The History of Tychy
Tychy originated as a small agricultural settlement near the medieval trade route connecting Oświęcim and Mikołów. It was mentioned in historical documents for first time in 1467. In the 17th century, Tychy was one of the richest villages of the Pszczyna district. In 1629 the Princes’ Brewery was opened. Hops and barley were grown and fish were bred, craft and industry were developing. In the Promnice palace, erected in the middle of the 17th century, an independent forest office was operating. Until the mid-19th century, Tychy were owned by the successive feudal lords, standing at the helm of the so called Pszczyna State Country. In 1870 the first railway line was built, connecting Tychy with Katowice and Szopienice.
It was in Tychy where during the night 16/17th August 1919 the first Silesian Uprising began, which ended with the insurgents taking control of the village. During the plebiscite, the majority of residents opted for Tychy becoming a part of Poland. It was at that time that Tychy started to develop and acquire the characteristic features of a municipal settlement. During the interwar period, in the autonomous Silesian Province, Tychy's population grew to 11 thousand people. At this time, among others, the following buildings were erected: a hospital, a fire station, a post office, a school, a swimming pool, a bowling alley and a network of shops and restaurants. On 1st January 1934, Tychy was granted a municipality charter.
The warfare of 1939 did not cause major damage, as most of the hostilities were taking place between Mikołów and Wyry. During the war and as a result of the extermination, more than 500 residents of Tychy were killed.
The beginning of the post-war history of the city is marked by the 4th October 1950, when the Presidium of the Government decided to build the New Tychy. A year later, the town received a city charter. The first housing estate was designed by Tadeusz Teodorowicz-Todorowski, and the next were the work of Kazimierz Wejchert and Hanna Adamczewska-Wejchert. The expansion of Tychy was the effect of the plans to create housing facilities for the Upper Silesian Industrial Region. Tychy were to become the first and largest city in the satellite system of the Upper Silesian Agglomeration. The city was developing very dynamically, becoming the location of a number of important investments, including industrial ones, thanks to which it became more than a just a housing facility; it gained the status of an independent city.