Bieruń

Bieruń is a city with an area of 40.67 square kilometres, inhabited by approximately 20,000 people. The name of the city derives from the Polish verbs "take, collect" and is associated with tax collection.

"Bieruń Ci przaje" (Bieruń loves you) - that is the promotional slogan of the city. Its patron is Saint Valentine, who is nowadays the patron saint of lovers in Poland. It is in honour of St. Valentine that special celebrations are held in Bieruń in February at St. Valentine's Shrine, one of the city's most distinctive landmarks.

Bieruń is a charming city. Unquestionably, it is due to its location and the beauty and uniqueness of the surrounding environment. The city is situated on the border of the Silesian and Lesser Poland Provinces, on the border of the Jaworzno Hills, the Upper Vistula Valley and the Pszczyna Plain.

Numerous folk tales about mysterious utopce originate from Bieruń. According to popular beliefs, these are spirits cast from the sky that used to inhabit wetlands. Utopce were supposed to resemble various species of animals, people, half-humans and elements of inanimate nature. This is why today at the Bieruń marketplace the visitors can come across the sculptures of utopce, depicting these creatures in various forms and shapes: "Old Utopiec", "Young Utopiec" and "Duck".

There is the "Piast-Ziemowit" coal mine in Bieruń. It operates a unique packaging unit on a European scale that allows to pack 9 tons of raw material per hour.

The most characteristic landmark of Bieruń is the Church of St. Valentine.