Szydłowiec and Ćmielów private estates as examples of industrialization in the late 18th and in 19th centuries

Abstract

Szydłowiec and Ćmielów are currently seen as tiny towns, however, still recognised as parts of the broadly understood region between the Vistula and Pilica rivers. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, they served more important purposes than small towns usually did. It appears that the Szydłowiec estate of the Radziwiłł family and the Ćmielów estate of the Małachowski family constitute some interesting examples of industrialisation efforts undertaken in the late 18th and in 19th centuries, which were not limited to private estates.