sentences:  The city is part of the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999.Previously (since 1945), it was part of Katowice Voivodeship, and before World War II, Sosnowiec belonged to Kielce Voivodeship.The history of the city in its proper sense begins in 1902 when it was granted city rights by merging a number of settlements often several centuries old.