During the Polish communist regime, Nowy Sącz was the capital of Nowy Sącz
Voivodeship (1975–98). In the 1950s the Polish authorities applied a special
economic programme for the town, called the Nowy Sacz Experiment. The plan was
to provide improvement and acceleration of the region's economic development,
but it was only partially completed. The town was an important centre of the
railway industry, and now contains one of the biggest railway engineering works
in Poland. Since the social and political changes in Poland that started in
1989, the industry has faced economic problems.
Nowy Sącz is also important
