Skarzysko-Kamienna
Encyclopedia
Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, or Świętokrzyskie Province , is one of the 16 voivodeships into which Poland is presently divided. It is situated in central Poland, in the historical province of Lesser Poland, and takes its name from the Świętokrzyskie mountain range...
in 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...
by Kamienna
Kamienna
Kamienna may refer to the following places in Poland:*Kamienna, Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Kamienna, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship *Kamienna, Kutno County in Łódź Voivodeship...
river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains
Swietokrzyskie Mountains
Świętokrzyskie Mountains , are a mountain range in central Poland, in the vicinity of the city of Kielce. The mountain range consists of a number of separate ranges, the highest of which is Łysogóry . The two highest peaks are Łysica at 612 meters and Łysa Góra at 593 meters...
; one of the voivodship's major towns. Prior to 1928, it bore the name of Kamienna; in less formal contexts usually only the first part of the name (Skarżysko) is used.
Skarżysko-Kamienna is an important railroad junction, with two main lines (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...
- 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 Sandomierz
Sandomierz
Sandomierz is a city in south-eastern Poland with 25,714 inhabitants . Situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship , previously in Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship . It is the capital of Sandomierz County . Sandomierz is known for its Old Town, a major tourist attraction...
- Koluszki
Koluszki
Koluszki is a town, and a major railway junction, in Central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about 20 km east of Łódź. Population: 13,331 . The junction in Koluszki serves trains that go from Warsaw to Łódź , Wrocław, Częstochowa and Katowice. Also, it is connected with Radom and Lublin by an...
) crossing there.
History
In 1173, the knights' congressWIEC
WIEC-LP is a radio station licensed to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. The station is currently owned by The Eau Claire Broadcasting Association....
gathered in Milica village (now the town's district) led by Casimir II The Just.
1900s
In 1923, the commune of Kamienna was granted town privileges. In 1924, National Ammunition Factory was built (now known as MESKO). And in 1928, town's name was changed to Skarżysko-Kamienna.The Germans in Skarżysko-Kamienna
In 1940, the GermansGermans
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....
carried out mass executions of Poles
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...
(360 people executed in February and 760 in June). In 1942, the Germans set up a forced labour camp for the 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...
where tens of thousands died in forced labour (See the book: Death Comes in Yellow). In the summer of 1944, the camp was liquidated and the remaining prisoners were either killed or transported to the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany.
1945 and later
On January 18, 1945 the town was liberated. The few Jewish survivors from Skarżysko-Kamienna returned to the town, but then local Polish threatened their lives, asking them to leave. In February 1946 five Jewish residents were murdered by local Polish men. The murderers, among them the head of the town police and another policeman, were put to trial in Lodz, and three of them got the death penalty. The remaining Jews left Poland .In 1969, The White Eagle Museum was established. And in 1999, Skarżysko County
Skarzysko County
Skarżysko County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-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 and largest town is...
was established as a result of the Local Government Reorganization Act (1998).
Attractions
- The White Eagle Museum (Polish: Muzeum im. Orła Białego) - a regional museum with a large outdoor display of military equipment, most items dating back to the World War IIWorld War IIWorld 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...
period.- indoor display - uniformsMilitary uniformMilitary uniforms comprises standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and military styles have gone through great changes over the centuries from colourful and elaborate to extremely utilitarian...
, ammunitionAmmunitionAmmunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
, pistolPistolWhen distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
s and smaller gunGunA gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
s, soldier equipment, photographs and documents - outdoor display - one of Poland's few ships displayed onshore (torpedo boatTorpedo boatA torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
Odważny - The Brave), planesFixed-wing aircraftA fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
, tankTankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s (including one of world's few preserved Sturmgeschütz IVSturmgeschütz IVThe Sturmgeschütz IV , was a German assault gun of the Second World War.-Development:The Sturmgeschütz IV resulted from Krupp's effort to supply an assault gun...
vehicles), helicopterHelicopterA helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, cannonCannonA cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s, etc.
- indoor display - uniforms
Trivia
- Throughout the communist era and beyond, popular gossip had it that blocks of flats in Milica district, built in the 1950s, had been arranged to form the word StalinJoseph StalinJoseph 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...
or Bierut. Aerial photographs have disproved both versions of the gossip. - Several scenes of Steven SpielbergSteven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Schindler's ListSchindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
were filmed in MESKO - the town's largest factory which used to house a forced labour camp during World War II.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Skarżysko-Kamienna is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
Żmerynka Kavarna
Kavarna
Kavarna is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Dobruja region of northeastern Bulgaria. It lies 64 km northeast of Varna and 49 km from Dobrich on the international road E87. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 11,397 inhabitants. A little yacht port, a...
External links
- Skarżysko Kamienna on Facebook - Skarżysko Kamienna on Facebook
- Skarzysko.pl - official site of the town's municipality
- Skarżysko-Kamienna On-line - town's unofficial site (language - Polish; direct access to the sections below)
- Skarżysko24.pl - unofficial site (language - Polish; several other language versions are available through Google Translate service)