SKARZYSKO-KAMIENNA

town, Kielce wojewdztwo (province), southeastern Poland, on the Kamienna River. An important metallurgical centre since the end of World War II (1945) and rail junction on the WarsawKrakw line, it is part of the Staropolskie Zaglebie Przemyslowe, or the Old Poland Industrial Basin, which encompasses the area surrounding Skarzysko-Kamienna and the Gry Swietokrzyskie (Holy Cross Mountains) region. Just east of the town at Wachock, the area's mining industry began in the 16th century, reaching its peak in the 19th. Mining operations have been centred on Skarzysko-Kamienna since the mid-1940s. Pop. (1982 est.) 44,300.