Warsaw Chopin Airport
Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport, more referred to as Chopin Airport or Warsaw-Chopin Airport, is an international airport located in the Włochy district of Warsaw, Poland. As Poland's largest, covering 834 hectares of land, busiest airport, Warsaw Chopin handles just under 40% of the country's air passenger traffic. Warsaw Chopin handles 300 scheduled flights daily and an ever-rising number of charters. London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are the busiest international connections, while Kraków, Wrocław, Gdańsk are the most popular domestic ones. Warsaw Chopin Airport is, with 17.7 million passengers in 2018, the busiest airport in the newer EU member states. Known as Warsaw-Okecie Airport or Okecie International Airport, the airport bore the name of its Okęcie neighborhood throughout its history, until its renaming for Polish composer and former Warsaw resident Frédéric Chopin in 2001. Despite the official change, "Okecie" remains in popular and industry use, including air traffic and aerodrome references.
An underground railway station connected from the airport to Warsaw's suburban rail system was opened in June 2012 in time for the Euro 2012 football championships, on 25 November 2013, the airport announced accommodating – for the first time in history – its 10 millionth passenger in a single year. The secondary international airport of the city is the much smaller Warsaw Modlin Airport, which opened in 2012 and is used for low-cost traffic. In 1924, when urban development around Warsaw's aerodrome at Mokotów Field began affecting air traffic, the Ministry of Railways purchased land near the village of Okęcie to construct a new airport. On 29 April 1934, the Polish president, Ignacy Mościcki, opened Central Airport, which from on took over the handling of all traffic from the former civilian aerodrome at Pole Mokotowskie. In the weeks after its opening, a journalist from the magazine Flight and Air Defence of Poland reported the following: "In a large pastel-coloured hall, we see a ticket office, a customs post and post office, police station and a kiosk with various newspapers etc...
On the first floor, there is a restaurant and viewing terrace, from where one can see the entire territory of the airport." With the building finished in 1933, the new modernist premises of the Warsaw airport cost the State Treasury around 10 million Zloty. The new complex included three hangars, exhibition space, of course a large, modern terminal building with a concrete taxiway complete with stands for a number of aircraft. Warsaw thus received an airport befitting of any European capital city. In its first year of operation, Okęcie served around 10,750 passengers. After the aerodrome's civilian buildings were finished, the military potential of the site began to be developed, with a Polish Air Force base opening soon after; as air traffic and the number of aircraft movements grew year on year, the authorities identified the need to develop a new system for air traffic navigation and control. The state, as a result, marked a number of air corridors for use by civil airlines, whilst radio stations were established to regulate such traffic and divert it away from sensitive and restricted areas.
By 1938, the airport was equipped with 16 immigration checkpoints for passengers both departing and arriving on international flights. These posts were manned by the Polish Border Guard. By 1937, the airport had received new radio navigation equipment and was using Lorenz beam technology to assure the safety of landings and approaches over Warsaw, during periods of poor visibility or bad weather. On the eve of World War II, Okęcie airport was connected by regular scheduled flights with 6 domestic and 17 foreign airports, among which were Tel-Aviv and Beirut in Lebanon. During World War II, Okęcie was used as a battleground between the German Army and Polish resistance and was completely destroyed. From the first day of the war in Poland, Okęcie became a target for bombing by the German Luftwaffe. Once Warsaw was occupied by the German army, the airport became the base for two German aviation schools and a Junkers aircraft repair works. During this period, the airport received its first concrete runway and taxiways.
However, with the German withdrawal from the city, both Okęcie's remaining buildings and ground infrastructure were intentionally destroyed in order to deny their use to the advancing Red Army and Polish First Army. After the war, LOT Polish Airlines resumed operations at Okęcie using what was left of the pre-war infrastructure. By the end of the 1940s, the airport had been reconnected with most of Poland's most important cities and a number of international services, including those to Belgrade, Bucharest, Brussels, Copenhagen and Stockholm. In the first half of the 1950s, this development continued and the airport authorities continued to hold talks with many international airlines on the subject of opening
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula River in east-central Poland and its population is estimated at 1.770 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.1 million residents, which makes Warsaw the 8th most-populous capital city in the European Union. The city limits cover 516.9 square kilometres, while the metropolitan area covers 6,100.43 square kilometres. Warsaw is an alpha global city, a major international tourist destination, a significant cultural and economic hub, its historical Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once described as the'Paris of the North', Warsaw was believed to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world until World War II. Bombed at the start of the German invasion in 1939, the city withstood a siege for which it was awarded Poland's highest military decoration for heroism, the Virtuti Militari. Deportations of the Jewish population to concentration camps led to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 and the destruction of the Ghetto after a month of combat.
A general Warsaw Uprising between August and October 1944 led to greater devastation and systematic razing by the Germans in advance of the Vistula–Oder Offensive. Warsaw gained the new title of Phoenix City because of its extensive history and complete reconstruction after World War II, which had left over 85% of its buildings in ruins. Warsaw is one of Europe's most dynamic metropolitan cities. In 2012 the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Warsaw as the 32nd most liveable city in the world. In 2017 the city came 4th in the "Business-friendly" category and 8th in "Human capital and life style", it was ranked as one of the most liveable cities in Central and Eastern Europe. The city is a significant centre of research and development, Business process outsourcing, Information technology outsourcing, as well as of the Polish media industry; the Warsaw Stock Exchange is most important in Central and Eastern Europe. Frontex, the European Union agency for external border security as well as ODIHR, one of the principal institutions of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have their headquarters in Warsaw.
Together with Frankfurt and Paris, Warsaw is one of the cities with the highest number of skyscrapers in the European Union. The city is the seat of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, University of Warsaw, the Warsaw Polytechnic, the National Museum, the Great Theatre—National Opera, the largest of its kind in the world, the Zachęta National Gallery of Art; the picturesque Old Town of Warsaw, which represents examples of nearly every European architectural style and historical period, was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980. Other main architectural attractions include the Castle Square with the Royal Castle and the iconic King Sigismund's Column, the Wilanów Palace, the Łazienki Palace, St. John's Cathedral, Main Market Square, palaces and mansions all displaying a richness of colour and detail. Warsaw is positioning itself as Central and Eastern Europe’s chic cultural capital with thriving art and club scenes and serious restaurants, with around a quarter of the city's area occupied by parks.
Warsaw's name in the Polish language is Warszawa. Other previous spellings of the name may have included Werszewa. According to some sources, the origin of the name is unknown. In Pre-Slavic toponomastic layer of Northern Mazovia: corrections and addenda, it is stated that the toponymy of northern Mazovia tends to have unclear etymology. Warszawa was the name of a fishing village. According to one theory Warszawa means "belonging to Warsz", Warsz being a shortened form of the masculine name of Slavic origin Warcisław; however the ending -awa is unusual for a big city. Folk etymology attributes the city name to a fisherman and his wife, Sawa. According to legend, Sawa was a mermaid living in the Vistula River. In actuality, Warsz was a 12th/13th-century nobleman who owned a village located at the modern-day site of the Mariensztat neighbourhood. See the Vršovci family which had escaped to Poland; the official city name in full is miasto stołeczne Warszawa. A native or resident of Warsaw is known as a Varsovian – in Polish warszawiak, warszawianka and warszawianie.
Other names for Warsaw include Varsovia and Varsóvia, Varsavia, Warschau, װאַרשע /Varshe, Varšuva, Varsó and Varšava The first fortified settlements on the site of today's Warsaw were located in Bródno and Jazdów. After Jazdów was raided by nearby clans and dukes, a new similar settlement was established on the site of a small fishing village called Warszowa; the Prince of Płock, Bolesław II of Masovia, established this settlement, the modern-day Warsaw, in about 1300. In the beginning of the 14th century it became one of the seats of the Dukes of Masovia, becoming the official capital of the Masovian Duchy in 1413. 14th-century Warsaw's economy rested on crafts and trade. Upon the extinction of the local ducal line, the duchy was reincorporated into the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland in 1526. In 1529, Warsaw for the first time became the seat of th
Wrocław
Wrocław is a city in western Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe 350 kilometres from the Baltic Sea to the north and 40 kilometres from the Sudeten Mountains to the south; the population of Wrocław in 2018 was 639,258, making it the fourth-largest city in Poland and the main city of the Wrocław agglomeration. Wrocław is the historical capital of Lower Silesia. Today, it is the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship; the history of the city dates back over a thousand years, its extensive heritage combines all religions and cultures of Europe. At various times, it has been part of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Bohemia, Kingdom of Hungary, Habsburg Monarchy and Germany. Wrocław became part of Poland again in 1945, as a result of the border changes after the Second World War, which included a nearly complete exchange of population. Wrocław is a university city with a student population of over 130,000, making it one of the most youthful cities in the country.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the University of Wrocław Breslau University, produced 9 Nobel Prize laureates and is renowned for its high quality of teaching. Wrocław is classified as a Gamma-global city by GaWC, it was placed among the top 100 cities in the world for the quality of life by the consulting company Mercer and in the top 100 of the smartest cities in the world in the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2017 report. The city hosted the Eucharistic Congress in the Euro 2012 football championships. In 2016, the city was a European Capital of the World Book Capital. In this year, Wrocław hosted the Theatre Olympics, World Bridge Games and the European Film Awards. In 2017, the city was the host of the World Games; the city's name was first recorded as "Wrotizlava" in the chronicle of German chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg, which mentions it as a seat of a newly installed bishopric in the context of the Congress of Gniezno. The first municipal seal stated. A simplified name is given, as Wrezlaw, Prezla or Breslaw.
The Czech spelling was used in Latin documents as Vratislavia. At that time, Prezla was used in Middle High German. In the middle of the 14th century, the Early New High German form of the name, began to replace its earlier versions; the city is traditionally believed to be named after Wrocisław or Vratislav believed to be named after Duke Vratislaus I of Bohemia. It is possible that the city was named after the tribal duke of the Silesians or after an early ruler of the city called Vratislav; the city's name in various other languages is: Hungarian: Boroszló, Czech: Vratislav, German: Breslau, Hebrew: ורוצלב, Yiddish: ברעסלוי, Silesian German: Brassel, Latin: Vratislavia or Budorgis or Wratislavia. The city's name in other languages is available at the list of names of European cities. Persons born or living in the city are known as "Vratislavians". In ancient times at or near Wrocław was a place called Budorigum, it has been mapped to Claudius Ptolemy's map of AD 142–147. The city of Wrocław originated at the intersection of two trade routes, the Via Regia and the Amber Road.
Settlements in the area existed during the migration period. A Slavic tribe Ślężans erected on Ostrów Tumski a gord; the city was first recorded in the 10th century as Vratislavia, the Bohemian duke Vratislaus I founded here a Bohemian stronghold. Vratislavia was derived from the duke's name Vratislav. In 985, Duke Mieszko I of Poland conquered Silesia including Wrocław; the town was mentioned explicitly in the year 1000 AD in connection with a founding of a bishopric during the Congress of Gniezno. The medieval chronicle, Gesta principum Polonorum, written by Gallus Anonymus in 1112–1116, named Wrocław, along with Kraków and Sandomierz, as one of the three capitals of the Polish Kingdom. During Wrocław's early history, the control over it changed hands between Bohemia, the Kingdom of Poland, after the fragmentation of the Kingdom of Poland, the Piast-ruled duchy of Silesia. One of the most important events during this period was the foundation of the Diocese of Wrocław by the Polish Duke Bolesław the Brave in 1000.
Along with the Bishoprics of Kraków and Kołobrzeg, Wrocław was placed under the Archbishopric of Gniezno in Greater Poland, founded by Pope Sylvester II through the intercession of the Emperor Otto III in 1000, during the Congress of Gniezno. In the years 1034–1038 the city was affected by Pagan reaction in Poland; the city became a commercial centre and expanded to Wyspa Piasek, to the left bank of the River Oder. Around 1000, the town had about 1,000 inhabitants. In 1109 during the Polish-German war, Prince Bolesław III Wrymouth defeated the King of Germany Henry V at the Battle of Hundsfeld, stopping the German march into Poland. By 1139, a settlement belonging to Governor Piotr Włostowic was built, another was founded on the left bank of the River Oder, near the present seat of the University. While the city was Polish, there were communities of Bohemians, Jews and Germans. In the 13th century, Wrocław was the political centre of the divided Polish kingdom. In April 1241, during the First Mongol invasion of Poland the city was abandoned by the inhabitants and burned for strategic reason
Polish State Railways
Polskie Koleje Państwowe SA is the dominant railway operator in Poland. The company was founded when the former Polskie Koleje Państwowe state-owned operator was divided into several units based on the requirements laid down by the European Union. PKP SA is the dominant company in PKP Group collective that resulted from the split, maintains in 100% share control, being responsible for management of all of the other PKP Group component companies; the group's organisations are dependent upon PKP SA. In Poland there are 18,513 kilometres of railway tracks owned by the state; the pricing system employed by PKP is regressive. On international routes such as, for example, the Berlin-Warszawa Express and the IC-Nightbus Warsaw – Vilnius, a global pricing system is in use which requires one to buy two separate tickets in place of a single consolidated return ticket; the long-distance and local trains' pricing systems are separated from each other in entirety and thus tickets issued by local train operators cannot be used on long-distance services, with the opposite true.
International tickets, are valid on all services upon which one is required to travel on order to reach the final destination stated on the ticket. PKP's current plans to develop high-speed rail in Poland call for a "Y" line that will connect Warsaw–Łódź–Kalisz, split into two branches, one to Wrocław and another to Poznań; the geometric layout of the line will be designed to permit speeds of 360 km/h. Construction is planned to begin around 2014 and finish in 2019. In April 2010, the tender for a feasibility study was awarded to a consortium led by Spanish company Ingenieria IDOM; the feasibility study has been granted €80 million in subsidy from the European Union. The total cost of the line including construction and train sets has been estimated at €6.9 billion and is planned to be financed by EU subsidies. In September 2010, Alstom was revealed to have been the sole bidder on a tender for high-speed trainsets. Alstom will supply 20 New Pendolino trains to PKP Intercity; the contract for Alstom to supply and maintain these trains for PKP Intercity was signed on 30 May 2011.
As part of the deal, Alstom will construct a new rolling stock maintenance facility in Warsaw. In the centre of the city of Łódź the "Y" line will travel through an underground tunnel which would link two existing railway stations. One of them: Łódź Fabryczna has been reconstructed as an underground station. Since 2009 PKP's subdivision Polskie Linie Kolejowe has been using the new'Dworzec Polski' brand; this branding and its corresponding PR campaign'ROBI SIĘ!' was developed in order to shed more light on station redevelopments all around the country. The ethos of the brand requires that the station in question be transformed to meet the highest modern standards of comfort and technical service before being allowed to become a member of the'Dworzec Polski' network. There are 77 stations taking part in the'ROBI SIĘ!' programme, amongst which are included the main stations of Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Gdynia. Regaining independence on 11 November 1918 allowed Poland to reclaim the former Russian and Austrian sectors from military railways.
The Railway Department in the Ministry of Communication was created and the Polish railways were named Polskie Koleje Państwowe. In December 1918, the Great Poland Uprising started; the rebels took over the former Prussian sector of railways. One year the fights for Lwów were over and the former Austrian railway directorate was taken over by Poland. Taking over the railways from Prussians lasted until 1921. After the victory over the Red Army in the Polish-Bolshevik War, a great deal of damage in railway structure was discovered on the route along which the communists were retreating. At the same time, the tense relations with Lithuania led the railways around Vilnius and Minsk to a partial disintegration and stagnation; the Libau–Romny Railway was not recovered. Polish railways administration took over the railways in Upper Silesia in 1922; that same year, a decision was made to divide railways in Poland into nine administrative districts. An economic crisis in 1930s forced the state to cut back its budget for railway investment.
Profit decreased by 50% compared to 1929. The next year, over 23,000 PKP employees had been dismissed and protests and strikes causes authorities to try to find a solution; the end of the crisis and an increase of cargo transport and income came in 1937. On 1 September 1939, the railwaymen of Szymankowo stopped a German armoured train before its arrival on the bridge over the Vistula River and the Polish soldiers reattached the explosive charges disconnected by the German dive bombers and blew up the bridge; the railwaymen and some of their innocent family members were executed by the Germans the same day, 1 September 1939. After the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland on 17 September 1939, most Polish rolling stock fell into Soviet hands; the Polish railways in Silesia and Pomorze were adopted by German railways Deutsche Reichsbahn on 25 September. The Polish railways in Generalgouvernement became Ostbahn; until the last moment before the German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, cargo trains transported goods from the Sov
Kutno
Kutno is a town located in central Poland with 44,718 inhabitants and an area of 33.6 km2. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship part of Płock Voivodeship, it is the capital of Kutno County. Kutno was the center of a large Jewish community. In 1900, 10,356 Jews lived there, it was the birthplace of a famed Polish writer Sholem Ash. During the invasion of Poland in 1939, Polish armies under General Tadeusz Kutrzeba conducted an offensive in and around Kutno, a battle, named the Battle of the Bzura. Based on its central location and the intersection of multiple rail lines, Kutno is one of the most important railroad junctions in Poland. Two main lines cross there. Another connection starts in Kutno, which connects the town to Płock. Kutno is located in the northern part of Łódź province and is 20 kilometres to the northwest of the geographical center of Poland. According to the data from 1 January 2009, the area of the town amounts to 33.59 square kilometres. According to the physical–geographic division of Poland, the town is placed on the western edge of Kutno plain, the part of Middle–Masovia macro region.
At the south of Kutno plain, Kutno straddles the boundary of the Łowicko – Błońska plain, which belongs to the same region and the Kłodawa Upland plain, which spreads in the west and is counted in the southern Greater Poland. To the north of the Przedecz – Gostynin line Kujawskie lakeland begins, included in the Greater Poland lakeland. Kutno is located on the edge of four historical lands. Greater Poland, Masovia, Łęczyca, it is located in what is the center of Poland, at a point where geographical and historical borders, as well as in the crossing of communication lines, are of major importance to the development of the city. Kutno has maintained the administrative units of a town, although certain parts of the town are called housing developments; these divisions are historical references. For instance, the Łąkoszyn housing development is part of what remains of the town of Łąkoszyn town, incorporated to Kutno; the following parts of Kutno have been formulated in the National Register of Country's Administrative Division: Antoniew, Bielawki, Dybów, Kościuszków, Kotliska Małe, Łąkoszyn, Puśniki, Sklęczki, Stara Wieś, Stodółki, Walentynów, Wiktoryn, Żwirownia.
Customary Administrative Division of Kutno: Dybów, Rejtana, Tarnowskiego, Kościuszków, Sklęczki, Łąkoszyn, Majdany, Batorego, Rataje. The climate of Kutno is similar to that of the entire lowland region of Poland; the temperature is influenced by oceanic airflow patterns. Kutno is in the lowest zone of precipitation in Poland, it averages 550 mm per year, but this can be lower in some years. This is a problem for Kutno, exacerbated by intensive agriculture in the area. Kutno has about five storms during the year. Snow falls, on average, 39 days in a year. There are about 21 foggy days during the year in the municipal area, but near the Ochnia river fog occurs quite often. On average there are 50 sunny and 130 cloudy days every year; the wind comes from the west, veering southwest in winter and northwest in summer. July and August are the hottest months with average highs of 24 °C. December and January and the coldest with average highs of 2 °C and lows of −3 °C. July has the most rainfall with an average of 73mm and January has the least with 30mm.
There are indications. The first mention of it was found in a document concerning an endowment of Łęczyca prepositure published due to a consecration of the collegiate church in Łęczyca in the year 1161. According to the local folklore, both the town and the parish came into being in 1250, although official documentation to that effect is lacking. Most the town began to be settled some time between the 12th and the 14th centuries; the document had been published for his son Ziemysław by Leszek, Przemysł, Kazimierz – duke of Kuyavia in the presence of three estate dignitaries as well as other people gathered during a convention in Włocławek. References to Kutno concern the appearance of rector Michał from the church in Kutno on the list of witnesses. In 1386, Duke Siemowit the IVth had given to Andrzej de Kutno the privilege of freeing Kutno and Sieciechów villages from all charges and burdens excluding two coins out of every crop fee; the role of the provincial courts was transferred to the Duke.
In 1386, the village of Kutno was given trade rights, 46 years in 1432 a town charter. The first records that define Kutno as a town appeared in 1444. 1 July 1504: Mikołaj of Kutno gained the right to hold the St. Wawrzyniec fair, improving the development of the town's trade. In 1701, the Kucieński family gave up Kutno to Anna Zamojska; the Zamoyski family fought amongst themselves for the property for a long time. The town fell into debt but the situation had normalized when Andrzej Hieronim Zamoyski became the owner of Kutno. During that time Kutno was a town of development; the town's prestige increased after King Augustus III of Poland ordered the construction of the Postal Palace and the Saxon Palace was built. It was constructed between 1750 and 1753 after a royal track leading from Dr
Koleje Mazowieckie
Koleje Mazowieckie is a regional rail operator in the Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. The company was founded in 2004 as a joint venture of the Masovian Voivodeship, with 51% shares, the government-owned, PKP Przewozy Regionalne, with 49% shares, to handle local passenger traffic in the Voivodeship, it started operating on 1 January 2005. Since the end of 2007 Koleje Mazowieckie has been owned by the Masovian Voivodeship. At the beginning the rolling stock consisted of old electric multiple units taken over from PKP; these were modernised, further units purchased second-hand from other operators. On, the company purchased or leased new rolling stock; as of 2010 the Koleje Mazowieckie had just under 200 PKP class EN57, five EN71 and two EW60. Additionally the company purchased seven DB Class 627 railcars and four 628 diesel multiple units to serve on non-electrified routes. In 2008 the company bought 10 modern Stadler FLIRT EMUs and 26 Bombardier Double-deck Coaches along with 11 cab cars. At the beginning, Koleje Mazowieckie leased 11 EU07 electric locomotives from PKP Cargo to work these trains, since 2011 they are pulled by TRAXX P160 DC purchased from Bombardier.
In 2011 the company bought 16 PESA ELF EMUs designated class EN76 and 4 SA135 DMUs from PESA. As of April 2012, the company owns, leases, or hires the following rolling stock: Bombardier double-decker carriages: 37 owned Bombardier TRAXX P160 DC electric engines: 11 owned Across the Warsaw Cross-City Line KM1 line to Skierniewice, through Pruszków, Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Żyrardów KM2 line to Łuków, through Sulejówek, Mińsk Mazowiecki, Siedlce KM3 line to Kutno, through Sochaczew, Łowicz KM7 line to Dęblin, through Otwock, Pilawa variant of KM8 line to Skarżysko-Kamienna, through Piaseczno, Radom variant of KM8 line to Góra Kalwaria, through Piaseczno minor variant of KM9 line to Działdowo, Mława through Legionowo, Nasielsk minor variant of KM6 line to Tłuszcz, through Wołomin On the Warsaw Circumferential Line: major variant of KM9 line from Warszawa Wola and Warszawa Gdańska station to Mława, Działdowo, through Legionowo, Nasielsk Until late 2011 Koleje Mazowieckie used to operate a S9 line between Warszawa Gdańska and Legionowo for Warsaw Transport Authority, operating outside the company’s fare system and branding major variant of KM6 line from Warszawa Wileńska station to Małkinia, through Wołomin, Tłuszcz From Legionowo to Tłuszcz From Radom to Drzewica From Radom to Dęblin From Nasielsk to Sierpc From Tłuszcz to Ostrołęka From Siedlce to Czeremcha From Sierpc, through Płock, to Kutno Trains which compete with InterRegio and PKP Intercity.
Most of them are accessible to disabled passengers. Locomotive-hauled: Łukowianka on KM2 line from Łuków to Warsaw, through Siedlce, Mińsk Mazowiecki Mazovia on KM3 line from Płock to Warsaw, through Kutno, Łowicz, Sochaczew Radomiak on KM8 line from Skarżysko-Kamienna to Warsaw, through Radom, Piaseczno Słoneczny from Warsaw to Gdynia or Ustka, through Legionowo, Działdowo, Gdańsk Wiedenka on KM1 line from Skierniewice to Warsaw, through Żyrardów EMUs: Bolimek on KM1 line from Żyrardów to Warsaw Rudka on KM2 line from Siedlce to Warsaw, through Mińsk Mazowiecki; some trains on KM2 Warsaw -- Mińsk Mazowiecki -- Siedlce. Within the Warsaw metropolitan area, long- and medium-term tickets issued by the Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego validated in city buses, metro or Fast Urban Rail are honoured in all regular trains of Koleje Mazowieckie. Szybka Kolej Miejska Przewozy Regionalne Koleje Mazowieckie
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland and the second largest city of Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 349,103. Lublin is the largest Polish city east of the Vistula River and is 170 kilometres to the southeast of Warsaw by road. One of the events that contributed to the city's development was the Polish-Lithuanian Union of Krewo in 1385. Lublin thrived as a centre of trade and commerce due to its strategic location on the route between Vilnius and Kraków; the Lublin Parliament session of 1569 led to the creation of a real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, thus creating the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Lublin witnessed the early stages of Reformation in the 16th century. A Calvinist congregation was founded and groups of radical Arians appeared in the city, making it an important global centre of Arianism. At the turn of the centuries, Lublin was recognized for hosting a number of outstanding poets and historians of the epoch.
Until the partitions at the end of the 18th century, Lublin was a royal city of the Crown Kingdom of Poland. Its delegates and nobles had the right to participate in the Royal Election. In 1578 Lublin was chosen as the seat of the Crown Tribunal, the highest appeal court in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, for centuries the city has been flourishing as a centre of culture and higher learning, with Kraków, Poznań and Lwów. Although Lublin was not spared from severe destruction during World War II, its picturesque and historical Old Town has been preserved; the district is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments, as designated May 16, 2007, tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland. The city is viewed as an attractive location for foreign investment and the analytical Financial Times Group has found Lublin to be one of the best cities for business in Poland; the Foreign Direct Investment ranking placed Lublin second among larger Polish cities in the cost-effectiveness category.
Lublin is noted for a high standard of living. Archaeological finds indicate a long presence of cultures in the area. A complex of settlements started to develop on the future site of Lublin and in its environs in the 6th-7th centuries. Remains of settlements dating back to the 6th century were discovered in the center of today's Lublin on Czwartek Hill; the period of the early Middle Ages was marked by intensification of habitation in the areas along river valleys. The settlements were centered around the stronghold on Old Town Hill, one of the main centers of Lendians tribe; when the tribal stronghold was destroyed in the 10th century, the center shifted to the northeast, to a new stronghold above Czechówka valley and, after the mid-12th century, to Castle Hill. At least two churches are presumed to have existed in Lublin in the early medieval period. One of them was most erected on Czwartek Hill during the rule of Casimir the Restorer in the 11th century; the castle became the seat of a Castellan, first mentioned in historical sources from 1224 but was quite present from the start of the 12th or 10th century.
The oldest historical document mentioning Lublin dates from 1198, so the name must have come into general use some time earlier. The location of Lublin at the eastern borders of the Polish lands gave it military significance. During the first half of the 13th century, Lublin was a target of attacks by Mongols and Lithuanians, which resulted in its destruction, it was ruled by Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia between 1289 and 1302. Lublin was founded as a town by Władysław I the Elbow-high or between 1258 and 1279 during the rule of prince Bolesław V the Chaste. Casimir III the Great, appreciating the site's strategic importance, built a masonry castle in 1341 and encircled the city with defensive walls. From 1326, if not earlier, the stronghold on Castle Hill included a chapel in honor of the Holy Trinity. A stone church dated to the years 1335-1370 exists to this day. In 1392, the city received an important trade privilege from king Władysław II Jagiełło. With the coming of peace between Poland and Lithuania, it developed into a trade centre, handling a large portion of commerce between the countries.
In 1474 the area around Lublin was carved out of Sandomierz Voivodeship and combined to form the Lublin Voivodeship, the third voivodeship of Lesser Poland. During the 15th century and 16th century the town grew rapidly; the largest trade fairs of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were held in Lublin. During the 16th century the noble parliaments were held in Lublin several times. On 26 June 1569, one of the most important proclaimed the Union of Lublin, which united Poland and Lithuania; the Lithuanian name for the city is Liublinas. Lublin was one of the most influential cities of the state enjoyed voting rights during the royal elections in Poland; some of the artists and writers of the 16th century Polish renaissance lived and worked in Lublin, including Sebastian Klonowic and Jan Kochanowski, who died in the city in 1584. In 1578 the Crown Tribunal, the highest court of the Lesser Poland region, was established in Lublin. Since the second half of the 16th century, Protestant Reformation movements devolved in Lublin, a large congregation of Polish Brethren was present in the city.
One of Poland's most important Jewish communities was established in Lublin around this time. Jews established a respected yeshiva, Jewish hospital, synagogue and education centre and built the Grodzka Gate (known as the Jewish
Motorways in Poland, 1,638 km (1,020 mi) (2018):
Expressways in Poland, 2,092 km (1,300 mi) (2018):
(Polferries: Gdańsk — Nynäshamn / Ystad)
Trolleybuses can be found in three cities: Gdynia (with some lines reaching Sopot), Lublin and Tychy.
