Mińsk Mazowiecki

Mińsk Mazowiecki
Palace of Doria Dernałowicz Family
Flag Coat of arms
Mińsk Mazowiecki
Coordinates: 52°11′N 21°34′E / 52.183°N 21.567°E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Masovian
County	Mińsk
Gmina	Mińsk Mazowiecki (urban gmina)
Established	14th century
Town rights	1421, 29 May
Government
• Mayor	Marcin Tomasz Jakubowski
Area
• Total	13.12 km^2 (5.07 sq mi)
Elevation	147 m (482 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	37,808
• Density	2,900/km^2 (7,500/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	05-300, 301, 303
Area code(s)	+48 025
Car plates	WM
Website	http://www.minsk-maz.pl

Mińsk Mazowiecki [ˈmʲiɲsk mazɔˈvʲɛt͡skʲi] "Masovian Minsk" is a town in central Poland with 38,181 inhabitants (2008). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Mińsk County.

Name

The source of the name Mińsk is the River Mienia, whose name in turn derives from mienić, which means 'shine'. The postnominal adjective Mazowiecki shows the historical connection to Mazovia and distinguishes Mińsk Mazowiecki from the Belarusian capital of Minsk.

Location

Mińsk Mazowiecki is located geographically in South Podlasie, historically in East Mazovia and administratively in East Masovian Voivodeship, the city lies 40 kilometres (25 miles) east from Warsaw's Center.

Timeline of history

• 14th century – first mentions of a settlement with commercial function
• 1421, 29 May – Mińsk was granted town privileges
• 1422 – first wooden church was built (not preserved)
• 1549 – a second town Sendomierz, later merged with Mińsk
• 1629 – the present church opened
• 1695 – Sendomierz joined to Mińsk
• 18th century – gradual decline of Mińsk connected with gradual decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• 1795–1809 – under Austrian rule as a result of the Third Partition of Poland
• 1809–1815 – in the Duchy of Warsaw
• 1815–1916 – in the Congress Poland
• 1866 – first train arrived in the town on the newly built Warsaw–Terespol Railway
• 1867 – name of the town changed to Novominsk
• 1870 – Dernałowicz Family became last owners of city (up to the Second World War)
• 1886 – first bookstore in east Mazovia
• 19th – found of famous manufacture
• 1912 (or 1910) – start of Maria Grochowska's School, today this is Polska Macierz Szkolna's High School
• 1914 – old church opened after reconstruction
• 1915 – present hospital opened
• 1915 to 1918, 11 November – German occupation during World War I
• 1916 – name's change (Novominsk > Mińsk Mazowiecki)
• 1920 – briefly occupied by Russians before the Battle of Warsaw during the Polish-Bolshevik War
• 1920–1939 – great development
  • 1937 – first electric train arrived
• 1939–1944 – second German occupation (World War II
  • 1939, 12 September – German entry
  • 1939, 13 September – battle for Mińsk Mazowiecki (led by gen. Władysław Anders)
  • 1942, 21 July – liquidation of Mińsk Mazowiecki ghetto. Most of the Jewish residents were sent to the Treblinka death camp (one of first episodes of Holocaust)
  • 1944, 30 July – liberation by Armia Krajowa (prelude to Warsaw Uprising)
• 1944, 30–31 July – soviet liberation
• 1945, 2–3 march – Soviet killed Mińsk's elite (with Mayor Hipolit Konopka)
• 1952 – trains manufacture
• 1957 – military garrison
• 1979 – new train station
• 1985 – Solidarity events
• 1990 – first Mayor elected in free elections (since elections before Second World War): Zbigniew Grzesiak
• 1999 – Mińsk County established

Jewish history

Mińsk's stone in Treblinka extermination camp

In 1768 the restrictions on permanent residence for Jewish people in Mińsk had been lifted.^[1] From the 19th century to the 1930s it became very popular. Before the Second World War, there were thousands of Jews living in Mińsk and they had a general synagogue and smaller temples.

Soon after the war began, the Germans created the Mińsk Ghetto. It was liquidated on 21 July 1942. Most of the Jews were killed in Treblinka extermination camp sent in Holocaust trains by the thousands. The remaining Jewish population were killed in Mińsk on 10 January 1943 (500 people) and 5 June (the last 150 people).

Monuments

Old Church

• layout of medieval settlement and later city
• Palace of Doria Dernałowicz Family – built probably in the 17th century (in place of 16th century residence), converted to classicism
  • park
• Church of the Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary – built in the 17th century, converted to neo-baroque in the early 20th century
  • internal furnishing
  • cemetery
• county hall (former), 19th century, classicism
• county hall, 19th century
• post office, 19th century, empire
• church of Mariavite Church, 1911
• residential areas, 19th and early 20th century
• Jewish cemetery
• some school buildings (early 20th century)

Economy

Stylowa Hotel and Restaurant

Trade:

• hypermarket Carrefour
• supermarkets (about 10)
• many other shops
• market
• developers

Service:

• 10 banks
• fast-foods, pubs and restaurants
• 3 hotels
• construction indystry
• car service
• satellite communication

Industry:

• ZNTK "Mińsk Mazowiecki" (since 2008 a subsidiary PESA SA) — maintenance and repair of railway rolling stock
• Fabryka Urządzeń Dźwigowych – production of cranes and other heavy machinery
• cotton products
• yachts
• shoes
• foil

Population

Age / Gender Number Total 0–18 male 3,978 7,618 0–18 female 3,640 Men 18–65 12,283 Women 18–60 12,496 Work-age 24,779 Retired men 1,572 Retired women 3,560 Retired-age 5,132 All 37,529

Year Number Year Number 16th century (second half) 3,5-4,000 1660 1,000 1777 456 1827 750 1880 2,940 early 20th 4,771 1910 5,794 1921 10,689 1939 15,103 1945 10,500 1971 24,700 1992 34,000 1995 35,068 2000 35,761 2006 37,529

Education

Gymnasium nr 3

• Józef Majka College of Social Science (catholic)
• Stanisław Staszic Lifelong Learning Center
• University of Third Age
• Polska Macierz Szkolna Gymnasium and High School
• Salesian Elementary, Gymnasium and High School (catholic)
• Kazimierz Wielki Professional High School
• Powstańcy Warszawy Professional High School
• High School of Economy
• Maria Skłodowska-Curie High School
• 3 public gymnasiums
• 4 public elementary schools
• over 10 preschools (6 public)
• special school (for kids with problems)
• clinic of psychological and pedagogical help

Bureaus

• regional bureau of Environmental Protection Inspection
• point of conscription
• above forester bureau (Nadleśnictwo Mińsk)
• county, city and commune bureaus

Safety

• Police Departament of Mińsk County – 2 building in Mińsk, dozens of cars (including sport cars and off-road cars)
• Fire Departament of Mińsk County – quite new fire engines (well equipped after big fire in industry area a few years ago)
• Public Hospital of Mińsk County

Culture and sports

School of Art

Culture:

• House of Culture
• School of Art
• 2 libraries
• 2 museums
• cinema
• magazines (2 public and 3 commercial are published in Mińsk)

Sport:

• Miejski Ośrodek Sportu i Rekreacji (public sport and recreation departament)
  • 2 stadiums
  • ice rink
  • other
• Mazovia-ZNTK
  • football team in local amateur league
  • other sports
• other clubs

Religions

Modern Big Church

• Roman Catholic Church (4 parishes and other structures)
• Mariavite Church (1 parish)
• Baptist (1 congregation)
• Mennonite (1 congregation)

Public transport

• Train station
  • regular service (39 trains in one way daily) to Warsaw
  • direct connections with many cities in Poland, and with Moscow
• 2 regular bus services to Warsaw

Lands

Overall: 13.12 square kilometres (5.07 sq mi)

• residential: 30%
• industrial: 6%
• communication (roads, railroads etc.): 15%
• agricultural: 29%
• park: 5%
• other: 15%

Historical parts of city

Anielina

Cities:

• Mińsk – old town
• Sendomierz (found 1549, joined 1695)

Estates built as part of Mińsk:

• Nowe Miasto – Miasto Ogród – New Town – Garden Town (found 1936)
• concrete estates built in socialist realism (about 1945–1990) without names
• modern estates without names

Villages:

• over railroad part of city (all existed in 1839 and earlier)
  • Kędzierak (joined partly in 1954 and fully in 1984)
  • Stankowizna (joined in 19th or 20th century)
  • Anielina (joined in similar time as Kędzierak)
• other
  • Górki (joined in the 18th century)
  • Goździk (joined during First War War)
  • Kolonia Stasinów (joined in 1936)
  • Pohulanka (joined partly in 1936)
  • Sewerynów (joined in similar time as Kędzierak)

Military

• military police
• airport with MIG-29 aircraft

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Mińsk Mazowiecki is twinned with:

• Krnov, Czech Republic
• Lacey, US

Twin cities

• Borodianka, Ukraine
• Cori, Italy
• Krnov, Bruntál District, Czech Republic
• Orsha, Belarus
• Pefki, Greece
• Saint-Égrève, France
• Telšiai, Lithuania

People

• Julian Grobelny, Righteous Among the Nations
• Czesław Mroczek, poseł
• Teresa Wargocka, poseł
• Stefan Żeromski, writer
• Marek Piotrowski, World Champion in Kickboxing
• Rafał Jackiewicz, boxer (world title eliminator)

References

1. Mińsk Mazowiecki: The beginning of the Jewish settlement. Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Virtual Shtetl.

• Co słychać? – weekly magazine, ISSN 1425-6185
• Web page of City Hall Minsk Maz.pl (English)
• Web page of County Hall Powiat Minski.pl
• Web page: virtual tour. Panoramas.

Books

• 585 lat Mińska Mazowieckiego, red. Janusz Kuligowski, Mińsk Mazowiecki, 2006, ISBN 8390693674

Coordinates: 52°11′N 21°34′E / 52.183°N 21.567°E