Imielin

History

The earliest mention in the records of Imielin dates from 1386. At that time it was part of the Duchy of Racibórz, the eastern border of which was marked by the Przemsza River. Imielin, like the neighbouring villages of Kosztowy and Chełm Śląski was nevertheless isolated from the rest of the duchy by the dense forest which were a feature of the area formed by the sources and headwaters of the Kłodnica and Mleczna rivers. For this reason in 1391 the Duke of Opava-Racibórz gifted this eastern portion of his lands to the Bishop of Kraków. Imielin was annexed by Prussia in the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. In 1796 administrative control and ownership of the land was also transferred to the Prussian crown. In 1802 Alt Gatsch (Stara Gać) was established as a daughter settlement, followed in 1820 by Neu Gatsch (Nova/New Gać). During the period of pan-European warfare with which the nineteenth century opened, the Napoleonic general Jean Lannes, who had been appointed Prince of Siewierz by the Duchy of Warsaw, asserted control over Imielin, along with Siewierz, citing in support the fact that historically both had belonged to the Bishopric of Kraków. Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Imielin was in 1817 returned to Prussia, and in 1818 it was incorporated into the newly created Pleß administrative district. Following World War I, Poland regained independence and control of Imielin. Imielin's excellent transport links to the industrial cities of Katowice, Oświęcim and Tychy enabled it to grow considerably during the twentieth century, both as a residential town for commuters to these larger centres and on account of businesses establishing themselves in Imielin itself. The official population count increased from 2,614 in 1900 to 5,200 in 1931, and to 7,757 in…

Geography

The municipality is situated a short distance to the south-west of Junction 41 on the A4 Highway. It has been in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999, previously having been in the Katowice Voivodeship, and before that, in the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. Imielin is one of the towns included in the 2.7 million conurbation – Katowice urban area and within a greater Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area populated by about 5,294,000 people.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,131
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,118
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,637
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  2,595
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,535
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,332
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,282
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,001

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2026-04-09
  1 km WNW of Radlin, Poland
• M 2.9 — 2025-04-29
  4 km WSW of Bytom, Poland
• M 3.2 — 2025-01-27
  1 km NE of Radlin, Poland
• M 2.9 — 2024-07-11
  4 km N of Jejkowice, Poland
• M 3 — 2023-10-04
  2 km W of Murcki, Poland
• M 2.8 — 2023-01-12
  2 km ENE of Karviná, Czechia