Editing Bielsko-Biała (section)

===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''.