Some History of Tychy

According to Ludwik Musiol, a researcher of the district history, the city name “Tychy” originates from the old Polish word “tych” (“tychy“ in plural) – the present Polish word with the same meaning is “cichy” (meaning “quiet”). A quiet and undemonstrative person would be given such a name – Tych - in the Middle Ages in Poland.
There is another legend about the origin of the city name. The inhabitants of the small village, where there was no church, had to walk to the neighboring town of Mikolow to attend a liturgy. They walked, but frequently had to run because the area was prowled by wolves. They entered the church “zdyszani” (“out of breath”), and then they were referred to as “Dychy”, which later turned into “Tychy”.

Tychy has turbulent history. The district developed as a property of dukes and princes until it became a duchy ruled by Austrian dukes, who made a great contribution to its development. Pszczyna Land is a small wooded and marshy plot of land. In ancient times, it was located at the junction of two neighboring tribes, the Wisłan tribe and the Opolany tribe. The Gostynia River served as the border between these two tribes. At the end of the 10th century, Pszczyna Land was within the Piast state. With the division of this country by King Boleslaw the Wrymouth in 1138, it became a part of the senior estate of Malopolska, being a part of the Oswiecim castellany.
Pszczyna Land found itself within the borders of Silesia in 1178 as a gift from Kazimierz the Righteous for his godson Mieszko Platonogi, the Duke of Opole and Racibórz. Leszek, the last independent prince of Racibórz, was the last ruler of the Piast dynasty. Due to the lack of a male descendant, he handed over his principality to his brother-in-law, Mikołaj II, the Duke of Opava from the Przemysl family, in 1336. In 1365, the land was taken over by the son of Nicholas Il - Jan I, and after him - by John II called Żelazny (the Iron One). John II married a Lithuanian princess Helena, the daughter of Dymitr (brother of Wladislaw Jagiello). In 1407, he separated the district of Pszczyna from the lands of his duchy as a life property for his wife. After the death of John II in 1424, Duchess Helena took the widow's division into an independent possession. Thus, the land of Pzsczyna, as a Duchy, began to write its own book of history.

In 1480, after a long and troubled period of the Hussite wars, and the invasions of the Hungarian king Maciej Corvinus, the principality was bought by Casimir II (Kazimierz), the Cieszyn prince. Casimir II cared for the economic development of his estates and built many mills and fishing ponds in the principality. In 1517, Casimir II sold the Pszezyn estate to a Hungarian magnate, Aleksy Thurzon. At the time of the sale, the principality included Pszczyna, Bieruń, Mikołow, Mysłowice, 50 princely villages and 27 knight's villages. Alexy Thurson behested the Free State to his brother John in 1521, and John ruled there until 1548. The Thurzons maintained lively contacts with the royal court in Wawel. On April 18, 1518, Queen Bona stayed at the castle in Pszczyna on her way from Italy to Poland.
From 1548, the Pszczyna Land was ruled by the descendants of the Old Silesian nobility – the family of Promnitz. They also maintained a close relationship with Krakow. Stanislaw Promnitz was a courtier of Zygmunt August. During his rule, the Pszczyna Land developed economically. Numerous craft workshops, manors, ironworkers, breweries and the first manufactories were established. The work of development was continued by the following princes: Charles (1568-1591), Seyfried (1591-1620), and Leopold (1620-1662). The Thirty Years' War, and later the three Silesian Wars, as a result of which the Prussian King Frederick I separated Silesia from Austria - interrupted the development process. The Prussians made a new administrative division of Silesia. The Pszczyna District was established and headed by the landrat.

In 1765, Jan Erdmann, the last prince of the Promnits family, who did not have a son, handed over the Land of Pszczyna to a nephew of Frederick I, the Duke of Anhalt - Coethen. After Jan Erdmann, the Dukes of Anhalt-Coethen reigned in turn: Ferdinand (1797-1816), Henry (1816-1819), Ludwik (1819-1841), Henry (1841-1846). Under the Anhalts, hitherto unknown farming methods were introduced here, new agricultural tools were introduced, and the breeds of horses, cattle and sheep were refined. The cultivation of potatoes, beetroot and hops was started. Local beekeeping achieved a high level. An exemplary forest management was introduced. Products of craftsmanship flourished. Numerous coal mines, coke-fired iron smelters, glass smelters, brick factories, lime kilns, breweries and distilleries were opened. The Anhalts patronized the construction of schools and churches.

Located in the very heart of the forest, the village of Tychy was on the route between the towns of Mikolow and Bierun. Those forests were traditionally the places of hunting expeditions organized by the lords of Pless/Pszczyna. In 1769, Tychy officially acquired its own coat-of-arm that had long been in use: a golden hunting horn on a royal blue shield (yellow/golden and royal blue have been the traditional and official colors of Silesia for centuries). Thus, the hunters were officially recognized as the community founders and sponsors.

According to our city museum guide, there was a grange with dozens of heads of cattle and sheep in the village of Tychy. The earliest mention of this grange dates back to 1467. That grange also possessed brewing rights, which was a privilege of the particularly deserving peasants at that time, and brewing was permitted once a week there. The huntsmen appreciated the local beer a lot, and the dukes of Pless sponsored the development of the local brewery throughout the time.
The Duke of Pless was the owner of four breweries in the district. Tychy Brewery produced “export” beer known as “better beer”. It was a dark, black beer (Schwarzbier) produced using mainly barley malt with the addition of rye malt and a little of oat malt. Apart from this beer, a light, or “white” beer (Weissbier), was also brewed. This beer contained mainly wheat malt sometimes mixed 1:1 with barley malt. There was also a popular, cheap and light “table” beer (Teszbeer), also known as “cienkusz” (“small beer”). The production of this beer was based on what remained after the proper beer was poured off and bottled.

This monument was created by the local sculptor Augustyn Dyrda (born in 1926 - God grant him good health!) i 1958. The monument stood on the pedestal in Liberty Square in 1958-2007. In 2007, this statue was replaces by a new bronze monument to the participants of Silesian Uprising.

Tychy City Museum

Silesian Uprising monument, Tychy

Tychy became the starting point of the first Silesian Uprising of 1919. The uprising began during the night of August 16/17, 1919. It ended with the insurgents taking control of the village. The majority of residents during the plebiscite voted for Tychy becoming a part of Poland. At that time Tychy became a part of the autonomous Silesian Province, and its population grew to 11,000 residents. On January 1, 1934, Tychy was granted a municipality charter.

The Polish Eagle straightening its wings

This is how I call this memorial plaque attached to the building of the old inn at 35 Damrot Street. The memorial plaque is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the day, when Upper Silesia finally joined Poland. The inscription on this plaque must be the longest one in the city. It reads,

The Past and the Present of Tychy

At Otters Fountain, Old Town, Tychy

At St.Mary Magdalene Cathedral built in 1782, Old Town, Tychy

The memorial plaque to the left of the church entrance with te names of all church deans (right).

This nice illumination reminds us of the industrial development of the city (Bielska Avenue).

A refurbished historical building in Main Street in Urbanowice District, Tychy

Old Silesian style houses, Tychy