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The Commune of Osiek
The commune of Osiek consists of two villages: Osiek and Głębowice. Osiek stretches on both sides of the Osieczanka River valley, and the village of Głębowice is situated on the hilly terrain in the eastern part of the commune. The commune has 4118 ha of surface area and 7780 inhabitants. Osiek probably acquired its name from a mid-forest stockade or stronghold made of logs. The village, then belonging to the princes of Oświęcim, was fist mentioned in 1278 under the name ‘Ossech' on a list of parishes of the Krakow Curia. In the 17th and 18th c. Osiek was one of the richest estates in the Oświęcim area, sometimes called "The State of Osiek". In the middle of the 18th c. the Osiek estate consisted of five manor farms, 38 fish ponds, a brewery, a distillery, five mills, a big apiary, four inns and around 950 ha of farmland.
Głębowice appeared on the map of the Oświęcim Region in the late 13th c. under the name ‘Ecceleisa de Glambowicz'. In the 16th c. the village of Głębowice was an important centre of a Reformation movement, Calvinism; especially in the years 1527-1528, when Jakub Gierałtowki (the judge of the Principalities of Zator and Oświęcim) was the owner of the place. At the turn of the 16th c. the place became the seat of the seniors of the Calvinist diocese of Oświęcim. The minister of the local congregation was Bartłomiej Bythner, who later became an eminent evangelical activist and writer.
One of the places worth seeing in Osiek is wooden St Andrew's church, the first mentions of which date from the 13th c. The present church, built in 1558 in the late Gothic style, is one of the most precious sacred wooden monuments in the borderland between Silesia and Lesser Poland. Located on a gentle hill slope, it is surrounded by an old growth stand with a few several-century-old oaks.
The most famous monument however, is a palace and park ensemble from the late 18th c. Around 1850 it was substantially altered in oriental style, according to FM Lanci's design. One of its particular curiosities is the ‘Moorish' room, lavishly decorated with eastern details. The palace is surrounded by an extensive landscape park from the early 19th c. with a few classical and neo-Gothic dwelling houses and outbuildings, e.g. a classical stable with a four-column portico, and a neo-Gothic outhouse with a round tower from 1843, called ‘the castle'.
The main tourist attraction in Głębowice is a parish church from 1581, dedicated to Our Lady of the Scapular. The church treasures include e.g. a late Renaissance main altar with the Jelito and Starykoń coats of arms and a Baroque painting of Our Lady of the Scapular. Other church treasures include some Baroque paintings, a stone baptismal font from 1658 and a tombstone with a carved image of Jakub Gierałtowski, the Oświęcim judge. The tombstone is set in a pillar of the church fence and is the oldest gravestone of this kind in Lesser Poland.
Well-known painters, Artur Grottger and Julian Fałat, stayed and worked in Osiek. Among other famous people who visited Osiek were Marshal Józef Piłsudski (1915), President of the Republic of Poland Ignacy Mościcki (1929) and Cardinal Adam Sapieha (1937).
Beautiful landscapes, clean natural environment, numerous ponds characteristic for the area and interesting historic monuments attract tourists to visit the commune of Osiek. The place is an attractive destination for a rest day, and bikers are invited to stay longer, as the area offers lots of cycle routes at different levels of difficulty.
Arable land, meadows and pastures make up around 76% of the whole commune territory. Worth emphasising is the fact that the area of the commune comprises numerous fish ponds (259 ha) and around 250 ha of forests. Trees and bushes planted around homesteads expand the green areas. Although Osiek is an agricultural commune, most inhabitants work in nearby towns.
The land development plan of the commune favours establishment and development of small production, commercial and service enterprises. It also determines which areas are intended for flat, single-family and homestead housing, as well as unobtrusive economic and craft activity.
The commune has a well organized and developed educational infrastructure. At present, extension of the Głęboszowice Primary School is being commenced. The commune also has its own sewage treatment plant, which was brought into use in 2003, together with a sewage system - stage 1. Over the next few years the sanitary sewage system will be extended. Building pavements for pedestrians and modernising the existing roads are other priorities in the investment activity of the commune. High wildlife and historic value of the area also provide a fair chance for development of tourism.
Other sites worth seeing:
in Osiek:
 wooden St Andrew's church and a neighbouring exhibition room,
a palace and park ensemble,
Mound "Grunwald" of yet unknown origin;
in Głębowice:
the parish church dedicated to Our Lady of the Scapular,
ruins of a Renaissance-Baroque palace from the late 16th c.,
a stone figure of Saint John of Nepomuk on a post from 1843
OSIEK COMMUNAL OFFICE
ul. Główna 125, 32-608 Osiek
tel. 033 845 82 23, 845 82 61, fax 033 845 81 24
e-mail: gmina@osiek.pl
http://www.osiek.pl
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