Pruszków
Pruszków | |
---|---|
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Motto(s): Kolej na Pruszków! It's Pruszków's turn! | |
Country | ![]() |
Voivodeship | Masovian |
County | Pruszków County |
Gmina | Pruszków (urban gmina) |
Established | 16th century |
Town rights | 1916 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Jan Starzyński |
Area | |
• Total | 19.15 km2 (7.39 sq mi) |
Population (2006) | |
• Total | 55,387 |
• Density | 2,900/km2 (7,500/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 05-800, 05-802, 05-803, 05-804 |
Area code | +48 22 |
Car plates | WPR |
Website | http://www.pruszkow.pl/ |
Pruszków [ˈpruʂkuf] is a town in central Poland. According to the 2004 census the town had a population of 54,893.
Pruszków is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999); it was previously in Warszawa Voivodeship (1975-1998). It is the capital of Pruszków County.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/POL_Pruszk%C3%B3w_1.jpg/220px-POL_Pruszk%C3%B3w_1.jpg)
A village has existed here since the 16th century and Pruszków became incorporated as a town in 1916. The development of the town was aided by the construction of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway in the 19th Century and the construction of the Elektryczna Kolej Dojazdowa, Poland’s first electrified commuter train line, in 1928. A large psychiatric hospital opened in the outlying village of Tworki[1] in 1891 and is still operating to this day. Pruszkow's population has grown significantly, from 16,000 in the early part of the 20th century to 55,387 in the 2006 census.[2]
The city had a large Jewish population before World War II, however on January 31, 1941 about 3,000 Jewish deportees, mostly from Pruszków, arrived at the Warsaw Ghetto.
During World War II a large Nazi transit camp (Durchgangslager) was constructed in the Train Repair Shops (Zakłady Naprawcze Taboru Kolejowego) to house the evacuees expelled from Warsaw by the Nazis. In the course of the Warsaw Uprising and its suppression, the Germans deported approximately 550,000 of the city’s residents and approximately 100,000 civilians from its outskirts, sending them to Durchgangslager 121 (Dulag 121), a transit camp in Pruszków set up especially for this purpose. The security police and the SS segregated the deportees and decided their fate. Approximately 650,000 people passed through the Pruszków camp in August, September, and October. Approximately 55,000 were sent to concentration camps, including 13,000 to Auschwitz. They included people from a variety of social classes and occupations (government officials, scholars, artists, physicians, merchants, and blue-collar workers), in varying physical condition (the injured, the sick, invalids, and pregnant women), and of various ages, from infants only a few weeks old to the elderly, aged 86 or more. In a few cases, these were also people of different ethnic backgrounds, including Jews living on “Aryan papers.”[3] On March 26, 1945, the 16 members of the Polish Underground Government were invited by the Soviets for discussions to a house on Armii Krajowej Street. They were arrested by the NKWD, imprisoned and sentenced in Moscow during the so-called Trial of the Sixteen.
After World War II Pruszków became one of Mazovia’s largest industrial centers. Due to its proximity to Warsaw, it is now home to several factories and companies, including Herbapol, Daewoo Electronics, Loreal Cosmetics as well as logistic centers. It is also an important sports center, with a sports gymnasium, soccer stadium and a cycling course. As of the 2007-08 season, the local football team, Znicz Pruszków compete in the Polish First League (second division).
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/POL_Pruszkow_zbikow_church.jpg/220px-POL_Pruszkow_zbikow_church.jpg)
Tourism
- The Museum of Ancient Mazovian Metallurgy
- Nineteenth century manor with landscaped gardens.
- Pruszków Indoor Velodrome
Education
- Physical Culture and Tourism High School (Wyższa Szkoła Kultury Fizycznej i Turystyki)
References
- ^ Tworki is a part of Pruszków today
- ^ Central Statistical Office (Poland), Ludność. Stan i struktura w przekroju terytorialnym
- ^ Księga Pamięci. Transporty Polaków z Warszawy do KL Auschwitz 1940-1944 [Memorial Book: Transports of Poles from Warsaw to Auschwitz Concentration Camp 1940-1944
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Template:Pl icon Pruszków official website
- Template:Pl icon Alleycat races in Pruszków
- Template:Pl icon Soccer in Pruszków
- Template:En icon Museum of Ancient Mazovian Metallurgy
52°10′N 20°48′E / 52.167°N 20.800°E