Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski

Coordinates: 50°56′N 21°24′E / 50.933°N 21.400°E / 50.933; 21.400
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
City square
City square
Car plates
TOS
Websiteostrowiec.pl

Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (Polish: [ɔsˈtrɔvjɛt͡s ɕfjɛntɔˈkʂɨskʲi] ), often referred to as Ostrowiec, is a city in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland, with 66,258 residents (as of 2021).[1] The town is one of the historic centers of Polish industry and metallurgy, and was part of the Old-Polish Industrial Region, the oldest industrial basin of the country.

Ostrowiec is the capital city of

Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski County, part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (since 1999), previously it belonged to Kielce Voivodeship
(1975–1998). It received a town charter in 1613.

Ostrowiec lies on the Kamienna river. Its northern districts are located in the Iłża Foothills, while the southern part belongs to the Opatów Upland. The Świętokrzyskie Mountains lie a few kilometers away, southwest of Ostrowiec. There are two interesting places near Ostrowiec: the archaeological reserve at Krzemionki (a UNESCO World Heritage Site[2] and Historic Monument of Poland)[3] and dinosaur park in Bałtów.

Ostrowiec is located at the intersection of National Road No. 9 (part of European route E371), and local roads 751, 754, 755. Furthermore, since 1884 the town has had a rail connection, along electrified rail line No. 25, which goes from Łódź Kaliska to Dębica. In the 1960s, the Polish government planned construction of a rail line from Kielce to Lublin via Ostrowiec. The area of the town is 46 km2, and it is divided into 20 osiedla.

History

Early history

Statue of Saint Florian in Denków

The oldest testimonies of human habitation date back to the Stone Age (ca 4000 BC). At that time, there were nomadic tribes belonging to, among others, the Lengyel and Globular Amphora cultures. They came here from Danube river region.

The earliest documents about Ostrowiec village, that gave beginning to the contemporary Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski come from 14th century. At that time the village was called Ostrow, and was located on the right bank of the Kamienna. In the early 16th century, a local nobleman Kacper Maciejewski tried to establish here a town, but failed to do so. In 1564 town charter was granted to the settlement of

Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown.[4]

The city itself, at that time part of

Sanguszko family
, Wielopolski family, Dobrzański family, Łubieński family.

Industrialization

Post office building

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Ostrowiec emerged as a main center of Polish industry. Following the idea of Stanisław Staszic, who promoted industrialization of the Kamienna river valley, based on local deposits of coal and iron ore, numerous plants were opened in the area. In 1837 - 1839, the Klimkiewicz Steelworks was opened (named after its founder Antoni Klimkiewicz), which later came to be known as the Ostrowiec Works (Zaklady Ostrowieckie). The plant became the second largest in Congress Poland, and in its vicinity, various enterprises were opened, together with workers establishment.

Ostrowiec was one of main centers of the

Opatow County, and before World War II
its population was app. 30,000. In 1937 it was officially named Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski. Earlier on, the names Ostrowiec Kielecki and Ostrowiec nad Kamienna had been used.

World War II

Monument to the Victims of the Katyn massacre with the former Fabryczny Hotel in the background

During the German

Holocaust
in 1943–1944.

Ostrowiec was a lively centre of the Polish resistance movement. There was underground weapons production. Independent underground Polish press printed in nearby Sandomierz was distributed in Ostrowiec since 1940.[8] A very significant action carried out by the local Polish underground was the kidnapping of the German city commissioner Bruno Motschall. In 1943, Motschall was kidnapped in broad daylight in the town center by a Home Army unit in his own car.[9] The Poles fled towards the nearby village of Chmielów. A German pursuit group of 60 people followed the car. Because of a car defect, the kidnappers were caught up in Chmielów, where a shootout ensued, which resulted in three Poles being killed. German troops withdraw westwards on 16 January 1945.

Recent period

Ostrowiec continued its development in the postwar period. In 1954, several villages were annexed, including Denków, which itself had once been a town. In the 1970s, a new metallurgical plant was opened. In the 1990s, the metallurgical industry experienced a big crisis. The steel plant was bought then by Spanish CELSA Group.

Points of interest

Historic sights of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (examples)
St. Michael's Church
Wielopolski Palace (now housing the Historic-Archeological Museum)
St. Stanislaus Church
Wielopolski hunting palace

Culture

Inhabitants of Ostrowiec are known to be involved in many culture and arts activities. The town has a variety of cultural institutions including:

  • Municipal Cultural Centre
  • Office of Artistic Exhibitions
  • The Museum of History and Anthropology with a forest reserve in Krzemionki
  • Public Library – has locations in different parts of the town
  • Houses of Culture – children can get involved in the dance classes, drama classes, classes of art and modelling etc.; literature and general knowledge competitions are also organized.

Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski also boasts a musical school and the State Artistic Centre, both of which have had an important influence upon the cultural development of the town.

Education

College of Business and Entrepreneurship
  • Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu i Przedsiębiorczości (College of Business and Entrepreneurship in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski)
  • Catholic High School http://www.klo.ostrowiec.pl

Sports

Sports City Stadium "KSZO"

Notable people

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski is

twinned
with the following cities:

References

  1. ^ a b "Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved 15 August 2022. Data for territorial unit 2607011.
  2. ^ a b "Seven more cultural sites added to UNESCO's World Heritage List". UNESCO. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b Zarządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 8 września 1994 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii., Dz. U. z 1994 r. Nr 50, poz. 419
  4. ^ Województwo sandomierskie w drugiej połowie XVI wieku; Cz.1, Mapy, plany (in Polish). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. 1993. p. 3.
  5. ^ Wardzyńska, Maria (2009). Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warszawa: IPN. p. 238.
  6. ^ Wardzyńska, p. 251-252, 268
  7. ^ a b "30 września- Pamiętamy". OstrowiecNews.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  8. ^ Gruszczyński, Włodzimierz (2011). Odwet i Jędrusie (in Polish). Zagnańsk. p. 32.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Waldemar Frańczak, Nekropolia w Szewnie, Tam gdzie kończy się droga... "Wiadomości Świętokrzyskie", 30.10.2006

External links