Legionowo
Encyclopedia
Legionowo AUD is a town in Masovia . According to the 2004 Census estimate the town has a total population of 50,759.
Legionowo is located ca. 23 km to the north-east of the center of Warsaw
and only 7 km to the south of Zegrze Reservoir
( or ), near the Warsaw-Gdańsk
railroad and Warsaw-Suwałki road. City area is 1360ha (13.6 km²), which makes population density 3727.79 persons/km². Altitude: 75–85 m above sea level
.
Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship
, previously in Warszawa Voivodeship ( or , 1975–1998) and old Masovian Voivodeship (before 1975). Currently this is the capital of Legionowo County
in Masovian Voivodeship.
Adjoining counties
(from north, clockwise): Pułtusk County, Wyszków County
, Wołomin County, Warszawa County
, Warszawa Zachód County
, Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki County
.
Legionowo is located ca. 23 km to the north-east of the center of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and only 7 km to the south of Zegrze Reservoir
Zegrze Reservoir
The Zegrze Reservoir is a reservoir in Poland, located just north of Warsaw. It is formed by a dam constructed in 1963 on the lower course of the Narew river...
( or ), near the Warsaw-Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
railroad and Warsaw-Suwałki road. City area is 1360ha (13.6 km²), which makes population density 3727.79 persons/km². Altitude: 75–85 m above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
.
Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship
Masovian Voivodeship
-Administrative division:Masovian Voivodeship is divided into 42 counties : 5 city counties and 37 "land counties"...
, previously in Warszawa Voivodeship ( or , 1975–1998) and old Masovian Voivodeship (before 1975). Currently this is the capital of Legionowo County
Legionowo County
Legionowo County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Legionowo, which lies ...
in Masovian Voivodeship.
Adjoining counties
(from north, clockwise): Pułtusk County, Wyszków County
Wyszków County
Wyszków County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It originally existed from 1956 until the abolition of the powiats in 1975, but was re-created on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in...
, Wołomin County, Warszawa County
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Warszawa Zachód County
Warsaw West County
Warsaw West County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998...
, Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki County
Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki County
Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Nowy Dwór...
.
History
- Legionowo's history dates back to 1877, when Jabłonna Nowa (New Jabłonna) rail station was built. The name comes from Jabłonna, the nearby village, where in 1774-1779 Bishop Michał Poniatowski (brother of PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
's last king, Stanisław Poniatowski) built his palace (currently the House of Congresses and Conferences of the Polish Academy of Sciences). - In 1892 the Russian army barracks (koszary carskie) were built near the railroad station and a local garrison of the Russian army had stationed there, as a part of Warsaw Stronghold Region , until the beginning of World War I, when this region was occupied by the German troops.
- In 1912, Legionowo is given a city rights .
- In 1919, Jabłonna Nowa was renamed as Legionowo to honour Polish LegionsPolish Legions in World War IPolish Legions was the name of Polish armed forces created in August 1914 in Galicia. Thanks to the efforts of KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament, the unit became an independent formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army...
(Legiony Polskie). - Ca. 1920 Institute of Aerology (currently Aerology Centre within Institute of Meteorology and Water Administration) was opened.
- During the Battle for Warsaw in August 1920, from barracks in Legionowo, General ŻeligowskiLucjan ZeligowskiLucjan Żeligowski , was a Polish general, and veteran of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War and World War II. He is mostly remembered for his role in Żeligowski's Mutiny and as head of a short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania.-Biography:...
led the 10th Infantry Division to RadzyminRadzyminRadzymin is a town in Poland and is one of the distant suburbs of the city of Warsaw. It is located in the powiat of Wołomin of the Masovian Voivodeship. The town has 8,818 inhabitants .Radzymin was located by Bolesław IV of Warsaw in 1440...
, which helped to save Warsaw from the Red ArmyRed ArmyThe Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. - In 1922 the Aviotex balloon and parachute factory, which also produced tents and other camping equipment (e.g. sleeping bags), opened in Legionowo
- After 1925, Legionowo became a summer resort for inhabitants of Warsaw, as by that time, it was a wooded and unpolluted area.
- Between World War I and World War II, narrow-gauge railroad line connected Legionowo with Warsaw, going through Jabłonna.
- In 1930 Legionowo became a commune .
- During World War II a ward of Stalag 368 in Beniaminowo and a ghetto were located in Legionowo.
- During World War II, in 1944, Legionowo took part in Warsaw uprisingWarsaw UprisingThe Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, as so called District 7: Collar . During the first week of August 1944, Legionowo was a place of regular fights between German troops and Polish rebels. After a week or so, Germans put down the uprising and several Poles where executed in one of the military shelters near the railroad line. - After World War II there was a brick factory , now nonexistent.
- In 1950s the standard-gauge railroad line was electrified.
- In late 1960s, narrow-gauge railroad line was closed and in early 1970s the tracks were removed. The terminus and depot buildings remain, currently in private use.
- In 1960s first 4-storeys blocks of flats were built. In 1970s and 1980s, three large groups of blocks of flats (4-storeys and 11-storeys) were built.
- In 1977 a tin ware factory "Bistyp" was opened.
- In early 1980s, house factory was built near Legionowo, which made prefabricated elements for blocks of flats built in the region. The factory is now closed.
- In August 1990 the Police Training Centre , one of two such institutions in Poland, was opened.
- After the big flood in southern parts of Poland in 1997, the Aerology Institute was equipped with DopplerDoppler effectThe Doppler effect , named after Austrian physicist Christian Doppler who proposed it in 1842 in Prague, is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren or horn approaches, passes, and recedes from...
meteorological radarRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, able to scan about 1/5 of Poland's area for storm and rain clouds. Now in part of SMOK (The Hydrological and Meteorological Monitoring Forecasting and Protection System, Polish: System Monitoringu i Osłony Kraju).
Places worth seeing
- Russian army barracks, made of red Russian bricks (larger than standard Polish ones)
- Wooden summer resort houses, nowadays some of them located in the center of Legionowo
- St. Joseph's Church built in 1945
- Holy Spirit Church built in years 1979-1985 in place of an old wooden one.