Tychy
Typical buildings in Tychy
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Tychy - a good place
Tychy
Coordinates: 50°08′N 18°59′E / 50.133°N 18.983°E / 50.133; 18.983
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Silesian
County	city county
Established	15th century
Town rights	1951
Government
• Mayor	Andrzej Dziuba
Area
• City	81.64 km2 (31.52 sq mi)
Population (2009)
• City	129,527
• Density	1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
• Urban	2,746,000
• Metro	5,294,000
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	43-100 to 43-135
Area code	+48 32
Car plates	ST
Website	http://www.umtychy.pl/

Tychy ([ˈtɨxɨ] ( listen)) is a city in Silesia, Poland, approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city borders Katowice to the north, Mikołów to the west, Bieruń to the east and Kobiór to the south. The Gostynia river, a tributary of the Vistula, flows through Tychy.

Since 1999 Tychy has been located within the Silesian Voivodeship, a province consisting of 71 regional towns and cities. Tychy is also one of the founding cities of the Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia, a pan-Silesian economic and political union formed with the eventual aim of bringing the most populous Silesian areas under a single administrative body.

Tychy is well known for its brewing industry, which dates back to the 17th century.^[1] Since 1950 Tychy has grown rapidly, mainly as a result of post-war Communist planning policies enacted to disperse the population of industrial Upper Silesia.^[2][3]

Districts[link]

• Cielmice (Tychy) (German: Cielmitz) (south)
• Czułów (Tychy) (Silesian: Czułůw, German: Czulow) (north)^[4]
• Glinka (Tychy) (west)^[5]
• Jaroszowice (Tychy) (German: Jaroschowitz) (north-east)^[6]
• Mąkołowiec (German: Monkolowietz, Monkolowitz) (north-west)^[7]
• Paprocany (German: Paprotzan) (south)^[8]

• Śródmieście (city centre)
• Stare Tychy (cetre)^[9]

• Suble (Tychy)^[10]
• Urbanowice (Tychy) (German: Urbanowitz) (east)
• Wartogłowiec (German: Wartoglowietz, Wartoglowitz) (north)^[11]
• Wilkowyje (German: Wilkowy) (north-west)^[12]
• Wygorzele (Tychy) (German: Wygorzelle) (north)^[13]
• Zawiść (Tychy) (German: since 1936 Winterfeld O. S.) (north-east)
• Zwierzyniec (Tychy) (German: Wilgard) (north)^[14]
• Żwaków (German: Zwackow) (west)^[15]

• Osiedle "A(nna)" w Tychach^[16]

Osiedla[link]

History[link]

Etymology[link]

The moniker Tychy is derived from the Polish word cichy, meaning "quiet" or "still".^[17] Although appropriate for most of Tychy's history, the name is now somewhat ironic considering the growth of the city from 1950 onwards.

Origins and development[link]

Originally established as a small agricultural settlement on the medieval trade route between Oświęcim and Mikołów, Tychy was first documented in 1467.^[18] In 1629 the first trace of serious economic activity was recorded in the shape of the Książęcy Brewery, which is now one of the largest breweries in Poland.^[19]

From 1526 onwards the area on which Tychy is built was part of the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy. This situation came to an end when Prussia forcibly took the land in 1742, before itself becoming the German Empire between 1871 and 1918. For a short period between 1918 and 1921 Tychy was just inside the border of the newly formed Weimar Republic and still a part of the German Province of Silesia, only securing its place within the Second Polish Republic after the armed Silesian Uprisings (1919 to 1921).^[20]

Shortly after its return to Polish territory Tychy began to develop into a small urban settlement, acquiring a hospital, a fire station, a post office, a school, a swimming pool, a bowling hall and a number of shops and restaurants. Its population also grew between World War I and World War II, reaching 11,000 at its highest point during this time.^[18]

1939 to 1945: invasion and occupation[link]

Along with the rest of industrial Upper Silesia Tychy was occupied by Nazi forces after the invasion of Poland and absorbed into the Third Reich,^[21] while many of its inhabitants who were not expelled or exterminated were forced to change their nationality to German in order to comply with the racist policies of Nazi Germany.^[22] Fortunately the city received minimal damage during the invasion, thanks largely to the fact that most of the nearby fighting took place in the Mikołów-Wyry area.^[23]

New Tychy[link]

The "New City" was designated by the Polish government in 1950 and deliberately located near to Katowice with the intention that it would not be a self-sustaining city. Tychy is the largest of the so-called "new towns" in Poland and was built from 1950 to 1985 to allow for urban expansion in the southeast of the Upper Silesian industrial region. By 2006 the population had reached 132,500.

The design and planning of New Tychy was entrusted to Kazimierz Wejchert and his wife Hanna Adamczewska-Wejchert.

In the administrative reforms which came into effect in 1999, Tychy was made a city with the status of a powiat (a city county). From 1999–2002 it was also the administrative seat of (but not part of) an entity called Tychy County (powiat tyski); this is now known as Bieruń-Lędziny County. Tychy is twinned with the town of Milton Keynes, UK.

A large Fiat car factory is located in Tychy, with production of nearly half a million cars in 2008.^[24] The fast-selling 500 is made in Tychy as well as Toluca, Mexico. Another model made exclusively in Tychy, is the Fiat Panda. Since May 2011 in Tychy will start production of the first model of this mark - all-new Lancia Ypsilon 3rd generation.

Tyskie beer is brewed in Tychy.

Sports[link]

Tychy is home to two major sporting teams, both named GKS Tychy. GKS stands for Górniczy Klub Sportowy, (English: Miner's Sporting Club), which is a common prefix for Polish sports teams situated near mines or in mining regions.

Ice hockey[link]

Tychy Winter Stadium, home to GKS Tychy ice hockey club

GKS Tychy ice hockey club is amongst the most successful in Poland and plays in its premier league, the Ekstraliga. Established in 1971, the team won the Polish Championships in 2005 and has won the Polish Cup four times. The club is housed in the newly refurbished Tychy Winter Stadium (Polish: Stadion Zimowy w Tychach), which seats 2,700 people.

Several players from the club have gone on to play in the American and Canadian NHL. These include Mariusz Czerkawski and Krzysztof Oliwa.

Football[link]

GKS Tychy football club was also established in 1971 and currently plays in the Polish Second League. Throughout a varied career the club reached a pinnacle between 1974 and 1977, making it into top Polish league Ekstraklasa. During those glory days GKS Tychy also participated in the 1976–77 UEFA Cup. Tychy City Stadium (Polish: Stadion Miejski w Tychach) is home to the club and seats 12,000 spectators.

A few notable footballers were either born in Tychy or spent some of their career at the club, the most famous being Real Madrid and Poland goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek. Ekstraklasa player Bartosz Karwan started his career there, as did retired player Radosław Gilewicz. Bayer Leverkusen defender Lukas Sinkiewicz was born in Tychy, but now holds German nationality.

They are allied with Cracovia Krakow

Other sporting teams[link]

Tychy is also home to several other sports teams, including basketball team Big Star Tychy, futsal team GKS Jachym Tychy and floorball team TKKF Pionier Tychy.

Notable people[link]

Tychy has been the birth place and home of notable people, both past and present. German sculptor August Kiss (1802–1865) was born in Paprotzan, Prussia, which is now situated within modern day Tychy. Most famous for his grand neoclassical works, Kiss also sculpted the fine pulpit of St. Adalbert's church in Tychy's neighbouring town of Mikołów. Augustyn Dyrda (b. 1926) is a sculptor who currently resides in the city and is best known for his socialist realist and modernist works, including several in Tychy itself.

Soldier Roman Polko (b.1962) is one son of Tychy whose achievements hold national importance today. His distinguished career has led him to the post of acting chief in Poland's Bureau of National Security.

People from the city[link]

• Adam Juretzko, German wrestler^[25]
• August Kiß, German sculptor
• Bartosz Karwan, footballer
• Józef Krupiński, lyricist
• Krzysztof Oliwa, icehockey player
• Lucyna Langer, female athlete
• Łukasz Sinkiewicz, footballer
• Mariusz Czerkawski, icehockey player
• Roman Ogaza, footballer
• Ryszard Riedel, musician, lived here
• Ireneusz Krosny, pantomime comedian

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jewish Community in Tychy on Virtual Shtetl

Media related to Tychy at Wikimedia Commons

• Makropix.com, 360° interactive view of a square in Old Tychy

v t e Counties of Silesian Voivodeship City counties Katowice (capital) Bielsko-Biała Bytom Chorzów Częstochowa Dąbrowa Górnicza Gliwice Jastrzębie-Zdrój Jaworzno Mysłowice Piekary Śląskie Ruda Śląska Rybnik Siemianowice Śląskie Sosnowiec Świętochłowice Tychy Zabrze Żory Land counties Będzin Bielsko Bieruń-Lędziny Cieszyn Częstochowa Gliwice Kłobuck Lubliniec Mikołów Myszków Pszczyna Racibórz Rybnik Tarnowskie Góry Wodzisław Zawiercie Żywiec

Coordinates: 50°10′N 19°00′E / 50.167°N 19°E / 50.167; 19