Tychy

The moniker Tychy is derived from the Polish word cichy, meaning "quiet" or "still".[5] Although appropriate for most of Tychy's history, the name is now somewhat ironic considering the growth of the city from 1950 onwards.

St. Mary Magdalene Church in the Stare Tychy district

Originally established as a small agricultural settlement on the medieval trade route between Oświęcim and Mikołów, Tychy was first documented in 1467.[6] 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.[7]

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 part of 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, and on 16–17 August 1919 the Battle of Paprocany (present-day district of Tychy) was fought as one of the first battles of the Silesian Uprisings (1919 to 1921). After the uprisings Tychy was reintegrated with the re-established Polish state.[8]

Shortly after its cession to Poland, 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. In 1922 it was visited by leader of interwar Poland, Józef Piłsudski.[9] Its population also grew between World War I and World War II, reaching a population of 11,000 at its highest point during this time.[6]

Memorial to Poles murdered by the Germans in the last public execution in Tychy on September 22, 1944

Along with the rest of industrial Upper Silesia Tychy was occupied by Nazi Germany forces after the invasion of Poland and annexed into the Third Reich,[10] 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.[11] Mass arrests and executions of Polish activists and former Polish insurgents of 1919–1921 were carried out in the first days of the occupation in September 1939.[12] As early as September 3, 1939, the Germans murdered several Polish residents of the city, of whom 13 were later identified, the youngest was 16 years old.[13] The last public execution was carried out on September 22, 1944, when five members of the underground Polish resistance movement were killed.[14] Tychy received minimal damage during the invasion because most of the nearby fighting took place in the Mikołów-Wyry area.[6] The E701 working party of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp was located in the present-day Czułów district.[15]

Tychy was liberated on January 28, 1945.[9]

Osiedle A in Tychy, built in the 1950s

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. It was granted town rights in 1951.[9] 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. In the 1950s the neighbourhood Osiedle A was built, designed by Tadeusz Teodorowicz-Todorowski, and the design and planning of the next neighbourhoods was entrusted to Kazimierz Wejchert and his wife Hanna Adamczewska-Wejchert.[9] In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s numerous industrial enterprises were created.[9] In 1951 and 1973 the city limits were greatly expanded by including Paprocany and Wilkowyje (in 1951),[16] and Cielmice, Urbanowice, Jaroszowice (in 1973) as new districts.[9] By 2006, the population had reached 132,500.

In the administrative reforms which came into effect in 1999, Tychy was made a city with the status of a powiat (city county). Between 1999 and 2002, it was also the administrative seat of (but not part of) an entity called Tychy County (powiat tyski), which is now known as the Bieruń-Lędziny County.

Brewery in Tychy on the right, Tyskie Brewing Museum on the left

The Tyskie Brewing Museum was founded in 2004, and the Municipal Museum in 2005.[9]

• Expressway S1
• National road 1
• National road 44
• National road 86

GKS Tychy celebrating the Polish championship in 2018

GKS Tychy ice hockey club is among the most successful in Poland and plays in its premier league, the Ekstraliga. Established in 1971, the team won the Polish Championships in 2005, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 and has won the Polish Cup eight 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.

Tychy City Stadium, home to the GKS Tychy football club

GKS Tychy football club 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 and finishing second in 1976.[9] During those glory days GKS Tychy also participated in the 1976–77 UEFA Cup. It played in the top division again in 1995–1997. Tychy City Stadium (Polish: Stadion Miejski w Tychach) is home to the club and seats 15,300 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. Napoli and Poland national team striker Arkadiusz Milik was born in Tychy, as well as former Bayer Leverkusen defender Lukas Sinkiewicz, who now holds German citizenship.

Tychy hosted several matches of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

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.