Bialystok
Encyclopedia
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland
and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship
. Located on the Podlaskie Plain on the banks of the Biała River, Białystok ranks second in terms of population density, eleventh in population, and thirteenth in area, of the cities of Poland. It has historically attracted migrants from elsewhere in Poland and beyond, particularly from Central
and Eastern Europe
. This is facilitated by the fact that the nearby border with Belarus is also the eastern border of the European Union
, as well as the Schengen Area
. The city and its adjacent municipalities constitute Metropolitan Białystok. The city has a Warm Summer Continental climate, characterized by warm summers and long frosty winters. Forests are an important part of Białystok's character, and occupy around 1,756 ha (4,340 acres) (17.2% of the administrative area of the city) which places it as the fifth most "wooded" city in Poland.
The city charter dates back to 1692, but settlement activity in the area dates back to the 14th century. Białystok has traditionally been one of the leading centers of academic, cultural, and artistic life in Podlaskie and the most important economic center in northeastern Poland. In the nineteenth century Białystok was an important center for light industry
which was the reason for the substantial growth of the city's population. However, after the fall of communism
in 1989 many of these factories faced severe problems and subsequently closed down. Through the infusion of EU investment funds, the city continues to work to reshape itself into a modern metropolis. Białystok in 2010, was on the short-list, but ultimately lost the competition to become a finalist for European Capital of Culture
in 2016. Over the centuries Białystok has produced a number of people who have provided unique contributions to the fields of science, language, politics, religion, sports, visual arts and performing arts. This environment was created in the mid-eighteenth century by the patronage of Jan Klemens Branicki
for the arts and sciences. These include Ryszard Kaczorowski
the last émigré President of the Republic of Poland
, L. L. Zamenhof
the creator of Esperanto
and Albert Sabin
the co-developer of the polio vaccine
.
translation of Białystok is "white slope". Due to changing borders over the centuries, the city has been known as (Biełastok bʲeɫaˈstok), Yiddish: ביאַליסטאָק (Byalistok, Bjalistok), (Balstogė) and (Belostok). The Linguist A. P. Nepokupnyj proposes that the language source for Białystok is Yotvingian
. Names with the -stok suffix as a second element of a hydronym
are localized in the basin of the upper Narew
.
. Tombs of ancient settlers can be found in the district of Dojlidy. In the early Iron Age
a mix of Prussians
, Yotvingians
and Wielbark culture people settled in the area producing kurgan
s, the tombs of the chiefs in the area located in the current village of Rostołty. Since then, the Białystok area has been at the crossroads of cultures. Trade routes linking the Baltic to the Black Sea favored the development of settlements with Yotvingia
-Ruthenian
-Polish cultural characteristics.
The city of Białystok has existed for five centuries and during this time the fate of the city has been affected by various political and economic forces.
Surviving documents attest that around 1437 a representative of the Raczków family, Jakub Tabutowicz of the coat of arms Łabędź, received from Michael Žygimantaitis son of Sigismund Kęstutaitis
, Duke of Lithuania, a wilderness area located along the river Biała that marked the beginning of Białystok as a settlement.
Between the years 1617 and 1626 the first brick church and a castle were built. The two-floor castle, designed on a rectangular plan in the Gothic-Renaissance style, was the work of Job Bretfus. Extension of the castle was continued by Krzysztof Wiesiołowski, starost of Tykocin, Grand Marshal of Lithuania since 1635, and husband of Aleksandra Marianna Sobieska. In 1637 he died childless, and as a result Białystok came under the management of his widow. After her death in 1645 the Wiesiołowski estate, including Białystok, passed to the Commonwealth in order to cover the costs of maintaining Tykocin Castle
. In the years 1645–1659 Białystok was managed by the governors of Tykocin
and was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
.
In 1661 it was given to Stefan Czarniecki
as a reward for his service in the victory over the Swedes during the Deluge. Four years later, it was given as a dowry of his daughter Aleksandra, who married Jan Klemens Branicki, thus passing into the hands of the Branicki family. In 1692, Stefan Mikołaj Branicki, the son of Jan Klemens Branicki (Marshal of the Crown Court), obtained city rights for Białystok from King John III Sobieski
. He constructed the Branicki Palace on the foundations of the castle of the Wiesiołowski family. In the second half of the eighteenth century the ownership of the city was inherited by Field Crown Hetman
Jan Klemens Branicki
. It was he who transformed the palace built by his father into a magnificent residence of a great noble.
The end of the eighteenth century saw the division
of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in three steps, among the neighboring states. The Kingdom of Prussia
acquired Białystok and the surrounding region during the third partition
. The city became the capital of the New East Prussia
province in 1795. Prussia lost the territory following Napoleon Bonaparte
's victory in the War of the Fourth Coalition
as the resultant 1807 Treaties of Tilsit
awarded the area to the Russian Empire
which then organized the region into the Belostok Oblast
, with the city as the regional center.
At the end of the nineteenth century, the majority of the city's population was Jewish. According to Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 66,000, Jews constituted 41,900 (so around 63% percent). This heritage can be seen on the Jewish Heritage Trail in Białystok.
During World War I
the Bialystok-Grodno District
was the administrative division of German
-controlled territory of Ober-Ost. It comprised the city, as the capital, and the surrounding Podlaskie region, roughly corresponding to the territory of the earlier Belostok Oblast
. At the end of World War I the city became part of the newly independent Second Polish Republic
, as the capital of the Białystok Voivodeship (1919–1939).
With the beginning of World War II
, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union
and initially the city came under Soviet control, as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
. It was incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR
from 1939 to 1941 as the capital of the Belastok Voblast
After the Nazi attack on Soviet Union
in 1941, the area was taken over by Germans and the city became the capital of Bezirk Białystok, a separate region in German occupied Poland, until 1944.
From the very beginning, the Nazis pursued a ruthless policy of pillage and removal of the non-German population. The 56,000 Jewish residents of the town were confined in a ghetto. On August 15, 1943, the Białystok Ghetto Uprising began, and several hundred Polish Jews
and members of the Anti-Fascist Military Organisation started an armed struggle against the German troops who were carrying out the planned liquidation of the ghetto with deportations to the Treblinka extermination camp
.
After the war, the city became capital of the initial Białystok Voivodeship (1945–1975) of the People's Republic of Poland
. After the 1975 administrative reorganization, the city was the capital of the smaller Białystok Voivodeship (1975–1998). Since 1999 it has been the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship
, Republic of Poland
.
hills and kame
in excess of 200 m (656.2 ft) above sea level
. Vast areas of outwash
, a glacial
plain
formed of sediment
s deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier
, are covered by forests.
Forests are an important part of the city character, they currently occupy approximately 1756 ha (4,339.2 acre) (17.2% of the administrative area of the city) which places it as the fifth most "wooded" city in Poland; behind Katowice (38%), Bydgoszcz (30%), Toruń (22.9%) and Gdańsk (17.6%).
Part of Knyszyn Forest
is preserved within the city limits by two nature reserves—a total area of 105 ha (259.5 acre). The Zwierzyniecki Forest Nature Reserve , which is contained within the city limits, is a fragment, 33.48 ha (82.7 acre), of the riparian forest
with a dominant assemblage of oak
and hornbeam
. The Antoniuk Nature Reserve is a 70.07 ha (173.1 acre) park in the city that preserves the natural state of a forest fragment characteristic of the Białystok Upland, with a dominant mixed forest of hazel
and spruce
.
The 40 ha (98.8 acre) of forests lying in the vicinity of the Dojlidy Ponds are administered by the Central Sports and Recreation Center in Białystok ( – MOSiR). The Dojlidy Ponds recreation area includes a public beach, walking trails, birdwatching and fishing.
Climate
The city has a Warm Summer Continental or Hemiboreal
climate (Dfb) according to the Köppen climate classification
system, characterized by warm temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. It is substantially different from most of the other Polish lowlands. The region is one of the coldest in Poland, with the average temperature in January being -6 °C. The average temperature in a year is 7 °C (45 °F). The number of frost days ranges from 50 to 60, with frost from 110 to 138 days and the duration of snow cover from 90 to 110 days. Mean annual rainfall values oscillate around 580 mm (22.8 in), and the vegetation period lasts 200 to 210 days.
The city of Białystok is divided into 28 administrative units, known in Polish
as osiedla
. The first 27 of these were created on October 25, 2004. The 28th, Dojlidy Górne
, was created by on October 23, 2006, out of three settlements which had been incorporated into the city: Dojlidy Górne, Kolonia Halickie, and Zagórki.
The center of the city, Osiedle Centrum, surrounds Lipowa Street, the main street
of the city. Lipowa Street extends from Rynek Kościuszki (the corner of Spółdzielczej Street) to Plac Niepodległości im. Romana Dmowskiego (the corner of Krakowska Street). Over the centuries the name of this exclusive and elegant street has taken on a number of different names; Choroszcz
, Nowolipie, Lipowa, Jozef Pilsudski
, Joseph Stalin
, Adolf Hitler
and Joseph Stalin, once again, to return, after the end of World War II, to its original name – Lipowa Street.
The city covers 10212 ha (25,234.4 acre) of which 3210 ha (7,932.1 acre) is agricultural land, 4889 ha (12,081 acre) is urbanized
areas, 85 ha (210 acre) is surface waters and 65 ha (160.6 acre) is wasteland. The composition of the districts vary from residential near the city center, with a combination of multi-story apartment buildings and individual houses on small parcels, to industrial and agricultural at the city edges.
Metropolitan Białystok
Metropolitan Białystok was designated by the Voivodeship of the Regulation No. 52/05 of 16 May 2005 to help develop the region economically. In 2006, the metropolitan area population was 450,254 inhabitants. The municipalities adjacent to Białystok are slowly losing their agricultural character, becoming residential suburban neighborhoods with single-family housing and small businesses.
Historically, Białystok has been a destination for internal and foreign immigration, especially from Central
and Eastern Europe
. In addition to the Polish minority
, there was a significant Jewish majority in Białystok. According to Russian census of 1897
, out of the total population of 66,000, Jews
constituted 41,900 (around 63% percent). Białystok's pre-World War II
Jewish population
constituted about 63 percent of the city's total population of 107,000. World War II changed all of this, in 1939, around 107,000 people lived in Białystok, but in 1946 – only 56,759, and to this day there is much less ethnic diversity than in the previous 300 years of the city's history. Currently the city's population is 97% Polish, 2.5% Belarusian and 0.5% of a number of minorities including Russians, Lipka Tatars
, Ukrainians and Romani. Most of the modern day population growth is based on internal migration within Poland and urbanization of surrounding areas.
Białystok, like other major cities in Poland, is a city county
. The Legislative power
in the city is vested in the unicameral
Białystok City Council
, which has 28 members. Council members are elected directly every four years, one of whom is the mayor
, or President of Białystok
. Like most legislative bodies, the City Council divides itself into committees which have the oversight of various functions of the city government. Bills passed by a simple majority are sent to the mayor
, who may sign them into law. If the mayor vetoes a bill, the Council has 30 days to override the veto by a two-thirds majority
vote. The current President of Białystok, elected for his first term in 2006, is Tadeusz Truskolaski
won the elections as the Civic Platform
's candidate, however, he has no official connection with the party. In the first round of the elections he received 49% of the votes (42,889 votes altogether). In the later runoff he defeated his rival candidate Marek Kozlowski from Law and Justice
, receiving 67% of the votes cast (53,018 votes).
For the 2010–2011 Fiscal year the city received revenue (taxes levied + investments) of 1,409,565,525 zł, expended 1,676,459,102 zł leaving a budget deficit of 266,893,577 zł. The deficit was covered by short-term borrowing of 166,893,577 zł and the issuance of 100 million zł in municipal bonds.
Other levels of governmental representation
It is also the seat of government for the Podlaskie Voivodeship
. The city is represented by several members of both houses of the Polish Parliament (Sejm and Senat) from the Białystok constituency
. Białystok is represented by the Podlaskie and Warmian-Masurian constituency
of the European Parliament
.
International relations
There are two consulates in Białystok, Belarus
has a Consulate General and Romania
has an Honorary Consulate. The City of Białystok is a member of several organizations such as Union of Polish Metropolises , Euroregion Niemen, Polish Green Lungs Foundation (headquarters) and Eurocities
.
of the Polish Land Forces
is based in Białystok. The heritage of the unit was the former 18th Territorial Defense Battalion and prior to that the former 18th Mechanized Brigade. December 31, 2001, as a result of the restructuring of the Armed Forces, 18th Mechanized Brigade was disbanded and in its place created the 18th Territorial Defense Battalion .
Historical Military Units
During December 1993 an order of the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces created the 18th Mechanized Brigade at the garrison in Białystok. The unit was formed from the 3rd Mechanized Regiment and was subordinated to the commander of the 1st Warsaw Mechanized Division . On December 31, 2001, as a result of the restructuring of the Armed Forces, the 18th Mechanized Brigade was disbanded and in its place was created the 18th Territorial Defense Battalion.
The Podlaska Cavalry Brigade
was a military unit of the Polish Army, created on April 1, 1937. Its headquarters was located in Białystok and operated as part of Independent Operational Group Narew
. It was formed from the Cavalry Brigade "Białystok", which existed between February 1929, and March 30, 1937. After the Soviet invasion of Poland
, remnants of the Brigade fought both Wehrmacht
and Red Army
troops, capitulating on October 6, 1939.
The Cavalry Brigade "Bialystok" (BK "Bialystok") of the Polish Army Second Republic was formed in February 1929. April 1, 1937 BK "Bialystok" was renamed the Podlaska Cavalry Brigade
.
. However, after the fall of communism in 1989 many of these factories faced severe problems and subsequently closed down.
The unemployment rate for February 2011 in Białystok was 13.2%. Which is about the average unemployment rate in Poland.
The 2009 average household had a monthly per capita income of 1018.77 zł and monthly per capita expenses of 823.56 zł
The city has a number of nearby border crossings. The border with Belarus is only 50 km (31.1 mi) away, the nearest border crossings are located in; Bobrowniki
(road crossing located about 50 km (31.1 mi) from the city limits), Kuźnica Białostocka (road and rail crossing located 60 km (37.3 mi) from the city limits), Siemianowka
(railway – freight traffic), Połowce (road) and Czeremcha (railway). Since the border with Belarus is also the eastern border of the European Union
, as well as the Schengen Area
the city is a center for trade in mainly from the east.
Industry
The leading industries in the city's economy are: food processing (production of meat products, fruit and vegetable products, the production of spirits, the production of frozen food, grain processing), electrical engineering (production tools and equipment for machine tools, production of electric heaters, manufacture and production mixers household appliances). There is also a developed machine industry (electronics, machinery and metal), plastic processing (production of household appliances), textiles (textiles and upholstery, manufacture of underwear, clothing accessories, footwear and backpacks), Wood (production plywood and furniture) building materials.
Some notable major employers who are based in Białystok include:
in 2016.
Performing Arts
The city has a number of performing arts facilities including:
The Białystok Puppet Theater , established in 1953, is one of the oldest Polish puppet theaters. The facility is located at Kalinowskiego 1 in Białystok. The repertoire includes performances for both children and puppet adaptations of world literature for adults. Because of the high artistic level of productions, the theater has been recognized as one of the best puppetry arts centers in Poland.
The Aleksandra Węgierki Drama Theatre. Housed in a building designed by Jarosław Girina, built in the years 1933–1938.
Museums
There are a number of museums in the city including:
The Historical Museum in Białystok is part of the Podlaskie Museum. The facility has a rich collection of archival materials and iconography illustrating the history of Białystok and Podlasie, and a number of middle-class cultural relics, especially in the field of craft utility. There are also the Numismatic Cabinet of the collection of 16 000 coins, medals and securities. The museum is in possession of the only collections in the country memorabilia connected with the Tatar settlement on the Polish–Lithuanian–Belarusian region.
The Army Museum in Białystok was established in September 1968 as a branch of the Podlaskie Museum to house the research and collections of many people connected with military history of north-eastern Poland.
Parks and green spaces
Around 32% of the city is occupied by parks, squares and forest preserves which creates a unique and healthy climate. The green spaces include:
Branicki Palace is a historical edifice and 9.7 ha (24 acre) park in Białystok. It was developed on the site of an earlier building in the first half of the eighteenth century by Jan Klemens Branicki
, a wealthy Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth hetman
, into a residence
suitable for a man whose ambition was to be elected king of Poland. The palace complex with gardens
, pavillons
, sculptures
, outbuildings and other structures and the city with churches, city hall and monastery
, all built almost at the same time according to French models was the reason why the city was known in the eighteenth century as Versailles
of Podlaskie .
Planty is a 14.94 ha (36.9 acre) park created between 1930 and 1938, under the auspices of the then Voivode Kościałkowskiego Mariana Zyndrama in the areas adjacent to Branicki Palace. The modernist composition of the park was designed by Stanislav Gralla.
Architecture
The various historically driven changes have had a very significant influence on the architectural space of the city. Most other Polish cities have suffered similarly, but the processes in Białystok, have had a particularly intense course. Numerous historic works of architecture no longer exist, while many others have been rebuilt to their original configuration. Very few historic buildings of the city have been preserved – the sights are merely an echo of the old historical shape of Białystok.
football club, based in Białystok, in the Ekstraklasa League that plays at the Białystok City Stadium. Jagiellonia Białystok won the Polish Cup in 2010, Super Cup and qualified to play in the third round qualification of the UEFA Europa League. A new 22,500 seat stadium is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
Hetman Białystok (formerly known as Gwardia Białystok) is a Polish football club based in Podlaskie Voivodeship. They play in the Division IV or the (4th) League at the Białystok City Stadium.
Lowlanders Białystok is a football
club, based in Białystok, that plays in the Polish American Football League
PLFA I Conference. The Lowlanders were the champions of the PLFA II Conference in 2010 with a perfect season (8 wins in eight meetings). Because of the win they were advanced to the upper conference (PLFA I) in 2011.
(36.3% market share) and Kurier Poranny
(20.3% market share). In addition two national papers have local bureaus. There are a number of national and locally produced television and radio channels available both over-the-air from the nearby RTCN Białystok (Krynice) Mast, the seventh highest structure in Poland, in addition to transmitter sites within the city. There is also a cable television system available within the city. The city has two campus radio
stations; Radiosupeł at the Medical University of Białystok and Radio Akadera at Białystok Technical University.
The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Białystok. Pope John Paul II on 5 June 1991, during a visit to Białystok, announced the establishment of the Archdiocese of Białystok which ended the period of the temporary church administration of the portion of the Archdiocese of Vilnius that had, after World War II
, remained within the Polish borders. The city is also the seat of the Białystok-Gdansk Diocese of the Autocephalous Polish Orthodox Church
. Białystok is the largest concentration of Orthodox believers in Poland. In Białystok, the following Protestant churches exist: a Lutheran parish, two Pentecostal churches, Baptist church, a congregation of the Church of God in Christ and a Seventh Day Adventist church.
and the entire northeastern section of Poland. It is a major city on the European Union roadways (Via Baltica) and railways (Rail Baltica
) to the Baltic Republics and Finland
. It is also a main gateway of trade with Belarus
due to its proximity to the border and its current and longstanding relationship with Hrodno, Belarus.
Railways
Passenger trains connect from Suvalki, Hrodno and Lithuania
to Warsaw
and the rest of the European passenger network. Passenger services are provided by two rail service providers, PKP Intercity
that provides intercity passengers trains (express, intercity, eurocity, hotel and TLK) and Przewozy Regionalne that operates only regional passenger trains financed by the voivodeship
. Passenger trains are mostly run using electrical multiple units (on electrified lines) or rail buses.
Buses
There is an extensive bus network that covers the entire city by three bus services, but no tram or subway exists. The three bus operators are partially owned by the city (KPKM, KPK and KZK) and each shares approximately a third of the lines and the bus fleet.
Roads and highways
The National Roads
running through Białystok:: Polowce
(Belarus–Polish border) – Bielsk Podlaski
– Białystok – Kuznica
(Belarus–Polish border): Goldap
(Russia–Polish border)-Elk
-Białystok-Bobrowniki
(Belarus-Polish border) / : Budziska (Polish–Lithuania border) – Białystok – Warsaw
– Wrocław – Kudowa Zdrój (Czech–Polish border)
Airports
A civil airport, Białystok-Krywlany Airport
, lies within the city limits, but does not provide regularly scheduled service. There are plans to build a new regional airport, Białystok-Saniki Airport, in the next few years that will provide flights within Europe.
Jan Klemens Branicki
. As a patron of the arts and sciences, Branicki encouraged numerous artists and scientists to settle in Białystok to take advantage of Branicki's patronage. In 1745 Branicki established Poland's first military college, the School of Civil and Military Engineering, in the city.
Since the fall of communism
many private-funded institutions of higher educations were founded and their number is still increasing. Currently Białystok is home to one principal public university
(University of Białystok) and two other public specialist universities (Białystok Technical University and Medical University of Białystok). Some institutions, such as Musical Academy in Białystok, are branches of their parent institutions in other cities, usually in Warsaw
.
Over the centuries Białystok has produced a number of persons who have provided unique contributions to the fields of science, language, politics, religion, sports, visual arts and performing arts. This environment was created in the mid eighteenth century by the patronage of Jan Klemens Branicki
for the arts and sciences. A list of recent notable persons includes, but is not limited to; Ryszard Kaczorowski
, last émigré President of the Republic of Poland
, L. L. Zamenhof
, the creator of Esperanto
, Albert Sabin
, co-developer of the polio vaccine
, Izabella Scorupco
, actress, Max Weber
, painter
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
. Located on the Podlaskie Plain on the banks of the Biała River, Białystok ranks second in terms of population density, eleventh in population, and thirteenth in area, of the cities of Poland. It has historically attracted migrants from elsewhere in Poland and beyond, particularly from Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. This is facilitated by the fact that the nearby border with Belarus is also the eastern border of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, as well as the Schengen Area
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
. The city and its adjacent municipalities constitute Metropolitan Białystok. The city has a Warm Summer Continental climate, characterized by warm summers and long frosty winters. Forests are an important part of Białystok's character, and occupy around 1,756 ha (4,340 acres) (17.2% of the administrative area of the city) which places it as the fifth most "wooded" city in Poland.
The city charter dates back to 1692, but settlement activity in the area dates back to the 14th century. Białystok has traditionally been one of the leading centers of academic, cultural, and artistic life in Podlaskie and the most important economic center in northeastern Poland. In the nineteenth century Białystok was an important center for light industry
Light industry
Light industry is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented...
which was the reason for the substantial growth of the city's population. However, after the fall of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in 1989 many of these factories faced severe problems and subsequently closed down. Through the infusion of EU investment funds, the city continues to work to reshape itself into a modern metropolis. Białystok in 2010, was on the short-list, but ultimately lost the competition to become a finalist for European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
in 2016. Over the centuries Białystok has produced a number of people who have provided unique contributions to the fields of science, language, politics, religion, sports, visual arts and performing arts. This environment was created in the mid-eighteenth century by the patronage of Jan Klemens Branicki
Jan Klemens Branicki
Count Jan Klemens Branicki was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown Hetman between 1752 and 1771....
for the arts and sciences. These include Ryszard Kaczorowski
Ryszard Kaczorowski
Ryszard Kaczorowski was a Polish statesman. Between 1989 and 1990 he served as the last President of Poland in exile. He succeeded Kazimierz Sabbat and resigned his post following Poland's regaining independence from the Soviet sphere of influence and election of Lech Wałęsa as the first ...
the last émigré President of the Republic of Poland
President of the Republic of Poland
The President of the Republic of Poland is the Polish head of state. His or her rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Poland....
, L. L. Zamenhof
L. L. Zamenhof
Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof December 15, 1859 – April 14, 1917) was the inventor of Esperanto, the most successful constructed language designed for international communication.-Cultural background:...
the creator of Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
and Albert Sabin
Albert Sabin
Albert Bruce Sabin was an American medical researcher best known for having developed an oral polio vaccine.-Life:...
the co-developer of the polio vaccine
Polio vaccine
Two polio vaccines are used throughout the world to combat poliomyelitis . The first was developed by Jonas Salk and first tested in 1952. Announced to the world by Salk on April 12, 1955, it consists of an injected dose of inactivated poliovirus. An oral vaccine was developed by Albert Sabin...
.
Etymology
The EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation of Białystok is "white slope". Due to changing borders over the centuries, the city has been known as (Biełastok bʲeɫaˈstok), Yiddish: ביאַליסטאָק (Byalistok, Bjalistok), (Balstogė) and (Belostok). The Linguist A. P. Nepokupnyj proposes that the language source for Białystok is Yotvingian
Sudovian language
Sudovian is an extinct western Baltic language of Northeastern Europe. Closely related to the Old Prussian language, it was formerly spoken southwest of the Nemunas river in what is now Lithuania, east of Galindia and north of Yotvingia, and by exiles in East Prussia.-History:Sudovia and...
. Names with the -stok suffix as a second element of a hydronym
Hydronym
A hydronym is a proper name of a body of water. Hydronymy is the study of hydronyms and of how bodies of water receive their names and how they are transmitted through history...
are localized in the basin of the upper Narew
Narew
The Narew River , in western Belarus and north-eastern Poland, is a left tributary of the Vistula river...
.
History
Archaeological discoveries show that the first settlements in the area of present day Białystok occurred during the Stone AgeStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
. Tombs of ancient settlers can be found in the district of Dojlidy. In the early Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
a mix of Prussians
Old Prussians
The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
, Yotvingians
Yotvingians
Yotvingians or Sudovians were a Baltic people with close cultural ties to the Lithuanians and Prussians...
and Wielbark culture people settled in the area producing kurgan
Kurgan
Kurgan is the Turkic term for a tumulus; mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves, originating with its use in Soviet archaeology, now widely used for tumuli in the context of Eastern European and Central Asian archaeology....
s, the tombs of the chiefs in the area located in the current village of Rostołty. Since then, the Białystok area has been at the crossroads of cultures. Trade routes linking the Baltic to the Black Sea favored the development of settlements with Yotvingia
Yotvingia
Yotvingia was a region where the Baltic tribe known as Yotvingians lived. It was located in the area of Sudovia and Dainava; south west from the upper Neman, between Marijampolė, Merkinė , Slonim, Kobryn , Białystok, and Ełk ;...
-Ruthenian
Ruthenians
The name Ruthenian |Rus']]) is a culturally loaded term and has different meanings according to the context in which it is used. Initially, it was the ethnonym used for the East Slavic peoples who lived in Rus'. Later it was used predominantly for Ukrainians...
-Polish cultural characteristics.
The city of Białystok has existed for five centuries and during this time the fate of the city has been affected by various political and economic forces.
Surviving documents attest that around 1437 a representative of the Raczków family, Jakub Tabutowicz of the coat of arms Łabędź, received from Michael Žygimantaitis son of Sigismund Kęstutaitis
Sigismund Kestutaitis
Sigismund Kęstutaitis was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name; Sigismund's pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was son of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kęstutis and his wife Birutė....
, Duke of Lithuania, a wilderness area located along the river Biała that marked the beginning of Białystok as a settlement.
Between the years 1617 and 1626 the first brick church and a castle were built. The two-floor castle, designed on a rectangular plan in the Gothic-Renaissance style, was the work of Job Bretfus. Extension of the castle was continued by Krzysztof Wiesiołowski, starost of Tykocin, Grand Marshal of Lithuania since 1635, and husband of Aleksandra Marianna Sobieska. In 1637 he died childless, and as a result Białystok came under the management of his widow. After her death in 1645 the Wiesiołowski estate, including Białystok, passed to the Commonwealth in order to cover the costs of maintaining Tykocin Castle
Tykocin Castle
The Tykocin Royal Castle is a 15th century castle located on the right bank of the river Narew in Tykocin, Poland. It fell into ruin in the 18th century and its reconstruction began in 2002.-History:...
. In the years 1645–1659 Białystok was managed by the governors of Tykocin
Tykocin
Tykocin is an old, smaller size town in north-eastern Poland, with 1,800 inhabitants , located on the Narew river. Tykocin has been situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship since 1999. Previously, it belonged to Białystok Voivodeship...
and was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
.
In 1661 it was given to Stefan Czarniecki
Stefan Czarniecki
Stefan Czarniecki or Stefan Łodzia de Czarnca Czarniecki Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth general and nobleman. Field Hetman of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom. He was a military commander, regarded as a Polish national hero...
as a reward for his service in the victory over the Swedes during the Deluge. Four years later, it was given as a dowry of his daughter Aleksandra, who married Jan Klemens Branicki, thus passing into the hands of the Branicki family. In 1692, Stefan Mikołaj Branicki, the son of Jan Klemens Branicki (Marshal of the Crown Court), obtained city rights for Białystok from King John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski was one of the most notable monarchs of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, from 1674 until his death King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Sobieski's 22-year-reign was marked by a period of the Commonwealth's stabilization, much needed after the turmoil of the Deluge and...
. He constructed the Branicki Palace on the foundations of the castle of the Wiesiołowski family. In the second half of the eighteenth century the ownership of the city was inherited by Field Crown Hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Jan Klemens Branicki
Jan Klemens Branicki
Count Jan Klemens Branicki was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown Hetman between 1752 and 1771....
. It was he who transformed the palace built by his father into a magnificent residence of a great noble.
The end of the eighteenth century saw the division
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in three steps, among the neighboring states. The Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
acquired Białystok and the surrounding region during the third partition
Third Partition of Poland
The Third Partition of Poland or Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1795 as the third and last of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Background:...
. The city became the capital of the New East Prussia
New East Prussia
New East Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1795 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Third Partition of Poland and included parts of Masovia and Podlaskie...
province in 1795. Prussia lost the territory following Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's victory in the War of the Fourth Coalition
War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom....
as the resultant 1807 Treaties of Tilsit
Treaties of Tilsit
The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the town of Tilsit in July, 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon I of France, when they met on a raft in the middle of the Neman...
awarded the area to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
which then organized the region into the Belostok Oblast
Belostok Oblast
Belostok Oblast was an administrative division in the Russian Empire. The region had a capital in Belostok .-History:...
, with the city as the regional center.
At the end of the nineteenth century, the majority of the city's population was Jewish. According to Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 66,000, Jews constituted 41,900 (so around 63% percent). This heritage can be seen on the Jewish Heritage Trail in Białystok.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the Bialystok-Grodno District
Bialystok-Grodno District
Bialystok-Grodno District was an administrative division of German-controlled territory of Ober-Ost during World War I. It was bordered by the Lithuania District to the north.-History:...
was the administrative division of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-controlled territory of Ober-Ost. It comprised the city, as the capital, and the surrounding Podlaskie region, roughly corresponding to the territory of the earlier Belostok Oblast
Belostok Oblast
Belostok Oblast was an administrative division in the Russian Empire. The region had a capital in Belostok .-History:...
. At the end of World War I the city became part of the newly independent Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
, as the capital of the Białystok Voivodeship (1919–1939).
With the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
and initially the city came under Soviet control, as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
. It was incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. It was one of the four original founding members of the Soviet Union in 1922, together with the Ukrainian SSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
from 1939 to 1941 as the capital of the Belastok Voblast
Belastok Voblast
Belastok Voblast or Belostok Oblast was a territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic from September 1939 to August 1945.- Administrative units :The administrative center of the voblast was the city of Belastok ....
After the Nazi attack on Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in 1941, the area was taken over by Germans and the city became the capital of Bezirk Białystok, a separate region in German occupied Poland, until 1944.
From the very beginning, the Nazis pursued a ruthless policy of pillage and removal of the non-German population. The 56,000 Jewish residents of the town were confined in a ghetto. On August 15, 1943, the Białystok Ghetto Uprising began, and several hundred Polish Jews
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
and members of the Anti-Fascist Military Organisation started an armed struggle against the German troops who were carrying out the planned liquidation of the ghetto with deportations to the Treblinka extermination camp
Treblinka extermination camp
Treblinka was a Nazi extermination camp in occupied Poland during World War II near the village of Treblinka in the modern-day Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. The camp, which was constructed as part of Operation Reinhard, operated between and ,. During this time, approximately 850,000 men, women...
.
After the war, the city became capital of the initial Białystok Voivodeship (1945–1975) of the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. After the 1975 administrative reorganization, the city was the capital of the smaller Białystok Voivodeship (1975–1998). Since 1999 it has been the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
, Republic of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Geography
Białystok is situated in the Białystok Uplands of the Podlaskie Plain , part of what is known collectively as the Green Lungs of Poland. The Biała River, a left tributary of the Supraśl River, passes through the city. The landscape of the Białystok Upland is diverse, with high moraineMoraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
hills and kame
Kame
A kame is a geological feature, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the glacier...
in excess of 200 m (656.2 ft) above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. Vast areas of outwash
Sandur
A sandur is a glacial outwash plain formed of sediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier.- Formation :Sandar are found in glaciated areas, such as Svalbard, Kerguelen Islands, and Iceland...
, a glacial
Glaciology
Glaciology Glaciology Glaciology (from Middle French dialect (Franco-Provençal): glace, "ice"; or Latin: glacies, "frost, ice"; and Greek: λόγος, logos, "speech" lit...
plain
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
formed of sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
s deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
, are covered by forests.
Forests are an important part of the city character, they currently occupy approximately 1756 ha (4,339.2 acre) (17.2% of the administrative area of the city) which places it as the fifth most "wooded" city in Poland; behind Katowice (38%), Bydgoszcz (30%), Toruń (22.9%) and Gdańsk (17.6%).
Part of Knyszyn Forest
Puszcza Knyszynska Landscape Park
Puszcza Knyszyńska Landscape Park is a protected area in north-eastern Poland, established in 1988, covering an area of ....
is preserved within the city limits by two nature reserves—a total area of 105 ha (259.5 acre). The Zwierzyniecki Forest Nature Reserve , which is contained within the city limits, is a fragment, 33.48 ha (82.7 acre), of the riparian forest
Riparian forest
A riparian forest is a forested area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink or reservoir. -Etymology:...
with a dominant assemblage of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and hornbeam
Hornbeam
Hornbeams are relatively small hardwood trees in the genus Carpinus . Though some botanists grouped them with the hazels and hop-hornbeams in a segregate family, Corylaceae, modern botanists place the hornbeams in the birch subfamily Coryloideae...
. The Antoniuk Nature Reserve is a 70.07 ha (173.1 acre) park in the city that preserves the natural state of a forest fragment characteristic of the Białystok Upland, with a dominant mixed forest of hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
and spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
.
The 40 ha (98.8 acre) of forests lying in the vicinity of the Dojlidy Ponds are administered by the Central Sports and Recreation Center in Białystok ( – MOSiR). The Dojlidy Ponds recreation area includes a public beach, walking trails, birdwatching and fishing.
Climate
The city has a Warm Summer Continental or Hemiboreal
Hemiboreal
Hemiboreal means halfway between the temperate and subarctic zones. The term is most frequently used in the context of ecosystems.-Botany:...
climate (Dfb) according to the Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
system, characterized by warm temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. It is substantially different from most of the other Polish lowlands. The region is one of the coldest in Poland, with the average temperature in January being -6 °C. The average temperature in a year is 7 °C (45 °F). The number of frost days ranges from 50 to 60, with frost from 110 to 138 days and the duration of snow cover from 90 to 110 days. Mean annual rainfall values oscillate around 580 mm (22.8 in), and the vegetation period lasts 200 to 210 days.
Districts and Metropolitan Region
Districts of BiałystokThe city of Białystok is divided into 28 administrative units, known in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
as osiedla
Osiedle
Osiedle is a term used in Poland to denote a designated subdivision of a city or town, or of a dzielnica, with its own council and executive. Like the dzielnica and sołectwo, an osiedle is an auxiliary unit of a gmina. These units are created by decision of the gmina council, and do not have...
. The first 27 of these were created on October 25, 2004. The 28th, Dojlidy Górne
Dojlidy Górne
Dojlidy Gorne is one of the districts of the Polish city of Białystok, incorporated into the city limits in 2006. Formerly it was a village of the same name....
, was created by on October 23, 2006, out of three settlements which had been incorporated into the city: Dojlidy Górne, Kolonia Halickie, and Zagórki.
The center of the city, Osiedle Centrum, surrounds Lipowa Street, the main street
Main Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
of the city. Lipowa Street extends from Rynek Kościuszki (the corner of Spółdzielczej Street) to Plac Niepodległości im. Romana Dmowskiego (the corner of Krakowska Street). Over the centuries the name of this exclusive and elegant street has taken on a number of different names; Choroszcz
Choroszcz
Choroszcz is a town in north-eastern Poland.It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship , having previously been in Białystok Voivodeship ....
, Nowolipie, Lipowa, Jozef Pilsudski
Józef Pilsudski
Józef Klemens Piłsudski was a Polish statesman—Chief of State , "First Marshal" , and authoritarian leader of the Second Polish Republic. From mid-World War I he had a major influence in Poland's politics, and was an important figure on the European political scene...
, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Joseph Stalin, once again, to return, after the end of World War II, to its original name – Lipowa Street.
The city covers 10212 ha (25,234.4 acre) of which 3210 ha (7,932.1 acre) is agricultural land, 4889 ha (12,081 acre) is urbanized
Urbanized
Urbanized is a 2011 documentary film by Gary Hustwit released on 26 October 2011 and considered the third of a three-part series on design known as the Design Trilogy, the first being Helvetica about the typeface and the second being Objectified about industrial design.The documentary discusses...
areas, 85 ha (210 acre) is surface waters and 65 ha (160.6 acre) is wasteland. The composition of the districts vary from residential near the city center, with a combination of multi-story apartment buildings and individual houses on small parcels, to industrial and agricultural at the city edges.
Metropolitan Białystok
Metropolitan Białystok was designated by the Voivodeship of the Regulation No. 52/05 of 16 May 2005 to help develop the region economically. In 2006, the metropolitan area population was 450,254 inhabitants. The municipalities adjacent to Białystok are slowly losing their agricultural character, becoming residential suburban neighborhoods with single-family housing and small businesses.
Demographics
In June 2009, the population of the city was 294,399, among cities of Poland, Białystok is second in terms of population density, eleventh in population, and thirteenth in area.Historically, Białystok has been a destination for internal and foreign immigration, especially from Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. In addition to the Polish minority
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, there was a significant Jewish majority in Białystok. According to Russian census of 1897
Russian Empire Census
The Russian Imperial Census of 1897 was the first and the only census carried out in the Russian Empire . It recorded demographic data as of ....
, out of the total population of 66,000, Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
constituted 41,900 (around 63% percent). Białystok's pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Jewish population
Jewish population
Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world. Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of "Who is a Jew" is a source of controversy.-Total population:...
constituted about 63 percent of the city's total population of 107,000. World War II changed all of this, in 1939, around 107,000 people lived in Białystok, but in 1946 – only 56,759, and to this day there is much less ethnic diversity than in the previous 300 years of the city's history. Currently the city's population is 97% Polish, 2.5% Belarusian and 0.5% of a number of minorities including Russians, Lipka Tatars
Lipka Tatars
The Lipka Tatars are a group of Tatars who originally settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the beginning of 14th century. The first settlers tried to preserve their shamanistic religion and sought asylum amongst the non-Christian Lithuanians...
, Ukrainians and Romani. Most of the modern day population growth is based on internal migration within Poland and urbanization of surrounding areas.
Governance
City governmentBiałystok, like other major cities in Poland, is a city county
City county (Poland)
A city county is a city in Poland that has the status of a county . There are 65 of them in total. Sometimes a city county will also be referred to in Polish as ; this term however is not official...
. The Legislative power
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
in the city is vested in the unicameral
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
Białystok City Council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
, which has 28 members. Council members are elected directly every four years, one of whom is the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, or President of Białystok
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
. Like most legislative bodies, the City Council divides itself into committees which have the oversight of various functions of the city government. Bills passed by a simple majority are sent to the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, who may sign them into law. If the mayor vetoes a bill, the Council has 30 days to override the veto by a two-thirds majority
Supermajority
A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority . In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority...
vote. The current President of Białystok, elected for his first term in 2006, is Tadeusz Truskolaski
Tadeusz Truskolaski
Tadeusz Truskolaski is an economist, politician and Esperantist. A member of the Civic Platform party, he has been the president of the Polish city of Białystok since 5 December 2006, succeeding Ryszard Tur of the Christian National Union.-Academic career:Descended from the Polish...
won the elections as the Civic Platform
Civic Platform
Civic Platform , abbreviated to PO, is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Poland. It has been the major coalition partner in Poland's government since the 2007 general election, with party leader Donald Tusk as Prime Minister of Poland and Bronisław Komorowski as President...
's candidate, however, he has no official connection with the party. In the first round of the elections he received 49% of the votes (42,889 votes altogether). In the later runoff he defeated his rival candidate Marek Kozlowski from Law and Justice
Law and Justice
Law and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
, receiving 67% of the votes cast (53,018 votes).
For the 2010–2011 Fiscal year the city received revenue (taxes levied + investments) of 1,409,565,525 zł, expended 1,676,459,102 zł leaving a budget deficit of 266,893,577 zł. The deficit was covered by short-term borrowing of 166,893,577 zł and the issuance of 100 million zł in municipal bonds.
Other levels of governmental representation
It is also the seat of government for the Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
. The city is represented by several members of both houses of the Polish Parliament (Sejm and Senat) from the Białystok constituency
Białystok (parliamentary constituency)
Białystok constituency is a Polish parliamentary constituency that is coterminous with the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It elects fifteen members of the Sejm and three members of the Senate....
. Białystok is represented by the Podlaskie and Warmian-Masurian constituency
Podlaskie and Warmian-Masurian (European Parliament constituency)
In European elections, Podlaskie and Warmian-Masurian is a constituency of the European Parliament. It consists of the Podlaskie Voivodeship and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.- Nomenclature :...
of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
International relations
There are two consulates in Białystok, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
has a Consulate General and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
has an Honorary Consulate. The City of Białystok is a member of several organizations such as Union of Polish Metropolises , Euroregion Niemen, Polish Green Lungs Foundation (headquarters) and Eurocities
Eurocities
EUROCITIES is the network of major European cities.The EUROCITIES network was founded in 1986 by mayors from six large European cities:* Barcelona, Spain* Birmingham, United Kingdom* Frankfurt, Germany* Lyon, France* Milan, Italy* Rotterdam, Netherlands...
.
Military units
The 18th Reconnaissance Regiment18th Reconnaissance Regiment
18th Reconnaissance Regiment of the Polish Land Forces is based in Białystok. Its heritage was the former 18th Territorial Defense Battalion and prior the former 18th Mechanized Brigade....
of the Polish Land Forces
Polish Land Forces
The Polish Land Forces are a branch of Poland's Armed Forces. They currently contain some 65,000 active personnel and form many components of EU and NATO deployments around the world.-History:...
is based in Białystok. The heritage of the unit was the former 18th Territorial Defense Battalion and prior to that the former 18th Mechanized Brigade. December 31, 2001, as a result of the restructuring of the Armed Forces, 18th Mechanized Brigade was disbanded and in its place created the 18th Territorial Defense Battalion .
Historical Military Units
During December 1993 an order of the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces created the 18th Mechanized Brigade at the garrison in Białystok. The unit was formed from the 3rd Mechanized Regiment and was subordinated to the commander of the 1st Warsaw Mechanized Division . On December 31, 2001, as a result of the restructuring of the Armed Forces, the 18th Mechanized Brigade was disbanded and in its place was created the 18th Territorial Defense Battalion.
The Podlaska Cavalry Brigade
Podlaska Cavalry Brigade
The Podlaska Cavalry Brigade was a military unit of the Polish Army, created on April 1, 1937. Its headquarters were located in Białystok, it was based on the Cavalry Brigade "Białystok", existing between February 1929, and March 30, 1937.- History :In February 1929, the Polish Army created the...
was a military unit of the Polish Army, created on April 1, 1937. Its headquarters was located in Białystok and operated as part of Independent Operational Group Narew
Independent Operational Group Narew
Independent Operational Group Narew was one of the Polish Army Corps that defended Poland during the Invasion of Poland in 1939...
. It was formed from the Cavalry Brigade "Białystok", which existed between February 1929, and March 30, 1937. After the Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
, remnants of the Brigade fought both Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
troops, capitulating on October 6, 1939.
The Cavalry Brigade "Bialystok" (BK "Bialystok") of the Polish Army Second Republic was formed in February 1929. April 1, 1937 BK "Bialystok" was renamed the Podlaska Cavalry Brigade
Podlaska Cavalry Brigade
The Podlaska Cavalry Brigade was a military unit of the Polish Army, created on April 1, 1937. Its headquarters were located in Białystok, it was based on the Cavalry Brigade "Białystok", existing between February 1929, and March 30, 1937.- History :In February 1929, the Polish Army created the...
.
Economy
In the nineteenth century Białystok was an important center for light industry and was the reason for the substantial growth of the city's population. The tradition continued with many garment factories established in the twentieth century, such as Fasty in the district of BacieczkiBacieczki
Bacieczki is one of the districts of the Polish city of Białystok. The elevation is ....
. However, after the fall of communism in 1989 many of these factories faced severe problems and subsequently closed down.
The unemployment rate for February 2011 in Białystok was 13.2%. Which is about the average unemployment rate in Poland.
The 2009 average household had a monthly per capita income of 1018.77 zł and monthly per capita expenses of 823.56 zł
The city has a number of nearby border crossings. The border with Belarus is only 50 km (31.1 mi) away, the nearest border crossings are located in; Bobrowniki
Bobrowniki
Bobrowniki is a village in Lipno County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Bobrowniki. It lies approximately south-west of Lipno and south-east of Toruń...
(road crossing located about 50 km (31.1 mi) from the city limits), Kuźnica Białostocka (road and rail crossing located 60 km (37.3 mi) from the city limits), Siemianowka
Siemianówka
Siemianówka is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Narewka, within Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus....
(railway – freight traffic), Połowce (road) and Czeremcha (railway). Since the border with Belarus is also the eastern border of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, as well as the Schengen Area
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
the city is a center for trade in mainly from the east.
Industry
The leading industries in the city's economy are: food processing (production of meat products, fruit and vegetable products, the production of spirits, the production of frozen food, grain processing), electrical engineering (production tools and equipment for machine tools, production of electric heaters, manufacture and production mixers household appliances). There is also a developed machine industry (electronics, machinery and metal), plastic processing (production of household appliances), textiles (textiles and upholstery, manufacture of underwear, clothing accessories, footwear and backpacks), Wood (production plywood and furniture) building materials.
Some notable major employers who are based in Białystok include:
- Dojlidy BreweryDojlidy BreweryDojlidy Brewery or Browar Dojlidy as it is known in Polish is located in Białystok, Poland and is owned by Kompania Piwowarska SA, thr Polish subsidiary of SABMiller. The brewery was modernized between 1997 and 1999, then in 2003 it was purchased by Kompania Piwowarska SA.The Dojlidy Brewery used...
in the district of DojlidyDojlidyDojlidy is one of the districts of the Polish city of Białystok, formerly a village and farmlands. It is also known for its brewery, plywood factory and the Dojlidy fish ponds and recreation areas on the White River reservoirs. Until 1954 there was a Gmina Dojlidy, after which point it was...
produces the second most popular beerBeerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
in Poland, ZubrŻubr (beer)Żubr beer is a Polish lager brewed on from of barley malt by the company Kompania Piwowarska SA. It contains 12.1% of the extract and 6.0% alcohol. The brand has been promoted throughout the country by Kompania Piwowarska based on the product acquired in 2003 along with the Dojlidy Brewery in...
.
- Polmos BiałystokPolmos BiałystokPolmos Białystok is one of the largest producers of alcoholic beverages in Poland. As of 2010, the firm's president was Henryk Wnorowski. Between 2005 and 2007 the company's stock was traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange....
, the biggest vodkaVodkaVodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
manufacturer in Poland, is located in the city district of StarosielceStarosielceStarosielce is one of the districts of the City of Białystok, Poland....
. The company produces AbsolwentAbsolwentAbsolwent, a Polish luxury vodka manufactured since 1995 by Polmos Białystok. Produced as a 4-fold rectified grain high-end spirit.It occurs in several varieties: pure, flavor and Absolwent Gin....
and ŻubrówkaZubrówkaŻubrówka , also known in English as Buffalo Grass Vodka or Bison Grass Vodka, is a brand of dry, herb-flavored vodka that is distilled from rye and bottled at 40% alcohol by volume...
(bison grass vodka) – both major exports abroad.
- Standard Motor Products Poland Ltd. headquartered in Białystok began manufacturing ignition coils for original equipment manufacturers 30 years ago.
- "Supon" Białystok is the leading Polish producer of fire fighting equipment.
- SavaPol, Sp.z o.o. is a manufacturer of stationary and mobile concrete mixing equipment based in Białystok.
- Biazet S.A. is a large manufacture of household appliances, including vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, and LED lighting located in Białystok.
- Agnella, a major Polish producer of carpets and similar products is in Białystok, located in the district of BiałostoczekBiałostoczekBiałostoczek was a village in Poland that was incorporated, on 10 May 1919, into the city of Białystok as Osiedle Białostoczek....
.
- Rosti (Polska) Sp. z o.o., has provided for more than 60 years precision injection molded products for some of the world's leading brands.
- Biaglass Huta Szkla Białystok Sp. z o.o.,established in 1929, produces mouth blown glass lampshades and related products. Biaglass belongs to elite group of Glass Works in Europe, where 100% of the lighting glass is mouth-blown.
- Chłodnia Białystok S.A (Cold Store Białystok S.A.), established in 1952, is one of the largest Polish producers of frozen vegetables, fruits and ready-to-heat meals.
- Podlaskie Zakłady Zbożowe S.A. was established on 1 July 2000 as a result of privatizing The Regional Establishment of Corn and Milling Industry 'PZZ' in Białystok. It is one of the leading firm in Podlaskie region in the department of preservation and processing of grain with in elevators in Białystok, GrajewoGrajewoGrajewo , is a town in north-eastern Poland with 23,302 inhabitants .It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship ; previously, it was in Łomża Voivodeship...
and SuwalkiSuwalkiSuwałki is a town in northeastern Poland with 69,340 inhabitants . The Czarna Hańcza river flows through the town. It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centres of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Until 1999 the town was the capital of Suwałki Voivodeship...
.
Culture
Białystok is one of the largest cultural centers in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The attractions include performing arts groups, art museums, historical museums, walking tours of architectural / cultural aspects and a wide variety of parks and green spaces. Białystok in 2010 was on the short-list, but ultimately lost the competition, to become a finalist for European Capital of CultureEuropean Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
in 2016.
Performing Arts
The city has a number of performing arts facilities including:
The Białystok Puppet Theater , established in 1953, is one of the oldest Polish puppet theaters. The facility is located at Kalinowskiego 1 in Białystok. The repertoire includes performances for both children and puppet adaptations of world literature for adults. Because of the high artistic level of productions, the theater has been recognized as one of the best puppetry arts centers in Poland.
The Aleksandra Węgierki Drama Theatre. Housed in a building designed by Jarosław Girina, built in the years 1933–1938.
Museums
There are a number of museums in the city including:
The Historical Museum in Białystok is part of the Podlaskie Museum. The facility has a rich collection of archival materials and iconography illustrating the history of Białystok and Podlasie, and a number of middle-class cultural relics, especially in the field of craft utility. There are also the Numismatic Cabinet of the collection of 16 000 coins, medals and securities. The museum is in possession of the only collections in the country memorabilia connected with the Tatar settlement on the Polish–Lithuanian–Belarusian region.
The Army Museum in Białystok was established in September 1968 as a branch of the Podlaskie Museum to house the research and collections of many people connected with military history of north-eastern Poland.
Parks and green spaces
Around 32% of the city is occupied by parks, squares and forest preserves which creates a unique and healthy climate. The green spaces include:
Branicki Palace is a historical edifice and 9.7 ha (24 acre) park in Białystok. It was developed on the site of an earlier building in the first half of the eighteenth century by Jan Klemens Branicki
Jan Klemens Branicki
Count Jan Klemens Branicki was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown Hetman between 1752 and 1771....
, a wealthy Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
, into a residence
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
suitable for a man whose ambition was to be elected king of Poland. The palace complex with gardens
Garden à la française
The French formal garden, also called jardin à la française, is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order over nature. It reached its apogee in the 17th century with the creation of the Gardens of Versailles, designed for Louis XIV by the landscape architect André Le...
, pavillons
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
, sculptures
Garden sculpture
The predominant garden types in the ancient world were domestic gardens and sacred gardens. Sculpture of gods and kings were placed in temple compounds, along with sacred lakes and sacred groves. It is not known whether statues were placed in Greek domestic gardens but the Romans transported a...
, outbuildings and other structures and the city with churches, city hall and monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, all built almost at the same time according to French models was the reason why the city was known in the eighteenth century as Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
of Podlaskie .
Planty is a 14.94 ha (36.9 acre) park created between 1930 and 1938, under the auspices of the then Voivode Kościałkowskiego Mariana Zyndrama in the areas adjacent to Branicki Palace. The modernist composition of the park was designed by Stanislav Gralla.
Architecture
The various historically driven changes have had a very significant influence on the architectural space of the city. Most other Polish cities have suffered similarly, but the processes in Białystok, have had a particularly intense course. Numerous historic works of architecture no longer exist, while many others have been rebuilt to their original configuration. Very few historic buildings of the city have been preserved – the sights are merely an echo of the old historical shape of Białystok.
Sports
The city has both professional and amateur sports teams, and a number of venues where they are based. Jagiellonia Białystok is a PolishPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
football club, based in Białystok, in the Ekstraklasa League that plays at the Białystok City Stadium. Jagiellonia Białystok won the Polish Cup in 2010, Super Cup and qualified to play in the third round qualification of the UEFA Europa League. A new 22,500 seat stadium is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
Hetman Białystok (formerly known as Gwardia Białystok) is a Polish football club based in Podlaskie Voivodeship. They play in the Division IV or the (4th) League at the Białystok City Stadium.
Lowlanders Białystok is a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
club, based in Białystok, that plays in the Polish American Football League
Polish American Football League
The Polish American Football League or shortly PLFA is a structured system for the american football competitions in Poland founded in 2006 by Polish federation PZFA. Since 2008 season, PLFA is divided into two leagues between which there is promotion and relegation...
PLFA I Conference. The Lowlanders were the champions of the PLFA II Conference in 2010 with a perfect season (8 wins in eight meetings). Because of the win they were advanced to the upper conference (PLFA I) in 2011.
Media
Białystok has a wide variety of media outlets serving the city and surrounding region. There are two locally published daily newspapers, Gazeta WspółczesnaGazeta Współczesna
Gazeta Współczesna is a daily newspaper in the city of Białystok, Poland. It is also a daily newspaper in the Podlasie region. The English translation is "The Modern Newspaper". There are two other newspapers in the city of Białystok and they are called Kurier Poranny and Teraz Białystok.It was...
(36.3% market share) and Kurier Poranny
Kurier Poranny (modern)
Kurier Poranny is a daily newspaper located in Białystok, Poland. It was founded in 1990. It is also a daily newspaper in the Podlasie region. The English translation is "Morning Courier". There are also two other newspapers in the city of Białystok...
(20.3% market share). In addition two national papers have local bureaus. There are a number of national and locally produced television and radio channels available both over-the-air from the nearby RTCN Białystok (Krynice) Mast, the seventh highest structure in Poland, in addition to transmitter sites within the city. There is also a cable television system available within the city. The city has two campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
stations; Radiosupeł at the Medical University of Białystok and Radio Akadera at Białystok Technical University.
Religion
In the early 1900s, Białystok was reputed to have the largest concentration of Jews of all the cities in the world. In 1931, 40,000 Jews lived in the city, nearly half the city's inhabitants.The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Białystok. Pope John Paul II on 5 June 1991, during a visit to Białystok, announced the establishment of the Archdiocese of Białystok which ended the period of the temporary church administration of the portion of the Archdiocese of Vilnius that had, after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, remained within the Polish borders. The city is also the seat of the Białystok-Gdansk Diocese of the Autocephalous Polish Orthodox Church
Polish Orthodox Church
The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, , is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches in full communion...
. Białystok is the largest concentration of Orthodox believers in Poland. In Białystok, the following Protestant churches exist: a Lutheran parish, two Pentecostal churches, Baptist church, a congregation of the Church of God in Christ and a Seventh Day Adventist church.
Transport
The city is, and has been for centuries, the main hub of transportation for the Podlaskie VoivodeshipPodlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
and the entire northeastern section of Poland. It is a major city on the European Union roadways (Via Baltica) and railways (Rail Baltica
Rail Baltica
thumb|300px|Map of Rail Baltica...
) to the Baltic Republics and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. It is also a main gateway of trade with Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
due to its proximity to the border and its current and longstanding relationship with Hrodno, Belarus.
Railways
Passenger trains connect from Suvalki, Hrodno and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and the rest of the European passenger network. Passenger services are provided by two rail service providers, PKP Intercity
PKP Intercity
PKP Intercity is a company of PKP Group responsible for long-distance passenger transport. It runs about 350 trains daily, connecting mainly large aglomerations and smaller towns, also servicing most of the international trains....
that provides intercity passengers trains (express, intercity, eurocity, hotel and TLK) and Przewozy Regionalne that operates only regional passenger trains financed by the voivodeship
Voivodeship
Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....
. Passenger trains are mostly run using electrical multiple units (on electrified lines) or rail buses.
Buses
There is an extensive bus network that covers the entire city by three bus services, but no tram or subway exists. The three bus operators are partially owned by the city (KPKM, KPK and KZK) and each shares approximately a third of the lines and the bus fleet.
Roads and highways
The National Roads
National roads in Poland
National road in Poland refers to a public trunk road controlled by the Polish central government authority, the General Directorship of National Roads and Motorways...
running through Białystok:: Polowce
Polowce
Połowce is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czeremcha, within Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It lies approximately south of Czeremcha, south-west of Hajnówka, and south of the regional capital Białystok.The...
(Belarus–Polish border) – Bielsk Podlaski
Bielsk Podlaski
-Roads and Highways:Bielsk Podlaski is at the intersection of two National Road and a Voivodeship Road:* National Road 19 - Kuźnica Białystoka Border Crossing - Kuźnica - Białystok - Bielsk Podlaski - Siemiatycze - Międzyrzec Podlaski - Kock - Lubartów - Lublin - Kraśnik - Janów Lubelski - Nisko...
– Białystok – Kuznica
Kuznica
Kuźnica is a popular Polish sea side resort, a part of the town of Jastarnia. Located between Chałupy and Jastarnia on the Hel Peninsula on the southern Baltic Sea in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland....
(Belarus–Polish border): Goldap
Goldap
Gołdap is a town and the seat of Gołdap County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland. It is located on the Gołdapa River, between the Wzgórza Szeskie hills and the Puszcza Romincka forest. It has a population of 13,703...
(Russia–Polish border)-Elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
-Białystok-Bobrowniki
Bobrowniki
Bobrowniki is a village in Lipno County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Bobrowniki. It lies approximately south-west of Lipno and south-east of Toruń...
(Belarus-Polish border) / : Budziska (Polish–Lithuania border) – Białystok – Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
– Wrocław – Kudowa Zdrój (Czech–Polish border)
Airports
A civil airport, Białystok-Krywlany Airport
Białystok-Krywlany Airport
Białystok-Krywlany Airport is an airport that serves Białystok, Poland.-History:The first plane piloted over Bialystok in 1910, Earl Michael Scipio del Campo, in the course of World War I hung over the city the German Zeppelins....
, lies within the city limits, but does not provide regularly scheduled service. There are plans to build a new regional airport, Białystok-Saniki Airport, in the next few years that will provide flights within Europe.
Education
Higher education in the city can be traced back to the second half of the eighteenth century when the ownership of the city was inherited by Field Crown HetmanHetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Jan Klemens Branicki
Jan Klemens Branicki
Count Jan Klemens Branicki was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown Hetman between 1752 and 1771....
. As a patron of the arts and sciences, Branicki encouraged numerous artists and scientists to settle in Białystok to take advantage of Branicki's patronage. In 1745 Branicki established Poland's first military college, the School of Civil and Military Engineering, in the city.
Since the fall of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
many private-funded institutions of higher educations were founded and their number is still increasing. Currently Białystok is home to one principal public university
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
(University of Białystok) and two other public specialist universities (Białystok Technical University and Medical University of Białystok). Some institutions, such as Musical Academy in Białystok, are branches of their parent institutions in other cities, usually in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
Notable residents
Over the centuries Białystok has produced a number of persons who have provided unique contributions to the fields of science, language, politics, religion, sports, visual arts and performing arts. This environment was created in the mid eighteenth century by the patronage of Jan Klemens Branicki
Jan Klemens Branicki
Count Jan Klemens Branicki was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown Hetman between 1752 and 1771....
for the arts and sciences. A list of recent notable persons includes, but is not limited to; Ryszard Kaczorowski
Ryszard Kaczorowski
Ryszard Kaczorowski was a Polish statesman. Between 1989 and 1990 he served as the last President of Poland in exile. He succeeded Kazimierz Sabbat and resigned his post following Poland's regaining independence from the Soviet sphere of influence and election of Lech Wałęsa as the first ...
, last émigré President of the Republic of Poland
President of the Republic of Poland
The President of the Republic of Poland is the Polish head of state. His or her rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Poland....
, L. L. Zamenhof
L. L. Zamenhof
Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof December 15, 1859 – April 14, 1917) was the inventor of Esperanto, the most successful constructed language designed for international communication.-Cultural background:...
, the creator of Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
, Albert Sabin
Albert Sabin
Albert Bruce Sabin was an American medical researcher best known for having developed an oral polio vaccine.-Life:...
, co-developer of the polio vaccine
Polio vaccine
Two polio vaccines are used throughout the world to combat poliomyelitis . The first was developed by Jonas Salk and first tested in 1952. Announced to the world by Salk on April 12, 1955, it consists of an injected dose of inactivated poliovirus. An oral vaccine was developed by Albert Sabin...
, Izabella Scorupco
Izabella Scorupco
Izabella Scorupco is a Polish-Swedish actress and model, best known for her portrayal of Bond girl Natalya Simonova in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.- Biography :...
, actress, Max Weber
Max Weber (artist)
For the social theorist and philosopher, see Max WeberMax Weber was a Jewish-American painter who worked in the style of cubism before migrating to Jewish themes towards the end of his life.-Biography:...
, painter