Early history Old Saint Bartholomew church, one of the oldest structures of Gliwice Gliwice was first mentioned as a town in 1276, however, it was granted
town rights earlier by Duke
Władysław Opolski of the
Piast dynasty. It was located on a
trade route connecting
Kraków and
Wrocław and was part of various
Piast-ruled duchies of
fragmented Poland:
Opole until 1281,
Bytom until 1322, from 1322 to 1342 Gliwice was a capital of the , afterwards again part of the Duchy of Bytom until 1354, later it was also ruled by other regional Polish Piast dukes until 1532, In the
Middle Ages the city prospered mainly due to trade and crafts, especially brewing.
Early Modern Age to 200th anniversary of the
Battle of Vienna After the dissolution of the
Duchy of Opole and Racibórz in 1532, it was incorporated as Gleiwitz into the
Habsburg monarchy. Because of the vast expenses incurred by the Habsburg monarchy during their
16th century wars against the
Ottoman Empire, Gleiwitz was
leased to Friedrich Zettritz for the amount of 14,000
thalers. Although the original lease was for a duration of 18 years, it was renewed in 1580 for 10 years and in 1589 for an additional 18 years. Around 1612, the Reformed Franciscans came from
Kraków, and then their and were built. The city was besieged or captured by various armies during the
Thirty Years' War. The city was incorporated with Prussia into the
German Empire in 1871 during the
unification of Germany. In 1897, Gleiwitz became its own Stadtkreis, or urban district.
Industrialization The first coke-fired
blast furnace on the European continent was constructed in Gleiwitz in 1796 under the direction of
John Baildon. Gleiwitz began to develop into a major city through industrialization during the 19th century. The town's
ironworks fostered the growth of other industrial fields in the area. The city's population in 1875 was 14,156. However, during the late 19th century Gleiwitz had: 14
distilleries, 2
breweries, 5
mills, 7 brick factories, 3
sawmills, a
shingle factory, 8
chalk factories and 2
glassworks. Other features of the 19th-century era industrialized Gleiwitz were a
gasworks, a
furnace factory, a beer
bottling company, and a plant for asphalt and paste. Economically, Gleiwitz opened several banks,
savings and loan associations, and
bond centers. Its tram system was completed in 1892, while its theater was opened in 1899; until
World War II, Gleiwitz's theatre featured actors from throughout Europe and was one of the most famous theatres in the whole of Germany. Despite
Germanisation policies, the
Poles established various Polish organizations, including the
"Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society, and published local Polish newspapers. Seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict, the
League of Nations held a
plebiscite on 20 March 1921 to determine which country the city should belong to. In Gleiwitz, 32,029 votes (78.7% of given votes) were for remaining in Germany, Poland received 8,558 (21.0%) votes, and 113 (0.3%) votes were declared invalid. The total voter turnout was listed as 97.0%. The majority in the present-day districts (then surrounding villages) of Brzezinka, Czechowice, Łabędy, Ostropa,
Sośnica, Stare Gliwice, Wójtowa Wieś and Żerniki opted to reintegrate with Poland, with the result ranging from 55.7% voting for Poland in Łabędy to 80.2% in Czechowice, while in the present-day districts of Ligota Zabrska and Bojków 56.5% and 98.3%, respectively, voted to remain in Germany. The results prompted another insurrection by Poles. The League of Nations determined that three Silesian cities: Gleiwitz (Gliwice),
Hindenburg (Zabrze) and
Beuthen (Bytom) would remain in Germany, and the eastern part of
Upper Silesia with its main city of
Katowice (Kattowitz) would join restored Poland. After delimiting the border in Upper Silesia in 1921, Gliwice found itself in Germany, but near the border with
Poland – nearby
Knurów was already in Poland. During the
interbellum the city witnessed not only
anti-Polish, but also
anti-French incidents and violence by the Germans. In 1920, local Polish doctor and city
councillor , protested against the German refusal to treat French soldiers stationed in the city. After the invasion of Poland, the assets of local Polish banks were confiscated by Germany. The Germans formed a
Kampfgruppe unit in the city. It was also the
cremation site of many of around 750 Poles murdered in Katowice in September 1939. In early 1940, the advanced
shaped charge explosive developed for the attack on
Fort Ében-Émael as part of the
Blitzkrieg attack on the
Maginot Line on 10 May 1940 were tested at places in Gleiwitz to ensure secrecy. During the war, the Germans operated a
Dulag transit camp for Polish prisoners of war, and a Nazi prison in the city, and established numerous
forced labour camps, a camp solely for Jews, a penal "education" camp, a subcamp of the prison in
Strzelce Opolskie, and six subcamps of the
Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner of war camp. In October 1943, the Germans brought a large transport of
Italian POWs to a forced labour camp in today's Łabędy district. From July 1944 to January 1945, Gliwice was the location of four subcamps of the
Auschwitz concentration camp. In the largest subcamp, whose prisoners were mainly Poles, Jews and Russians, nearly 100 either died of hunger, mistreatment and exhaustion or were murdered. During the evacuation of another subcamp, the Germans burned alive or shot 55 prisoners who were unable to walk. There are two mass graves of the victims of the early 1945
death march from Auschwitz in the city, both commemorated with monuments. During the final stages of the war, 124 inhabitants committed suicide fearing the advancing
Red Army. On 24 January 1945, Gliwice was occupied by the Red Army. Soviet troops then murdered over 1,000 civilians, mostly women, children and elders. ==Demographics==