Dębica (; Dembitz) is a town in southeastern Poland with 44,692 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Dębica County. Since 1999 it has been situated in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it had previously been in the Tarnów Voivodeship (1975–1998). Dębica belongs to the historic province of Lesser Poland, and for centuries it was part of the Sandomierz Voivodeship.
Area and location
According to the 2006 data, Dębica's area is . Arable land makes 42% of the area of the town, while forests make 19%. Dębica is the seat of the county, and the town covers 4.34% of the county's area. Dębica lies at the border of two geographical regions of Poland - the Carpathian Piedmont in southern districts of the town, and the Sandomierz Basin in its north, along the Wisłoka river.
Economy
Since the mid-1930s Dębica, despite its size, has been a large industrial hub. A number of companies were then created thanks to governmental industry development programs. Most of them still exist today, though they were privatized in the 1990s:
Firma Oponiarska Dębica S.A. (Tire Company Dębica) now owned by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, previous name - Stomil Dębica Lerg S.A. - a chemical manufacturer located in the village of Pustków, a village in Dębica County Tikkurila Polska S.A. (formerly Polifarb Dębica) - a paint manufacturer Wytwórnia Urządzeń Chłodniczych WUCh (Freezer Appliances Producer WUCh) Zakłady Mięsne (Meatworks)
Since the early 1990s a relatively large number (in proportion to the city's size) of successful companies have been started and run by local residents:
bicycle, motorcycle and electric car manufacturer Arkus and Romet Group
Sportatut - producer of sports nutritionals
chemical industry manufacturers (paint producers such as Śnieżka Brzeznica and Plastbud Pustków) marble producer Jabo Marmi and brickyard Igloobud food companies such as Igloomeat and Animex Poludnie
Transport
The A4 highway runs just to the north of the city. There are two exits from the highway into Dębica. The section of the highway going westwards from Dębica to Tarnów was completed in October 2014. In result, the city has now a direct highway connection with the western Polish border and in consequence with all of Western Europe. A car journey to Kraków (approximately 120 km) takes around an hour, while Rzeszów, the capital of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship located to the East of Dębica, can be easily reached in less than 30 minutes.
Dębica is also located by the 94 country road, which was formerly part of the European route E40. This two-lane road has been renovated in recent years. However, with the completion of the A4 highway, it lost its former significance. Dębica is also connected with the cities of Mielec and Tarnobrzeg thanks to the local road number 985.
Dębica lies by an important railway line stretching between the western and eastern Polish borders. It is currently undergoing an upgrade (to be completed by 2016) for the maximum train speeds of 160 km/h. As of now due to the construction work, a 111 km train journey to Kraków takes approximately 1.5 hours. Between 1988 and 1990 Dębica had been connected with Straszęcin by trolleybus line.
Education
Dębica has been home to two branches of higher education institutions: Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Zarządzania in Rzeszów, branch in Dębica University of Economics in Kraków, branch in Dębica
History
Middle Ages
One of the oldest documented references to this area dates back to the year 1293. It records a settlement by the name of Dambicha, belonging to the noble Gryfita family. In 1305, the village was raided by the Tatars, who burned a wooden church. The church was rebuilt in 1318, and by 1325, Dębica was the seat of a deanery, located on the outskirts of the mighty Sandomierz Forest. The Dębica Deanery consisted of fourteen parishes, among them Przecław, Sędziszów Małopolski, and Strzyżów.
