Piotrków Trybunalski
Encyclopedia
Piotrków Trybunalski ' (also known by alternative names) is a city
in central Poland
with 80,738 inhabitants (2005). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), and previously was the capital of Piotrków Voivodeship
(1975–1998). It is the capital of Piotrków County
.
. The name of the city comes from the Polish
version of the name Peter (Piotr), in a diminutive form (Piotrek, or "Pete"). The town has been known in Yiddish
as פּעטריקעװ or Petrikev, in German
as Petrikau, and in Russian
as Петроков or Petrokov.
Two rivers cross the region, the Wolbórka and the Luciąża, which with their tributaries flow into the Pilica River and belong to the catchment area of the Vistula River. The watershed of Poland's two main rivers, the Vistula and the Oder (Odra), runs along the meridional line three km west of Piotrków. Two small rivers, the Strawa and the Strawka flow through the city, and it is between their valleys that the first settlement of Piotrków was founded in the early Middle Ages
. Recently two more rivers were included within the boundary of the city area- the Wierzejka, which in the west part of the city forms a reservoir, and the Śrutowy Dołek to the south of Piotrków.
The city is 200 m (656.17 ft) above sea level
. The average temperature during the year is about 8'C, the coldest month is January (from −20'C to −2,5'C), the warmest is July (with 18'C on average). Yearly rainfall is from 550 mm to 600 mm. The sandy soil of the region is not fertile.
. Around 1264 it became part of a separate principality. The foundation of the city and its development were connected with its geographical position and an advantageous arrangement of the roads linking the provinces of Poland in the Piast times. At first a market town and a place of the princes' tribunal
s (in the 13th and 15th centuries), Piotrków became an administrative centre (the capital of the district since 1418), and in the later centuries it also became an important political centre in Poland. The first record of Piotrków is included in a document issued in 1217 by the Prince of Kraków
, Leszek I the White
, where there is a mention of the prince's tribunal held "in Petrecoue". Medieval Piotrków was a trading place on trade routes from Pomerania
to Russia
and Hungary
, and later from Masovia to Silesia
.
During the 13th century, apart from the tribunals, Polish provincial princes made Piotrków a seat of a few assemblies of the Sieradz
knights, which according to historical sources were held in 1233, in 1241, and in 1291. It might have been during the 1291 assembly that the Prince of Sieradz, Władysław I the Elbow-high, granted Piotrków civic rights
, because in documents from the beginning of the 14th century he mentions "civitate nostra Petricouiensi".
The first foundation certificate and the other documents were burnt in a great fire which destroyed the city around 1400. The privileges and rights were re-granted by King Władysław II Jagiełło
in 1404. The city walls were built during the reign of King Casimir III, and after the great fire they were rebuilt at the beginning of the 15th century. During the reign of Casimir III, many expelled German
Jews from the Holy Roman Empire
immigrated to the town, which grew to have one of the largest Jewish settlements in the kingdom.
Between 1354 and 1567 the city held general assemblies of Polish knights, and general or elective meetings of the Polish Sejm (during the latter Polish kings of the Jagiellon dynasty
were elected there). It was in the city of Piotrków that the Polish Parliament was given its final structure with the division into Upper House and Lower Chamber in 1493. King John I Albert
published his "Piotrków privilege" on May 26, 1493, which expanded the privileges of the szlachta
at the expense of the bourgeoisie
and the peasantry.
Piotrków became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569. When the seat of the Parliament was moved to Warsaw
, the town became the seat of the highest court of Poland, the Royal Tribunal, and trials were held there from 1578–1793; the highest Lithuanian court was held in Hrodna (Grodno)
. Piotrków's Jewish population was expelled in 1578 and only allowed back a century later. The town became a post station in 1684. Around 1705, German settlers (often Swabia
ns) arrived in the town's vicinity and founded villages; they largely retained their customs and language until 1945
.
While the importance of Piotrków in the political life of the country had contributed to its development in the 16th century, the city declined in the 17th and 18th centuries, due to fires, epidemics, wars against Sweden, and finally the Partitions of Poland
.
The first official inventory of important buildings in Poland, A General View of the Nature of Ancient Monuments in the Kingdom of Poland, led by Kazimierz Stronczynski from 1844–55, describes the Great Synagogue (Piotrków Trybunalski)
as one of Poland's architecturally notable buildings.
annexed the town in the Second Partition of Poland and administered it in the Province of South Prussia
. During the Napoleonic Wars
, Piotrków became part of the Duchy of Warsaw
(1807–15) and was a district seat in the Kalisz Department
. After the defeat of Napoleon
in 1815, Piotrków became part Congress Poland
, a puppet state of the Russian Empire
. The town was made the seat of an oblast
.
When the Warsaw
-Vienna
railway was built in 1846, there was a slight increase in the economic and industrial development of Piotrków. In 1867 Russian authorities formed the Oblast
(province) of Piotrków, which included within Łódź, Częstochowa
, and the coal fields of Dąbrowa Górnicza
and Sosnowiec
.
According to Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 30,800, Jews constituted 9,500 (around 31% percent).
The province had the best developed industry of all of Congress Poland until 1914. Many Poles demonstrated and went on strike during the Russian Revolution of 1905.
During World War I
, Piotrków was occupied by Austria–Hungary. From 1915–16, it was a centre for Polish patriotic activity. The city was a seat of the Military Department of National Committee, and headquarters for the Polish Legions, which were voluntary troops organized by Józef Piłsudski, Władysław Sikorski, and others to fight against Russia. Piotrków was made part of the Second Polish Republic
following the defeat of the Central Powers
in the war.
In the interwar period
, Piotrków was the capital of Piotrków County
in the Łódź Voivodeship, and it lost its previous importance. In 1938 the town had 51,000 inhabitants, including 25,000 Jews and 1,500 Germans. The town had a large Jewish settlement and a thriving Hebrew
printing and publishing industry until the Holocaust
.
During the invasion of Poland
at the beginning of World War II
, Piotrków was the setting for fierce fighting between the Polish 19th Infantry Division and the 16th Panzer
Corps of the German Wehrmacht
on September 5, 1939. The town was occupied by Nazi Germany
for the following six years.
Piotrków had the first ghetto
for Jews in occupied Poland, built as early as October 1939. Approximately 25,000 people from Piotrków and the nearby towns and villages were imprisoned there. During the Holocaust
22,000 were sent to the Treblinka extermination camp
, while 3,000 were imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps
.
From the first months of the war, Piotrków was a centre for underground resistance
. Since the spring of 1940, it was the seat of the district headquarters of the Armia Krajowa
, or Home Army. In the summer of 1944, the 25th infantry regiment of the Home Army was formed in the district; it was the biggest military unit of the Łódź Voivodeship, and it fought against Germans until November 1944. In the city and in the district, there were also other partisan groups: Military Troops (connected with the Polish Socialist Party
), People's Guard and People's Army (Polish Workers' Party
), Peasants' Battalions (Polish People's Party), National Military Organization and National Armed Forces (National Party
).
On January 18, 1945, the Soviet
Red Army
entered the city, dislodging the German troops. Anti-communist partisans
continued to fight in the vicinity in the following years. From 1949–70, Piotrków was built into an industrial center.
Piotrków was the capital of the district, within the Łódź Voivodeship, until 1975. Then, following the changes in the administrative division of the country, the city became the capital of the new Piotrków Voivodeship
, thus regaining the status of an important administrative, educational and cultural centre of Poland. In 1999, the Piotrków Voivodeship was dissolved and Piotrków became the capital of Piotrków County within the Łódź Voivodeship.
.
: Gdańsk
– Cieszyn
, (planned motorway A1) part of European route E75
Kudowa-Zdrój
– Budzisko
, (planned expressway S8) part of European route E67
Łęknica – Dorohusk
For more information about these roads see National roads in Poland
.
about 133 km from Piotrków and Katowice International Airport
about 137 km from Piotrków.
. There is high concentration of warehouses and distribution centres around the city. The biggest distribution centres are:
In Piotrków are also located:
many small and medium sewing factories.
(1992 r.) – Maladzyechna
(1996 r.) – Rivne
(1997 r.) – Velenje
(1998 r.) – Mosonmagyaróvár
(2001 r.) – Marijampolė
(2002 r.) – Vienne, Isère
(2005 r.) – Neath Port Talbot
(2007 r.)
Partnership: – Udine
– Schiedam
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in central 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...
with 80,738 inhabitants (2005). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), and previously was the capital of Piotrków Voivodeship
Piotrków Voivodeship
Piotrków Voivodeship was a voivodeship, or unit of administrative division and local government, in Poland from 1975 to 1998, superseded by Łódź Voivodeship...
(1975–1998). It is the capital of Piotrków County
Piotrków County
Piotrków County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Piotrków Trybunalski, although the...
.
Etymology and other names
According to tradition, but not confirmed by historical sources, Piotrków was founded by Piotr Włostowic, a powerful 12th century magnate from SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
. The name of the city comes from the 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...
version of the name Peter (Piotr), in a diminutive form (Piotrek, or "Pete"). The town has been known in Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
as פּעטריקעװ or Petrikev, in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as Petrikau, and in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
as Петроков or Petrokov.
Location, demographics and statistics
Piotrków Trybunalski is situated in the middle-west part (Piotrków Uplands) of the Łódź Uplands. The population of the city is approximately 80,000 and its area is nearly 68 km². The scenery of the Piotrków region and its geological structure were formed during the glaciation of 180,000–128,000 years ago. There are hardly any forests across the Piotrków Plains.Two rivers cross the region, the Wolbórka and the Luciąża, which with their tributaries flow into the Pilica River and belong to the catchment area of the Vistula River. The watershed of Poland's two main rivers, the Vistula and the Oder (Odra), runs along the meridional line three km west of Piotrków. Two small rivers, the Strawa and the Strawka flow through the city, and it is between their valleys that the first settlement of Piotrków was founded in the early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
. Recently two more rivers were included within the boundary of the city area- the Wierzejka, which in the west part of the city forms a reservoir, and the Śrutowy Dołek to the south of Piotrków.
The city is 200 m (656.17 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...
. The average temperature during the year is about 8'C, the coldest month is January (from −20'C to −2,5'C), the warmest is July (with 18'C on average). Yearly rainfall is from 550 mm to 600 mm. The sandy soil of the region is not fertile.
Premodern history
In the early Middle Ages the Piotrków region was included in the province of Łęczyca owned by the Piast dynastyPiast dynasty
The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great...
. Around 1264 it became part of a separate principality. The foundation of the city and its development were connected with its geographical position and an advantageous arrangement of the roads linking the provinces of Poland in the Piast times. At first a market town and a place of the princes' tribunal
Tribunal
A tribunal in the general sense is any person or institution with the authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title....
s (in the 13th and 15th centuries), Piotrków became an administrative centre (the capital of the district since 1418), and in the later centuries it also became an important political centre in Poland. The first record of Piotrków is included in a document issued in 1217 by the Prince of Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Leszek I the White
Leszek I the White
Leszek I the White , also listed by some sources as Leszek II the White, was Prince of Sandomierz and High Duke of Poland from 1194 until his death, except for the short periods following when he was deposed as Polish ruler...
, where there is a mention of the prince's tribunal held "in Petrecoue". Medieval Piotrków was a trading place on trade routes from Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and later from Masovia to Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
.
During the 13th century, apart from the tribunals, Polish provincial princes made Piotrków a seat of a few assemblies of the Sieradz
Sieradz
Sieradz is a town on the Warta river in central Poland with 44,326 inhabitants . It is situated in the Łódź Voivodship , but was previously the eponymous capital of the Sieradz Voivodship , and historically one of the minor duchies in Greater Poland.It is one of the oldest towns in Poland,...
knights, which according to historical sources were held in 1233, in 1241, and in 1291. It might have been during the 1291 assembly that the Prince of Sieradz, Władysław I the Elbow-high, granted Piotrków civic rights
German town law
German town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
, because in documents from the beginning of the 14th century he mentions "civitate nostra Petricouiensi".
The first foundation certificate and the other documents were burnt in a great fire which destroyed the city around 1400. The privileges and rights were re-granted by King Władysław II Jagiełło
Jogaila
Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
in 1404. The city walls were built during the reign of King Casimir III, and after the great fire they were rebuilt at the beginning of the 15th century. During the reign of Casimir III, many expelled German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Jews from the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
immigrated to the town, which grew to have one of the largest Jewish settlements in the kingdom.
Between 1354 and 1567 the city held general assemblies of Polish knights, and general or elective meetings of the Polish Sejm (during the latter Polish kings of the Jagiellon dynasty
Jagiellon dynasty
The Jagiellonian dynasty was a royal dynasty originating from the Lithuanian House of Gediminas dynasty that reigned in Central European countries between the 14th and 16th century...
were elected there). It was in the city of Piotrków that the Polish Parliament was given its final structure with the division into Upper House and Lower Chamber in 1493. King John I Albert
John I Albert of Poland
John I Albert was King of Poland and Duke of Głogów .-Life:John was the third son of Casimir IV Jagiellon, King of Poland, and Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of Albert II of Germany. As crown prince, he distinguished himself by his brilliant victory over the Tatars at Kopersztyn...
published his "Piotrków privilege" on May 26, 1493, which expanded the privileges of the szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
at the expense of the bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
and the peasantry.
Piotrków became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569. When the seat of the Parliament was moved 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...
, the town became the seat of the highest court of Poland, the Royal Tribunal, and trials were held there from 1578–1793; the highest Lithuanian court was held in Hrodna (Grodno)
Hrodna
Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
. Piotrków's Jewish population was expelled in 1578 and only allowed back a century later. The town became a post station in 1684. Around 1705, German settlers (often Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
ns) arrived in the town's vicinity and founded villages; they largely retained their customs and language until 1945
Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II
The flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland was the largest of a series of flights and expulsions of Germans in Europe during and after World War II...
.
While the importance of Piotrków in the political life of the country had contributed to its development in the 16th century, the city declined in the 17th and 18th centuries, due to fires, epidemics, wars against Sweden, and finally the Partitions of Poland
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...
.
The first official inventory of important buildings in Poland, A General View of the Nature of Ancient Monuments in the Kingdom of Poland, led by Kazimierz Stronczynski from 1844–55, describes the Great Synagogue (Piotrków Trybunalski)
Great Synagogue (Piotrków Trybunalski)
The Great Synagogue in Piotrków Trybunalski, , was built between 1791-1793 and designed by David Friedlander. The synagogue was devastated by Nazis during the World War II...
as one of Poland's architecturally notable buildings.
Modern history
In 1793, the Kingdom of PrussiaKingdom 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...
annexed the town in the Second Partition of Poland and administered it in the Province of South Prussia
South Prussia
South Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1793 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Second Partition of Poland and included in 1793*the Poznań, Kalisz and Gniezno Voivodeships of Greater Poland;...
. During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, Piotrków became part of the Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
(1807–15) and was a district seat in the Kalisz Department
Kalisz Department
Kalisz Department was a unit of administrative division and local government in Polish Duchy of Warsaw in years 1806–1815.Its capital city was Kalisz, and the area was further subdivided onto 13 powiats....
. After the defeat of Napoleon
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...
in 1815, Piotrków became part Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
, a puppet state of 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...
. The town was made the seat of an oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
.
When the 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...
-Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
railway was built in 1846, there was a slight increase in the economic and industrial development of Piotrków. In 1867 Russian authorities formed the Oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
(province) of Piotrków, which included within Łódź, Częstochowa
Czestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
, and the coal fields of Dąbrowa Górnicza
Dabrowa Górnicza
Dąbrowa Górnicza is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland, nearby Katowice. The north-east district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of almost 3 millions...
and Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a combined population of over two million people located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river .It is situated in...
.
According to Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 30,800, Jews constituted 9,500 (around 31% percent).
The province had the best developed industry of all of Congress Poland until 1914. Many Poles demonstrated and went on strike during the Russian Revolution of 1905.
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...
, Piotrków was occupied by Austria–Hungary. From 1915–16, it was a centre for Polish patriotic activity. The city was a seat of the Military Department of National Committee, and headquarters for the Polish Legions, which were voluntary troops organized by Józef Piłsudski, Władysław Sikorski, and others to fight against Russia. Piotrków was made part of the 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...
following the defeat of the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
in the war.
In the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
, Piotrków was the capital of Piotrków County
Piotrków County
Piotrków County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Piotrków Trybunalski, although the...
in the Łódź Voivodeship, and it lost its previous importance. In 1938 the town had 51,000 inhabitants, including 25,000 Jews and 1,500 Germans. The town had a large Jewish settlement and a thriving Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
printing and publishing industry until the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
.
During the invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
at 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...
, Piotrków was the setting for fierce fighting between the Polish 19th Infantry Division and the 16th Panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
Corps of the German 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:...
on September 5, 1939. The town was occupied by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
for the following six years.
Piotrków had the first ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
for Jews in occupied Poland, built as early as October 1939. Approximately 25,000 people from Piotrków and the nearby towns and villages were imprisoned there. During the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
22,000 were sent 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...
, while 3,000 were imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
.
From the first months of the war, Piotrków was a centre for underground resistance
Polish resistance movement in World War II
The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...
. Since the spring of 1940, it was the seat of the district headquarters of the Armia Krajowa
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
, or Home Army. In the summer of 1944, the 25th infantry regiment of the Home Army was formed in the district; it was the biggest military unit of the Łódź Voivodeship, and it fought against Germans until November 1944. In the city and in the district, there were also other partisan groups: Military Troops (connected with the Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
), People's Guard and People's Army (Polish Workers' Party
Polish Workers' Party
The Polish Workers' Party was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland, and merged with the Polish Socialist Party in 1948 to form the Polish United Workers' Party.-History:...
), Peasants' Battalions (Polish People's Party), National Military Organization and National Armed Forces (National Party
National Party (Poland)
Stronnictwo Narodowe was a Polish political party formed on 7 October 1928 after the transformation of National Populist Union. It gathered together most of the political forces of Poland's National Democracy right-wing political camp. SN was one of the main opponents of the Sanacja regime...
).
On January 18, 1945, the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
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...
entered the city, dislodging the German troops. Anti-communist partisans
Cursed soldiers
The cursed soldiers is a name applied to a variety of Polish resistance movements formed in the later stages of World War II and afterwards. Created by some members of the Polish Secret State, these clandestine organizations continued their armed struggle against the Stalinist government of Poland...
continued to fight in the vicinity in the following years. From 1949–70, Piotrków was built into an industrial center.
Piotrków was the capital of the district, within the Łódź Voivodeship, until 1975. Then, following the changes in the administrative division of the country, the city became the capital of the new Piotrków Voivodeship
Piotrków Voivodeship
Piotrków Voivodeship was a voivodeship, or unit of administrative division and local government, in Poland from 1975 to 1998, superseded by Łódź Voivodeship...
, thus regaining the status of an important administrative, educational and cultural centre of Poland. In 1999, the Piotrków Voivodeship was dissolved and Piotrków became the capital of Piotrków County within the Łódź Voivodeship.
Sports
- Piotrcovia Piotrków TrybunalskiPiotrcovia Piotrków TrybunalskiPiotrcovia Piotrków Trybunalski is a Polish women's handball team, based in Piotrków Trybunalski, playing in Polish Ekstraklasa Women's Handball League .-See also:* Handball in Poland* Sports in Poland...
– women's handballHandball in PolandHandball is a popular team sport in Poland.* Polish Seria A Handball League* Polish Seria B Handball League* Polish Seria A Women's Handball League* Polish Seria B Women's Handball League* Polish Cup in men handball* Polish Cup in women handball...
team playing in Polish Ekstraklasa Women's Handball LeaguePolish Ekstraklasa Women's Handball League-History:* 1939 - Znicz Łódź* 1946 - Zryw Łódź* 1947 - Zryw Łódź* 1948 - SKS Warszawa* 1949 - Unia Łódź* 1950 - Spójnia Warszawa* 1951 - Unia Łódź* 1952 - Unia Łódź* 1953 - not held* 1954 - not held* 1955 - Stal Chorzów* 1956 - Stal Chorzów...
: 2nd place in 2006/2007 season. - Concordia Piotrków TrybunalskiConcordia Piotrków TrybunalskiConcordia Piotrków Trybunalski is a football club based in Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland. Concordia was established in 1909, and is the sixth oldest Polish football club in existence.Concordia currently plays in the Polish 3rd division.- Current squad :...
– men's football team playing in 3rd league: 3rd place in 2006/2007 season. - Focus Park - Kiper Piotrków Trybunalski – men's Handball in PolandHandball in PolandHandball is a popular team sport in Poland.* Polish Seria A Handball League* Polish Seria B Handball League* Polish Seria A Women's Handball League* Polish Seria B Women's Handball League* Polish Cup in men handball* Polish Cup in women handball...
team playing in Polish Ekstraklasa Men's Handball League : 5th place in 2006/2007 season.
Educational institutions
- Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa
- Wyższa Szkoła Kupiecka in Łódź, branch in Piotrków
- Jan Kochanowski UniversityJan Kochanowski UniversityThe Jan Kochanowski University of Humanities and Sciences in Kielce formerly the Świętokrzyska Academy is a public university in Kielce, Poland, dating its tradition to an educational institution established in 1945.-External links:...
in KielceKielceKielce ) is a city in central Poland with 204,891 inhabitants . It is also the capital city of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship since 1999, previously in Kielce Voivodeship...
, branch in Piotrków
Transportation
Piotrków lies almost in the center of PolandPoland
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...
.
Roads
In Piotrków cross three national roadsNational 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...
: Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
– Cieszyn
Cieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
, (planned motorway A1) part of European route E75
European route E75
European route E 75 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe.The E 75 starts from Vardø, Norway in the Barents Sea and runs south through Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Republic of Macedonia to Sitia, Greece on...
Kudowa-Zdrój
Kudowa-Zdrój
Kudowa-Zdrój is a town situated in the foothills of the Stołowe Mountains in the southwestern part of Poland, in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, about 400 m above sea level. It has a population of about 10,000...
– Budzisko
Budzisko
Budzisko is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Szypliszki, within Suwałki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Lithuania. It lies approximately north of Szypliszki, north-east of Suwałki, and north of the regional capital...
, (planned expressway S8) part of European route E67
European route E67
European route E 67 is a E-road running from Prague in the Czech Republic to Helsinki in Finland by way of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia....
Łęknica – Dorohusk
Dorohusk
Dorohusk is a village in Chełm County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Dorohusk. It lies approximately east of Chełm and east of the regional capital Lublin.The village has a population of 517.-References:...
For more information about these roads see National roads in Poland
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...
.
Airports
In Piotrków is located small airfield for light passenger aircraft. Nearest airport is Łódź Władysław Reymont Airport in Łódź. Two big international airports are Warsaw Frédéric Chopin AirportWarsaw Frederic Chopin Airport
Warsaw Chopin Airport is an international airport located in the Włochy district of Warsaw, Poland. Poland's busiest airport, Warsaw Chopin handles just under 50% of the country's air passenger traffic....
about 133 km from Piotrków and Katowice International Airport
Katowice International Airport
Katowice International Airport is an international airport, located in Pyrzowice, north of center of Katowice, Poland. The airport has third biggest passenger flow in Poland....
about 137 km from Piotrków.
Economy
Piotrków, thanks to its location, is known as second biggest "logistic center" after WarsawWarsaw
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...
. There is high concentration of warehouses and distribution centres around the city. The biggest distribution centres are:
- Prologis Park Piotrkow I and Prologis Park Piotrkow II owned by ProLogis
- IKEA Distribution Centre owned by IKEAIKEAIKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
- Logistic City – Piotrków Distribution Center owned by local concern Emerson
- Poland Central
In Piotrków are also located:
- Emerson Polska – self-copying computer paper
- Häring – facility producing engine injections (producing for Mercedes-BenzMercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, BoschRobert Bosch GmbHRobert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
, VolkswagenVolkswagenVolkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
) - Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems – car profiles
- Kiper brewery
- FMG Pioma S.A. – mining machines, conveyor beltConveyor beltA conveyor belt consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley...
s - Sigmatex Sp. z o.o. – knitted fabrics
many small and medium sewing factories.
Piotrków Trybunalski/Skierniewice constituency
Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Piotrkow/Skierniewice constituency- Antoni Macierewicz, PiS
- Dariusz Seliga, PiS
- Krzysztof Maciejewski, PiS
- Robert Telus, PiS
- Elżbieta Radziszewska, PO
- Włodzimierz Kula, PO
- Jacek Zacharewicz, PO
- Stanisław Witaszczyk, PSL
- Artur Ostrowski, LiD
Notable residents
- Ernestine RoseErnestine RoseErnestine Louise Rose was an atheist feminist, Individualist Feminist, and abolitionist. She was one of the major intellectual forces behind the women's rights movement in nineteenth-century America....
(1810–1892), feminist writer - Chaim Elozor WaxChaim Elozor WaxChaim Elozor Wax was a famous posek, a Hasidic rabbi, and a leader in Jewish Poland. He was a philanthropist and accomplished student of the Talmud....
(1822–1887) famous rabbi - Stefan RoweckiStefan RoweckiStefan Paweł Rowecki was a Polish general, journalist and the leader of the Armia Krajowa. He was murdered by the Gestapo in prison, probably on the direct order of Heinrich Himmler.-Life:Rowecki was born in Piotrków Trybunalski...
(1895–1944), general - Yisrael Meir LauYisrael Meir LauYisrael Meir Lau is the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel, and Chairman of Yad Vashem. He previously served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993 to 2003.-Biography:...
(born 1937), Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel - Wioletta Frankiewicz (born 1977), runner
- Jolanta Rutowicz (born 1984), TV personality, winner of Big Brother (Poland)Big Brother (Poland)Big Brother Poland is a television Series produced by Endemol. It has had a total of 5 seasons including one Celebrity Season.The First Season aired in 2001.-Nominations Table:Notes:...
- Michał Bąkiewicz (born 1981), volleyball player
Twin cities and partnerships
Twin towns: – Esslingen am NeckarEsslingen am Neckar
Esslingen am Neckar is a city in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, capital of the District of Esslingen as well as the largest city in the district....
(1992 r.) – Maladzyechna
Maladzyechna
Maladzyechna , is a city in the Minsk Voblast of Belarus, an administrative centre of the Maladzyechna district . It has 98,514 inhabitants and is located 72 km northwest of Minsk. Located on the Usha River, it has been a settlement since 1388 when it was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania...
(1996 r.) – Rivne
Rivne
Rivne or Rovno is a historic city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rivne Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast...
(1997 r.) – Velenje
Velenje
Velenje is a town and municipality in northern Slovenia. The municipality has 33.331 inhabitants. Staro Velenje is first mentioned in written doucments dating to 1264 and 1374 as small market town and was a center of handicraft and trade...
(1998 r.) – Mosonmagyaróvár
Mosonmagyaróvár
Mosonmagyaróvár is a city in Győr-Moson-Sopron county in northwestern Hungary. It lies close to both the Austrian and Slovakian borders and has a population of 30,200 ....
(2001 r.) – Marijampolė
Marijampole
Marijampolė is an industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Marijampolė is 48,700...
(2002 r.) – Vienne, Isère
Vienne, Isère
Vienne is a commune in south-eastern France, located south of Lyon, on the Rhône River. It is the second largest city after Grenoble in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture. The city's population was of 29,400 as of the 2001 census....
(2005 r.) – Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough....
(2007 r.)
Partnership: – Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
– Schiedam
Schiedam
Schiedam is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is part of the Rotterdam metropolitan area. The city is located west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen and south of Delft...