Editing Bielsko-Biała (section)

==History==
===Bielsko===
[[File:Grodzisko_w_Bielsku-Białej.jpg|thumb|Remnats of the Stare Bielsko hillfort]]
There has been human habitation in Bielsko since around 1400 BC, wooden tools have been found along with stone axes dating from 1000 BC. The remnants of a fortified settlement in what is now the [[Stare Bielsko]] (Old Bielsko) district of the city were discovered between 1933 and 1938 by a Polish archaeological team. The settlement was dated to the 12th – 14th centuries. Its dwellers manufactured [[iron]] from [[ore]] and specialized in [[Smith (metalwork)|smithery]]. The current centre of the town was probably developed as early as the first half of the 13th century. At that time a castle (which still survives today) was built on a hill.
[[File:Bielsko-Biała_Language_Island.png|thumb|The boundaries of the Bielsko-Biala German linguistic island (Bielitz-Bialaer Sprachinsel) and earlier mentions of related localities]]
In the second half of the 13th century, the [[Silesian Piasts|Piast]] dukes of [[Duchy of Opole and Racibórz|Opole]] invited [[Ostsiedlung|German settlers]] to colonize the [[Silesian Foothills]]. As the dukes then also ruled over the Lesser Poland lands east of the Biała River, settlements arose on both banks like ''Bielitz'' (now [[Stare Bielsko]]), ''Nickelsdorf'' ([[Mikuszowice, Bielsko-Biała|Mikuszowice Śląskie]]), ''Kamitz'' ([[Kamienica, Bielsko-Biała|Kamienica]]), ''Batzdorf'' ([[Komorowice, Bielsko-Biała|Komorowice Śląskie]]) and ''[[Międzyrzecze Górne|Kurzwald]]'' in the west as well as ''Kunzendorf'' ([[Lipnik, Bielsko-Biała|Lipnik]]), ''Alzen'' ([[Hałcnów]]) and ''Wilmesau'' ([[Wilamowice]]) in the east. Nearby settlements in the mountains were ''Lobnitz'' ([[Wapienica, Bielsko-Biała|Wapienica]]) and ''Bistrai'' ([[Bystra, Bielsko County|Bystra]]). Those settlements did not undergo Slavonicisation in the following centuries, which led to the creation of a German language island (''Bielitz-Bialaer Sprachinsel'') that survived until the 20th century.

After the partition of the Duchy of Opole in 1281, Bielsko passed to the [[Duchy of Teschen|Dukes of Cieszyn]] within fragmented [[Kingdom of Poland (1025–1031)|Poland]]. The town was first documented in 1312 when Duke [[Mieszko I, Duke of Cieszyn|Mieszko I of Cieszyn]] granted a [[German town law|town charter]]. The Biała again became a border river, when in 1315 the eastern [[Duchy of Oświęcim]] split off from Cieszyn as a separate under Mieszko's son [[Władysław of Oświęcim|Władysław]]. After the Dukes of Cieszyn had become vassals of the [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemian kings]] in 1327 and the Duchy of Oświęcim was sold to the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Polish Crown]] in 1457, returning to Lesser Poland after three centuries, the Biała River for next centuries marked the border between the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown|Bohemian crown land]] of Silesia within the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and the [[Lesser Poland Province, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Lesser Poland Province]] of the [[History of Poland during the Jagiellon dynasty|Kingdom of Poland]] and the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]].
[[File:Mattheus Seuter, Ducatus Teschenensis-Dynast Bilicen.jpg|thumb|Duchy of Bielsko]]
With Bohemia and the Upper Silesian Duchy of Cieszyn, Bielsko in 1526 was inherited by the Austrian [[House of Habsburg]] and incorporated into the [[Habsburg monarchy]]. From 1560 Bielsko was held by [[Frederick Casimir of Cieszyn]], son of Duke [[Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn|Wenceslaus III Adam]], who due to the enormous debts his son left upon his death in 1571, had to sell it to the Promnitz noble family at [[Duchy of Pless|Pless]]. With the consent of Emperor [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian II]], the Promnitz dynasty and their [[House of Schaffgotsch|Schaffgotsch]] successors ruled the [[Duchy of Bielsko]] as a Bohemian [[state country]]; acquired by the Austrian chancellor [[Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz]] in 1743, and afterwards by Polish aristocrat [[Aleksander Józef Sułkowski]] in 1752, the ducal status was finally confirmed by Empress [[Maria Theresa]] in 1754. It remained in possession of the Polish [[Sułkowski family]] until the dissolution of the duchy in 1849, while the castle was still owned by the Sułkowskis until World War II.
[[File:Bielsko_1801,_drzeworyt.jpg|thumb|left|Bielsko in 1801, numbers 9 and 10 mark the Bielsko Zion]]
Bielsko was the first town in the Duchy of Cieszyn where the teachings of [[Martin Luther]] spread in the late 1530s, even before Duke [[Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn|Wenceslaus III Adam]] adopted [[Lutheranism]] in 1545. Also later, Bielsko was home to the strongest Protestant community in the whole of Cieszyn Silesia, which in 1587 obtained a privilege guaranteeing that only Lutheran services would be held in the town. [[Jiří Třanovský]] was active in the Bielsko castle. Bielsko retained its Protestant character also after the [[Thirty Years' War]]. The recatholisation campaign, which started in the second half of the 17th century, was not very successful. Throughout the [[Counter-Reformation]] period, Lutheran services were held—at first in the Holy Trinity Church with the permission of the authorities, later in homes or in the surrounding [[Beskids|Beskid]] forests (the so-called forest churches)—and immediately after the issuing of the [[Patent of Toleration]] by [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Joseph II]] in 1781, an Evangelical district was established north of the historical centre, with the [[Church of the Saviour, Bielsko-Biała|Church of the Saviour]], the present seat of the [[Lutheran Diocese of Cieszyn|Lutheran bishop]] and schools, known as the [[Bielsko Zion]] (''Bielski Syjon''). To this day, it remains a Protestant cultural centre of supra-regional significance. In 1900, a monument to Martin Luther was unveiled there. It was one of only two in the whole of Austria-Hungary (the other was erected in the Bohemian town of [[Aš]]), and now is the only one within the borders of Poland. In the second half of the 19th century, Lutherans ceased to constitute the majority of the population due to the influx of new inhabitants, mostly Catholic or Jewish.

After the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] king [[Frederick the Great]] had invaded Silesia, Bielsko remained with the Habsburg monarchy as part of [[Austrian Silesia]] according to the 1742 [[Treaty of Breslau]]. In late 1849 Bielsko became a seat of [[Bielitz District|political district]]. In 1870 it became a [[statutory city (Austria)|statutory city]]. 
[[File:Bielsko-Biała_Plac_Teatralny_001.jpg|thumb|From left: the theater, the main post office and the Bielsko Castle]]
[[File:Bielitz_-_Franz_Josef-Strasse._1905_(69115276).jpg|thumb|A 1905 postcard of Franz-Josef-Strasse (now 3 Maja Street) connecting the Old Town with the railway station]]
[[File:Bielsko-Biała,_północna_dzielnica_przemysłowa_1915.jpg|thumb|left|The industrial landscape of Bielsko and Biała at the beginning of the 20th century]]
The town's development in the 19th century was primarily linked to the [[textile industry]], and to a lesser extent the engineering industry. The Bielsko-Biała area was described as the third largest centre of the textile industry in the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian monarchy]], after [[Brno]] and [[Liberec]]. In the second half of the 19th century, new tenements, villas of wealthy industrialists and public buildings in [[Revivalism (architecture)|Revival]] and [[Art Nouveau]] styles began to spring up in the landscape of the city. These were often inspired by the architecture of Vienna, to which the slogan "Little Vienna", which is still popular today, refers.<ref name="bujak"/> The local architect of the Jewish origin [[Carl Korn]] had the greatest influence on the architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shaping the character of "Little Vienna", while the plan for urban regulation was prepared in 1899 by the Viennese urban planner [[Max Fabiani]]. In 1855 a branch of the [[Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway]] was built from [[Czechowice-Dziedzice|Dziedzice]] to Bielsko, which in 1877 was extended to [[Żywiec]] and connected to the [[Galician Transversal Railway]]. A {{convert|268|m|ft}} long tunnel under the centre of Bielsko was then built. In 1888, a railway connection to [[Cieszyn]] and [[Kalwaria Zebrzydowska]] was opened. In 1895, an [[Trams in Bielsko-Biała|electric tram line was established]] in Bielsko. It connected the railway station with Zigeunerwald/Cygański Las, which in the meantime was transformed into a forest-park complex on the model of the [[Vienna Forest]] with many summer villas of Bielsko's factory owners built in its surroundings.

However, the demographic boom was weaker than, for example, in the [[Katowice urban area|Upper Silesian conurbation]], due to the restriction of the settlement of workers in the city proper. Many of them lived in the surrounding villages, which formally remained separate, even though they were taking on an increasingly urban character. According to the 1910 census, Bielsko had a population of 18,568. 84.3% used [[German language|German]] in their domestic interactions, 14.3% used [[Polish language|Polish]], 0.7% used [[Czech language|Czech]] or [[Slovak language|Slovak]], and 0.7% used another language. 55.9% were [[Roman Catholic]], 27.6% [[Lutheran]], 16.3% [[Judaism|Jewish]], and 1.1% were of another denomination or with no religion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Spyra |first1=Janusz|last2=Kenig|first2=Piotr|title=Bielsko-Biała. Monografia miasta – Bielsko od wojen śląskich do zakończenia I wojny światowej (1740–1848)|date=2010 |publisher=Wydział Kultury i Sztuki Urzędu Miejskiego w Bielsku-Białej |location=Bielsko-Biała |isbn=978-83-60136-41-6 |pages=140, 259 |language=pl |chapter=Przeobrażenia struktur społecznych i narodowościowych w Bielsku w drugiej połowie XIX i początkach XX wieku + Przeobrażenia struktur społecznych i narodowościowych w Bielsku w drugiej połowie XIX i początkach XX wieku }}</ref>

After 1918, when [[Austro-Hungary]] collapsed, Bielsko found itself within a [[Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts|disputed territory between Poland and Czechoslovakia]]. Attempts to incorporate the city into the [[Republic of German-Austria]] failed. In July 1920, the [[Conference of Ambassadors]] decided to divide [[Cieszyn Silesia]] in such a way that Bielsko became part of the autonomous [[Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939)|Silesian Voivodeship]] in the [[Second Polish Republic]]. Political life was largely shaped by nationalist disputes. The influx of Polish officials and teachers increased the proportion of the Polish population, but Bielsko nevertheless retained its predominantly German character. Polish authorities successively closed down purely German institutions,
even if run by the church. German-speaking citizens fought to preserve the German schools, but had no chance against the Warsaw bureaucrats, who after the Polish experience of paternalism of the Russian and Prussian empires now lashed out against the German-speakers. In southern Poland, this revenge came as a  surprise, because Galicia had been practically a Polish crown land of the Habsburg monarchy since 1867, Polish had been its official language and local officials had been Polish.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gero Vogl|title=Klein-Wien – Eine deutsche Sprachinsel in Österreichisch Schlesien: Bielitz und sein letzter deutscher evangelischer Pfarrer|publisher=Frank & Timme}}</ref>

In the 1930s some [[Volksdeutsche|ethnic German]] citizens, under the leadership of [[Rudolf Wiesner]], formed an [[Anti-Polish sentiment|anti-Polish]], [[Antisemitism|anti-Jewish]] ''[[Jungdeutsche Partei]]'', which de facto served as a foreign branch of the [[NSDAP]]. A considerable number of young Germans joined this Party during the mid-1930s.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9RWAAAAMAAJ |title=Nazi Front Schlesien: niemieckie organizacje polityczne w województwie Śląskim w latach 1933-1939 |publisher=Wydawnictwo Śląsk, Katowice |year=1963 |access-date=11 September 2014 |author=Karol Grünberg}}</ref>
[[File:Bielsko-Biała, Aleje Sułkowskiego.jpg|thumb|New residential district in the 1930s]]
On the other hand, the interwar period is associated with numerous construction projects, such as a new residential district in [[Modernist architecture|Modernist style]] created since 1934 in place of the former castle gardens, or the building of the first Polish high school (now [[Nicolaus Copernicus High School, Bielsko-Biała|Nicolaus Copernicus High School]]) put into use in 1927. In 1938, the municipality of [[Aleksandrowice, Bielsko-Biała|Aleksandrowice]] was incorporated, where an airport and a pilot school were established.

===Biała===
[[File:BialaExpansion1564-2002.gif|thumb|The territorial evolution of Biała over centuries]]
The history of Biała dates back to the second half of the 16th century. The first written mention comes from 1564 and describes a small craftsmen settlement of thirteen houses. It was located near the mouth of Niwka to the [[Biała (Vistula)|Biała River]], in the area of today's Łukowa Street. Administratively, it belonged to the [[Silesian County]] of the [[Kraków Voivodeship (14th century – 1795)|Kraków Voivodeship]] within the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]]. The first residents most likely came from the suburbs of neighboring Bielsko. They crossed to the other side of the river tempted by the opportunity to build new houses in the face of restrictions imposed by the Bielsko town council and disputes between the suburban population and the privileged [[Burgher (social class)|burghers]] of the Old Town. The settlement was established on the land of the village of [[Lipnik, Bielsko-Biała|Lipnik]], from which it became independent in 1613. Further development of the village was associated with the influx of refugees from neighboring Silesia during the [[Thirty Years' War]] and the [[Counter-Reformation]].

Though already named a town in the 17th century, Biała officially was granted [[town privileges|borough rights]] by the Polish king [[Augustus II the Strong]] in 1723. At that time it counted only 40 inhabited houses and about 300 residents, mostly German-speaking and [[Lutheran]]. There has been a new urban layout made, in the center of which was a rectangular market square - today's [[Wojska Polskiego Square, Bielsko-Biała|Wojska Polskiego Square]].

In the course of the [[First Partition of Poland]] in 1772, Biała was annexed by the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Empire]] and incorporated into the crownland of [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia]]. After that the town underwent major urban transformations in the 1780s in connection with the construction of the Central Galician Road, part of which is today's [[11 Listopada Street, Bielsko-Biała|11 Listopada Street]]. At that time, the New Market was also delineated - the present [[Wolności Square, Bielsko-Biała|Wolności Square]].
[[File:Map_of_Bielitz_1855_(2).jpg|thumb|Bielsko and Biała in the mid-19th century]]
[[File:01910_Market_Square_in_Biała,_Plac_Józefa.jpg|thumb|Market Square in Biała around 1910]]
The town's boundaries were artificially limited as a result of disputes with the [[Lipnik, Bielsko-Biała|Lipnik]] municipality, which refused to give up part of its territory, even though the western part of Lipnik formed an urban and functional unity with Biała. West Lipnik also formed the de facto [[Jews in Bielsko-Biała|Jewish quarter of Biała]], due to the official ban on Jewish settlement in the town, which was in effect from 1757 to 1848. Joachim Adler's cloth factory, considered the first mechanized factory in the Bielsko-Biala area, was also established within Lipnik's borders in 1810. Lipnik was finally incorporated into Biała in 1925. The town thus expanded its territory more than sixteen times (before 1925 it had only {{convert|1.22|sqkm|sqmi}}, while Lipnik had {{convert|20.76|sqkm|sqmi}}), and the population increased two and a half times.

In the 19th century, Biała formed a single industrial region with Bielsko, also with a predominance of [[textile industry]]. From 1867 it was the capital of [[Biała County, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Biała County]]. At the turn of the 20th century, a number of "Vienna-like" buildings were constructed in Biała, too, including a pompous [[Bielsko-Biała City Hall|Neo-Renaissance town hall]] in 1895–1897.

According to the 1910 census, Biała had a population of 8,668. 69.3% used [[German language|German]] in their domestic interactions, 29.3% used [[Polish language|Polish]], and 1.4% used another language (mainly [[Czech language|Czech]] or [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]). 72.1% were [[Roman Catholic]], 17,7% [[Judaism|Jewish]] and 12.3% [[Lutheran]]. Of the remaining 0.9%, there were small groups of [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Greek Catholics]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]], [[Calvinism|Calvinists]] and five people with no religion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Polak |first1=Jerzy |title=Bielsko-Biała. Monografia miasta – Biała od zarania do zakończenia I wojny światowej (1918) |date=2010 |publisher=Wydział Kultury i Sztuki Urzędu Miejskiego w Bielsku-Białej |location=Bielsko-Biała |isbn=978-83-60136-36-2 |pages=538–539 |language=pl |chapter=Ostatnie lata pokojowe w Austrii (1908–1914)}}</ref>

With the dissolution of [[Austria-Hungary]] in 1918, Biała became part of the [[Second Polish Republic]]. Throughout the interwar period it belonged to the [[Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939)|Kraków Voivodeship]]. From 1925, the official name of the town was ''Biała Krakowska''.

===Bielsko-Biała===
{{Historical populations|1880|20312|1890|22195|1900|24854|1910|27236|1921|36857|1931|47465|1939|54723|1946|45289|1960|75527|1970|105700|1980|163741|1990|181278|2000|178611|2010|175008|2020|169756|footnote=For the period before 1951, aggregated data for Bielsko and Biała. Source: [https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Bielsko_Biala ''Polska w liczbach'' web site] for data since 1995, ''Monografia Bielska-Białej'' for data before 1945, ''Roczniki statystyczne'' for data 1945–1990}}
{{multiple image
| align = left
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Synagoga Bielsko, zniszczona 1939.jpg
| caption1 = German soldiers in the ruins of a destroyed synagogue in 1939
| image2 = Bielsko-Biała, Stary Cmentarz Ewangelicki, grób Sennewaldtów - usunięte niemieckie napisy.jpg
| caption2 = German grave inscriptions removed after World War II as part of the "de-Germanisation" of the city
| image3 = Bielsko-Biała, 1974, Bazary Zamkowe - Wysoki Trotuar, wyburzanie 02.jpg
| caption3 = Demolition of the so-called Castle Markets to build a two-lane thoroughfare through the inner city in 1974
| image4 = Bielsko-Biała, 1973-1977, Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych, produkcja samochodów Fiat 126p (Maluch) 02.jpg
| caption4 = Production of the Polski Fiat 126p "Maluch" in the FSM factory (1970s)
| image5 = Bielsko-Biała, Osiedle Beskidzkie, 1989, widok lotniczy 02.jpg
| caption5 = Beskidzkie housing estate in the 1980s
| image6 = PL Bielsko-Biala Fabryka.JPG
| caption6 = The abandoned Finex textile factory on the site of the current Galeria Sfera, pictured in 2006}}
Although the two towns effectively functioned as one urban area for a long time, they were administratively combined for the first time by the Nazi authorities after the [[invasion of Poland]] in September 1939. Biała became a district of Bielsko under the name ''Bielitz-Ost''. During the [[World War II]], the city belonged to the [[Third Reich]], within the [[province of Upper Silesia]]. Germans committed various crimes against the Polish and Jewish population. Several Polish teachers and principals were deported to [[Nazi concentration camps]] and murdered there.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2009|title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=IPN|page=58}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Megargee |first1=Geoffrey |title=Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos |date=2012 |publisher=University of Indiana Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=978-0-253-35599-7 |volume=II|pages=137–139, 144–145}}</ref> Many [[Jews|Jewish]] residents were murdered at the nearby [[Auschwitz extermination camp]]. Only less than 1000 people of the city's Jewish community of nearly 8000 survived the war. Several widely known [[Holocaust survivors]] from Bielsko-Biała were [[Roman Frister]], [[Gerda Weissmann Klein]] and [[Kitty Hart-Moxon]], all of whom wrote accounts of their experiences during the war.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Frister |first1=Roman |title=The Cap or the Price of Life |date=1999 |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |location=London |pages=352}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Klein |first1=Gerda Weissman |title=All but My Life |date=1957 |publisher=Hill and Wang}}</ref> However, when it comes to material losses, the city survived the war almost intact. It was not bombed, and fighting during the [[Western Carpathian offensive|Soviet offensive]] in the winter of 1945 was limited to today's peripheral districts, such as [[Hałcnów]] and the eastern part of [[Lipnik, Bielsko-Biała|Lipnik]].

After World War II, the ethnic structure of the place changed. Most of the German population [[1944–50 flight and expulsion of Germans|was expelled]] and those who remained assimilated with the Poles. In the 21st century, there is only a small [[German minority in Poland|German minority]] circle in the town. [[Polish population transfers (1944–1946)|Poles transferred]] from the [[Kresy|eastern areas that had been annexed to the USSR]], as well as new settlers from central Poland, especially [[Lesser Poland]], came to Bielsko-Biała.

The new Polish authorities initially restored the pre-war borders, including the division into Bielsko and Biała in two different voivodeships. But soon the decision to re-unify the two towns was made. The new municipality under the name ''Bielsko-Biała'' was created on 1 January 1951.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/they-say-love-dont-come-easy---but-it-does-in-bielsko-biala-41533 |title=They say love don't come easy - but it does in Bielsko-Biała! |website=thefirstnews.com |author=Alex Webber |date=22 September 2023 |access-date=22 September 2023}}</ref> Until 1975, it was part of the [[Katowice Voivodeship]].

In post-war Poland, the city has remained an important centre of [[textile industry]] (second only to [[Łódź]]), alongside which new branches have developed: in 1946 the [[Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny|Gliding Institute]] was established and in 1948 the car engine plant WSM, on the basis of which the [[Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych|FSM Automobile Factory]] was founded in 1972. The factory was born from an agreement between the [[Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych|FSO]] and [[Fiat]] for the construction of a new model, the [[Polski Fiat]] 126p, Polish version of [[Fiat 126]] commonly known as ''Maluch''. A huge industrial complex has been built in the northern part of the city. Thousands of people came from all over Poland to work then; in the 1970s Bielsko-Biała observed the biggest population boom in its history. The influx of new residents was associated with the construction of new housing estates with [[large panel system-building]]s, like Złote Łany (1970–1975), Wojska Polskiego (1976–1980), Beskidzkie (1976–1982) or Karpackie (1979–1982). The population has also increased due to the incorporation of surrounding communes: [[Kamienica, Bielsko-Biała|Kamienica]] and [[Mikuszowice]] (together with {{ill|Olszówka (Bielsko-Biała)|lt=Olszówka|pl}}) in 1969, [[Straconka, Bielsko-Biała|Straconka]] in 1973, [[Stare Bielsko]], [[Komorowice, Bielsko-Biała|Komorowice]], [[Hałcnów]] and [[Wapienica]] in 1977.

Bielsko-Biała was made famous on a large scale by the [[Studio Filmów Rysunkowych]] (Animated Film Studio), founded in 1947. It was one of five animation studios in post-war Poland. Among the children's TV series produced here were ''[[Reksio]]'', ''[[Bolek i Lolek]]'', ''[[Margo the Mouse]]'' and ''[[Porwanie Baltazara Gąbki (TV series)|Porwanie Baltazara Gąbki]]''.

[[1981 general strike in Bielsko-Biała|The general strike]] launched by the workers of the Bewelana textile factory in January 1981 is considered the most effective strike of the [[History of Solidarity#First Solidarity (1980–1981)|first wave of Solidarity]]. The strikers forced the mayor of the city, the provincial governor, the commander of [[Milicja Obywatelska]] and the municipal and voivodeship secretaries of the [[Polish United Workers' Party|Communist party]] to resign.

From 1975 to 1998, Bielsko-Biała was the capital of the [[Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship]], covering most of Polish [[Cieszyn Silesia]] and south-western [[Lesser Poland]] (counties of [[Żywiec County|Żywiec]], [[Oświęcim County|Oświęcim]], [[Wadowice County|Wadowice]] and [[Sucha Beskidzka County|Sucha Beskidzka]]). To describe its territory, the name ''[[Podbeskidzie]]'' was adopted, which is still popular among Bielsko-Biała residents ("Bielsko-Biała - the capital of Podbeskidzie"), but elsewhere it is criticized as an artificial term that is trying to replace traditional historical and geographical lands.<ref name="podbeskidzie one">{{cite news |last1=Borówka |first1=Tomasz |title=Mamy na Śląsku wyimaginowaną krainę. Kto i kiedy właściwie wymyślił nazwę "Podbeskidzie"? |url=https://www.slazag.pl/co-to-jest-podbeskidzie-wymyslona-kraina |language=Polish|access-date=12 July 2023 |agency=Ślązag |date=2022-11-06}}</ref><ref name=
"podbeskidzie two">{{cite news |last1=Drost |first1=Jacek |title=Co to jest Podbeskidzie? Podręcznik edukacji regionalnej utrwala taką nazwę |url=https://dziennikzachodni.pl/co-to-jest-podbeskidzie-podrecznik-edukacji-regionalnej-utrwala-taka-nazwe/ar/9436065 |access-date=12 July 2023 |language=pl|agency=[[Dziennik Zachodni]] |date=2016-02-25}}</ref><ref name="podbeskidzie three">{{cite news |title=Podbeskidzie? Małopolska? Górny Śląsk? Beskidy? – Czyli gdzie leży Żywiecczyzna |url=https://zywiecinfo.pl/magazyn/podbeskidzie-malopolska-gorny-slask-beskidy-czyli-gdzie-lezy-zywiecczyzna |access-date=12 July 2023 |work=Stowarzyszenie Beskidzki Dom |agency=zywiec.info.pl |date=2022-05-22 |language=pl}}</ref> The subject of a lively public debate is the long-term effects of the loss of the status of a provincial capital as a result of the [[Administrative divisions of Poland|administrative reform in 1998]], when the area of the former Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship was divided and Bielsko-Biała was incorporated into the [[Silesian Voivodeship]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Drobik |first1=Andrzej |title=Bielsko-Biała: to miasto jest seksi i nie ma żadnych kompleksów. Naprawdę [Rozmowa z Filipem Springerem] |url=https://plus.dziennikzachodni.pl/bielskobiala-to-miasto-jest-seksi-i-nie-ma-zadnych-kompleksow-naprawde-rozmowa/ar/10683620 |access-date=12 July 2023 |publisher=[[Dziennik Zachodni]] |language=pl|date=2016-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Czaiński |first1=Kamil |title=Na marginesie każdej mapy, czyli o tożsamości Bielska-Białej |url=https://wachtyrz.eu/na-marginesie-kazdej-mapy-czyli-o-tozsamosci-bielska-bialej/ |access-date=12 July 2023 |publisher=wachtyrz.eu |date=2021-05-14 |language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Okrzesik |first1=Janusz |title=Województwo bielskie. Czy mogło być inaczej? |url=https://bbfan.pl/artykul/wojewodztwo-bielskie/1298081 |access-date=12 July 2023 |publisher=Kurier BB |date=2022-04-19 |language=pl}}</ref>

The [[Balcerowicz Plan|economic transformation]] after 1989 affected the industrial city with a serious socio-economic crisis. The textile industry, which almost disappeared from Bielsko-Biała, was the most affected. The car factory bought directly by [[Fiat]] limited its production only to components. The bad condition of the historic Old Town was the clearest sign of the city's decline in the 1990s, while its gradual [[revitalization]] started in 2002 became an important symbol of changes for the better. During the first and second decades of the 21st century, Bielsko-Biała managed to return to the path of economic prosperity. Between 2001 and 2009, on the site of the demolished Lenko and Finex textile factories, a large shopping mall, [[Sfera (mall)|Galeria Sfera]], was built. It is a characteristic post-modernist architectural structure on the banks of the Biała river, however criticised for its negative influence on the traditional commercial zone located around the nearby 11 Listopada Street pedestrian zone.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Drost |first1=Jacek |title=Deptak w Bielsku-Białej zmieni się w ulicę rzemiosł. Czy ożywi centrum? |url=https://dziennikzachodni.pl/deptak-w-bielskubialej-zmieni-sie-w-ulice-rzemiosl-czy-ozywi-centrum/ar/3382881 |access-date=12 July 2023 |date=2014-03-29|publisher=[[Dziennik Zachodni]] |language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Furtak |first1=Ewa |title=Ulica na tysiąc kroków. Musimy wspólnie znaleźć na nią pomysł |url=https://katowice.wyborcza.pl/katowice/7,151344,24549546,ulica-na-tysiac-krokow-musimy-wspolnie-znalezc-na-nia-pomysl.html |access-date=12 July 2023 |publisher=[[Gazeta Wyborcza]] |date=2019-03-15 |language=pl}}</ref> Like other contemporary cities, Bielsko-Biała is strongly affected by [[suburbanization]], which results in a decrease in the number of inhabitants while the population of the neighboring communes is increasing.