Editing Wieliczka

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Wieliczka
| settlement_type = Town
| image_skyline = Wieliczka widok na Zamek Żupny Sztygarówkę Rynek Górny w Wieliczce.jpg
| image_caption = Panorama of Wieliczka
| image_flag = POL Wieliczka flag.svg
| flag_size = 140
| image_shield = POL Wieliczka COA 1.svg
| pushpin_map = Poland
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| coordinates = {{coord|49|59|22|N|20|3|58|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}}
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeship]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Powiat|County]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Gmina]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Lesser Poland Voivodeship|Lesser Poland]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Wieliczka County|Wieliczka]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Gmina Wieliczka|Wieliczka]]
| established_title = Established
| established_date = 1123–1127
| established_title3 = Town rights
| established_date3 = 1290
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Rafał Ślęczka
| area_total_km2 = 13.41
| population_total = 27845<ref name="demografia.stat.gov.pl">{{Cite web|url=https://demografia.stat.gov.pl/BazaDemografia/Tables.aspx|title = Baza Demografia - Główny Urząd Statystyczny}}</ref>
| population_as_of = 2023
| population_density_km2 = auto
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 32-020
| area_code = +48 12
| website = [http://www.wieliczka.gmina.pl wieliczka.pl ]
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| blank_name = [[Vehicle registration plates of Poland|Car plates]]
| blank_info = KWI
}}
'''Wieliczka''' {{IPA|pl|vʲɛˈlʲit͡ʂka|pron|audio=Pl-Wieliczka.ogg}} (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern [[Poland]], situated within the [[Kraków]] [[metropolitan area]] in [[Lesser Poland Voivodeship]] since 1999.{{TERYT}} The town was initially founded in 1290 by [[Przemysł II|Premislaus II of Poland]]. Nowadays, it is mostly known for the [[Wieliczka Salt Mine]], declared a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] in 1978, and the historic old town core which was listed as one of [[List of Historic Monuments (Poland)|National Polish Monuments]] in 1994. The population in 2023 was estimated at 27,845.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wyniki badań bieżących - Baza Demografia - Główny Urząd Statystyczny |url=https://demografia.stat.gov.pl/BazaDemografia/Tables.aspx |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=demografia.stat.gov.pl}}</ref>

==Geographic location==
The city of Wieliczka lies in the south central part of Poland, within the [[Małopolska]] (Lesser Poland) province. The city is located {{convert|13|km|abbr=on}} to the southeast of [[Kraków]] and not far from the town of [[Niepołomice]]. The [[Wieliczka Salt Mine]] – one of the world's oldest operating [[salt mine]]s, has been established on significant salt deposits which are also present in nearby [[Bochnia]].<ref>Jerzy Grzesiowski, ''Wieliczka: kopalnia, muzeum, zamek'' (Wieliczka: the Mine, the Museum, the Castle), 2nd ed., updated and augmented, Warsaw, Sport i Turystyka, 1987, {{ISBN|83-217-2637-2}}.</ref>

The town lies in a valley between two ridges that stretch from west to east: south Wieliczka foothills, north [[Bogucice]] sands, including the Wieliczka-Gdów Upland. The south ridge is higher, while the northern ridge leads to national road 94. Near the town lies the A4 highway (E40 European route), which connects Kraków with Poland's south western and south eastern regions. Despite the small area, the city's relative altitude accounts for more than 137 –m–: the highest mountain reaches 361,8 metres above the sea, and the lowest point lies at an altitude of 224 metres [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]].

== Culture ==

Wieliczka, as well as the nearby village of [[Lednica Górna]] are among the last places in Poland where the Easter tradition of [[Siuda Baba]] is still practised.<ref name="Ogrodowska-190">Barbara Ogrodowska, Zwyczaje, obrzędy i tradycje w Polsce. Warsaw: Verbinum, 2001, p. 190.</ref><ref name="Zinkow-216-218">Julian Zinkow, Krakowskie podania, legendy i zwyczaje (oraz wybór podań i legend jurajskich). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Platan, 2004, p. 216-218</ref>

==History==

===Medieval times===
The first settlers were probably from the [[Celts|Celtic]] tribes. In later years they were driven out by the West Slavic or [[Lechites|Lechitic]] clans. The importance of mining deposits arose after the capital of Poland was moved from [[Gniezno]] to [[Kraków]] by [[Casimir I the Restorer]] in the 11th century. However, further development of the mining practices was abruptly halted by the [[Mongol invasion of Europe|Mongol invasion]], which destroyed Kraków and its surroundings in the 13th century. The area was subsequently populated with migrating [[Germans]], who called the settlement ''Gross Salz'' (English: Grand/Great Salt) and from which the old Polish name ''Wielka Sól'' was derived. With time, the name evolved into Wieliczka, although the name Wielka Sól remained in official use, particularly in royal seals and documents.

After the 1252 discovery of large salt and potassium deposits across southern Poland, the extraction of salt began on a much broader scale. In the year 1289, [[Henryk IV Probus]], then Lord of Kraków, issued a document authorising brothers Jescho and Isenbold to expand the town. Duke and future king Premislaus II granted Wieliczka [[town privileges]] in 1290.

===17th to 18th century===
[[File:Wieliczka Rynek 04.16 077.JPG|thumb|Wieliczka market square townhouses]]
In 1651, the population of Wieliczka was decimated by a plague. In the years 1655–1660, at the time of the [[Swedish Deluge]], the city was in economic decline. The mine was plundered and burned by the Swedes and Swedish troops guarded the mine and the taxes were raised upon the locals. [[Gabriel Wojniłłowicz]] along with [[Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski]] proceeded to organize approximately 3,000 people which took part in the liberation of Wieliczka, [[Bochnia]] and [[Wiśnicz]]. The battle took place in [[Kamionna, Lesser Poland Voivodeship]], where the Poles emerged victorious.

===18th to 19th century===
After the [[First Partition of Poland]] in 1772, Wieliczka became part of the Austrian-led [[Habsburg monarchy]]. After the Polish victory in the [[Austro-Polish War]] of 1809, Wieliczka was regained by Poles and included within the short-lived Polish [[Duchy of Warsaw]]. The [[House of Habsburg|Habsburgs]] regained the city after the fall of the Duchy and its partition by the [[Congress of Vienna]]. The town then became part of the semi-autonomous province of [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]]. Under the multicultural Austrian Empire, many German, Hungarian, Croatian and Transylvanian miners settled in Wieliczka, thus changing the ethnic composition of the city. In 1828, [[Fryderyk Chopin]] visited the town.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Załuski|first1=Pamela|last2=Załuski|first2=Iwo|title=Szlakiem Chopina po Polsce|year=2000|language=pl|publisher=Wydawnictwo JaR|location=Warszawa|page=110|isbn=83-88513-00-1}}</ref> After the outbreak of the [[Kraków uprising]] in 1846, the rebellious miners seized power at the salt mines. With progressing industrialization, the town developed into a small city, which was now renowned for its salt production and output throughout the Empire.

===20th to 21st century===
[[File:Konopków.jpg|thumb|A branch of the [[Institute of National Remembrance]] at the Konopków Palace]]
Only by the end of the 19th century, the Galician authorities began investing in public housing. However, the city expanded with private investments, wealthy entrepreneurs built mining colonies (organized settlements for families of mine workers) and power plants (supplied electricity not only to the mine, but also to the town).

In the inter-war period, Wieliczka's total population increased which encouraged territorial expansion; local villages were incorporated into town borders and new residential districts were erected in the 1920s to meet the demands of the growing population. However, the town also witnessed the 1933 miners' strike, which took place due to the reduction of wages by 13%.

During the first days of [[World War II]], on 7 September 1939, the German Wehrmacht entered Wieliczka. They immediately began to persecute the Jewish population of around 1500, robbing and plundering. During the next two and a half years, they also brought to Wieliczka hundreds of Jews from other towns in the area, including from the [[Kraków Ghetto]] after the opening of a ghetto in the Klasno district. In total, as many as 11,000 Jews lived in the ghetto by the time of deportation in 1942.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kazimierz|first=Pająk|title=Wieliczka – an old mining town .|publisher=Literary Publishing House|year=1968|location=Krakow|pages=127}}</ref> The town, especially the places Jews lived, became severely overcrowded and the population impoverished. In August 1942, all the Jewish population was rounded up. About 700 were taken to a nearby forest where they were shot. Others were killed in the town. Some 700 young men were taken to Pustkow and other forced labor camps. The rest were forced onto trains and sent to the killing camp at Belzec where they were murdered by gas on arrival. Very few Wieliczka Jews survived until liberation.<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 |page=Volume II pp. 590–591}}</ref>

On 21 January 1945, the [[Red Army|Soviet Red Army]] liberated Wieliczka from the Nazis. During the fighting, 138 Soviet soldiers were killed.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Council for the Protection of Monuments of Struggle and Martyrdom|title=Guide of Fighting and Martyrdom war years 1939–1945|publisher=Sport and Tourism|year=1988|isbn=83-217-2709-3|pages=372, 173}}</ref>

In 1994, the city was listed in the [[List of Historic Monuments (Poland)|Register of Historic Monuments of Poland]].

==Sport==
* [[Górnik Wieliczka]] – football club

==Economy==
Wieliczka is the headquarters of the Polish clothing company [[4F (company)|4F]].

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}}

===Twin towns – Sister cities===
Wieliczka is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref name="Wieliczka twinning">{{cite web | url = http://www.wieliczka.eu/pl/12565/0/Miasta_partnerskie.html | title = Wieliczka Miasta partnerskie |trans-title=Polish | access-date = 25 June 2013 | work = Urząd Miasta i Gminy Wieliczka}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Bergkamen]], Germany<ref name="Wieliczka twinning"/><ref name="RuhrTwins2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.twins2010.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pic/Dokumente/List_of_Twin_Towns_01.pdf?PHPSESSID=2edd34819db21e450d3bb625549ce4fd |title=List of Twin Towns in the Ruhr District |work=Twins2010.com |year=2009 |access-date=28 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225064042/http://www.twins2010.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pic/Dokumente/List_of_Twin_Towns_01.pdf?PHPSESSID=2edd34819db21e450d3bb625549ce4fd |archive-date=25 February 2021 }}</ref>
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Saint-Andre-lez-Lille]], France<ref name="Wieliczka twinning"/>
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Sesto Fiorentino]], Italy<ref name="Wieliczka twinning"/>
*{{flagicon|CZE}} [[Litovel]], Czech Republic<ref name="Wieliczka twinning"/>

==Notable residents==
*[[Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz]] (1852–1916), [[realism (arts)|realist]] painter 
*[[Władysław Skoczylas]] (1883–1934), [[watercolorist]], woodcutter, sculptor and art teacher
*[[Esther Hamerman]] (1886–1977), American painter, born in Wieliczka, eventually moved to [[Vienna]]<ref name=Newhall>{{cite web|last1=Newhall|first1=Edith|title=All in the Family|url=http://www.artnews.com/2012/03/06/all-in-the-family/|website=ARTnews|date=6 March 2012|access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref>
*[[Adam Musiał]] (1948–2020), football player and football manager
*[[Paweł Mąciwoda]] (b. 1967), Polish bassist, member of the German rock band [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]]
*[[Artur Szpilka]] (b. 1989), [[professional boxer]]
*[[Jan-Krzysztof Duda]] (b. 1998), [[chess grandmaster]]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:PL Wieliczna Market Square.JPG|The Market Square
File:Wieliczka Rynek 04.16 087.JPG|Tenement houses at the Market Square
File:Rynek Górny w Wieliczce.jpg|Market Square at night
File:Dostęp do Kopalni Soli w Wieliczce.jpg|[[Wieliczka Salt Mine]], a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]
File:3453vik Kopalnia soli Wieliczka. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg|Interior of the mine
File:KościółŚw.Klemensa-POL, Wieliczka.JPG|[[Pope Clement I|St. Clement]]'s Church ([[:pl:Kościół św. Klemensa w Wieliczce|pl]])
File:PL Wieliczka Church of St. Klemens 1.JPG|Interior of St. Clement's Church
File:Przychodzki Palace in Wieliczka 1.jpg|Przychodzki Palace
File:Wieliczka, Szyb Regis - fotopolska.eu (338250).jpg|Regis Shaft
File:Ogrod Zupny.jpg|Regional House Garden
File:Palac Konopkow tomasz2706-1.JPG|Konopków Palace
File:Wieliczka, zamek żupny, mur i baszta.jpg|[[Żupny Castle]]
File:Wieliczka 006.jpg|[[Saint Kinga]]'s Park
File:Urzad Skarbowy Wieliczka.jpg|Town Centre
File:Wieliczka hotel.jpg|Turówka Hotel
File:Pomnik Mickiewicza.jpg|[[Adam Mickiewicz]] Monument
File:Saint Sebastian church, 21-23 sw. Sebastiana street, City of Wieliczka, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland.jpg|Church of [[St. Sebastian]]
File:Saint Sebastian church (interior), 21-23 sw. Sebastiana street, City of Wieliczka, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland.jpg|Interior of Saint Sebastian Church
File:Klasztor Franciszkanów Wieliczka.jpg|[[Franciscan]] Monastery
File:Wieliczka 020.jpg|The monastery courtyard
File:I WW Military cemetery 381 Wieliczka (graves),Poland.JPG|[[WWI]] Military Cemetery
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of World Heritage Sites of Poland]]
*[[Bochnia Salt Mine]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

;Attribution
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Wieliczka}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikivoyage|Wieliczka}}
*[http://www.thesaltoftheearth.net// Wieliczka The salt of the Earth/]
*[http://www.itwieliczka.eu/gb/ Exhibition of Technique in Wieliczka]
*[http://www.wieliczka.pl/ Wieliczka County page]
*[http://www.roomwithaviewkrakow.com/places-close-to-krakow/wieliczka-salt-mine.html Wieliczka on Interactive map of Kraków]
* [http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/city/wieliczka/ Jewish Community in Wieliczka] on Virtual Shtetl
* [http://radoslawsobik.pl/panoramy/wieliczka/index.html See Virtual Tour] Virtually visit the Franciscan Monastery
* [https://en.eyeofkrakow.pl/ Interesting Places in Wieliczka and Małopolska] Website about search interesting places in Wieliczka and Małopolska [in English]

{{Wieliczka County}}
{{Gmina Wieliczka}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1290 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Lesser Poland Voivodeship]]
[[Category:Wieliczka| ]]
[[Category:Spa towns in Poland]]
[[Category:Holocaust locations in Poland]]
[[Category:13th-century establishments in Poland]]