Białystok

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Białystok
(Flag)	(Coat of arms)
Motto: -
Basic Information
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Podlachia
Powiat (County)	Rada miejska Białegostoku
Gmina (Commune)	Białystok
Urban Information
Population	295 000 (01.2006)
Area of district	- km²
Founded	1320?
City rights	18th century
Latitude Longitude	53° 20'N 23° 10'E
Gmina Białystok
Type of commune	urban commune (Gmina miejska)
Districts (No.)	-
Area	102 km²
Agglomeration	402 000
Density	3102.12/km²
Area code	+48 85
Postal code	15-001
Car plates	BI
Twin towns	Częstochowa, Eindhoven, Kaliningrad, Kaunas, Jelgava, Hrodna, Milwaukee, Dijon
Economy and Traffic
Economy	-
Highway	E67: Prague – Warsaw – Kaunas – Riga – Tallinn
Railway	Warsaw – Hrodna Suwałki – Šeštokai Olsztyn – Ełk – Czeremcha – Siedlce
Airport	Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport
Administration
Mayor	Tadeusz Truskolaski
Municipal Address	ul. Słonimska 1 15-950 Białystok
Municipal Website

Białystok ([bȋaːˈwɨstɔk] (help·info); known also by alternate names) is the largest city in northeastern Poland. It is located in northeastern Poland near the border with Belarus; it is the largest city and the historical capital of the Podlachia region. Białystok had a population of 295,000 in 2006. The capital of the Podlachian Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously in Białystok Voivodeship (1921-1998).

Contents 1 Names 2 History 3 Ecclesiastical history 4 Education 5 Politics 5.1 Białystok constituency 5.2 Municipal politics 5.3 Administrative division 6 Monuments 7 Historical population 8 Famous people 8.1 Birthplace of 9 Sports 10 See also 11 Sources and external links

[edit] Names

According to legend, Białystok was given its name by the Lithuanian prince Gediminas ca. 1320. An English translation of Białystok would be "white stream". The city has been known in Belarusian as Беласток (Biełastok), in Lithuanian as Balstogė, and in Yiddish as ביאַליסטאָק. It has been known in Russian as Белосток or Belostok, a variant also used sometimes in English.

[edit] History

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.

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

• Białystok University (Uniwersytet w Białymstoku)
• Białystok Technical University (Politechnika Białostocka)
• Medical University of Białystok (Akademia Medyczna w Białymstoku)
• Białystok School of Public Administration (Wyższa Szkoła Administracji Publicznej)
• Białystok Institute of Cosmetology (Wyższa Szkoła Kosmetologii w Białymstoku)
• Academy of Economics in Białystok (Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomiczna w Białymstoku)
• Academy of Finance and Management in Białystok (Wyższa Szkoła Finansów i Zarządzania w Białymstoku)
• Musical Academy in Białystok (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

[edit] Politics

[edit] Białystok constituency

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

The City of Białystok is divided into 27 districts:

1. Centrum
2. Białostoczek
3. Sienkiewicza
4. Bojary
5. Piaski
6. Przydworcowe
7. Młodych
8. Antoniuk
9. Jaroszówka
10. Wygoda
11. Piasta I
12. Piasta II
13. Skorupy
14. Mickiewicza
15. Dojlidy
16. Bema
17. Kawaleryjskie
18. Nowe Miasto
19. Zielone Wzgórza
20. Starosielce
21. Słoneczny Stok
22. Leśna Dolina
23. Wysoki Stoczek
24. Dziesięciny I
25. Dziesięciny II
26. Bacieczki
27. Zawady

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

[edit] Famous people

[edit] Birthplace of

• Sala Burton (nee Galante) - United States representative from California
• Tomasz Bagiński (The Cathedral)
• Hermann Friedmann, philosopher
• Ryszard Kaczorowski, last emigre President of the Republic of Poland.
• Boris Kaufman
• Dziga Vertov (Kaufman) - A Soviet documentary film and newsreel director.
• Maxim Litvinov (Wallach-Finkelstein).
• Albert Sabin - Polio Vaccine.
• Izabella Scorupco (Skorupko) - Actress.
• Max Weber - Artist.
• L. L. Zamenhof - The creator of Esperanto.

[edit] Sports

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

[edit] See also

• Bialy
• Branicki Palace
• Krzysztof Kononowicz

[edit] Sources and external links

• History of Bialystok
• Bialystoker Synagogue in New York City
• We Remember Jewish Bialystok!
• Giga-Catholic
• Catholic Encyclopaedia- Vilna
• VisitBiałystok.com
• Historic images of Bialystok
• Archdiocesan website (in Polish)

Counties of Podlasie Voivodeship
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
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′E