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Bytom ) is a city in southern Poland with 205,560 inhabitants (1999). Since 1999 it has been situated in the Silesian Voivodship, previously lying in the Katowice Voivodship (1975-1998).

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Bytom is one of the oldest cities of Upper Silesia, having been known as i in 1450. It received city rights in 1254 and grew owing to its location on a strategic crossroads.

Bytom was moved from hand to hand as the time went by. It belonged originally to the Kingdom of Poland and became the seat of a duchy from 1281-1355. Bytom was administered by the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1289 and then fell under Austrian Habsburg rule in 1526. The city became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742 and part of Imperial Germany in 1871. In 1945 it returned to Polish rule.

Bytom is now an average post-industrial city. The majority of its coal mines are now closed, while steel mills are slowly fading. The city is struggling to transfer its profile from industry to services. Bytom cooperates with two cities with more-less the same problems: Recklinghausen Germany, and Butte-Silver Bow, USA. The city has a considerable unemployment rate, but it is centered in the poorest part of city, Bobrek.

Municipality of Bytom

Old postcards from Bytom

Pictures and history of Bytom

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