32. 1937 – Dr Michał Grażyński, Voivode of Silesia
He was born in Gdów, in the Kraków Voivodeship in 1890, and received his PhD in philosophy from the Jagiellonian University. He served as an officer during the First World War, was later a plebiscitary activist, for example during the 3rd Silesian Uprising. He was later a junior lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the Jagiellonian University, and later worked for the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1926 he was appointed voivode of Silesia.
Cieszyn finally built its own water supply system in 1937, which was due to be opened and blessed on 13 June. On that occasion, at a meeting of the Town Council on 8 June Mayor Rudolf Halfar announced a proposal of the previous Executive Board (probably linked to an earlier decision of the voivode) to award the title of honorary citizen of Cieszyn to the voivode of Silesia, Dr Michał Grażyński. Stating that no-one had yet received this honour in the new independent Poland, Halfar made special mention of the work Grażyński had done towards the development of the Silesian Voivodeship in general; and the Beskid Mountains (by supporting road building, the regulation of rivers and opening up the region for Silesians) and Cieszyn in particular. In the case of Cieszyn he stressed the subsidies received thanks to Grażyński’s support for building roads, a house for the jobless and specifically the decision to build a water supply system. The proposal was accepted unanimously.