Skierniewice

Coordinates: 51°57′10″N 20°8′30″E / 51.95278°N 20.14167°E / 51.95278; 20.14167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Skierniewice
Rynek (Market Square)
Railway station
Rynek (Market Square), and Skierniewice railway station
Car plates
ES,ESK
Websitehttp://www.skierniewice.net.pl

Skierniewice [skʲɛrɲɛˈvʲit͡sɛ] is a city in central Poland with 47,031 inhabitants (2021),[1] situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. It is the capital of Skierniewice County. The town is situated almost exactly halfway between Łódź and Warsaw. Through the town runs the small river Łupia, also called Skierniewka.

History

Royal privilege of John I Albert from 1499 for Skierniewice

The oldest known mention of Skierniewice comes from 1359, although it had existed earlier.

Lwów.[2] Local merchants also participated in trade with Gdańsk, Lesser Poland and Podolia, as well as German states.[2] One yearly fair took place since 1457, in 1527 King Sigismund I the Old established a second fair, and in 1641 the Sejm established two more fairs.[2] The town suffered in the 18th-century as a result of the Swedish invasion of Poland and epidemics, and in 1793 it was annexed by Prussia in the Second Partition of Poland.[2]

Skierniewice railway station in 1872

Regained by

Three Emperors' League
. From the beginning of the 1890s there was considerable business development in the city. Two brickworks emerged, a brewery, a mechanical sawmill, a tile factory, a large mill, etc. In addition, a modern hospital and a few schools were built. The railway, as well as the military (Russian) garrison posted here, were of great importance. The Russian tsar also had a mansion in Skierniewice.

During World War I it was occupied by Germany, and after the war, in 1918, it became part of the re-established Polish state. The population increased and economic development started again. A building for the district council was erected. The railway station was rebuilt after the devastation of the war and the district hospital was expanded.

During the

ghetto for Jews, later deported to the Warsaw Ghetto and Nazi concentration camps.[2] The Germans executed over 200 people in the town, however, the Polish underground resistance movement still operated there.[2] Resistance activities included sabotage actions, secret Polish education and the assassination of a German V-2 rocket expert.[2] The production of the existing factories was converted to manufacture products for Germany and adapted to the needs of the Germans. In 1941, expelled Poles from Kwiatkowo and Linne, were deported to Skierniewice.[5] In May 1944, the Stalag 319 prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs of various nationalities was relocated from Chełm to Skierniewice, and then eventually dissolved in August 1944.[6] Afterwards the Dulag 142 transit camp was based in the city, and about 3,000 Poles captured during the Warsaw Uprising passed through it.[7]
On January 17, 1945, Skierniewice was captured by Soviet forces.

Between 1945 and 1997 the area of the city increased to double and the population increased from 17,524 in 1946 to 47,188 in 1992. Many new factories and thus jobs emerged. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of Skierniewice Voivodeship, which led to the establishment of a number of institutions. In 1990, the first free elections to the City Council were held. During the 1999 administrative reform, Skierniewice gained the status of a city with district rights under Łódź county.

The city’s economy is based on the textile industry (dating from the 17th century as a dressmakers’ centre) and the manufacture of farm machinery and electronic products. With an agricultural research institute, it is also known for fruit farming.

Sights

Among the historic sights of Skierniewice are:

  • former Episcopal Palace complex with the Park Miejski ("Municipal Park")
  • Skierniewice railway station
  • churches of Saint James and Saint Stanislaus
  • Market Square (Rynek) with the Town Hall (Ratusz)
  • Roundhouse Skierniewice
  • other historic buildings and structures, including the Kozłowski Villa, now housing the Wedding Palace, and the County Office
  • Episcopal Palace
    Episcopal Palace
  • Kitchen building of the Episcopal Palace complex
    Kitchen building of the Episcopal Palace complex
  • Park Miejski
    Park Miejski
  • One of the streets of the town centre with historic townhouses and the Saint James church
    One of the streets of the town centre with historic townhouses and the Saint James church
  • County office
    County office

Education

Sports

Unia Skierniewice [pl] and Widok Skierniewice [pl] football clubs are based in Skierniewice.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Twin towns – Sister cities

Skierniewice is

twinned
with:

Notable people

Jan Leon Kozietulski

Notable people connected with the Skierniewice region:

References

  1. ^ a b "Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved 19 August 2022. Data for territorial unit 1063000.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Historia Miasta". Skierniewice.eu (in Polish). Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Szymon Nowak (September 2015). "Niemieckie bombardowania Skierniewic we wrześniu 1939 roku". Opinie WP (in Polish). Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  4. ^ Wardzyńska, Maria (2009). Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warszawa: IPN. p. 97.
  5. ISBN 978-83-8098-174-4
    .
  6. ISBN 978-0-253-06089-1
    .
  7. ^ Megargee; Overmans; Vogt, p. 88

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Skierniewice.
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