Kielce

Kielce , is a town of Poland, chief town of the Voïvodie of Holy-Cross. Kielce is an important economic center, second city of Malopolska (south-western and centers of Poland), after Cracow. Its population is approximately 215.000 inhabitants.

Situation

Kielce is located at the south of Poland, in the middle of the Mountains Holy-Cross. It is crossed by a small river, the Silnica. Old important center for the exploitation of the stone, Kielce is nowadays a center of trade and culture.

History

The zone of Kielce is inhabited at least since fifth century BC until the 6th century by Kelts. They drove out in the enormous close forests and had arranged the major part of the zone, now known under the name of Małopolska (Small Poland). The grounds of Wilanie were under the control of the Bohemia, before passing under that of the dynasty of Piast to become an area of current Poland. According to a local legend, Mieszko II Lambert, wire of Boleslaus II of Poland, was attacked by a band of the brigands in the forest. It was saved by a vision of Saint Adalbert, giving him to drinking the water of a river which made it powerful. By ground, he noticed defenses of a wild boar. In this place of its vision it set up a church out of wooden. The magic river, it gave him the name of " Silnica " (in Polish) = the force, and the village, it called it Kielce (the old Polish term for wild boar defenses).

Actually the zone of the Mountains of Holy-Cross was almost not populated until the 11th century, when the first hunters established permanent payments with the peripheries of the mountains. They needed a place for the trade of the furs, the meat, and other products necessary. Thus the market of Kielce was established. At the 12th century according to the new payment, Kielce became a property of the bishops of Cracow who established a church out of wooden and a manor. In 1171 a stone church was set up by the bishop Gedeon Gryf. At this moment Vincent Kadlubek at founded a parochial school with Kielce. In 1295 the city was allotted with the lines of city. At the 13th Kielce century was destroyed by a Mongolian invasion led by Ögedei Khan, but was quickly rebuilt.

The zone around Kielce was rich in minerals such as copper and iron, as well as the stone with lime. At the 15th Kielce century became an important metallurgy center. There were also several factories and stores of glass of armorer in the city. In 1527 the bishop Piotr Tomicki made build a bell-tower for the church and between a 1637 and 1642 palate of the Rebirth was set up close to the market. It is one of the very rare examples of French architecture of the Renaissance in Poland and the only example of manor of a tycoon of times of the dynasty of Waza of the Second world war.

During the flood the city was burned by the Swedes. Only the palate and the church survived, but the city managed to recover according to the rule of bishop Andrzej Załuski. In 1761 Kielce the number of 4.000 inhabitants reaches. In 1789 Kielce were nationalized and the hamburgers were granted to the right to elect their own representatives in the Parliament. Until the end of the century the economy of the city lived one period of quick change. A brewery was founded, like several brick factories, a selector of horse, the hospital, the school and a religious university.

Because of the 3rd partition the city was annexed by the Austria. During the war of 1809 it was retained by prince Józef Poniatowski and was united with the duchy of Warsaw, but after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1915, it was united with the Royaume of Poland. Thanks to the efforts of Stanisław Staszic Kielce became the center of the new-bench Old man-Polishes the industrial park. The city developed quickly as new mines, careers and of the factories were built. In 1816 the Technical University was founded in Kielce. However, after the death of Staszic the industrial park decreased and in 1826 the school was moved with Warsaw and became the University of Warsaw of Technology.

In 1830 several inhabitants of Kielce took part in the Soulèvement of November against the Russia. In 1844 a priest Piotr Ściegienny intended of a local rising to release Kielce of the Russian Empire, for which it was sent in Siberia. In 1863 Kielce took part in the Soulèvement of January. As reprisals for the insubordination the authorities tsarists closed all the Polish schools and transformed Kielce garrison downtown. The Polish language was prohibited.

After the First World War Kielce was the first released city of the Russians by the Polish legions of Józef Piłsudski. After the war, Poland regains its independence after 123 years of the divisions, Kielce became the capital of Voivoîde. The plans of reinforcement of heavy industry and war had as consequence that Kielce became a principal node of the central industrial park. The city placed several large factories, among them machines ammunition " Granat" and machines " Społem " of transformation of the food products.

During the Second world war the defenders of Westerplatte '1939) as well as the armor-plated brigade of the General Stanislaw Maczek were made up of the inhabitants of Kielce or its suburbs. The city has was also an important center of the resistance to the German occupation. There were several active groups of resistance in the city. Moreover, the hills and the forests of mountains Holy-Cross became a scene of heavy partisane activity. A localized small town of Pinczów to 30 kilometers of Kielce was also the capital of the " Republic of Pinczow" a territory released and ordered by the partisans. The resistance there inflicted heavy losses with the Germans and took part later in the final release their in January 1945 cities. During the war of the thousands of the inhabitants of Kielce lost the life, in particular almost all the Jewish community of the city.

Survivors of the Holocauste ghost in Kielce were massacred by the population in July 1946 (Pogrom of Kielce) - 40 Jews and 2 Christians - without the police force nor the security services interior not intervening - these events constitute one of the darkest pages of the history of the city.

Tourism

Kielce is a 1000 years old city, offering to the interested visitor much. The town of Kielce takes officially its statute in 1364. During centuries the stronghold of the bishops of Cracow, the city keeps many traces of their reign. Among them, the Palate of the bishops of. - a splendid example of art and architecture of the period Baroque, is in Poland the reign of the dynasty of Waza. The building conceals frequent references to the figure three - a reaction visible with the Réforme and the anti-Trinitaires sights of the time. The hall of pageantry containing the portraits of the bishops of Cracow does not fail to impress. During times of the Swedish invasions, the Palate was in its turn the seat of the king of Sweden, to become with the seat of the general governor of the emperor of Russia and during IIe world war that of the representative of Adolf Hitler. Now it is a National museum. In his splendid parts one admires a Polish, made picture gallery works of Wyspianski, Malczewski, Chelmonski, Michalowski or of Kossak - all of the Masters whose reputation of excellence does not cease increasing since. Kielce has a a whole range of attractions of which described above the palate the bishops, more than 10 churches, and the museum of Stefan Zeromski.

The ground of Kielce is an area with passed exceptionally rich which fascine by the beauty of its landscapes. Among natural attractions which attract the most tourists there is before all the cave “Paradise” (Jaskinia Raj) which is in the neighborhoods of Checiny.

Karczowka is indisputably the pearl of the landscape of Kielce. The monastery with the church were founded with 17th S. in recognition with God to have saved the city of the plague. In the surroundings, minor dug large lumps of ore of lead, to manufacture three statues enough. Most beautiful, representative St Barbara, remained in the church.

Oblegorek is known for the museum Henryk Sienkiewicz, prize winner of the Nobel Prize in 1905. The writer lived in the small palace which was offered to him by the Polish people. Opatow with its deep undergrounds of 12m which form a single tourist route which is an example of underground architecture. The labyrinth of 50 rooms and cellars extends on 400 meters. It was probably built at the XVI century.

With Jedrzejow have can visit a Cistercian abbey going back from the XIII century and the only museum from dials and solar apparatuses in Poland. The collection has more than 500 specimen and is regarded as the third in the world after those of Oxford and Chicago. The monastery of the Holy-Cross is located in a site isolated from the national park of the same name. It was founded at the XII century by the order of the Benedictines, alas it does not remain that a door of this time. The church was rebuilt on several occasions, the last time at the end of the XVIII century.

The place most frequently visited area of Holy-Cross east Lysed Gora (the Mount-Bald person) with its monastery Benedictine of Holy-Cross, the Natural Museum of the Swietokrzyski National park, as well as the sanctuary bordering of " goloborze" - debris of rocks of quarzite. The monasteries cistercians of Wachock, Koprzywnica and Jedrzejow, constitute important elements of " the Route of the European Culture ". With Krzemionki Opatowskie a stone mine of the Neolithic, single time is in the world. One of largest centers metallurgy of the time of the Romain Empire is worth also our attention his operation can be followed in the Museum of the Old Metallurgy to Nowa Slupia. Each September during the spectacle in the open air called " Dymarki Swietokrzyskie" one at the time of admiring the pig iron such as it was practiced two thousand years before. Other monuments of technology are with Samsonow, Starachowice, Stara Kuznica and with Nietulisko.

Today the town of Kielce has a population of approximately 215.000 inhabitants. Among the cultural events most important organized in the city are: the Cultural Festival of the Young people and the International festival of Music of Organ. The Center of Trade of Kielce became one of the most important institutions of its kind in Poland.

Kielce is not only the administrative capital of the area of Holy-Cross but also a major tourist center. There are not other cities in Europe which would have four reserves inside its limits Kadzielnia, Biesak-Bialogon, Slichowice and Karczowka. The area of Swietokrzyskie offers to in love with active tourism 900 km of ways of hiking and in VTT, of the places for the water sports, kayak and veil, but also of the ski.

Attractions of tourists:

  • the Palate Of the Bishops

  • Neo-gothic Cathedral

  • Holy Church Of Trinity

  • romantic Manor of Tomasz Zieliski

  • Old market of city

  • Museum of Stefan Zeromski

  • Synagog

  • Cave " Paradis" (Jaskinia Raj)

  • the monastery with Karczowka

  • 5 geological reservations of nature in the zone of city

  • Throat of Kadzielnia (an old career where several of the westerns of GDR were drawn)

  • Mountains of Holy-Cross: the Natural Museum of the National park Swietokrzyski

  • Underground with Opatow

  • Cistercian abbey and the Museum of Dials and Solar Apparatuses with Jedrzejow

  • a stone mine of the Neolithic time (single in the world) with Krzemionki Opatowskie

  • Museum of the Old Metallurgy with Nowa Slupia

Education

  • High School of Holy-Cross
  • Wszechnica Świętokrzyska
  • High School of Public administration
  • High economic School and of administration of Edward Lipiński
  • High Commercial Studies of Bolesław Markowski
  • High School of professional competences
  • High Informatque School and communication
  • High School of dévelppement regional and of tourism
  • High School of telecommunication and of computer sciences

Sport

  • the Korona Kielce is the club of Football of the city, favoured with the 2nd league in season 2004/2005

  • the Kolporter Kielce - team of the handball playing in the league of the handball of the Polish women of Ekstraklasa: 9th place in 2003/2004 season.

Personalities

  • Vincentius de Kielce (1200-1226), poet and type-setter

  • Stanislas Staszic (1755-1826), philosopher, statesman, geologist, poet, prètre and writer
  • abbot Piotr Ściegienny (1801-1890), militant and publicity agent
  • Adolf Dygasiński (1839-1902), writer
  • Stefan Artwiński (1863-1939), political militant
  • Stefan Żeromski (1864-1925), writer
  • Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (1919-2000), writer
  • Jan Czarnocki, qeologist
  • Rafał Olbiński, painter and dessinatuer
  • Leszek Madzik, director and scenario writer
  • Włodzimierz Kiniorski, type-setter
  • Edmund Niziurski, writer
  • Andrzej Poniedzielski, poet

Actors, musicians and men of media:

  • Wiesław Gołas, actor

  • Tadeusz Sznuk, journalist
  • Krzysztof Kasowski " KASA" , musician
  • Liroy, musician
  • Marcin Pawłowski (1970-2004), journalist of TVN
  • Andrzej Piaseczny " Piasek" , musician
  • Piotr Kmiecik, assembler
  • Dagmara Domińczyk, actress
  • Anna Treter, musician

Politicians:

  • Henryk Długosz, politician of SLD

  • Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski, appointed Parliament of Worse
  • Krzysztof Janik, former president of SLD

Sportsmen:

  • Leszek Drogosz, boxer - 3x champion of Europe

  • Zbigniew Piatek, cyclist
  • Piotr Stokowiec, footballer of KSP Polonia Warszawa
  • Wojciech Krakowiak, footballer in American league

Twinnings

External bonds

  • Official site of the town of Kielce

  • Kielce.pl
  • Gate Internet of the city
  • Kielce One Line
  • Pogrom of post-war period in Kielce, in 1946
  • Old Kielce one photographs - Polish language only

Simple: Kielce

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