With its population of approximately 300,000 inhabitants, Białystok is very much north-eastern Poland’s largest city and the administrative, economic and educational centre of the region. Białystok is located at the hub of such important international overland routes as those running from Western to Eastern Europe, or the Berlin – Warsaw – Sankt Petersburg – Moscow railway line, along with the Via Baltica transport route that crosses the Baltic states before reaching Warsaw. This, together with Białystok’s neighbouring on Belarus, Lithuania and Russia, fosters the development of economic and cultural relations with both eastern and western European countries. Not far from the city, there are several border crossings handling freight and passenger transport alike. (more)
The first mention of Białystok in written sources dates back to the year 1514. Around the year 1570 the Wiesiołowski family erected a fortress mansion within the limits of today's city. In the 1670's a wooden church was put up nearby and a market place was laid out, thus marking the beginning of what was to be an early town.
The Wiesiołowski fortress was destroyed during the Swedish invasion, to be reconstructed in the late 16th century by Stefan Mikołaj Branicki the Podlaskie Voivode, who converted it into a Baroque palace. It was then that Białystok began to look like a town, which was crowned by the city charter that was granted to Białystok in 1692 by king Jan III Sobieski, and confirmed by king August III the Saxon under the Magdeburg law in 1749. Białystok's development owes much to the grand Crown Hetman and a claimant to the throne, Jan Klemens Branicki. (more)
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