Blachownia

Blachownia
Parkowa Street in town center
Flag Coat of arms
Blachownia
Coordinates: 50°47′N 18°58′E / 50.783°N 18.967°E / 50.783; 18.967Coordinates: 50°47′N 18°58′E / 50.783°N 18.967°E / 50.783; 18.967
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Silesian
County
Gmina	Blachownia
Established	17th century
Town rights	1967
Government
• Mayor	Anetta Ujma
Area
• Total	36.53 km2 (14.10 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	9,863
• Density	270/km2 (700/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	42-290
Area code(s)	+48 34
Car plates	SCZ
Climate	Cfb
Website	Wiadomości

Blachownia [blaˈxɔvɲa] is a town in , Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. It lies about 10 km west of the city of . The town belongs to historic Lesser Poland, and is located along National Road Nr. 46. In the future, the A1 motorway will go near Blachownia. The town also has a railroad station. Since Blachownia lies so close to Częstochowa, it is served by the city mass transit system.

The history of Blachownia dates back to 1356, when King Kazimierz Wielki gave permission to establish two villages in the area under the jurisdiction of a Starosta from nearby Olsztyn. This resulted in an influx of settlers, and this area of western lesser Poland, located near the border with Czech-ruled Silesia, emerged as a center of industry, with several forges and bloomeries. In the 16th century, when the settlement of Łojki (future Blachownia) belonged to Kraków Voivodeship, it had as many as 36 forges, powered by water wheels. Furthermore, iron ore was excavated here, and in one of the still-existing documents from 1531, King Zygmunt August allowed a man named Błazej Łojek to run a forge. In 1606, within boundaries of today’s Blachownia, was a settlement called Trzepizury, which consisted of three houses and an inn.

In 1610, Mikołaj Wolski, the starosta of Krzepice built two early blast furnaces, also purchasing a forge with two hammers, powered by water. By 1630, local metal plants manufactured app. 800 wagons of iron annually, together with farming tools, sheet metal, and cannonballs. In 1631, the metal plants were visited by King Władysław IV Waza. In the second half of the 17th century, the Blachownia industrial center declined, together with whole Lesser Poland, following the Swedish invasion of Poland. For 150 years local plants were not mentioned in any sources. In 1782, two bloomeries near Krzepice are described. After the Partitions of Poland, Blachownia since 1815 belonged to Russian-controlled Congress Poland. Due to efforts of Stanisław Staszic, artisans from Gliwice and technology from Berlin were brought to Blachownia, to recreate metal industry. In 1834, Bank of Poland leased area for the future steel mill, with two modern blast furnaces. Soon afterwards, first iron ore mines were opened, and in 1837, the furnaces were in use. The mill was managed by a German engineer Heinrich Karl Kaden from Saxony, and the cost of the construction of the factory was 382,099 zlotys. To increase energy input, a steam machine was brought from England, making Blachownia one of the most modern mills in Congress Poland. In 1838, Huta Blachownia employed 74 people, soon afterwards, a foundry was added. By 1848, however, the cost of manufacturing turned out to be too high, and there was no demand for Blachownia’s products. In 1872, the mill was taken over by the Russian Imperial family, which in 1897 leased it to a Berlin company Laura und Konigshutte. The mill employed app. 500 people, and its products were exported mostly to the vast Russian Empire, including its Far East. Workers from Blachownia actively participated in the Revolution of 1905.