Białystok (pronounce: [bȋa:wistɔk]) is the largest city (pop. 291,300 in 2004) in north-eastern Poland and the capital of Podlasie Voivodship since 1999, previously of Bialystok Voivodship (1921-1998). Białystok is located in north-eastern Poland near the border with Belarus; it is the largest city and the historical capital of the Podlasie region.

Białystok
(Flag ) (Coat of Arms )
Motto: none
Voivodship	Podlasie
Municipal government	Rada miejska Białegostoku
Mayor	Ryszard Tur
Area	94 km²
Population  - city  - urban  - density	291 600 (2003) 350 000 3102.12/km²
Founded City rights	1320? 18th century
Latitude Longitude	53° 20'N 23° 10'E
Area code	+48 85
Car plates	BI
Twin towns	Częstochowa, Eindhoven, Kaliningrad, Kaunas, Jelgava, Hrodna, Milwaukee, Dijon
[http://www.um.bialystok.pl/ Municipal Website]

Contents

1 History 1.1 Events 2 Education 3 Famous people 3.1 Birthplace for 4 Politics 4.1 Bialystok constituency 4.2 Municipal politics 4.3 Administrative division 5 Monuments 6 Historical population 7 Sports 8 See also:

History

Białystok's history started in the 15th century when Raczko-Tabutowicz received the area of forests at the Białka River. The Wiesiołowski family was another owner of this land. They built abrick castle and a church here. 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.

Bialystok received its city charter in 1749. After the Third Partition of Poland 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.

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. On February 19, 1919 the city was liberated from German occupation. During 1920, when overrun by Soviet forces during the Polish-Soviet War, it briefly served as headquarters of a Soviet-sponsored communist government of Poland. In the years 1920-1939 the city was again part of independent Poland.

In September 1939, Białystok was occupied by the German army, then by the Red Army. 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 24 July 1941 German troops locked over 3,000 Jews within the Great Synagogue (the largest wooden synagogue in Eastern Europe) and burned it down.

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.

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.

Events

• 1920: An attempt to declare the Polish Soviet Socialist Republic by Polish Provisional Revolutionary Committee headed by Julian Marchlewski.

Education

• Bialystok University (Uniwersytet w Białymstoku)
• Bialystok Technical University (Politechnika Białostocka)
• Medical University of Bialystok (Akademia Medyczna w Białymstoku)
• School of Public Administration in Bialystok (Wyższa Szkoła Administracji Publicznej)
• Bialystok Institute of Cosmetology (Wyższa Szkoła Kosmetologii w Białymstoku)
• Academy of Economics in Bialystok (Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomiczna w Białymstoku)
• Academy of Finance and Management in Bialystok (Wyższa Szkoła Finansów i Zarządzania w Białymstoku)
• Musical Academy in Bialystok (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://www.wsmiiu.man.bialystok.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

Famous people

Birthplace for

• Boris Kaufman
• Dziga Vertov (Kaufman) - A Soviet documentary film and newsreel director.
• Maxim Litvinov (Wallach-Finkelstein)
• Meyer Meisler - The second fastest paperhanger in New York.
• Albert Sabin - Polio Vaccine.
• Izabella Scorupco (Skorupko) - Actress.
• L. L. Zamenhof - The creator of Esperanto.

Politics

Bialystok constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Bialystok constituency

• Edmund Borawski , PSL
• Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, 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

Municipal politics

to be written yet

Administrative division

The City of Białystok is divided into 27 districts:

Centrum Białostoczek Sienkiewicza Bojary Piaski Przydworcowe Młodych Antoniuk Jaroszówka Wygoda Piasta I Piasta II Skorupy Mickiewicza Dojlidy Bema Kawaleryjskie Nowe Miasto Zielone Wzgórza Starosielce Słoneczny Stok Leśna Dolina Wysoki Stoczek Dziesięciny I Dziesięciny II Bacieczki Zawady

Monuments

• In memory of victims in the Polish-Bolshevik war - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_1920/index.html
• "42 Pulk Piechoty" of Jan Henryk Dabrowski monument - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_42pl/index.html
• Armia Krajowa monument - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_ak/index.html
• In memory of heroes from Bialystok Land in WWII - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_boh/index.html
• Jadwiga Dziekońska (soldier of Armia Krajowa) monument - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_jadzi/index.html
• In memory of murdered Poles in Katyn - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_katyn/index.html
• Marshal Jozef Pilsudski monument - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_pilsud/index.html
• Jerzy Popieluszko monument - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_popie/index.html
• Polish Army in western Europe (during WWII) monument - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_sil_zb/index.html
• Solidarnosc monument - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_solid/index.html
• In memory of Poles deported to Siberia - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_sybir/index.html
• In memory of murdered Jews in the Great Synagogue (WWII) - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_synag/index.html
• In memory of victims of the Ghetto uprising in Bialystok - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/p_zabia/index.html
• Defenders of Bialystok monument (WWII) - Picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/wys_stoc/index.html
• Ludwik Zamenhof monument - picture http://www.um.bialystok.pl/kultura/pomniki/zamenhof/index.html

Historical population

Sports

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

See also:

• Poland
• Jews
• Ashkenazi
• Branicki Palace

Poland
Voivodships of Poland Greater Poland | Kuyavia-Pomerania | Lesser Poland | Łódź | Lower Silesia | Lublin | Lubusz | Masovia | Opole | Podlachia | Pomerania | Świętokrzyskie | Silesia | Subcarpathia | Warmia and Masuria | West Pomerania
Principal cities Warsaw | Łódź | Kraków | Wrocław | Poznań | Gdańsk | Szczecin | Bydgoszcz | Lublin | Katowice | Białystok | Częstochowa | Gdynia | Toruń | Radom | Kielce | Rzeszów | Olsztyn