaufman) - A Soviet documentary film and newsreel director.
Maxim Litvinov (Wallach-Finkelstein).
Albert Sabin - Polio Vaccine.
Izabella Scorupco (Skorupko) - Actress.
L. L. Zamenhof - The creator of Esperanto.

Politics

Bialystok constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Bialystok 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

Municipal politics

to be written yet

Administrative division

The City of Białystok is divided into 27 districts:

Monuments

In memory of victims of the Polish-Bolshevik war - Picture
"42nd Infantry Regiment" of Jan Henryk Dabrowski monument - Picture
Armia Krajowa monument - Picture
In memory of heroes from Białystok Land in WWII - Picture
Jadwiga Dziekońska (soldier of Armia Krajowa) monument - Picture
In memory of murdered Poles in Katyn - Picture
Marshal Józef Piłsudski monument - Picture
Jerzy Popiełuszko monument - Picture
Polish Army in western Europe (during WWII) monument - Picture
Solidarność monument - Picture
In memory of Poles deported to Siberia - Picture
In memory of murdered Jews in the Great Synagogue (WWII) - Picture
In memory of victims of the Ghetto uprising in Białystok - Picture
Defenders of Białystok monument (WWII) - Picture
Ludwik Zamenhof monument - Picture

Historical population

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

Sports

Hetman Białystok
Jagiellonia Białystok - football team (2nd league 2003/2004)

External links

Białystok | Urban counties of Podlasie Voivodship

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