Belchatow, Lodz (Poland): history of the town

Belchatów  
The first recorded mention of Belchatów dates from 1391. The Belchats were the 
founders and first owners of the town. In 1405 they changed the family name 
into Be³chacki; hence the name Belchatów probably. 
With time Be³chatów underwent development. The town changed hands and received 
new buildings. In 1617 the Kaczkowski family founded o church and wooden 
monastery, later on given to the Franciscan order. Soon afterwards, in 1670, 
Stanis³aw Rych³owski, the then owner of these buildings, demonstrated his 
generosity by paying for the construction of a new brick-built church and 
monastery as well as a palace surrounded by a park. The palace was probably 
designed by Lodovico Coci, an Italian architect.
Belchatów owes its most rapid growth to the Rychlowski family. In 1737 the town 
gained the right to stage fairs and markets; six years later Be³chatów was 
given a town charter. That period saw the emergence of the first factories, 
which gave rise to the local textile industry. 
Following the second partition of Poland, the town found itself under Prussian 
control. This resulted in an influx of settlers, who contributed much to the 
region’s further economic growth. New factories were established then; as a 
consequence, as early as 1820 Be³chatów ranked among industrial centres. Jewish 
people constituted more than a half of the population at that time. 
In 1870, after the fall of the January Uprising, Be³chatów lost its municipal 
status as a punishment for the town’s active support to the insurgents; 
Belchatów became the property of German Reinhold Spiller and then the Hellwig 
family.
Nevertheless, the town continued to develop as an important social and economic 
centre in the region. 
In the early 20th century Belchatów received new factories, a power plant, 
library, courthouse, bank and new houses. The Voluntary Fire Brigade played a 
significant role in the consolidation of Polish society and in the maintenance 
of patriotic traditions. The institution’s members contributed greatly to the 
introduction of Polish as the language of instruction in schools in 1905. 
During World War I, Be³chatów citizens took an active part in the struggle for 
Poland’s independence. A plaque commemorating those who had been killed was put 
up in 1938. In 1925, when Poland was free again, Belchatów regained its 
municipal status.
Another stage in the town’s dynamic growth ended with the outbreak of World War 
II. The vicinity of Be³chatów bore witness to heavy defensive fighting, since 
Borowa Góra had the task of stopping a Nazi assault on Warsaw. 
During the occupation Be³chatów was declared a Jewish town, since the Jews 
constituted nearly 50% of its population. The Nazis established a ghetto, where 
the Jews were brutally repressed, beaten and murdered. The ghetto was closed in 
August 1942; the town’s citizens have put up a commemorative plaque dedicated 
to the martyrdom of 5,000 Jews from Belchatów. 
The town was liberated on 19 January 1945 by the soviet army:
On that day Belchatów saw the entry if the 63rd Armoured Brigade commanded by
Colonel Fronciszew, which was part of the 10th Armoured Corps. 
Following the end of World War II, Belchatów and its 3,500 citizens began the 
slow restoration of their former position. This process was considerably by the 
decision to make Belchatów the capital of a new administrative unit from 
January 1956.
Reference:
[HB1] http://www.euroatlas.pl/startpage/start.asp?lang=e 

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