| Siemianowice Śląskie | |
| Pushpin Map: | Poland |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Voivodeship |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | city county |
| Leader Party: | PJJ |
| Leader Title: | City mayor |
| Leader Name: | Rafał Piech |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 13th century |
| Established Title3: | City rights |
| Established Date3: | 1932 |
| Elevation Min M: | 260 |
| Elevation Max M: | 295 |
| Area Total Km2: | 25.5 |
| Population As Of: | 31 December 2021 |
| Population Total: | 65684 [1] |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Coordinates: | 50.2758°N 18.9858°W |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 41-100 to 41-106 |
| Area Code: | +48 32 |
| Blank Name: | Car plates |
| Blank Info: | SI |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Primary airport |
| Blank Info Sec2: | Katowice Airport |
| Website: | http://www.siemianowice.pl |
Siemianowice Śląskie (pronounced as /pl/; German: Siemianowitz-Laurahütte; Śymjanowice Ślůnskje) also known as Siemianowice is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice, in the core of the Metropolis GZM - a metropolis with a population of 2 million people and is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river (tributary of the Vistula).
It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999, previously in Katowice Voivodeship, and before then in the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. Siemianowice is one of the cities of the 2.7 million conurbation, the Katowice urban area, at the heart of the greater Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area populated by about 5,294,000 people.[2] The population of the city is 65,684 (2021). Siemianowice Śląskie borders four cities: Piekary Śląskie, Chorzów, Czeladź and the voivodeship capital Katowice.
There are three hypothetical explanations for the origins of the name Siemianowice: either it comes from seven huts which were called Siedminowice/Siedmionowice in Old Polish; from the old legend about Siemion (Siemian), Michał and Maciej, or Siemion, Michał and Jakub; or it comes from ziemia nawa which means earth taken away from water.
Siemianowice dates back to medieval Piast-ruled Poland. It was probably first mentioned in documents in 1253.
In 1924, Siemianowice and Huta Laury communes were merged. The new city was named Siemianowice Śląskie and gained town privileges in 1932.
On 1 September 1939, the first day of the German invasion of Poland and World War II, there was a skirmish between German saboteurs and the Polish self-defense in the present-day district of Michałkowice.[3] German saboteurs then entered the local mine, taking several dozen Polish miners as hostages.[3] After a battle, Polish troops and volunteers, including members of the "Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society and boy scouts, recaptured the mine.[3] There were deaths on both sides, and the Poles also captured dozens of German saboteurs.[3] The Germans eventually invaded and captured the city in the following days, and already on 8 September 1939 the German Freikorps murdered six Poles in the city.[4] In September 1939, the German Einsatzgruppe I operated in the city and committed various crimes against the Polish population.[5] During the German occupation, two forced labour camps were established and operated in the city: one for Poles (Polenlager)[6] and one for Jews.[7] In April 1944, the Germans also established a subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp, in which over 900 people were held and subjected to forced labour.[8] In January 1945, the prisoners of the subcamp were taken to the Mauthausen concentration camp,[8] and shortly afterwards the Germans left the city and the occupation ended.
In 1951, Michałkowice, Bytków, Bańgów and Przełajka were included within the city limits of Siemianowice as new districts.
The local football club is MKS Siemianowiczanka.[9] It competes in the lower leagues.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland. Siemianowice Śląskie is twinned with:[10]
Câmpia Turzii, Romania
Jablunkov, Czech Republic
Mohács, Hungary
Wattrelos, France