Brzesko County

Brzesko County (Polish: powiat brzeski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Brzesko, which lies 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków. The only other town in the county is Czchów, lying 14 km (9 mi) south of Brzesko.

The county covers an area of 590 square kilometres (227.8 sq mi). As of 2006 its total population is 90,214, out of which the population of Brzesko is 16,827, that of Czchów is 2,207, and the rural population is 71,180.

Neighbouring counties

Brzesko County is bordered by Tarnów County to the east, Nowy Sącz County and Limanowa County to the south, Bochnia County to the west, and Proszowice County to the north-west.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into seven gminas (two urban-rural and five rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

Brzesko

Brzesko [ˈbʐɛskɔ] (Yiddish: בריגעל‎, Brigel) is a town in southern Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It lies approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Tarnów and 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków. Since Polish administrative reorganization (in 1999), Brzesko has been the administrative capital of Brzesko County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Before reorganization it was part of Tarnów Voivodeship (1975–1998).

As of 2008, its population was 16,828. Historically, the town was subject of various ownerships since its 1385 founding. Okocim Brewery, founded by Jan Goetz in 1845, is located in nearby Okocim (3 km (1.9 mi)).

Brzesko lies on the Uszwica river, along the important rail route from Kraków to Przemyśl, and along the European route E40. The town has a 14th-century church of St. Jacob, and the 19th-century palace of the Goetz family (founders of the Okocim Brewery). Other historic buildings were either destroyed in numerous wars, or burned in fires, such as the great fire of 1904. The name Brzesko probably comes from the word brzeg (shore), as the town is located on the shore of a river.