Founded in the lateMiddle Ages, Piotrków was once aroyal city and holds an important place in Polish history; the firstparliament sitting was held here in the 15th century. It then became the seat of aCrown Tribunal, the highest court of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The city also hosted one of Poland's oldestJewish communities, which was entirely destroyed by theHolocaust. The old town in Piotrków features many historical and architectural monuments, includingtenements, churches, synagogues and the medievalRoyal Castle.
According to tradition, but not confirmed by historical sources, Piotrków was founded by Piotr Włostowic, a powerful 12th century magnate fromSilesia. The name of the city comes from thePolish version of the namePeter (Piotr), in a diminutive form (Piotrek, or "Pete").Trybunalski indicates thattribunal sessions (including theCrown Tribunal) were held in the town. The town has been known inYiddish as פּעטריקעװ orPetrikev,[3] inGerman asPetrikau, and inRussian as Петроков orPetrokov.
Piotrków Trybunalski is situated in the middle-west part (Piotrków Plains) of the Łódź Uplands. The population of the city is approximately 80,000 and its area is nearly 68 square kilometres (26 sq mi). The landscape of the Piotrków region and its geological structure was formed during the glaciation of 180,000–128,000 years ago. There are hardly any forests on the Piotrków Plains.
Two rivers cross the region, the Wolbórka and theLuciąża, which with their tributaries flow into thePilica River and belong to the catchment area of theVistula River. The watershed of Poland's two main rivers, the Vistula and theOder (Odra), runs along themeridional 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 theearly Middle Ages. Recently two more rivers have been included within the boundary of the city area—the Wierzejka, which in the western 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 (46 °F), the coldest month is January (ranging from −20 to 2.5 °C (−4.0 to 36.5 °F)), the warmest is July (with 18 °C (64 °F) on average). Yearly rainfall is from 550 to 600 mm (22 to 24 in). The sandy soil of the region is not fertile.
Polish medallion from 1978 commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Crown Tribunal, then the highest court of Poland in Piotrków Trybunalski.
During the 13th century, apart from the tribunals, Polish provincial princes made Piotrków the seat of some assemblies of theSieradz 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 Piotrkówcivic rights, because in documents from the beginning of the 14th century he mentions "civitate nostra Petricouiensi".
The first certificate of foundation and the other documents were burnt in a great fire which destroyed the city around 1400. The privileges and rights were re-granted by KingWładysław II Jagiełło in 1404. The city walls were built during the reign of KingCasimir III the Great, and after the great fire, they were rebuilt at the beginning of the 15th century. During the reign of Casimir III, many expelled GermanJews from theHoly Roman Empire migrated 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 PolishSejm (during the latter Polish kings of theJagiellon dynasty were elected there). In Piotrków, twoGrand Masters of the Teutonic Order pledged allegiance to Polish KingCasimir IV Jagiellon in 1469 and 1470. It was in the city of Piotrków that the Polish Parliament was given its final structure with the division into an Upper House and Lower Chamber in 1493. KingJohn I Albert published his "Piotrków privilege" on 26 May 1493, which expanded the privileges of theszlachta (nobility) at the expense of thebourgeoisie and the peasantry.
Piotrków became part of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569. When the seat of the Parliament was moved toWarsaw, the town became the seat of the highest court of Poland, theCrown Tribunal, and trials were held there from 1578 to 1793; the highest Lithuanian court was held inGrodno. 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 (oftenSwabians) arrived in the town's vicinity and founded villages; they largely retained their customs and language untiltheir expulsion in 1945.
Piotrków in 1657
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 thePartitions of Poland. One of two main routes connectingWarsaw andDresden ran through the city in the 18th century and KingsAugustus II the Strong andAugustus III of Poland often traveled that route.[4]
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 Stronczyński from 1844 to 1855, describes theGreat Synagogue of Piotrków as one of Poland's architecturally notable buildings.[5]
When theWarsaw–Vienna railway was built in 1846, there was a slight increase in the economic and industrial development of Piotrków.
Memorial plaque at the site of the former prison for Polish insurgents of 1863–1864
In January 1863, the PolishJanuary Uprising broke out. Among local Polish insurgents were many young people and Poles conscripted into the Russian army, who were stationed in the city.[6] The Russians established a prison for captured insurgents in Piotrków.[6] Thousands ofPoles passed through the prison, were subjected toflagellation and tortures, and then either deported to theWarsaw Citadel or toSiberia, or executed in Piotrków.[6] Two insurgents, wanting to escape from torture, committed suicide by jumping out of the prison windows.[6] As punishment for supporting the uprising, the Russians closed down the Bernardine monastery in 1864, and the last Bernardine monks were expelled in 1867.[6]
DuringWorld War I, Piotrków was occupied byAustria-Hungary. From 1915 to 1916, it was a center for Polish patriotic activity. The city was a seat of the Military Department of the National Committee, and a headquarters for thePolish Legions, which were voluntary troops organized byJózef Piłsudski,Władysław Sikorski and others to fight against Russia. Piotrków became part ofrestored independent Poland in 1918, following the defeat of theCentral Powers in the war.
In theinterwar period, Piotrków was the capital ofPiotrków County in theŁódź Voivodeship, and lost its previous importance. In 1922, the old monastery was restored to the Bernardines.[6] In 1938 the town had 51,000 inhabitants, including 25,000 Jews and 1,500 Germans. The town had a largeJewish settlement and untilthe Holocaust a thrivingHebrew printing and publishing industry.
In autumn of 1939, the Germans carried out mass arrests of dozens of Poles, including teachers, local activists, judges, parliamentarians, editors and bank employees, however some were later released.[10] 47 Poles arrested inTomaszów Mazowiecki, including Tomaszów's mayor, were also imprisoned in Piotrków.[11] Further mass arrests of hundreds of Poles were carried out in January, March, June and August 1940.[12] Among Poles arrested in March were 12 teachers and students ofsecret Polish schools.[13] On 29 June 1940 the Germans carried out a massacre of 42 Poles from the prison in the Wolborski Forest[14] in the northern part of the city. Among the victims were 14 students aged 17–18, eight reserve officers, and people of various professions, including pharmacists, an architect, railwayman, teacher, farmer and local secretary.[14] 121 Poles from the local prison were deported to theAuschwitz,Gross-Rosen andDachau concentration camps in June 1940.[15] Many Poles, who were born or lived in the city, were murdered by the Russians in the largeKatyń massacre in April–May 1940.[16]
From the first months of the war, Piotrków was a center forunderground resistance. From the spring of 1940, it was the seat of the district headquarters of theArmia 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 largest military unit of the Łódź Voivodeship, and fought against the Germans until November 1944. In the city and district, there were also other partisan groups: the Military Troops (connected with thePolish Socialist Party), People's Guard and People's Army (Polish Workers' Party), Peasants' Battalions (Polish People's Party), the National Military Organization and the National Armed Forces (National Party). In 1944, during theWarsaw Uprising, the Germans deported over 15,000 Varsovians from theDulag 121 camp inPruszków, where they were initially imprisoned, to Piotrków.[18] Those Poles were mainly old people, ill people and women with children.[18] After the fall of the uprising, the headquarters of thePolish Red Cross was temporarily located in the local Royal Castle from October 1944 to January 1945.
On 18 January 1945 theSovietRed Army entered the city, dislodging the German troops. The city was restored to Poland, but with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until theFall of Communism in 1989.Anti-communist partisans continued to fight in the vicinity in the following years.
From 1949 to 1970, Piotrków was transformed into an industrial center.
Piotrków remained a district capital in theŁódź Voivodeship, until 1975. Then, following the changes in the administrative division of the country, the city became the capital of the newPiotrków Voivodeship, thus regaining the status of an important administrative, educational and cultural center of Poland. In 1999, the Piotrków Voivodeship was dissolved and Piotrków became the capital of Piotrków County within the Łódź Voivodeship.
Piotrków, thanks to its location, is known as the second largest "logistic center" afterWarsaw. There is a high concentration of warehouses and distribution centers around the city. The biggest distribution centers are:
Prologis Park Piotrkow I and Prologis Park Piotrkow II owned byProLogis
^ab"Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved14 August 2022. Data for territorial unit 1062000.
^"Główny Urząd Statystyczny" [Central Statistical Office] (in Polish). To search: Select "Miejscowości (SIMC)" tab, select "fragment (min. 3 znaki)" (minimum 3 characters), enter town name in the field below, click "WYSZUKAJ" (Search).
^Beider, Alexander (2012)."Eastern Yiddish Toponyms of German Origin"(PDF).Yiddish Studies Today. ISBN 978-3-943460-09-4, ISSN 2194-8879 (düsseldorf university press, Düsseldorf 2012). Retrieved26 December 2023.
^Heaven's Gates; Wooden synagogues in the Territories of the Former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka, Wydawnictwo Krupski i S-ka, Warsaw, 2004, p. 174
^Sudoł, Tomasz (2011). "Zbrodnie Wehrmachtu na jeńcach polskich we wrześniu 1939 roku".Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej (in Polish). No. 8-9 (129-130).IPN. p. 80.ISSN1641-9561.
^Wardzyńska, Maria (2009).Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warszawa:IPN. p. 58.
The list includes the 107 urban municipalities governed by acity mayor (prezydent miasta) instead of a town mayor (burmistrz) ·Cities with powiat rights are initalics · Voivodeship cities are inbold
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