Rybnik
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 Rybnik
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| Coordinates: 50°5′N 18°33′E / 50.083°N 18.550°E | |||
| Country | Poland | ||
| Voivodeship | Silesian | ||
| County | city county | ||
| Established | 10th century | ||
| Town rights | 1327 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Piotr Kuczera | ||
| Area | |||
| • City | 148 km2 (57 sq mi) | ||
| Highest elevation | 290 m (950 ft) | ||
| Lowest elevation | 210 m (690 ft) | ||
| Population (2013) | |||
| • City | 140 863 | ||
| • Metro | 527 017 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 44-200 to 44-292 | ||
| Area code(s) | +48 32 | ||
| Car plates | SR | ||
| Website | http://www.rybnik.pl/ | ||
Rybnik [ˈrɨbɲik] is a city in southwestern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship. The city first developed as a fishing centre (rybnik means fishpond in several Slavic languages) in medieval ages, then was a capital of so-called Rybnik State. Rybnik grew as an important centre of coal mining and the seat of the surrounding county in the 19th century. Under Poland's communist rule from 1945-1989 the city was projected to grow as a main mining centre of southern Poland.
The city of Rybnik has a population of about 141,410 as of December 2010 and remains the only powiat grodzki (urban county) in Upper Silesia with an increasing population. The Rybnik area with its large coal mines and power plants is an important economic region of Poland, and a visible center of music, home of the Szafrankowie Brothers State School of Music as well as a Philharmonic Orchestra.
The city itself has 141,410 inhabitants out of which 88.9% identified themselves as Polish in the 2002 National Census. Its density is 955.3 per km². The city's population peaked in 1997 at 144,943. After that, it decreased slightly to 141,080 in 2007. Since then, the number of inhabitants has ticked up slightly. Rybnik's demographic situation remains far better than most other Polish cities, with a rather young population: 18.2% being under the age of 18 and only 15.9% older than 65.
According to the National Census of 2002 out of 142,731 Rybnik's citizens, 126,860 (88.9%) declared Polish nationality, 8,980 (6.3%) were Silesians and 382 were of German origin (0.3%).
Rybnik is a powiat (county) divided into 27 districts that have its own administrative body. Most of them are suburban areas, including: Chwałęcice, Golejów, Gotartowice, Grabownia, Kamień, Kłokocin, Ligota – Ligocka Kuźnia, Meksyk, Ochojec, Orzepowice, Popielów, Radziejów, Rybnicka Kuźnia, Rybnik – Północ, Stodoły, Wielopole, Zamysłów and Zebrzydowice. There are also four former towns that have been merged with Rybnik: Boguszowice Stare, Chwałowice, Niedobczyce and Niewiadom. Two districts (Boguszowice Osiedle and Maroko-Nowiny) are typical Polish housing estates, with large blocks of flats and supporting buildings (such as shops and schools) built in communist time. The remaining three districts, Smolna, Śródmieście and Paruszowiec-Piaski formed the pre-war town of Rybnik. Those areas are densely built-up, with old town, city hall, most of schools, offices and shopping malls in Śródmieście (literally: city centre in Polish) and 19th century factories and houses in Paruszowiec.
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Wikipedia