First documented mention of Brzeszcze comes from 1438, when the village was part of the
Duchy of Oświęcim, a
fee of the
Kingdom of Bohemia. In 1457
Jan IV of Oświęcim agreed to sell the duchy to the
Polish Crown, and in the accompanying document issued on 21 February the village was mentioned as
Brzescze. The territory of the Duchy of Oświęcim was eventually incorporated into Poland in 1564 and formed
Silesian County of
Kraków Voivodeship. For centuries Brzeszcze remained a small, private village, which belonged to Polish kings, who leased it to members of the
nobility. The inhabitants were mainly fishermen and farmers, and among others, Brzeszcze was owned by
Dominik Gherri, the physician of King
Stanisław August Poniatowski. Like almost all towns and villages of
Lesser Poland, Brzeszcze was completely destroyed during the
Swedish invasion of Poland (1655–1660). Following the
Partitions of Poland, the village was annexed by the
Habsburg Empire, and from 1772 until 1918 it was part of the province of
Galicia. In 1900, there were some 220 houses at Brzeszcze, with a population of 1,400. Almost all residents were ethnic Poles and Roman Catholics. Brzeszcze grew because of the
anthracite coal mine, which was founded in 1907. New housing districts for miners were built, the population quickly grew, and in the
Second Polish Republic, Brzeszcze was one of main industrial villages of Kraków Voivodeship. During World War II, the town was a stronghold of the Polish resistance, helping the prisoners of
Auschwitz concentration camp. Prisoners of Auschwitz were also housed in a sub-camp, called
Jawischowitz, near the mine where they labored. Numerous prisoners were killed through slave labor by the German civilian mine authorities, and by the
SS. German authorities changed its name into Kohlendorf. After the war the village continued its development, and in July 1962 was granted town charter. ==Economy==