Piwniczna-Zdrój [pʲivˈɲit͡ʂna ˈzdrui̯] (until 1999 Piwniczna, Ukrainian: Північна, Pivnichna) is a town in Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, near the border with Slovakia. Piwniczna-Zdrój is the name of both the town and its administrative district called a gmina in Polish, namely the Gmina Piwniczna-Zdrój.

Piwniczna-Zdrój
Panorama of the town
Panorama of the town
Coat of arms of Piwniczna-Zdrój
Piwniczna-Zdrój is located in Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Piwniczna-Zdrój
Piwniczna-Zdrój
Piwniczna-Zdrój is located in Poland
Piwniczna-Zdrój
Piwniczna-Zdrój
Coordinates: 49°26′7″N 20°42′41″E / 49.43528°N 20.71139°E / 49.43528; 20.71139
Country Poland
Voivodeship Lesser Poland
CountyNowy Sącz
GminaPiwniczna-Zdrój
Area
 • Total126.7 km2 (48.9 sq mi)
Elevation
562 m (1,844 ft)
Population
 (2012)
 • Total10 315
Postal code
33-350
Websitehttp://www.piwniczna.pl

Piwniczna-Zdrój is a popular tourist destination in Beskid Sądecki, part of the Western Carpathians mountain range of southern Poland featuring a protected area called the Poprad Landscape Park with its picturesque Poprad River Gorge.[1]

Location edit

The total area of Piwniczna-Zdrój county is 3,830 ha (30.2% of which lies within the commune), while the rural area is 8,816 ha (69.8% of the commune). The municipal area consists of six villages: Młodów, Głębokie, Kokuszka, Łomnica-Zdrój, Wierchomla, and Zubrzyk.

In Poland, the word miasto is often used for both a town and a city. Miasto is a category applied on the basis of the administrative decision of the central government. The nearest English equivalent of Piwniczna-Zdrój would therefore be a town inside a county (gmina or powiat) that has a city charter. The equivalent title of County or Municipality however belongs to Nowy Sącz. The best matching organizational structure outside Poland would be a regional county municipality (RCM), which replaced established County designations in some countries and added layers of census divisions at its lower levels.

History edit

In the Middle Ages, the settlement of Piwniczna was located along a busy merchant trail, which joined Poland with Upper Hungary (now Slovakia). To protect the route and increase tax revenue, on July 1, 1348, in Kraków, King Kazimierz Wielki granted a privilege to a wealthy resident of Nowy Sacz, Hanko, upon which a brand new town was to be established in an oxbow of the Poprad river. The town was granted Magdeburg rights, and was named after its location, as the Poprad oxbow was called Piwniczna Szyja.

Piwniczna prospered in the period known as Polish Golden Age. Since ca. 1590 the town was governed by starostas from Nowy Sacz, but good times ended during catastrophic Swedish invasion of Poland (1655 - 1660), when Piwniczna was ransacked and burned. On April 7, 1769, during the Bar Confederation, a battle between rebels and Russian forces took place here. In 1770, Piwniczna was occupied by Austrians, and following the first partition of Poland (1772) Piwniczna became part of Austrian Galicia, in which it remained until 1918. In 1777, the population of Piwniczna was 1028.

For most of the 19th century, Piwniczna remained a small and poor town, with no industry. The situation began to change in the 1870s, when the rail line Tarnów - Stroze - Nowy Sacz - Leluchow was built. By 1880, the population of Piwniczna grew to almost 3,000, and since late 19th century, first tourists began to arrive here. Among them was the doctor Juliusz Korwin Gasiorowski from Lwow, who promoted local mineral waters.

In 1918 Piwniczna returned to Poland, and became part of Nowy Sacz County, Kraków Voivodeship. In the early 1930s, new baths were opened, and the town's importance as a spa grew. During World War II, the spa was used by the Wehrmacht soldiers. The town was seized by the Red Army in January 1945.

Population edit

The municipality of Piwniczna-Zdrój is currently characterized by a negative balance of migration (both permanent and temporary), with more inhabitants leaving than arriving. The City Council suggests that the rate of migration is larger than what the statistics indicate, because many people, especially those going abroad, do not officially declare their absence.

Two different government statistical reports have similar, but different numbers for 2009. This reflects the current reforms, as the information and data becomes more consistent, and centralized. The 2006–2007 data were less consistent, infrequent, and prone to clerical errors. Future data are hoped to be more accessible and streamlined as EU guidelines are followed more closely.

Area, population, and ranking for 2009
Category Area Population Ranking position
in ha in km2 total per km2 area in ha population
Piwniczna-Zdrój 12646 126 10483 83 974 785
Piwniczna-Zdrój town 3830 38 5793 151 x x
Piwniczna-Zdrój rural area 8816 88 4690 53 x x
Urban population in 2009 and 2010
Area 2009 2010 of which males
Piwniczna-Zdrój 10505 10,494 (1) 5180
Piwniczna-Zdrój 5836 5,805 2883
Piwniczna-Zdrój 4669 4,689 2297
  1. For 2010, most accurate published statistical data for Gmina, Town, Rural is: 10,494, 5,805, 4,689 respectively.

General population changes edit

In terms of nationality, the population of Piwniczna Zdrój is nearly homogeneous. Some 99.93% of residents of the municipality determine their nationality as Polish, with only seven people declaring another nationality. It is not clear or stated from what age group these people are in, or where they are from.

Local demographics National demographics
  1. 28.0% pre-working age
  2. 58.3% of working age
  3. 13.7% post-working age
  1. 14.7% pre-working age
  2. 71.6% of working age
  3. 13.7% post-working age

Municipal Council of Piwniczna Zdroj is currently working under 2007–2013 Development Plan, where they have simply voiced and published recognition of the need and inability to meet or financially deal with any of major issues impeding on their future correction of problems, and growth stimulation. Some of the issues they point out to address, is the depletion and contamination natural resources, ranging from poor agricultural maintenance care affecting production and water quality, to items such as use of 80% household usage of low grade coal and coke for heating, to poor monitoring surface and ground water monitoring. The council did not address any pesticide production or use issues, though chemical production is one of Poland's GDP and the area suffers from depletion of natural resources. With the main focus concerning tourism which is primarily being sold and advertised as health and wellness, this is finally being acknowledged as being a topic of interest that should be for the community. Also the Municipal Council recognized that the tasks set in its recommended plans exceeds the capacity to finance it entirely from the community, and it becomes necessary to obtain financial assistance in the form of grants and concessional loans from the institutions which are involved in the financing of environmental projects, however no indication of what the community contributions or offers are.

Poland census data extracts for 2008 and 2010.
Population by gender, voivodeships, powiats and gminas in 2008
Region Total Males Females Urban areas Rural areas
total males females total males females
Poland 38115909 18408405 19707504 23305018 11041359 12263659 14810891 7367046 7443845
w. małopolskie 3282378 1590492 1691886 1619103 765827 853276 1663275 824665 838610
p. krakowski 670492 328157 342335 152594 72740 79854 517898 255417 262481
Kraków 756441 353816 402625 756441 353816 402625 - - -
p. nowosądecki 763455 375224 388231 256094 122004 134090 507361 253220 254141
p. oświęcimski 632392 308513 323879 286653 137501 149152 345739 171012 174727
p. tarnowski 459598 224782 234816 167321 79766 87555 292277 145016 147261
WOJ. MAŁOPOLSKIE 3282378 1590492 1691886 1619103 765827 853276 1663275 824665 838610
Powiat nowosądecki 200590 99861 100729 36849 17699 19150 163741 82162 81579
gm. m-w. Piwniczna-Zdrój 10474 5172 5302 5789 2874 2915 4685 2298 2387
Population by gender, voivodeships, powiats and gminas in 2010
Region Total Males Females Urban areas Rural areas
total males females total males females
POLAND 38200037 18444373 19755664 23264383 11013749 12250634 14935654 7430624 7505030
MAŁOPOLSKIE 3310094 1603967 1706127 1627838 769769 858069 1682256 834198 848058
krakowski 685299 335488 349811 154882 73813 81069 530417 261675 268742
m. Kraków 756183 353354 402829 756183 353354 402829 - - -
nowosądecki 772344 379740 392604 258567 123331 135236 513777 256409 257368
oświęcimski 634549 309374 325175 284936 136578 148358 349613 172796 176817
tarnowski 461719 226011 235708 173270 82693 90577 288449 143318 145131
Powiat nowosądecki 204092 101599 102493 36464 17459 19005 167628 84140 83488
gm. m-w. Piwniczna-Zdrój 10494 5180 5314 5805 2883 2922 4689 2297 2392

Economy edit

Unemployment rate for the whole municipality is 22.4% while in the district of Nowy Sącz it is 30.7%. The national average is about 20.6%. This data is stated by Council, which slightly differs from the Nowy Sącz District statement of the lower 18.7% unemployment rate in the public investment offers.

Primary business is tourism, followed by the mineral water and spa facilities. The number of registered business entities on record is 703, much higher than the county per capita average. The total of 491 registered companies are located in the city, and 212 in the rural areas. But very often as council states, they are sole proprietorships, not generating new jobs. Considering the recent History of Poland (1945–1989), its shortage economy, black market and the majority of the population supported Solidarity (Polish trade union), it is unclear how the community has recovered. The Solidarity organization still actively continues as a trade union, and the area is on a trade corridor with Slovakia.

The community finally made a statement: “Analyzing the municipal budget Piwniczna Zdroj in different years, it is noted declining revenues and income, which among other things affect changes made in the regulations on local taxes and fees. Paradoxically, the diminishing of local government own revenues may be deprived of the possibility of obtaining funds from the Structural Funds, in order to raise funds because the funds must have their own contribution, which in most cases is 50% of the entire project. Furthermore, the implementation of projects under the Structural Funds to implement their rule in the form of reimbursement of expenses incurred by the beneficiary eligible for the amount specified in the contract.”

Environmental concerns edit

Due to European Union agreements and treaties being signed, Environmental concerns and data are becoming part of the census data being collected and published. The European Union, as well as the rest of the world has investigative and corrective mechanisms in place, which trickle down to the micro level. The local council must address the issues that are raised in reports. According to the local documents, they are claiming lack of local resources and financing, and looking for external assistance. However, from the financial reports, they do not intend to raise or restructure local taxes, incur debt, or investigate and stem any black market or inaccurate financial reporting.

Industrial And Municipal Wastewater Discharged Into Waters Or Into The Ground From Selected Health Resorts In 2010
excluding municipal waste, On own and other landfills (dumps, slag heaps, tailing ponds)
health resorts Total in dam3 (decameters) Treated Untreated
total mechanically chemically biologically and with increased biogen removal total in dam3 directly from industrial plants sewerage system
Piwniczna 126 100,0 - 4,0 96,0 - - -
Waste In Health Resorts In 2010 (in thousand tonnes)
excluding municipal waste, On own and other landfills (dumps, slag heaps, tailing ponds)
health resorts Waste generated during the year Waste landfilled (accumulated)
grand total recovered treated temporarily stored
total of which landfilled
Piwniczna-Zdrój 99.2 1.5 97.7 97.7 0 2185.6

Notes and references edit