Białystok is located in the Białystok Uplands of thePodlachian Plain on the banks of theBiała River, 200 km (124 mi) (124 mi) northeast ofWarsaw.[11] It has historically attracted migrants from elsewhere in Poland and beyond, particularly fromCentral andEastern Europe. This is facilitated by thenearby border withBelarus also being the eastern border of theEuropean Union, as well as theSchengen Area. The city and its adjacent municipalities constituteMetropolitan Białystok. The city has awarm summer continental climate, characterized by warm summers and long frosty winters. Forests are an important part of Białystok's character and occupy around 1,846 ha (4,560 acres) (18% of the administrative area of the city)[12] which places it as the fifth-most forested city in Poland.
The first settlers arrived in the 14th century. The town grew and received its municipal charter in 1692. Białystok has traditionally been one of the leading centers of academic, cultural, and artistic life inPodlachia, and the most important economic center in northeastern Poland. Białystok was once an important center forlight industry, which was the reason for the substantial growth of the city's population. The city continues to reshape itself into a modern middle-sized city. Białystok, in 2010, was on the short-list, but ultimately lost the competition, to become a finalist forEuropean Capital of Culture in 2016.
Although nowadays "stok" is translated as "slope", the initial name of the settlement came from the river flowing through it. In old Polish,biały stok was white river (biały - white,stok - stream; river that "slides" down the slope). So inconspicuous today, the Biała River (usually called Białka), flowing through the city center, gave it its name.
Due to changing borders and demographics over the centuries, the city has been known asBelarusian:Беласток (Byelastok?,Biełastok?[bʲeɫaˈstok]),Yiddish:ביאַליסטאָק (Byalistok,Bjalistok),Lithuanian:Balstogė, andRussian:Белосток (Belostok,Byelostok).
Archaeological discoveries show that the first settlements in the area of present-day Białystok occurred during theStone Age. Tombs of ancient settlers can be found in the district ofDojlidy.[13] In the earlyIron Age, people settled in the area producingkurgans, the tombs of the chiefs in the area located in the current village ofRostołty.[14] Since then, the Białystok area has been at the crossroads of cultures. Trade routes linking the Baltic to the Black Sea favored the development of settlements withYotvingia-Ruthenian-Polish cultural characteristics.[14]
Surviving documents attest that around 1437 a representative of the Raczków family, Jakub Tabutowicz of the coat of armsŁabędź, received fromMichael Žygimantaitis, son of the Grand Duke of LithuaniaSigismund Kęstutaitis, a wilderness area along the river Biała that marked the beginning of Białystok as a settlement.[15][16] Thereafter, Białystok was part ofLithuania for 132 years.
From 1547, the settlement was owned by the Wiesiołowski family, which founded the first school.[17] The first brick church and a castle were built between 1617 and 1826. The two-floor castle, designed on a rectangular plan in theGothic-Renaissance style, was the work ofJob Bretfus [pl]. Extension of the castle was continued byKrzysztof Wiesiołowski,starost of Tykocin, Grand Marshal of Lithuania since 1635, and husband of Aleksandra Marianna Sobieska.[18] In 1637 he died childless, and as a result, Białystok came under the management of his widow. After her death in 1645 the Wiesiołowski estate, including Białystok, passed to the Crown to cover the costs of maintainingTykocin Castle. In the years 1645–1659 Białystok was managed by thestarosts ofTykocin.[18][19]
Garden of the Branicki Palace in the 18th centuryBranicki Palace, also known as the "Polish Versailles", which once belonged toJan Klemens Branicki
In 1661 it was given toStefan Czarniecki as a reward for his service in the victory over the Swedes during theDeluge. Four years later, it was given as a dowry of his daughter Aleksandra, who married Marshal of the Crown Court Jan Klemens Branicki, thus passing into the hands of theBranicki family.[20][21] In 1692,Stefan Mikołaj Branicki [pl], the son of Jan Klemens Branicki, obtained city rights for Białystok from KingJohn III Sobieski. He constructed theBranicki Palace on the foundations of the castle of the Wiesiołowski family.[22] In the first half of the eighteenth century the ownership of the city was inherited byField Crown HetmanJan Klemens Branicki.[15] It was he who transformed the palace built by his father into a magnificent residence of a great noble,[23][24] which was frequently visited by Polish kings and poets.[25]
In 1745 the first military technical school in Poland was founded in Białystok,[26] and in 1748, one of the oldest theaters in Poland, theKomedialnia, was founded in the city.[27] New schools were established, including aballet school in connection with the foundation of the theater.[28] In 1749, KingAugustus III of Poland extended the city limits.[17] In 1770, under the auspices ofIzabella Poniatowska, amidwifery school was founded, based on which the Institute of Obstetrics was established in 1805.[26] Białystok was a regionalbrewing center with 33 breweries as of 1771, with the Podlachian Beer now listed as a protected traditional beverage by theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland.[29]
Białystok received city rights the latest from all of Podlasie's cities, but at the end of the 19th century it outgrown all the surrounding cities. The rapid development in the 19th century is related to two historical events: the creation of a customs border between the Russian Empire and the Congress Kingdom of Poland, and the opening in 1862 of theWarsaw Saint Petersburg railway line, connecting Białystok withWarsaw,Grodno,Vilnius andSaint Petersburg. Very convenient communication conditions influenced the development and concentration of Białystok's production plants at that time. Along with the administrative function, Białystok received many economic institutions. In the second half of the 19th century, Białystok grew into a significant center of thetextile industry, the largest afterŁódź in then-partitioned Poland. Białystok was the largest industrial center between Warsaw and Łódź in the west, Saint Petersburg in the north andMoscow in the east, and was nicknamed "Manchester of the North".[3] After the failedNovember andJanuary uprisings,Russification policies andanti-Polish repressions intensified, and after 1870 a ban on the use of Polish in public places was introduced.[25] In 1912, a Tsarist prison was built, which also served as a transit prison for Polesdeported to Siberia.[33]
DuringWorld War I theBialystok-Grodno District was the administrative division ofGerman-controlled territory ofOber-Ost. It comprised the city, as the capital, and the surrounding Podlaskie region, roughly corresponding to the territory of the earlier Belostok Oblast.[41][42]
After the wars and thereestablishment of independent Poland, Polish education in Białystok was restored and the textile industry was revived.[25] A municipal public library was established, sports clubs were founded, includingJagiellonia Białystok, and in the 1930s adrama theater was built.[25]
With the beginning ofWorld War II, Poland was invaded byNazi Germany and theSoviet Union. City presidentSeweryn Nowakowski established the Citizens' Guard. Due to the need to evacuate the police forces, the Guard took over its duties after 11 September.[45] In addition to the Police, a group of officials left along with selected archives.[45] However, most of the residents of Białystok remained in the city.[45] Initially Białystok was brieflyoccupied by Germany, and the GermanEinsatzgruppe IV entered the city on 20–21 September 1939 to commitcrimes against the population.[46] After occupying Białystok, the Germans established the Military City Command, which ordered the surrender of weapons and ammunition and the disbandment of the Citizens' Guard.[45] On 20 September, a brutal murder was committed in the courtyard of Primary School No. 1, where a transit camp for prisoners had been set up earlier. Wehrmacht soldiers murdered 8 people "for disobedience".[45] The next day, German troops began to withdraw from the city, where they were replaced by Red Army units, as a result of theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact.
In the course of theGerman invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Białystok was occupied by theGerman Army on 27 June 1941, during theBattle of Białystok–Minsk, and the city became the capital ofBezirk Białystok, a separate region inGerman occupied Poland, until 1944.[53][54] Between July and June the1941 Białystok massacres took place. TheGreat Synagogue was burnt down by Germans on 27 June 1941, with an estimated number of 2,000 Jews inside. From the very beginning, the Nazis pursued a ruthless policy of pillage and removal of the non-German population. The Germans operated a Nazi prison in the city,[55] and aforced labour camp for Jewish men.[56] Since 1943, theSicherheitspolizei carried out deportations of Poles including teenage boys from the local prison to theStutthof concentration camp.[57] The 56,000 Jewish residents of the town were confined in a ghetto.[58] On 15 August 1943, theBiałystok Ghetto Uprising began, and several hundredPolish Jews and members of theAnti-Fascist Military Organisation (Polish:Antyfaszystowska Organizacja Bojowa) started an armed struggle against the German troops who were carrying out the planned liquidation of the ghetto with deportations to theTreblinka extermination camp.[59] Ultimately the ghetto was liquidated, and the vast majority of its remaining 40,000 occupants including men, woman and children, were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, primarily at the Treblinka death camp.
The city fell under the control of theRed Army on 27 July 1944. The Soviets carried out mass arrests of Polish resistance members in the city and region, and imprisoned them in Białystok. On 20 September 1944 the city was transferred back to Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until theFall of Communism in the 1980s, and the SovietNKVD andSMERSH continued the persecution of the Polish resistance in the following months. From November 1944 to January 1945, the Russians deported nearly 5,000 Poles from the local prison to the Soviet Union.[60] Later on, the Soviet-appointed communists held political prisoners and other members of thePolish resistance in the local prison, and until 1956, they also carried out burials of executed Polish resistance members there.[33]
From the European Regional Development Fund, contracted within the framework of the Integrated Regional Development Operational Programme (ZPORR), Białystok received approximately PLN 43 million for a project to improve the quality of the transport system. The implementation of Part I of the project allowed for the purchase of 43 new buses for public transport in 2005–2006, and new streets were built inBacieczki district. The Białystok Waterworks implemented a project to improve water quality. Cycle paths in Białystok were expanded and a path toSupraśl was built.[65]
Białystok is situated in the Białystok Uplands (Polish:Wysoczyzna Białostocka) of the Podlaskie Plain (Polish:Nizina Północnopodlaska), part of what is known collectively as theGreen Lungs of Poland.[66][67] It is situated 197 kilometres (122 mi) by road northeast ofWarsaw.[11] It is the biggest Polish city close toBelarus andLithuania. The Biała River, a left tributary of theSupraśl River, passes through the city. The landscape of the Białystok Upland is diverse, with highmoraine hills andkame in excess of 200 m (660 ft)above sea level. Vast areas ofoutwash, aglacialplain formed ofsediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of aglacier, are covered by forests.[67]
The highest point of the city lies at a height of 175 m (574 ft) on the Pietrasze Forest. The lowest point lies at a height of 118 m (387 ft) on the river valley of theBiała.[68] A characteristic element of the relief of the city area are clear depressions in the surface of the moraine plateau, which are used by the rivers Biała, Horodnianka, and Czaplinianka.
Forests are an important part of the city character, they currently occupy approximately 1,846 ha (4,560 acres) (18% of the administrative area of the city) which places it as the fifth most "wooded" city in Poland; behind Katowice (38%), Bydgoszcz (30%), Toruń (22.9%) and Gdańsk (17.6%).[69]
There are a total of 9 parks in the city (on municipal plots), of which 5 are historic parks with a total area of about 59.06 ha, entered into the municipal register of monuments, and 4 are city parks with an area of about 21.68 ha.[70]
Part ofKnyszyn Forest is preserved within the city limits by twonature reserves—a total area of 105 ha (260 acres).[71] TheZwierzyniecki Forest Nature Reserve, which is contained within the city limits, is a fragment, 33.48 ha (82.7 acres), of theriparian forest with a dominant assemblage ofoak andhornbeam.[72] The Antoniuk Nature Reserve (Polish:Rezerwat Przyrody Antoniuk) is a 70.07 ha (173.1 acres) park in the city that preserves the natural state of a forest fragment characteristic of the Białystok Upland, with a dominant mixed forest ofhazel andspruce.[73]
The 40 ha (99 acres) of forests lying in the vicinity of theDojlidy Ponds are administered by the Białystok Central Sports and Recreation Center (Polish:Białostocki Ośrodek Sportu i Rekreacji – BOSiR). The Dojlidy Ponds recreation area includes a public beach, walking trails, birdwatching and fishing.[74]
The city has a warm-summerhumid continental orhemiboreal climate (Dfb) according to theKöppen climate classification system under the 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm for the average temperature of the coldest month, or anoceanic climate (Cfb) if the −3 °C (27 °F) isotherm is used. The city would have been classified as being in theDfb zone regardless of the accepted isotherm forclimatological normals as recent as 1981–2010,[75] but as a consequence ofclimate change, the winters have warmed up so that the climate in the city may be classified as oceanic. Białystok is one of the coldest cities in Poland by annual temperature and one with the climate having the most continental characteristics, as is the case for much of north-eastern Poland, with the mean yearly temperature of 7.7 °C (46 °F) and the length of thegrowing season amounting to 205 days, shorter than elsewhere in Poland.[76]
While winters are rather mild compared to other cities on the similar latitude, such asSamara,Barnaul, orEdmonton, they are colder than inWestern Europe (in cities likeBremen andDublin). Winters usually have little sunshine, with weather patterns changing from those influenced by thelow-pressure systems generated by theIcelandic Low (when the weather is often cloudy, cool, damp, rainy and/or snowy) to the occasional intrusions of cold air masses fromSiberia or theArctic (Siberian High), which, due to the city's northeasterly location, are more frequent than in other parts of Poland.[76] Winters thus tend to be several degrees colder than elsewhere in Poland.[77] Freezing conditions below −20 °C (−4 °F) are possible in winter but are rare.[75] Snow cover is present on the ground for more than half of winter. Summers tend to be warm, sunny and pleasant and are occasionally hot, but they are still a little cooler than in most of Poland.[77] More rain falls in summer months than in any other period of the year.
The centre of Białystok, as most urban areas, experiences theurban heat island effect, therefore for most of the time, the city is warmer than the surrounding countryside. The temperatures in the city centre are, on average, 2.3 °C (4.1 °F) higher than in the surrounding villages, with greater differences at night and during the warmer half of the year, particularly in spring.[78]
Climate data for Białystok (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present)
Białystok is roughly circular, centered around theCentral market square andBranicki Palace. The decisive influence on the development of the city was exerted by natural and human factors - the course of roads, theBiała and its tributaries and the layout of railway lines. The choice of land for the construction of the factory was also determined by the price of the plot. The layout of the city, in accordance with the 18th century palace and park layout, emphasizing the magnificence of the residence, hindered the development of the city in width. Two railway lines: Białystok-Suwałki and Białystok-Słonim, separated its northern and eastern parts from the rest of the city: Dziesięciny, Wygoda, Zacisze, Pieczurki. Originally, the city's territory was about 50 hectares. In its early days Białystok was located at the intersection of two local roads and had two most important monuments: a church (with the current brick church from 1626) with anaccompanying market square and a Gothic castle owned by the noble Wiesiołowski family, the former owners of the town. The project which was aimed at rebuilding the layout of the city was initiated by Stefan Mikołaj Branicki at the end of the 17th and early 18th centuries. He established a new market (Polish:Nowy Rynek) (part of the western side ofKosciuszki Square with the town hall, located on the western side ofSienkiewicza Street). The route leading towardsSuraż was moved to a new location (today's Suraska Street) forming straight road section ending in the southern corner of the market square and creating a new viewing corridor. This design decision made it possible to erect new buildings so that the old part of the settlement and theJewish quarter were no longer visible. The second viewing corridor was created by shifting theexisting route leading towards Choroszcz to the northern corner of the market square.[92]
An example of Białystok's urban contrast, with a mix of heritage and contemporary architecture
The communication system serving the entire city was made of streets radiating out from thecentral market square. An inventory plan made by Becker in 1799 was needed by the Prussian authorities in connection with the negotiations on the acquisition of Białystok for a royal residence. The plan is of fundamental importance as it shows the development of the city in the first period of its creation. The area of the city did not exceed 1.5 km2, and the population was approx. 3.5 thousand. The entire urban area was closed with 6 loose-fitting gates and buildings situated on regular plots. Compact buildings were found only in the market square, the frontages of which were 1- 2-storey buildings with brick front elevations.Choroska and Zamkowa Streets were built up with only brick houses. The city was dominated by the palace complex, which, together with the park, covered a substantial area. The residence palace was designed on a European scale and created new development opportunities for Białystok.[93] Following the handover of the city from the Prussian Kingdom to theRussian Empire in the early 19th century, the city began growing in a very fast pace as a result of intensive industrialization, losing its original Baroque composition.[94]
After theFirst World War, the first attempts were made to organize the city, which had so far developed without plans - between the palace grounds and arable land. At the request of the Association of Polish Cities, in the years 1938-1939 a general urban concept of the city was created by Ignacy Tłoczek. The plan called for the creation of new communication routes, relieve the center, demolish the Chanajki district, create a housing estate and connect with it the unique green areas around the city with new tree plantings. The Second World War prevented the comprehensive implementation of this plan. In addition, in 1919 the city's territory was significantly expanded, incorporating the surrounding villages with plans of expanding the city.[95]
The center is dominated by buildings not exceeding 25 meters in height, and the outskirts of the city are mainly occupied by low-rise single-family houses. Taller buildings dominate in some residential districts such as the districts of PiastaI andII (located to the south of the city center), DziesięcinyI andII estates (located to the northwest of the city center) as well asWysoki Stoczek andSłoneczny Stok. Dominants in Białystok are located mainly in the center and they are also there located two most important city icons: theSt. Roch's Church and theBiałystok Cathedral, which are on one axis. Each of the districts also has its dominant, which is usually a Catholic or an Orthodox church. The most important space in the city isKościuszko Square - the main square in the shape of a triangle. The space is delimited by two axes, one is part of the axis alongLipowa Street connecting the two largest churches, and the other runs towards the west of the central district along Suraska Street and ends at Młynowa Street. An important spatial arrangement in Białystok is theBranicki Palace complex. The Baroque layout of the palace complex is symmetrically shaped according to one compositional axis with a coherent garden layout.[96]
Throughout the years it expanded to include nearby villages: In the mid-eighteenth centuryBojary which was located on the right bank of the Biala River was incorporated to it. On 10 May 1919, in accordance with the decision of the Sejm,Bialostoczek,Horodniany, Zwierzyniec-Letnisko,Starosielce,Słoboda (which was founded at the end of the 17th century, between the current Pogodna and Świerkowa Streets), Ogrodniki, Pieczurki,Wysoki Stoczek were incorporated also, as well as two mill villages Marczuk andAntoniuk. By the onset ofWorld War II the city's territory amounted to 40 km2 (15 sq mi).[97] The reconstruction of the city following the end ofWorld War II and establishment of thePeople's Republic of Poland saw further expansion: the villagesBacieczki, Bacieczki Kolonia,Korycin and part of the villageKlepacze,Krupniki,Fasty,Zaścianki and Zawady were incorporated into the city. The 70s saw another wave of expansion with the villages ofBagnówka, area of Zakłady Silikatowe, areas of state forests,Dojlidy Ponds and the orthodox cemetery at Dojlidy. At the onset of the millennium, in 2002, the villageZawady was included in the city's limits and at the last enlargement, in 2006, the villagesDojlidy Górne, Zagórki and Kolonia Halickie were incorporated and the city reached its current territory of 102 km2 (39 sq mi).[98]
The city of Białystok is divided into 29 administrative units, known inPolish asosiedla.[99][100] The first 27 of these were created on 25 October 2004.[99] The 28th,Dojlidy Górne, was created by on 23 October 2006, out of three settlements which had been incorporated into the city:Dojlidy Górne, Kolonia Halickie, and Zagórki. A new district calledBagnówka was created at the beginning of 2021.[101][99]
The center of the city,Osiedle Centrum, surroundsLipowa Street, themain street of the city. Lipowa Street extends fromRynek Kościuszki (the corner of Spółdzielcza Street) to Plac Niepodległości im. Romana Dmowskiego (the corner of Krakowska Street).[102] Over the centuries the name of this street has taken on a number of different names;Choroska, Nowolipie, Lipowa,Józef Piłsudski,Joseph Stalin,Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, once again, to return, after the end of World War II, to its original name – Lipowa Street.
The city covers 10,213 ha (25,240 acres)[103] of which 3,210 ha (7,900 acres) isagricultural land, 4,889 ha (12,080 acres) isurbanized areas, 85 ha (210 acres) is surface waters and 65 ha (160 acres) is wasteland.[104] The composition of the districts vary from residential near the city center, with a combination of multi-story apartment buildings and individual houses on small parcels, to industrial and agricultural at the city edges.[104]
Metropolitan Białystok was designated by the Voivodeship of the Regulation No. 52/05 of 16 May 2005[105] to help develop the region economically. In 2006, the metropolitan area population was 450,254 inhabitants.[106] The municipalities adjacent to Białystok are slowly losing their agricultural character, becoming residential suburban neighborhoods with single-family housing and small businesses.[107]
In June 2020, the population of the city was 296,958.[111][107] Among the cities of Poland, Białystok is second in terms of population density, tenth in population, and thirteenth in area.[112] Historically, Białystok has been a destination for internal and foreign immigration, especially fromCentral andEastern Europe. In addition to thePolish minority, there was formerly a Jewish majority in Białystok. The Jewish share in the population of Białystok grew from 22.4% (761) in 1765 to 66.6% (6,000) in 1808 and 76% (47,783) in 1895.[113] According to theRussian census of 1897, out of the total population of 66,000,Jews constituted 41,900 (around 63% percent).[34] According to the German census of 1916, Jews comprised about 72% of the inhabitants (no less than 40,000). The demographic situation changed due to the influx of Polish repatriants,intelligentsia and civil servants, and the enlargement of the city after theWorld War I.[113] According to the 1931 census, the population of Białystok totalled 91,101: 45.5% (41,493)Roman Catholics, 43% (39,165) Jews (by religion), and 8.2% (7,502)Eastern Orthodox believers.[114][115]
In 1936, Białystok had a population of 99,722, of whom: 50.9% (50,758) were Poles, 42.6% (42,482) Jews, 2.1% (2,094)Germans and 0.4% (359) Russians; 46.6% (45,474) adhered to the Catholic religion, 43% (42,880) to Judaism, 8.2% (8,177) to Eastern Orthodoxy and 2.9% (2,892) toEvangelicalism.[113]World War II changed all of this: in 1939, around 107,000 people lived in Białystok,[116] but by 1946, the population had dropped to 56,759, with much less ethnic diversity than it had had previously, due primarily to the murder of its large Jewish population.[58] Currently the city's population is 97% Polish, 2.5% Belarusian and 0.5% of a number of minorities including Russians, Lithuanians, and Ukrainians.[117] Most of the modern-day population growth is based on internal migration within Poland and urbanization of surrounding areas.[117]
Białystok, like other major cities in Poland, is acity county (Polish:Miasto na prawach powiatu).[118] TheLegislative power in the city is vested in theunicameral BiałystokCity Council (Polish:Rada Miasta), which has 28 members.[119] Council members are elected directly every four years, one of whom is themayor, orPresident of Białystok (Polish:prezydent).[119] Like most legislative bodies, the City Council divides itself into committees which have the oversight of various functions of the city government.[119] Bills passed by asimple majority are sent to themayor, who may sign them into law.[119] If the mayor vetoes a bill, the Council has 30 days to override the veto by atwo-thirds majority vote.[119] The current President of Białystok, elected for his first term in 2006, isTadeusz Truskolaski won the elections as theCivic Platform's candidate, however, he has no official connection with the party. In the first round of the elections he received 49% of the votes (42,889 votes altogether). In the later runoff he defeated his rival candidate Marek Kozlowski fromLaw and Justice (Polish:Prawo i Sprawiedliwość), receiving 67% of the votes cast (53,018 votes).[120]
For the 2010–2011 fiscal year the city received revenue (taxes levied + investments) of 1,409,565,525 zł, expended 1,676,459,102 zł leaving a budget deficit of 266,893,577 zł.[121] The deficit was covered by short-term borrowing of 166,893,577 zł and the issuance of 100 million zł inmunicipal bonds.[121]
On 3 March 2022, Białystok ended its partnership with the Russian cities of Irkutsk, Kaliningrad, Pskov and Tomsk, and also with the Belarusian city of Grodno as a reaction to the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[138]
Military Drafting Office located in the historical Nowik Palace
The construction of theSaint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway which passed through the city and was the strategic nerve of theRussian Empire, resulted in the rising of the military importance of the city: In 1879, construction of the barracks of the Włodzimierski Infantry Regiment began (currently it is the area of theVoivodeship hospital between Wojskowa,Skłodowskiej-Curie and Wołodyjowskiego Streets). In 1884, barracks of the Kazan Infantry Regiment were established at Traugutta Street inWygoda. In 1887, barracks of the Mariampole Dragon Regiment were erected at 100 Bema Street. In 1890, the barracks of the4th Kharkov Uhlan Regiment were built at Kawaleryjska Street.[139]
During December 1993 an order of the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces created the 18th Mechanized Brigade (Polish:18 Brygada Zmechanizowana) at the garrison in Białystok.[141] The unit was formed from the 3rd Mechanized Regiment (Polish:3 Pułk Zmechanizowany) and was subordinated to the commander of the1st Warsaw Mechanised Division (Polish:1 Warszawskiej Dywizji Zmechanizowanej im. Tadeusza Kościuszki).[141] On 31 December 2001, as a result of the restructuring of the Armed Forces, the 18th Mechanized Brigade was disbanded and in its place was created the 18th Territorial Defense Battalion.[141] 31 December 2001, as a result of the restructuring of the Armed Forces, 18th Mechanized Brigade (Polish:18 Brygada Zmechanizowana) was disbanded and in its place created the 18th Territorial Defense Battalion (Polish:18 Białostocka Brygada Obrony Terytorialnej).,[141] itself reorganized into the18th Reconnaissance Regiment (Polish:18 Pułk Rozpoznawczy) of thePolish Land Forces is based in Białystok.
In the nineteenth century, Białystok was an important center for light industry, which was the reason for the substantial growth of the city's population. The tradition continued with many garment factories established in the twentieth century, such asFasty in the district ofBacieczki. However, after the fall of communism in 1989 many of these factories faced severe problems and subsequently closed down.
The unemployment rate for November 2020 in Białystok was 6.8%.[144]The 2009 average household had a monthly per capita income of 1018.77 zł[145] and monthly per capita expenses of 823.56 zł[146]
The city has a number of nearby border crossings.[147] Theborder with Belarus is only 50 km (31 mi) away, the nearest border crossings are located in;Bobrowniki (road crossing located about 50 km (31 mi) from the city limits),Kuźnica Białostocka (road and rail crossing located 60 km (37 mi) from the city limits),Siemianówka (railway – freight traffic),Połowce (road) andCzeremcha (railway).[147] Since the border with Belarus is also the eastern border of theEuropean Union, as well as theSchengen Area the city is a center for trade in mainly from the east.[147]
Silos ofPodlaskie Zakłady Zbożowe (Podlaskie Cereal Industrial Plants)The bison grass vodka called "Żubrówka" is made in Białystok at thePolmos Factory
The leading industries in the city's economy are food processing (production of meat products, fruit and vegetable products, the production ofspirits, the production of frozen food, grain processing), electrical engineering (production tools and equipment for machine tools, production of electric heaters, manufacture and production mixers household appliances).[147] There is also a developed machine industry (electronics, machinery and metal), plastic processing (production of household appliances), textiles (textiles and upholstery, manufacture of underwear, clothing accessories, footwear and backpacks), Wood (production plywood and furniture) building materials.[147]
Some major employers who are based in Białystok include:
Standard Motor Products Poland Ltd. headquartered in Białystok began manufacturing ignition coils for original equipment manufacturers 30 years ago.[150]
"Supon" Białystok is the leading Polish producer of fire fighting equipment.[151]
SavaPol, Sp.z o.o. is a manufacturer of stationary and mobile concrete mixing equipment based in Białystok.[152]
Biazet S.A. is a large manufacture of household appliances, including vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, and LED lighting located in Białystok.[153]
Agnella, a major Polish producer of carpets and similar products is in Białystok, located in the district ofBiałostoczek.[154]
Rosti Poland Sp. z o.o., has provided for more than 60 years precision injection molded products for some of the world's leading brands.[155]
Biaglass Huta Szkla Białystok Sp. z o.o., established in 1929, produces mouth blown glass lampshades and related products. Biaglass belongs to elite group of Glass Works in Europe, where 100% of the lighting glass is mouth-blown.[156]
Chłodnia Białystok S.A (Cold Store Białystok S.A.), established in 1952, is one of the largest Polish producers of frozen vegetables, fruits and ready-to-heat meals.[157]
Podlaskie Zakłady Zbożowe S.A. was established on 1 July 2000 as a result of privatizing The Regional Establishment of Corn and Milling Industry 'PZZ' in Białystok. It is one of the leading firms inPodlaskie Voivodeship in the department of preservation and processing of grain with elevators in Białystok,Grajewo andSuwałki.[158]
In order to increase the attractiveness of the city of Białystok for investments based on modern technologies, the Białystok Science and Technology Park was opened in 2014, which is to initiate the development of infrastructure conducive to increasing innovation among local and regional enterprises.[159]
Amongst companies based in the Park are the Institute of Innovative Technologies EMAG,[160] the Department of Prevention of Metabolic Diseases Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of thePolish Academy of Sciences, and abiometric photographs companyPhotoAid.[161]
Water supply is provided byWodociągi Białostockie, the municipal water company. In 2015, the length of the active water supply network in Białystok was 540.7 km (336 mi). Compared to 2010, this length increased by 72.6 km (45 mi), and compared to the previous year by 13.3 km (8 mi). At the end of 2015, there were 20,508 residential buildings in the city connected to the water supply system. In the years 2010 - 2015, this number was constantly increasing. For comparison, at the end of 2010, there were 18,654 residential buildings connected to the water supply network, 19,307 at the end of 2012, and 20,171 at the end of 2014.[162] Electricity in the city is supplied byPGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna (formerly Zakład Energetyczny Białystok). Apartment buildings in the city are connected to themunicipal heating system which was operated until its privatization by the Heating Energy Municipal Enterprise (Polish:Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej). From November 2017 following its privatization, it was renamed Enea Ciepło,[163] being a subsidiary of the energy conglomerateEnea SA. The energy for themunicipal heating is produced by theBiałystok Power Station usingcogeneration. Gas in the city is provided byPGNiG. In November 1947, following the end of World War II, a decision was approved to construct in the city gas system, yet the city was finally connected to the gas system in 1962.[164][165] Waste collection in the city is done by MPO Białystok, the municipal-owned cleaning enterprise as well as by other companies which are handling waste collection in some of thecity districts, such as Koma.[166] Collected waste is processed since 2015 at the Municipal Waste Treatment Plant (Polish:Zakład Unieszkodliwiania Odpadów Komunalnych) located at 40F Generała Władysława Andersa Street, replacing thelandfill inHryniewicze.[167]
Białystok is one of the largest cultural centers in thePodlaskie Voivodeship. The attractions include performing arts groups, art museums, historical museums, walking tours of architectural/cultural aspects and a wide variety of parks and green spaces. Białystok in 2010 was on the short-list, but ultimately lost the competition, to become a finalist forEuropean Capital of Culture in 2016.[168]
The city has a number of performing arts facilities including:
TheBiałystok Puppet Theatre (Polish:Bialostocki Teatr Lalek), established in 1953, is one of the oldest Polishpuppet theaters.[169] The facility is located at Kalinowskiego 1 in Białystok. The repertoire includes performances for both children and puppet adaptations of world literature for adults.[169] Because of the high artistic level of productions, the theater has been recognized as one of the best puppetry arts centers in Poland.[169]
The Podlaskie Opera and Philharmonic – European Art Centre in Białystok is the largest institute of arts in Northeastern Poland and the most modern cultural center in this region of Europe. In its amphitheatre every year at the end of JuneHalfway Festival takes place.[171]
There are a number of museums in the city including:
The Historical Museum in Białystok (Polish:Muzeum Historyczne w Białymstoku) is part of thePodlaskie Museum.[172] The facility has a rich collection of archival materials andiconography illustrating the history of Białystok andPodlasie, and a number of middle-class cultural relics, especially in the field of craft utility.[172] There are also the Numismatic Cabinet of the collection of 16 000 coins, medals and securities.[172] The museum is in possession of the only collections in the country memorabilia connected with the Tatar settlement in the Polish–Lithuanian–Belarusian region.[172]
TheArmy Museum in Białystok (Polish:Muzeum Wojska w Białymstoku) was established in September 1968 as a branch of the Podlaskie Museum to house the research and collections of many people connected with the military history of north-eastern Poland.[173]
The Ludwik Zamenhof Centre (Polish:Centrum im. Ludwika Zamenhofa w Białymstoku) has a permanent exhibition, "Bialystok of YoungLudwik Zamenhof", and various temporary exhibitions, concerts, film projections, and theatre performances. The Centre has a branch of Łukasz Górnicki's Podlaska Library dedicated to theEsperanto language.
The Sybir Memorial Museum (Polish:Muzeum Pamięci Sybiru) is a historical museum opened in 2021 and dedicated to the memory of Poles, as well as people from other nationalities, thevictims of forced deportations toSiberia perpetrated by theRussian Empire and theSoviet Union.[174]
The Alfons Karny Sculpture Museum contains a collection of sculptures by Białystok nativeAlfons Karny.
TheMedical University of Białystok operates the Museum of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy (Polish:Muzeum Historii Medycyny i Farmacji).[175]
The Galeria Arsenał is acontemporary art gallery, located at a former 18th-century arsenal in the city center.
Planty is a 14.94 ha (36.9 acres) park created between 1930 and 1938, under the auspices of the then voivodeMarian Zyndram-Kościałkowski in the areas adjacent to Branicki Palace.[180] The modernist composition of the park was designed by Stanislav Gralla.[181]
The various historically driven changes have had a very significant influence on the architectural space of the city. Most other Polish cities have suffered similarly, but the processes in Białystok, have had a particularly intense course. Numerous historic works of architecture no longer exist, while many others have been rebuilt to their original configuration. Very few historic buildings of the city have been preserved – the sights are merely an echo of the old historical shape of Białystok.[182]
The city has both professional and amateur sports teams, and a number of venues where they are based.Jagiellonia Białystok is a Polishfootball club, based in Białystok, in theEkstraklasa (Poland's top division) that plays at theBiałystok Municipal Stadium.[184] Jagiellonia Białystok won the Polish Cup andSuper Cup in 2010,[185] and the Polish Championship in2024. A new 22,500-seat stadium was completed at the beginning of 2015.[186] There is also afutsal team Słoneczny Stok Jagiellonia Białystok, which plays in theFutsal Ekstraklasa, Poland's top division (as of 2022–23).[187]
Podlasie Białystok is one of the topathletics clubs in Poland, multiple times Polish Team Champions, most recently in 2022.[188]
Other notable clubs include men's football teamHetman Białystok (with additionalboxing andcontract bridge sections),[190]basketball clubŻubry Białystok [pl],[191] and football club Włókniarz Białystok with both men's and women's sections,[192] however, all of the aforementioned teams play in the lower leagues as of 2022–23.
Białystok has a wide variety of media outlets serving the city and surrounding region. There are two locally published daily newspapers,Gazeta Współczesna (36.3% market share)[193][194] andKurier Poranny (20.3% market share).[193][195] In addition two national papers have local bureaus. There are a number of national and locally produced television and radio channels available both over-the-air from the nearbyRTCN Białystok (Krynice) Mast, the seventh highest structure in Poland,[196] in addition to transmitter sites within the city.TVP Białystok is one of the locally produced, regional branches of theTVP, Poland's public television broadcaster. There is also a cable television system available within the city. The city has twocampus radio stations;Radiosupeł at theMedical University of Białystok[197] andRadio Akadera atBiałystok Technical University.[198]
In the early 1900s, Białystok was reputed to have the largest concentration of Jews of all the cities in the world.[200] In 1931, 40,000 Jews lived in the city, nearly half the city's inhabitants.[201]The city is the seat of theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Białystok. Pope John Paul II on 5 June 1991, during a visit to Białystok, announced the establishment of theArchdiocese of Białystok which ended the period of the temporary church administration of the portion of theArchdiocese of Vilnius that had, afterWorld War II, remained within the Polish borders.[202] The city is also the seat of the Białystok-Gdańsk Diocese of theAutocephalousPolish Orthodox Church.[203] Białystok is the largest concentration of Orthodox believers in Poland.[203] In Białystok, the following Protestant churches exist: a Lutheran parish, two Pentecostal churches, Baptist church, a congregation of the Church of God in Christ and a Seventh Day Adventist church.[204]
Białystok is home to more than two thousand Muslims (mainlyTatars). There is an Islamic Centre,[205] a House of Prayer, and various organisations. There is a magazine issued – "Pamięć i trwanie" ("Memory and persistence").
The city is and has been for centuries, the main hub of transportation for thePodlaskie Voivodeship and the entire northeastern section of Poland. It is a major city on the European Union roadways (Via Baltica)[207] and railways (Rail Baltica)[208] to the Baltic Republics andFinland. It is also amain gateway of trade with Belarus due to its proximity to the border and its current and longstanding relationship withGrodno, Belarus.
A traffic management system has been operating in Białystok since 2015. At 120 intersections, traffic lights are coordinated in such a way that cars and buses covered the route as quickly as possible. Special cameras record traffic, travel time. Drivers receive this information on 19 boards set among others at the intersections on Wasilkowska Street, Antoniuk-Fabryczny Street and Kleeberga Street.[209]
Passenger trains connect fromSuwałki,Grodno andLithuania toWarsaw and the rest of the European passenger network. Passenger services are provided by two rail service providers,PKP Intercity that provides intercity passengers trains (express, intercity, eurocity, hotel and TLK)[210] andPolregio that operates only regional passenger trains financed by thevoivodeship. Passenger trains are mostly run using electrical multiple units (on electrified lines) or rail buses.[211]
There is an extensive bus network that covers the entire city by three bus services, but no tram or subway exists. The three bus operators (KPKM, KPK and KZK) are owned by the city and each shares approximately a third of the lines and the bus fleet.[212]
By 2020, there were already over 158 km (98 mi) of bicycle paths in Białystok.[215]The municipal bicycle renting system is called BiKeR and was opened in 2014. The system was initially based on 30 stations equipped with 300 bikes. The city has four public bicycle repair stations, in which one can fix their private bikes. The stations are located in places where the highest traffic of city bikes was observed.[209]
A civil airport,Białystok-Krywlany Airport, lies within the city limits, but does not provide regularly scheduled service. There were plans in 2011 to build a new regional airport,Białystok-Saniki Airport, that would have provided flights within Europe.[216]
Higher education in the city can be traced back to the second half of the eighteenth century when the ownership of the city was inherited byField Crown HetmanJan Klemens Branicki.[23] As a patron of the arts and sciences, Branicki encouraged numerous artists and scientists to settle in Białystok to take advantage of Branicki's patronage.[217] In 1745 Branicki established Poland's first military college, the School of Civil and Military Engineering, in the city.[217]
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^abJacek Kusznier,Elektrycy w historii Politechniki Białostockiej, "Maszyny Elektryczne - Zeszyty Problemowe", Nr 4/2018, p. 163 (in Polish)
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^Drywa, Danuta (2020). "Germanizacja dzieci i młodzieży polskiej na Pomorzu Gdańskim z uwzględnieniem roli obozu koncentracyjnego Stutthof". In Kostkiewicz, Janina (ed.).Zbrodnia bez kary... Eksterminacja i cierpienie polskich dzieci pod okupacją niemiecką (1939–1945) (in Polish). Kraków:Uniwersytet Jagielloński,Biblioteka Jagiellońska. p. 187.
^Mark, B (1952).Ruch oporu w getcie białostockim. Samoobrona-zagłada-powstanie (in Polish). Warsaw.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Zwolski, Marcin (2005). "Deportacje internowanych Polakow z wojewodztwa białostockiego 1944–1945".Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość (in Polish). Vol. 2, no. 8. IPN. pp. 98–99.ISSN1427-7476.
^ab"Średnie i sumy miesięczne".Dane meteorologiczne (in Polish). 6 April 2018.Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved12 February 2022.
^"Miesięczna suma opadu".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived fromthe original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved22 January 2022.
^"Liczba dni z opadem >= 0,1 mm".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived fromthe original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved22 January 2022.
^"Średnia grubość pokrywy śnieżnej".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived fromthe original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved22 January 2022.
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^Grażyna Rogala (23 December 2014)."Part of the urban area". Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Białystok. Retrieved7 September 2023.
^"Z badań nad zmianami struktury przestrzennej miasta Białegostoku".Rocznik Białostocki (18):432–435. 1993.
^Samsel, Agata.Białystok w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym (in Polish). pp. 234–235.
^Tokajuk, Jerzy.Konflikty przestrzenne na styku istniejacej zabudowy zagrodowej i planowanej zabudowy mieszkaniowej na terenach wsi strefy podmiejskiej wlaczonych do obszaru miasta Bialoegostoku. pp. 312–313.
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Łukasz Kaźmierczak,Trzy procent odmienności (Three percent of different) – article describing results of Polish census 2002 and minorities in Poland, citing census data(in Polish)
Janusz Żarnowski,"Społeczeństwo Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej 1918–1939", Warszawa 1973(in Polish)
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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