Piotrkow Trybunalski

Piotrkow Trybunalski is a town in the centre of Poland, located approximately 50 km from the capital of the voivodeship, Lodz. It is a place with an interesting past, famous for fascinating monuments; therefore, it is of attraction to history enthusiasts.

 

Piotrkow Trybunalski TOURISM

Piotrkow Trybunalski is a listed town. Sightseeing enthusiasts should visit especially: the Old Town, town walls from the 14th and 15th centuries, the royal castle from the early 14th century, the Great Synagogue (1791-1793), i.e. the present Public Library, the Small Synagogue as well as the Jaxa-Bykowskis’ palace from the 15th century. Worth visiting are also sacral monuments, like the All Saints’ Orthodox Church from the 19th century, St. Jacob Church from the 13th century, the Visitation Church from the 14th century as well as Saint Hyacinth and Dorothy Church (the 14th-17th century).
The monuments of Piotrkow and the neighbouring towns and villages may be also seen on the 122-km-long Recreational Trail of the Pilica. Its route is the following: Piotrkow Trybunalski – Barkowice – Bronislawow – Swolszewice – Borki – dike on the Pilica – Smardzewice – Tresta – Zarzecin – Sulejow – Taraska – Szarbsko – Dabrowka – Diabla Gora – Waclawow – Skotniki – Faliszew – Taras – Przedborz – Bialy Brzeg – the neighbourhood of Raczka – Krzetow.
Piotrkow Trybunalski is also worth visiting during its cyclical events. The most interesting of them are: Piotrkow Days (first weekend in June), Cabaret Tribunals festival (Polish: Trybunały Kabaretowe), Critical Mass (each last Friday of a month at 6 pm from Jan Kochanowski University), Chamber Music Days, All-Polish literary contest and Folk Band Festival.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Piotrkow Trybunalski is a town in central Poland, in Lodz Voivodeship, inhabited by approximately 77 thousand people. The town is an important traffic junction. There are many roads running through Piotrkow, including A1 highway, country roads no 8 (E67), 12 and 91 as well as the voivodeship road no 716.

 

HISTORY

The first record of Piotrkow Trybunalski is included in a document issued in 1217 for the Cistercian abbey in Sulejow by the Prince of Krakow, Leszek I the White. In the turn of the 14th century Piotrkow obtained town rights, which were later re-granted in 1404 by King Wladyslaw Jagiello.
In 1493 the first sejm was established in Piotrkow – this date is considered a beginning of the Polish Parliament. In the 15th and 16th century Piotrkow was a place of general sejms and sejmiks.
The 17th and 18th centuries were not easy for Piotrkow. In the 1650s and in 1702 the town was taken by Swedish troops and in 1793, as a result of the Second Partition of Poland, it was joined to Prussia.
In the 19th century Piotrkow was rejoined to the Kingdom of Poland and since then it began to grow and develop. The first railway connection to Warsaw and Vienna was established, the Oblast (province) of Piotrkow (covering such cities as Lodz, Czestochowa and Zaglebie Dabrowskie) was formed and the local newspaper entitled Tydzien (English: The Week) began to be released.
In the first months of World War I, Piotrkow was occupied by German and Russian troops, but it was eventually taken by Austrian army. On 2-5 November 1918 Piotrkow was freed from Austrian occupation and joined to Lodz Voivodeship.
The Second World War brought significant damages. On 2-4 September 1939 the town was continuously bombed, which resulted in 200 buildings being devastated. On 5 September (the Battle of Piotrkow Trybunalski) the town was taken by the German Wehrmacht, which gave the beginning to German occupation. In the end of September or in the beginning of October (the exact date is not known) a Jewish ghetto was established in Piotrkow. It was the first ghetto in Europe.
On 18 January 1945 the Red Army and Polish troops came to Piotrkow and freed the town.

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