Rajcza
Rajcza is a village in Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in the historic province of Lesser Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Rajcza. It lies approximately south of Żywiec and south of the regional capital Katowice. Location and transport Rajcza lies in the Żywiec Beskids, on the Soła river, near Żywiec Landscape Park. The village has a rail station, on the line from Żywiec to the Polish-Slovakian border. It is a popular tourist destination, with guest houses and winter sports facilities. History The village of Rajcza was founded in the first half of the 17th century, when this area belonged to Kraków Voivodeship, of the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth. At that time Rajcza belonged to Queen Constance of Austria, the wife of King Sigismund III Vasa, part of her folwark with main center located at Węgierska Górka. Following the Partitions of Poland Rajcza, together with southwestern Lesser Poland, became annexed by the Austrian Empire (1772). In 1843, iron manufacture was opened here, and 1854–1894, the owner of the village, Teodor Primavesi, remodeled a local palace, establishing a park around it. In 1884 Rajcza got rail connection with Żywiec and