SIEDLCE

city, capital of Siedlce wojewdztwo (province), east central Poland. It is an economic centre for the southeastern section of the province, with food processing, textile milling, and toy production. It lies on the WarsawMoscow road and rail line. Siedlce was first chronicled in 1448 as a settlement on the crossroads of several trade routes and received municipal rights in 1547, though it did not prosper until the mid-18th century. At that time the town's owners, the wealthy Oginski family, built a Neoclassical palace there. Siedlce passed to Austria in 1795 and was returned to Poland in 1918. During World War II, five Nazi concentration camps were located there. Pop. (1982 est.) 57,800.