Portal:Poland/Selected location/12
Sosnowiec is a city located in the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, although, historically and culturally, it is part of the Dąbrowskie Basin (Zagłębie Dąbrowskie). Thanks to rich natural resources and a strategic location on the border of Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian empires, the village of Sosnowiec grew rapidly during the 19th century and was granted a town charter in 1902. Another period of vigorous development occurred in the 1970s, when Edward Gierek, a native of Sosnowiec, served as first secretary of the communist Polish United Workers' Party. On the city's centennial in 2002, the city center (pictured) was thoroughly rebuilt and modernized. Some coal mines and steel mills continue to operate in Sosnowiec as trade and service sectors are expanding. (Full article...)