Skierniewice () is a city in central Poland with 45,184 inhabitants (2023), A palace of the archbishops of Gniezno already existed in the village at that time. In 1922, the Department of Vegetable Cultivation of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences was established in Skierniewice, starting the local tradition of horticultural studies. In 1926, the Department of Pomology was founded.

World War II

During the invasion of Poland, which marked the beginning of World War II, in September 1939, the Germans raided the town, bombing the railway station, as well as houses, the hospital and a church during a church service. Around 150 people were killed, and another 200 were wounded, 100 buildings were destroyed. On September 11–12, Adolf Hitler visited the town.

In May 1944, the Stalag 319 prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs of various nationalities was relocated from Chełm to Skierniewice, and then eventually dissolved in August 1944. Afterwards the Dulag 142 transit camp was based in the city, and about 3,000 Poles captured during the Warsaw Uprising passed through it. The head of the Department of Pomology, Professor Włodzimierz Gorjaczkowski, was murdered by the Germans in Warsaw in 1944. After the Warsaw Uprising, many Polish professors from Warsaw found refuge in Skierniewice.

Before evacuation, the Germans looted the library and some of the equipment of the institutions of horticultural sciences. On January 17, 1945, Skierniewice was captured by Soviet forces. On January 18, a general meeting of 13 Warsaw University of Life Sciences professors was held in Skierniewice, at which the situation of the university was discussed and a rector was elected.

Post-war period

The new Institute of Pomology, Institute of Cultivation, Fertilization and Soil Science and Institute of Olericulture were founded in the city in 1951, 1957 and 1964, respectively, and then merged into the Institute of Horticulture in 2010.

Sights

Among the historic sights of Skierniewice are:

  • former Episcopal Palace complex with the Park Miejski ("Municipal Park")
  • Palace Gate, housing the Association for the Tradition of the 26th Skierniewice Infantry Division of the Polish Army ()
  • churches of Saint James and Saint Stanislaus
  • Market Square (Rynek) with the Town Hall (Ratusz)
  • Chamber of the History of Skierniewice () at the former house of Konstancja Gładkowska, teenage love of Frédéric Chopin
  • Skierniewice railway station
  • Roundhouse Skierniewice
  • other historic buildings and structures, including the Kozłowski Villa, now housing the Wedding Palace, and the County Office

<gallery widths=140>

1. Instytut Ogrodnictwa w Skierniewicach.jpg|Episcopal Palace

Skierniewice zespol palacowy kuchnia.jpg|Kitchen building of the Episcopal Palace complex

Park Miejski w Skierniewicach.jpg|Park Miejski

Skierniewice ul Senatorska 1.jpg|One of the streets of the town centre with historic townhouses and the Saint James church

Музей - паровозное депо в Скерневице.jpg|Roundhouse Skierniewice

</gallery>

Skierniewice is also next to Bolimów Landscape Park, a large park that attracts tourists for hiking, camping, and kayaking.

Education

thumb|[[State Higher Vocational School in Skierniewice]]

  • Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomiczno-Humanistyczna
  • State Higher Vocational School in Skierniewice

Sports

Unia Skierniewice and football clubs are based in Skierniewice.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Skierniewice is twinned with:

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  • Gera, Germany
  • Châtelaillon-Plage, France
  • Purgstall an der Erlauf, Austria

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  • Náměšť na Hané, Czech Republic
  • Levice, Slovakia
  • Szentes, Hungary

|}

Notable people

thumb|[[Szczepan Pieniążek monument]]

Notable people connected with the Skierniewice region:

  • Ignacy Krasicki (1735–1801), Roman Catholic archbishop and a writer
  • Jan Kozietulski (1781–1821), military commander of the armed forces of the Duchy of Warsaw
  • Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), composer and pianist
  • Konstancja Gładkowska (1810–1889), Polish soprano, teenage love of Frédéric Chopin
  • Władysław Reymont (1867–1925), novelist, Nobel Prize Winner for Literature
  • Edward Okuń (1872–1945), Polish Art Nouveau painter and freemason
  • Stanisław Witkowski (1883–1957), officer, engineer and military industry organiser in the Polish Army
  • Aleksander Narbut-Łuczyński (1890–1977), Polish lawyer and military officer
  • Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (1895–1903), German princess
  • Szczepan Pieniążek (1913–2008), pomologist
  • Itshak Holtz (1925–2018), Jewish genre artist
  • Aleksandra Śląska (1925–1989), film actress
  • Lech Mackiewicz (born 1960) film director, actor and playwright
  • Tamara Arciuch (born 1975), actress
  • Monika Mularczyk (born 1980), football referee
  • Grzegorz Gajewski (born 1985), chess grandmaster

References

Bibliography