Bielsko
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:''See also, [[Bielsko County]].''
[[Image:Zamek41.JPG|thumb|250px|Sułkowski family castle in Bielsko]]
'''Bielsko''' ({{lang-de|Bielitz}}, {{lang-cs|Bílsko}}) was until [[1950]] an independent town situated in [[Cieszyn Silesia]], [[Poland]]. In [[1951]] it was joined with [[Biała Krakowska]] to form the new town of [[Bielsko-Biała]]. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town.
Bielsko was founded by the [[Duchy of Cieszyn|Cieszyn Piast dukes]] in the 13th-14th century, on the [[Biała River (Vistula basin)|Biała River]]. It was first mentioned in a written document in [[1312]]. From the beginning settled by the German settlers it became the largest German-language center (''Deutsche Sprachinsel Bielitz'') in the whole [[Duchy of Teschen]]. It remained so until the end of [[World War II]]. Since the 18th century a rapid [[drapery]] development occurred. After the [[1920]] division of [[Cieszyn Silesia]] between [[Poland]] and [[Czechoslovakia]] it became, despite protest of local Germans, a part of Poland.
According to the [[Austria-Hungary|Austrian]] census of 1910 the town had 18,568 inhabitants. Census asked people for their native language, 15,144 (84.3%) were German-speaking, 2,568 (14.3%) were Polish-speaking and 136 (0.7%) were Czech-speaking. [[Jews]] were not allowed to declare [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], most of them thus declared the German language as their native. Most populous religious groups were [[Roman Catholics]] with 10,378 (55.9%), followed by [[Protestants]] with 4,955 (26.7%) and the [[Jews]] with 3,024 (16.3%).<ref>Ludwig Patryn (ed): ''[http://www.kc-cieszyn.pl/biblioteka/strony/ramka.php?autor=Patryn&licz=1 Die Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1910 in Schlesien]'', Troppau 1912.</ref> Vast majority of the Jews was exterminated by Nazis during World War II. German population was expelled after the war.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{pl icon}} [http://www.ksiestwocieszynskie.republika.pl/bielsko.html History of Bielsko]
[[Category:Bielsko-Biała]]
[[Category:Cieszyn Silesia]]
[[cs:Bílsko (Polsko)]]
[[pl:Bielsko]]
[[sk:Bielsko]]
{{Silesian-geo-stub}}