Ruda Śląska

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Ruda Śląska
Niedurnego Street in Ruda Śląska
Niedurnego Street in Ruda Śląska
Flag of Ruda Śląska
Flag
Coat of arms of Ruda Śląska
Coat of arms
Ruda Śląska is located in Silesian Voivodeship
Ruda Śląska
Ruda Śląska
Coordinates: 50°15′46″N 18°51′13″E / 50.26278°N 18.85361°E / 50.26278; 18.85361Coordinates: 50°15′46″N 18°51′13″E / 50.26278°N 18.85361°E / 50.26278; 18.85361
CountryPoland
VoivodeshipPOL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian
Countycity county
Established13th century
Town rights1959
Government
 • MayorGrażyna Dziedzic
Area
 • City77.73 km2 (30.01 sq mi)
Population
 (31 December 2019)
 • City137,360 Decrease (26th)[1]
 • Density1,760/km2 (4,600/sq mi)
 • Urban
2,746,000
 • Metro
4,620,624
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
41–700 to 41–718
Area code(s)+48 32
Car platesSRS, SL
Primary airportKatowice Airport
Websitehttp://www.rudaslaska.pl/

Ruda Śląska [ˈruda ˈɕlɔ̃ska] (About this soundlisten) (German: Ruda O.S.; Silesian: Ślōnskŏ Ruda) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is a district in the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of two million. It is in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica River (tributary of the Oder).

It has been part of the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999. Previously, it was in Katowice Voivodeship, and before then, part of the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. Ruda Śląska is one of the cities in the Katowice urban area (population 2.7 million) and within the greater Silesian metropolitan area (population 5,294,000).[2] The population of the city is 137,360 (December 2019).[1]

History[]

St. Paul the Apostle Church

A large village is known to have existed at the location of the present day city center in 1243. The city name appears to indicate the awareness and perhaps exploitation of ores from early times.

The area underwent rapid industrialization (coal, steel, zinc) in the 19th and the beginning of 20th century. However, it remained a cluster of industrial settlements and villages until the 1950s, when it was administratively united. However, it never developed into a truly unified city.

Before the German invasion of Poland and the outbreak of World War II, in 1939, German saboteurs carried out an attack in Ruda.[3] Following the invasion, the area was under German occupation from 1939 to 1945. Several Polish teachers from present-day Ruda Śląska were murdered by the Germans in concentration camps as part of the Intelligenzaktion.[4] The Germans also established and operated a Polenlager forced labour camp for Poles in the present-day district of Kochłowice,[5] and the E83 forced labour subcamp of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp in the present-day district of Chebzie.[6] The Polish resistance movement was active in the area. In 1945, the German occupation ended, and the area was restored to Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which then stayed in power until the fall of communism in the 1980s.

After the fall of communism in 1989, the significant heavy industry was largely scaled down or restructured. The area has been transforming to a service-based economy. The well-known still operating coal mine is "Halemba".

Since 2007, Ruda Śląska has been a member of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, the largest legally recognized urban area in Poland.

Transport and infrastructure[]

Significant roadways are Highway A4 and the Drogowa Trasa Średnicowa. There are several small railway stations, mainly on the line Katowice-Gliwice.

Since 1950, Ruda Śląska is the site of a transmission facility, which was used from 1950 to 1988 for medium-wave radio broadcasting.

Higher education[]

The neighboring cities of Katowice and Gliwice are large academic centers. Ruda Śląska is a seat of the Higher Academy of Commerce (Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa).

Sports[]

Wawel Community Centre
Holy Trinity Church

Subdivisions[]

The city of Ruda Śląska is divided into following subdivisions:

Ruda Śląska Subdivisions.svg

Notable people[]

Liberty Street in Ruda Śląska

Ruda Śląska is the largest population center in Poland never to have been visited by Lech Wałęsa. This is shown on a brass plaque on the side of the ratusz (town hall).

Twin towns – sister cities[]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Ruda Śląska is twinned with:[7]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved 27 June 2020. Data for territorial unit 2472000.
  2. ^ European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 July 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Wardzyńska, Maria (2009). Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warszawa: IPN. p. 24.
  4. ^ Wardzyńska, pp. 140, 142
  5. ^ "Polenlager Ruda-Kochlowitz". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Working Parties". Lamsdorf.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Miasta partnerskie i zaprzyjaźnione". rudaslaska.pl (in Polish). Ruda Śląska. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
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