Kielce

Coordinates: 50°52′21″N 20°37′55″E / 50.87250°N 20.63194°E / 50.87250; 20.63194
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For other uses, see Kielce (disambiguation).
Kielce
Collage of views of Kielce, Top left:Sienkiewicza Street, Top right:Kielce Bishops Palace, 2nd left:Kielce Cathedral, 2nd right:Artists Square, Bottom left:Monument of Home Homini, Bottom right:Night view of Kadzielnia nature reserve area
Collage of views of Kielce, Top left:Sienkiewicza Street, Top right:Kielce Bishops Palace, 2nd left:Kielce Cathedral, 2nd right:Artists Square, Bottom left:Monument of Home Homini, Bottom right:Night view of Kadzielnia nature reserve area
Coat of arms of Kielce
Coat of arms
Country Poland
VoivodeshipŚwiętokrzyskie
Countycity county
Established11th century
Town rights1364
Government
 • MayorWojciech Lubawski
Area
 • City109.65 km2 (42.34 sq mi)
Highest elevation
408 m (1,339 ft)
Lowest elevation
260 m (850 ft)
Population
 (2012)
 • City201,363
 • Density1,800/km2 (4,800/sq mi)
 • Metro
327,862
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
25-001 to 25-900
Area code+48 41
Car platesTK
Websitehttp://www.um.kielce.pl

Kielce [ˈkʲɛlt͡sɛ] ⓘ is a city in central Poland with 204,891 inhabitants (June 2009). It is also the capital city of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Voivodeship) since 1999, previously in Kielce Voivodeship (1919–1939, 1945–1998). The city is located in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), at the banks of Silnica river, in northern part of the historical Polish province of Lesser Poland. Once an important centre of limestone mining.

History

Beginnings

The area of Kielce has been inhabited since at least the 5th century BC. Until the 6th or 7th century the banks of the Silnica were inhabited by Kelts. They were driven out by a Slavic tribe of Vistulans who started hunting in the nearby huge forests and had settled most of the area now known as Małopolska and present-day Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. The lands of Wiślanie were at first subdued by Bohemia, however they soon came under the control of the Piast dynasty and became a part of Poland. According to a local legend, Mieszko, son of Boleslaus II of Poland dreamt he was attacked by a band of brigands in a forest. In the dream he saw a vision of Saint Adalbert who drew a winding line which turned into a stream. When Mieszko woke up, he found the Silnica River whose waters helped him regain strength. He also discovered huge white tusks of an unknown animal. Mieszko announced he would build a town and a church to St. Adalbert at that site. According to this legend, the town's name Kielce commemorates the mysterious tusks (kieł in Polish).[1]

Various other legends exist to explain the name's origin. One states that the town was named after its founder who belonged to the noble family of Kiełcz, while another claims that it stems from the Kelts who may have lived in the area in previous centuries. Other theories connect the town's name to occupational names relating to mud huts, iron tips for arrows and spears, or the production of tar (pkielce, a settlement of tar makers).[1] The earliest extant document referring to the settlement by the name of Kielce dates to 1213.[2]

Jakub Zadzik, Bishop and Chancellor of the Crown, detail of a ceiling painting in the Bishops' Palace depicting the trial of the Arians in 1641.

The area of the Holy Cross Mountains was almost unpopulated until the 11th century when the first hunters established permanent settlements at the outskirts of the mountains. They needed a place to trade furs and meat for grain and other necessary products, and so the market of Kielce was formed. In the early 12th century the new settlement became a property of the Bishops of Kraków, who built a wooden church and a manor. In 1171 a stone church was erected by bishop Gedeon Gryf. During the times of Wincenty Kadłubek a parochial school in Kielce was opened in 1229. By 1295 the town was granted city rights. In the mid-13th century the town was destroyed by the Mongol invasion of Ögedei Khan, but it quickly recovered.

The area around Kielce was rich in minerals such as copper ore, lead ore, and iron, as well as limestone. In the 15th century Kielce became a significant centre of metallurgy. There were also several glass factories and armourer shops in the town. In 1527 bishop Piotr Tomicki founded a bell for the church and between 1637 and 1642 Manierist palace was erected near the market place by Bishop Jakub Zadzik. It is one of the very few examples of French Renaissance architecture in Poland and the only example of a magnate's manor from the times of Vasa dynasty to survive World War II.

During The Deluge the town was pillaged and burnt by the Swedes. Only the palace and the church survived, but the town managed to recover under the rule of bishop Andrzej Załuski. By 1761 Kielce had more than 4,000 inhabitants. In 1789 Kielce were nationalised and the burgers were granted the right to elect their own representatives in Sejm. Until the end of the century the city's economy entered a period of fast growth. A brewery was founded as well as several brick factories, a horse breeder, hospital, school and a religious college.

Under Foreign Domination

As a result of the 3rd Partition the town was annexed by Austria. During the Polish-Austrian War of 1809 it was captured by prince Józef Poniatowski and joined with the Duchy of Warsaw, but after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815 it was joined with the Kingdom of Poland. For a brief period when Kraków was an independent city-state (Republic of Kraków), Kielce became the capital of the Kraków Voivodeship. Thanks to the efforts by Stanisław Staszic Kielce became the centre of the newly-established Old-Polish Industrial Zone (Staropolski Okręg Przemysłowy). The town grew quickly as new mines, quarries and factories were constructed. In 1816 the first Polish technical university was founded in Kielce. However, after Staszic's death the Industrial Zone declined and in 1826 the school was moved to Warsaw and became the Warsaw University of Technology.

In 1830 many of the inhabitants of Kielce took part in the November Uprising against Russia. In 1844 a priest Piotr Ściegienny intended a local uprising to liberate Kielce from Russian rule, for which he was sent to Siberia. In 1863 Kielce took part in the January Uprising. As a reprisal for insubordination the tsarist authorities closed all Polish schools and turned Kielce into a military garrison city. Polish language was banned. Because of these actions many gymnasium students took part in the 1905 Revolution and were joined by factory workers.

Independent Poland

Józef Piłsudski and his staff in Kielce, in front of the Gubernator' Palace, 1914

After the outbreak of World War I, Kielce was the first Polish city to be liberated from Russian rule by the Polish Legions under Józef Piłsudski. After the war when Poland regained its independence after 123 years of Partitions, Kielce became the capital of Kielce Voivodeship. The plans to strengthen Polish heavy and war industries resulted in Kielce becoming one of the main nodes of the Central Industrial Area (Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy). The town housed several big factories, among them the munitions factory "Granat" and the food processing plant Społem.

World War II

During the Polish Defensive War of 1939, the main portion of the defenders of Westerplatte as well as the armoured brigade of General Stanisław Maczek were either from Kielce or from its close suburbs. During the occupation that lasted for most of World War II, the town was an important centre of resistance. There were several resistance groups active in the town (among them the Armia Krajowa (AK) and the Gwardia Ludowa (GL)).

Notable acts of resistance:[3]

  • Theft of 2 tons of TNT from the "Społem" factory, which were then used by the partisans to make hand grenades.
  • The daring escape from jail in Kielce of a dozen or so AK members, organised in November 1942 by Stanisław Depczyński.
  • A grenade attack by a unit of the GL on the Smoleński coffee shop, killing 6 Germans including a major in the SS (February 1943).
  • Assassination of the noted Gestapo officer Franz Wittek on 15 June 1944, by a unit under Second Lt. Kazimierz Smolak on the corner of Solna and Paderewski Streets. One of the attackers died during the attack and a further four lost their lives not long afterwards. This was not the first assassination attempt against Wittek. In 1942, Henryk Pawelec fired at him in the market square, but his pistol misfired. In February 1943, a unit under the command of Stanisław Fąfar shot at Wittek by the Seminarium building. Wittek, though wounded by 14 bullets, survived.
  • Successful assassinations of local collaborators, including the shooting of Jan Bocian in broad daylight in a shop in Bodzentyńska Street.
  • An attack on the factory of C. Wawrzyniak in March 1943, terrorizing and disarming the volksdeutscher workers and destroying the machinery.
  • An attack on the HASAG factory in May 1943 and the takeover of the Kielce Herbskie railway station.

Moreover, the hills and forests of Holy Cross Mountains became a scene of heavy partisan activity. A small town of Pińczów located some 30 kilometres from Kielce became the capital of the so-called Pinczów Republic, a piece of Polish land controlled by the partisans. The Swietokrzyskie Mountains Home Army District fought against the Germans long before Operation Tempest inflicted heavy casualties on the occupying forces and later took part in the final liberation of their towns and cities in January 1945. During the war, many of inhabitants of Kielce lost their lives. Today, Kielce is a rapidly developing city of growing regional importance.

Jews

Kielce Synagogue, built 1903-1909

Up to the Second World War, like many other cities in Europe, Kielce had a significant Jewish population: according to the Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 23,200, Jews constituted 6,400,(around 27% percent).[4] On the eve of the Second World War there were 24,000 Jewish inhabitants in Kielce, around one-third of the population at the time. Immediately after the German occupation in September 1939 action was taken against the Jews in the form of fines, confiscation of property, forced labour, deportation to concentration camps, and genocide. In April 1941, the Jewish ghetto was established, and the Jews were forced to move into it. During this time, many of them were forced to work at a nearby German ammunition plant. In August 1942, the extermination of the Jewish ghetto began and in 5 days only 2,000 were left. Those who survived the massacre were sent to another forced labour camp before going to the Treblinka extermination camp.

Further information: Timeline of Treblinka

Kielce pogrom

Main articles: Kielce pogrom (1918) and Kielce pogrom

On July 4, 1946, local Polish anti semites attacked the Jewish community of some 200 Holocaust survivors, killing 42. This has been theorized as a cause of outward Jewish migration (displaced persons) from Poland immediately following the end of the war.[5][6]

Tourists attractions

Map of the centre of Kielce

Education

  • Politechnika Świętokrzyska (Kielce University of Technology) [1]
  • Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego (Jan Kochanowski University) [2]
  • Swietokrzyska Szkola Wyzsza
  • Wszechnica Swietokrzyska
  • Wyzsza Szkola Administracji Publicznej www
  • Wyzsza Szkola Ekonomii i Prawa im. prof. Edwarda Lipinskiego www
  • Wyzsza Szkola Handlowa im. Boleslawa Markowskiego
  • Wyzsza Szkola Umiejetnosci
  • Wyzsza Szkola Technik Komputerowych i Telekomunikacji
  • Wyzsza Szkola Zarzadzania Gospodarka Regionalna i Turystyka
  • Wyzsza Szkola Telekomunikacji i Informatyki www
  • Towarzystwo Wiedzy Powszechnej OR Kielce
  • Juliusz Słowacki High School www
  • Stefan Żeromski High School www
  • Jan Śniadecki High School [3]
  • Hanka Sawicka High School
  • św. Jadwiga Królowa High School
Building of Stefan Żeromski Theatre

Culture

Cinemas

  • "Helios" www
  • "Moskwa" www
  • "Multikino in the Gallery Korona Kielce" www

Theatres

  • Stefan Żeromski Theatre www
  • Kieleckie Centrum Kultury - KCK www
  • "Kubuś" - The puppet and actor Theatre www

Sports

Football stadium in Kielce

Transportation

Road

Kielce is an important transport hub, a city run by international and domestic routes:

Provincial roads:

In addition, Kielce has a network of district roads, covering 109 streets with a total length of 114.9 km (71.4 mi) and a network of roads covering 446 streets with a total length of 220.9 km (137.3 mi). 57.5% of roads in the city has improved hard surface, 8.4% of hard surface is not improved, while 34.1% - a dirt surface.

Railway transport

Central railway station

Rail transport came to Kielce in 1885, when construction of the line linking Iwanogród (Dęblin) and Dąbrowa Górnicza was completed. Currently, Kielce is an important intersection of railway lines, running to Częstochowa and Lubliniec, Warsaw, Kraków and Sandomierz. Within administrative boundaries of the city there are the following railway stations: Kielce Czarnów, Kielce Piaski, Kielce Białogon, Kielce Herbskie.

Air transport

At present, residents of Kielce are only available to the Airport the Kielce-Maslow, as a civilian airport located in the sports Maslow. It is not able to accommodate large passenger planes, because its runway is only 1200 m. Its reconstruction is also not viable. In June 2006 the decision was made about the location of a new airport near the village of the municipality Obice Morawica, able to handle regular airlines. The present purchase of land for investment. The nearest international airports are located in Kraków-Balice, Warsaw-Okecie and Rzeszów-Jasionka.

Local transport

Bus station with a distinctive saucer-shaped

Municipal Communications was founded in Kielce, July 22, 1951, when the Faculty was created, and then Department of Urban Transport in the City of Municipal Enterprises in Kielce.

After many changes today, the city operates 54 regular bus lines (1-54), 13 new low-decked bus lines with text&audio passenger-information system (102-114), four lines of special constants (C, F, Z, 100 (formerly TK)) and one night line (101). The lines are operated by Municipal Transport Company, and Kielce Bus Company Workers under an agreement signed with the Management of Urban Transport. In Kielce, there are two depots. The rolling stock is composed of about 165 buses, of which the movement is about 145 cars.

During the 2009/2010 Transport Authority in Kielce realize the Polish Operational Programme Development of Eastern 2007 - 2013 project "Development of public transport system in Kielce Metropolitan Area." At the beginning of the year went to Kielce 20 new buses - MAZ 203 and Solaris Urbino 12, another 20 reached in 2010. These buses will support new lines, which ensure the transport of the inhabitants of Kielce and the Metropolitan Area shall carry out the contract completely independent from that which currently carries MPK Kielce. Part of the project, which is responsible for ZTM also envisages installation of 24 electronic boards at bus departure time and 20 stationary ticket vending machines.

Long-distance transport

The history of communication dates back to coach in Kielce in 1945, when the District was set up base station. Already in 1946, were regularly organized courses in Kraków, Warsaw, Jelenia Gora, Teplice and the neighboring towns.

In 1984 he was put to use the bus station in Kielce, then one of the most modern of its kind in Europe. Its unusual architecture and innovative communications solutions qualify him among the most interesting sights of the city.[citation needed]

After 1990, the Kielce Bus Station was renamed the State Motor Transport Company SA in Kielce, has since maintained a regular passenger long-distance communications and international.

Politics

Exbud headquarters, symbol of today's Kielce City

Kielce constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Kielce constituency in 2005:


Famous people

Sportsmen

Twin Towns - Sister Cities

Kielce is twinned with:

Gallery

Architectural monuments

  • Bishops' Palace, 1637–1641
    Bishops' Palace, 1637–1641
  • Cathedral, rebuilt 1632–1635
    Cathedral, rebuilt 1632–1635
  • St. Adalbert Church dating back to 10th century
    St. Adalbert Church dating back to 10th century
  • St. cross Cathedral
    St. cross Cathedral
  • Sienkiewicza Street (Old Market)
    Sienkiewicza Street (Old Market)
  • The Market Square in Kielce
    The Market Square in Kielce
  • The Monument of The Legion Five
    The Monument of The Legion Five
  • City Park
    City Park
  • Fountain in the City Park
    Fountain in the City Park
  • Holy Trinity Church, built 1640–1644
    Holy Trinity Church, built 1640–1644
  • Karczówka Monastery, built 1624–1631
    Karczówka Monastery, built 1624–1631
  • Garrison Church, built 1902–1904
    Garrison Church, built 1902–1904
  • Statue of Miles Davis in Kielce
    Statue of Miles Davis in Kielce

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b Kielce - Legends
  2. ^ Kielce - The Capital
  3. ^ Historia Kielc (History of Kielce, in Polish Wikipedia)
  4. ^ Joshua D. Zimmerman, Poles, Jews, and the politics of nationality, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2004, ISBN 0-299-19464-7, Google Print, p.16
  5. ^ Königseder, Angelika, and Juliane Wetzel, Waiting for Hope: Jewish Displaced Persons in Post-World War II Germany, Northwestern University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8101-1477-1 pp. 46-47
  6. ^ Wyman, Mark, DPs: Europe's Displaced Persons, Cornell University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8014-8542-8 p. 144

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kielce.

50°52′21″N 20°37′55″E / 50.87250°N 20.63194°E / 50.87250; 20.63194

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