Kielce

Kielce lies on the Silnica among the Holy Cross Mountains, in northern Lesser Poland. Its early market served the settlements and hunters of the surrounding forests. The bishops of Kraków acquired the settlement in the twelfth century, and Bishop Gedeon built a stone church here in 1171. The district's deposits of copper, lead, iron and limestone gave it a long association with mining and metalworking.

The bishops remained important patrons of Kielce, whose history was shaped by both its ecclesiastical landlords and the resources of the hills. In the early nineteenth century Stanisław Staszic promoted an industrial district in the region, and in 1816 a technical school was founded in the town. After his death the enterprise declined, and in 1826 the school moved to Warsaw. In 1830 many inhabitants joined the November Uprising against Russian rule.