Otwock | |
|---|---|
 Świdermajer-styled house in Otwock | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Otwock | |
| Coordinates:52°7′N21°16′E / 52.117°N 21.267°E /52.117; 21.267 | |
| Country |  Poland |
| Voivodeship |  Masovian |
| County | Otwock |
| Gmina | Otwock(urban gmina) |
| Established | 1877 |
| City rights | 9 November 1916 |
| Government | |
| • City mayor | Jarosław Margielski (PiS) |
| Area | |
• Total | 47.33 km2 (18.27 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 100 m (330 ft) |
| Population (2019) | |
• Total | 44,635 |
| • Density | 943.1/km2 (2,443/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 05-400 to 05-402 |
| Area code | +48 022 |
| Car plates | WOT |
| Highways |  |
| Voivodeship roads |  |
| Website | http://www.otwock.pl |
Otwock ([ˈɔtfɔt͡sk] ⓘ;Yiddish:אָטוואָצק) is a city in theMasovian Voivodeship in east-centralPoland,[1] some 23 kilometres (14 mi) south-east ofWarsaw, with 43,895 inhabitants (2024). Otwock is part of theWarsaw metropolitan area. It is situated on the right bank of theVistula River, below the mouth of theŚwider River. Otwock is home to a unique architectural style calledŚwidermajer.
It is the capital ofOtwock County. The town covers an area of 47 square kilometres (18 sq mi). Forested areas make up 23% of the territory, and there are several nature reserves.
Even though the first mention of a village calledOtwosko comes from the early 15th century, Otwock did not fully develop until the second half of the 19th century, when in 1877 theVistula River Railroad was opened, which ran fromMława viaWarsaw, toLublin andChełm. Otwock, which is located along the line, became a popular suburb, with numerous spas and several notable guests, includingJózef Piłsudski andWładysław Reymont, who wrote hisNobel Prize-winning novelChłopi there. TheZofiówka Sanatorium was opened in Otwock in 1908. In 1916, Otwock was incorporated as a town and became the seat of apowiat.
During theBattle of Warsaw (1920), Otwock, along with nearbyKarczew, constituted the edge of the right wing of the first line of Polish defense and was manned by the Polish15th Infantry Division, whereas the second line of Polish defense began in the present-day neighborhood of Świdry Wielkie; however, there was no Polish-Russian fighting in Otwock.[2]
In 1936 theWarsaw - Otwock railway connection was the first rail line to be electrified in Poland.
Following the German–Sovietinvasion of Poland, which startedWorld War II in September 1939, the town wasoccupied by Germany. In December 1939, the German authorities established aJewish ghetto in Otwock. A murderousAction T4 euthanasia program was carried out by the Nazis in the localZofiówka Sanatorium for the psychiatric patients[3] in order to confine itsJewish population for the purpose of persecution and exploitation.[4] The Ghetto was liquidated between August and 19 September 1942, when 75% of its Jewish population of 12,000–15,000 numbering at around 8,000 were assembled by theNazis at a layover yard in Otwock(pictured) and transported in cattle trucks toextermination camps inTreblinka andAuschwitz.[5] Jews who remained were summarily shot at Reymonta Street soon after.[6]
Otwock is the hometown ofIrena Sendler (1910 – 2008), the Polish humanitarian who saved thousands of Jewish children during theHolocaust; as well asKrystyna Dańko, both awarded the titles ofRighteous among the Nations byYad Vashem. WriterCalel Perechodnik, aJewish Ghetto Policeman from Otwock also hailed from this town. His memoir,Am I A Murderer? Testament Of A Jewish Ghetto Policeman, follows his personal experience as a ghetto policeman during the liquidation of the town, in which he chronicles the measures taken by both the Germans and the Jewish ghetto police in order to round up the Jewish populace for expulsion and extermination at Treblinka.[7] Following the liberation, a children's home for Holocaust survivors was established in Otwock.[8]
In 1952, the town's limits were expanded by including Świder, Świdry Wielkie, Teklin and Zamlądz as new neighbourhoods.[9] Following theKorean War, in 1953–1959, Poland admitted 200North Korean orphans in Świder.[10]
From 1975 to 1998, it was administratively located in theWarsaw Voivodeship.
In Otwock there are many buildings in theŚwidermajer style, unique to the town and its surroundings. There are also memorials toJózef Piłsudski and to local Jews, who were murdered byNazi Germany in the Holocaust.
The Mszar Pogorzelski, Świder and Wyspy Świderskie nature reserves are located in Otwock.
In 1958,Ewa, the first Polishnuclear reactor was activated in Swierk district of Otwock. A second research reactor,Maria, was erected in 1974.
Otwock is home to the sports clubStart Otwock (founded in 1924). The club is renowned for its weight-lifters such asSzymon Kołecki andMarcin Dołęga.The club's own prodigy is football forwardJanusz Żmijewski, who in the 1960s played forLegia Warszawa and thenational team of Poland.
Otwock istwinned with:
Lennestadt, Germany
Saint-Amand-Montrond, France
Ōarai, Ibaraki, Japan
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