The official website of the city
The history of the city of Jastrzębie-Zdrój is relatively short because the city was granted city rights in 1963. However, the city is much older. Some historians believe that it was established during the colonization under Magdeburg Law and for some time functioned under the name Hermansdorf (Herman’s village). From the second half of the 15th century, the village was mentioned in sources as Jastrzębie. This name is related to the legend of the owner of this area, “Black Knight”, who, like a hawk, attacked merchant caravans passing through the Moravian Gate. In 1862, at the request of the owner of the Jastrzębie spa, Count Felix von Koenigsdorff, the German authorities changed its name to Bad Koenigsdorff-Jastrzemb. The Polish name was restored in 1922, when Jastrzębie-Zdrój became part of the reborn Poland.
The development of Jastrzębie was closely related to the discovery of brine springs and the establishment of a spa. In 1862, the Spa House was opened, located in the Spa Park. The spa flourished when it was owned by Dr. Mikołaj Witczak. It was then that the spa complex acquired new facilities, and gained its reputation.
The outbreak of World War II stopped the development of the spa. After the end of the war, the medical facilities were renovated. From 1951, intensive geological research began, as a result of which rich deposits of hard coal were discovered. In 1962 the first of the mines was put into operation, and the still existing spa gradually began to decline. By 1974, another four mines were commissioned and thus Jastrzębie-Zdrój appeared on the economic map of the country. The expansion of the coal industry accelerated the granting of city rights to Jastrzębie, which took place on June 30, 1963. For many years, mining has stimulated the development of the city’s social and technical infrastructure. On September 3, 1980, the so-called “Jastrzębie Agreement” - a protocol of a social settlement, opening the way to political and economic changes in Poland was signed in the waiting room of the “Zofiówka” mine (former “July Manifesto”).
As a result of the mining reform, the city has recently changed its face thanks to the creation of good conditions for entrepreneurs to invest. There was a dynamic development of the private sector. New industries have emerged, including production of food products, building materials, processing of plastics.