GLIWICE

German Gleiwitz, town, Katowice wojewdztwo (province), southern Poland. An old settlement of Upper Silesia, Gliwice was chartered in 1276 and became capital of the Gliwice principality in 1312. It passed first to Bohemia, then to the Habsburgs, and in 1742 was incorporated (as part of Silesia) with Prussia. It was not returned to Poland until after World War II. Gliwice is a centre of heavy industry located on the Wroclaw-Krakw rail line. The town's industrial development began with the building of an iron foundry (1794) and a coke furnace (1798); the foundry became famous for specialized artistic castings. Chemical production and food processing are other activities. The town's inland port on the Gliwice Canal, Poland's busiest, ships Silesian exports via the Oder (Odra) River to the Baltic Sea. Gliwice has a polytechnical institute (1945) and a fine museum and is noted for its parks and landscape. Pop. (1992 est.) 215,700.