ENG - Zabrzeg

Village of Zabrzeg

The name of the settlement on the Vistula, mentioned for the first time in 1517, comes from the riverside areas called "za brzegiem” which means “behind the river bank". As early as in the Middle Ages this area was crossed by trade routes connecting Silesia with Lesser Poland. 

In 1870 Zabrzeg became a part of the Nowy Bieruń commune. In 1973 Nowy Bieruń was incorporated into the Bieruń Stary commune, and in 1975 the latter was incorporated into Tychy. Zabrzeg has been a part of Bieruń since 1991.

Border on the Vistula

The Vistula separated the Kingdom of Bohemia from the Kingdom of Poland during the period 1457 to 1526. Silesia was governed by the Habsburg dynasty until 1742, and later by the Kingdom of Prussia. In the years 1772- 1918 there was a Prussian /German-Austrian border here. After World War I the Vistula separated the Republic of Poland from the German state. After the Silesian Uprisings and the plebiscite, the autonomous Silesian and Krakow provinces were connected by a bridge. During World War II, the bridge was destroyed twice (in 1939 and 1945). Since 1945 the Vistula here has been the border between provinces that have changed their territories and names a few times. Since 1999 it has been the border of the Silesian and Lesser Poland Provinces as well as the Bieruń-Lędziny district.

Degolówka

A customs office constructed in 1830 right next to the border on the Vistula River, associated with Charles de Gaulle's two visits to this place. In 1921, Captain Charles de Gaulle commanded a military unit keeping order during the plebiscite in Silesia. He returned here in 1967 as the President of France. At present this building houses a restaurant.