The 17th and 18th centuries saw a period of floods, fires, economic decline and the reconstruction of Oświęcim. The Swedes invaded Oświęcim in July 1655. A group of mountaineers from Żywiec led by the Łodygowice Starost Jan Torysiński defended the town. However, the Swedish invaders returned in the following year and retaliated, causing massive destruction. The exhibition features reprints of paintings by the Polish battle artist Stanisław Batowski as well as original 18th-century flintlock pistols from France. As a result of the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Oświęcim came under Austrian rule. The town changed. Empress Maria Theresa introduced her own coinage valid in the Duchy of Oświęcim and Zator. Silver 30 and 15 krajcar coins worth Polish 2 zloty and 1 zloty respectively, and copper shillings worth 1/3 of a Polish grosz were put into circulation. In 1782, a decree on the cessation of religious houses was introduced. The Dominican monastery was closed down. Emperor Franz II confirmed the existing privileges of Oświęcim and added the right to 12 fairs per annum. He gave it the title of a municipal town and changed its crest. The town was incorporated in the German Confederation in 1820–1850. In 1866, the army of Prussia crossed the border near Oświęcim intending to take over the railway station and thus interrupt the city's important connection between Krakow and Vienna. The army was stopped by Austrian troops and the defender of Oświęcim, Lt. Col. Alexand Kálnoky, received the title of an honorary citizen of the city from the municipal authorities. A post office was established in Oświęcim in the mid-19th century. The development of the railway with important connections with Vienna, Mysłowice and Kraków accelerated the establishment of thriving factories such as the Vodka and Liquor Factory of Jakub Haberfeld (1804), the Zinc Rolling Mill (1882), the Roofing Cardboard Factory, the Chemicals and Asphalt Factory of Emil Kuźnicki (1888), the ‘Agrochemia’ Fertiliser Factory, the ‘Potęga’ Agricultural Machine Factory (1918), the ‘Atlantic’ Fish Canning Factory and Fish Smokehouse (1919), the Ironmongery Factory of the Stolarski brothers (1922) and the Fabryka Maszyn i Samochodów S.A. Praga Oświęcim (Machinery and Car Factory) (1929). Migration intensified at the beginning of the 20th century. As a result, a barrack settlement of ‘Nowe Miasto’ (New Town) emerged in the Zasole district of Oświęcim. It was a haven for people leaving for the USA, Canada, Brazil and Argentina to earn their bread. The first travel office, that of Zofia Biesiadecka, was established and played the role of a job agency for emigrants. Oświęcim was a centre where various sports, scouting and paramilitary organisations developed. The ‘Sokół’ Gymnastic Society established in 1912 with its president Antoni Ślosarczyk was one of them. When World War I began in 1914, it aroused hopes among the Oświęcim population for a greater autonomy for Galicia and for the restoration of the Polish state. Numerous patriotic manifestation took place. On 31 August 1914, the District National Committee was established in the town with its chairman Roman Mayzel, and Rev. Karol Szałaśny and Antoni Śmieszek as members. The objective of the Committee was to familiarise residents with the idea of the Legions and raise funds for them. The Oświęcim population was actively involved in helping the legionaries. Various actions were organised: performances and the sales of postcards, badges and brochures. The first troops from Oświęcim to set off to fight were the field teams of the ‘Sokół’ and ‘Strzelec’ units. The visit of Józef Piłsudski with his officer corps was an important event for the town. On 7 February 1915, a celebratory evening was organised in honour of the First Brigade of the Legions and their commander in the Herz hotel. They were greeted with the ‘Pod broń’ (Under Arms) song by Aleksander Orłowski. Józef Piłsudski thanked those present and expressed his wish for the inhabitants of Oświęcim: ‘… for this old land of the Piasts to become not a borderland but an important Polish centre in the nearest future’ (…aby w niedalekiej przyszłości, już nie pasmem granicznym, ale ważnym ośrodkiem polskim, stała się ta prastara piastowska ziemia’). From August 1914 to April 1915, approximately 649 volunteers from the Oświęcim area joined the ranks of the Legions. Those who displayed outstanding bravery included  Stanisław Jęczalik, Izydor Hirsch, Jan Leśniak, Karol Laszczak, Adam Orłowski and Leopoldyna Stawecka.