After the war, in 1945 Wadowice retained its powiat town status and until 1975 served as a notable centre of commerce and transport in the Krakw Voivodship. After that the town was transferred to the newly-created Bielsko-Bia?a Voivodship. After the peaceful transformation of the political and economical system in Poland (in 1989), most of the local industry was found inefficient and went bankrupt. However, the ecological and historical heritage of the area, as well as the place being the birthplace of Pope John Paul II, led to a fast growth of tourist potential. Currently there are more than 200.000 people coming to Wadowice every year and this number is going higher with every year.
Economy
Wadowice is today mainly a centre for tourism and sightseeing, but also a place for small industries like machines production, food processing and production of construction materials.
Related Travel Information
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The German name Auschwitz is still used when referring to the Auschwitz concentration camp built there by Nazi Germany during World War II.
History
The city was first mentioned in 1117. In 1179 it was detached from the Krakauer senior province and attached to the duchy Oppeln.. O?wi?cim was organized under German law (more precisely Lwówek law, which is a flavor of Magdeburg law) in
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