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In 1407, one of the Bohemian princes separated out an area from his principality as life property for his wife Helena Korybutówna. This land, called then the land of Pszczyna, encompassed Pszczyna, Mikołów, Bieruń Stary and Mysłowice (until 1536). Under rule of the duchess, in the early 15th century, the hunting lodge yielded to a gothic building girdled by walls and a moat. Owing to that fortress, the town managed to ward off Hussite attacks that ravaged the area.
In 1548, Hungarian magnate Jan Turzo sold the State of Pszczyna to the
Bishop of Wrocław, Balthasar von Promnitz from Żary. In this way the Duchy
came in the hands of one of the most eminent families in the then Silesia
for the two following centuries.
Under the reign of the Promnitz family and then their relatives, the
family of Anhalt-Köthen, Pszczyna maintained close relationships with the
Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków. The owners cared for the development of music
life as well. In the years 1704-1708, Georg Philipp Telemann, an outstanding
composer of the German baroque, fulfilled the function of the court kapellmeister.
In 1846, the entire Pszczyna estates passed to the Hochberg counts,
whose ancestral seat had been the castle in Książ near Wałbrzych. It was
one of the richest noble families in the then Europe; they received the
ducal mitre in 1848 and since that moment, they assumed the name von Pless,
becoming thus the Dukes of Pszczyna. The Hochbergs persisted in improving
their summer and hunting seats and estates throughout the entire 19th century.
It was them who brought wisents to the Pszczyna forests in order to add
splendour to the hunting parties where almost all European rulers were
invited.
The town became then an important centre of crafts: people worked in
cloth works, tanneries, metal works, brickyards, oil-houses, and tile works.
Moreover, weapon was also produced.
In the early 19th century two printing houses were founded in Pszczyna.
The first was opened in 1805 by Karl Beniamin Fiestel, and the second -
in 1833 - by Christian Schemmel, who in 1845 published "Weekly for Estate
Holders" - the first newspaper in Upper Silesia printed in the Polish language.
During the First World War, Pszczyna was the seat of the headquarters of the German army fighting on the west. It was here where in 1916 the German-Austrian proclamation establishing the "independent" Kingdom of Poland, the so-called 5th November Act.
In August 1919 on the Land of Pszczyna the first Silesian uprising broke out. The assembly of the insurgents took place in the park next to the Three Oaks.
Owing to participation of the inhabitants in the three Silesian uprisings and the results of the plebiscite of 1921 (74 percent of the poviat population were in favour of Poland), the Land of Pszczyna returned to the Motherland. In 1922, the Polish forces commanded by General Szeptycki marched in to the town. This ceremony was also attended by the commander of all Silesian uprisings Wojciech Korfanty.
September 1939 saw heroic defence of the town by the former Silesian
insurgents and scouts, and heavy struggles of Army Kraków units. At the
turn of 1944 Pszczyna witnessed the "march of death" of Oświęcim (Auschwitz)
prisoners.
Fortunately, the town, liberated in February 1945, did not suffer serious
war damages or destruction. Its valuable monuments and items of historic
interest have survived and today tourists from home and abroad may see
them on various displays available in the region.
Source: this website.
Jens Pattke, 17 Oct 2004