Siekierki

This article is about the neighbourhood in Warsaw, Poland. For other uses, see Siekierki (disambiguation).

Siekierki (Polish pronunciation: [ɕɛˈkʲɛrkʲi]) is a neighbourhood, and a City Information System area, in Warsaw, Poland, within the Mokotów district. It is a residential neighbourhood with mixed low-rise and high-rise housing. The neighbourhood features the Space Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Sanctuary of Our Lady the Teacher of the Yough.

Siekierki
City Information System area (neighbourhood)
Aerial view of Siekierki in 2023.
The location of the City Information System area of Siekierki within the Mokotów district.
Coordinates: 52°12′29″N 21°05′00″E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Masovian
City and county	Warsaw
District	Mokotów
Subdistrict	Lower Mokotów
Administrative neighbourhood	Siekierki
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code	+48 22

The village of Czarnów, was the oldest known human settlement in the area, dating to the 13th century. The village of Siekierki was recorded in its place in the 16th century. The area was incorporated into the city in the 1916. Most of the houses in the neighbourhood were destoryed in 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising, and were rebuilt afterwards. In the 2010s, high-rise apartment housing estates begun developing in Siekierki.

History

The earliest known settlement in the present-day area of Siekierki, formerly known as Kępa Bełt, was the village of Czarnów (also known as Czarnowo), with its records dating to the 13th century, situated along the Wilanówka river, which then flowed into the Vistula.^[1] Later, in its place emerged the village of Siekierki, recorded in the documents since the 16th century.^[2] In the 17th century, Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski acquired the settlement and established a recreational pavilion there. In the 18th century, the surrounding area was leased to king Augustus II the Strong, the monarch of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as a hunting ground.^[2][3] In the 19th century, the village consisted of two parts, known as Siekierki Wielkie and Siekierki Małe (Polish for Greater Siekierki and Lesser Siekierki). In 1827, combined, they had 194 residents in 30 households, and in 1889, they had 358 inhabitans. The entire village was an integral part of a local manor's agricultural estate, which in 1884 covered an area of 556 New Polish morgen (320 ha), mostly consisting of meadows and pastures.^[4]

In the 1880s, the Wolica Moat was dug out between Fort X and Czerniaków Lake, as part of the series of fortifications of the Warsaw Fortress, erected around Warsaw by the Imperial Russian Army.^[5][6][7]

Following the abolition of serfdom in 1864, the village was incorporated into the municipality of Mokotów, and in 1904, was transferred to the municipality of Wilanów.^[2][8][9] On 8 April 1916, it was incorporated into the city of Warsaw, becoming part of the district of Mokotów.^[10][8]

In 1926, a levee along the left bank of the Vistula was completed, mitigating the previously threatening flood hazard and facilitating further development.^[3] During the interwar period, it was planned to construct the Olympic District in the area, which would include an Olympic sports complex covering approximately 160 ha, and feature amenities such as a stadium and a rowing course. The project was never realised due to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.^[11]

The chapel built in 1949, in place of supposed revelations of Virgin Mary and Jesus.

Between 1943 and 1949, local girl Władysława Papis claimed to have experience private revelation in form of repeated apparitions of Virgin Mary, Jesus, and other religious symbols, giving rise to a local Marian worship.^[3][12] In 1946, a small chapel was built at 3 Gwintowa Street, in place of the supposed revelation. In 1994, the Sanctuary of Our Lady the Teacher of the Yough was opened next to it, managed by the Piarist order.^[13]

In 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, while the city remained under the German occupation, the Nazi officers have carried out mass murders and arson on Polish population, resulting in the majority of buildings being destroyed, including the local manor house.^[3]

Between 17 and 19 September 1944, units of the First Polish Army conducted the reconnaissance and diversion activities in the area of Siekierki.^[14]

After the war, any new development in the area was prohibited from under the Bierut Decree, which contributed significantly to the growth of unauthorised construction.^[3] In 1961 the Siekierki Cogeneration Plant, the largest combined heat and power plant in Poland, was built in the vicinity if the neighbourhood. Currently, it is located within the City Information System area of Augustówka. Later, the government planed to develop a science park in Siekierki by constructing a complex of research facilities along with corresponding housing developments.^[15] However, the increasing economic crisis halted the project, with the Space Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences, completed in 1978, being its only facility.^[16]

The Siekierki Bridge, opened in 2002.

In 1997, Mokotów was subdivided into twelve areas of the City Information System, a municipal standardized system of street signage, with Siekierki becoming one of them.^[17]

In 2002, the Siekieri Route, a thoroughfare connecting the west and east banks of the Vistula river, was opened, with Józefa Bema Avenue, and the Siekierki Bridge.^[18] In 2004, the land adjacent to the river was designated as a conservation area under the Natura 2000 program.^[19] Between 2005 and 2008, it was planed to develop a technology and science park in Siekierk, codenamed the Warsaw Technology Park, however, the project was abandoned.^[20][21] In the early 2010s, the new residential housing estates of apartment buildings began developing in the neighbourhood.^[22] In 2019, the arterial road known as Polski Walczącej Avenue was opened in the neighbourhood, connecting Siekierki Route and Czerniakowska Street.^[23]

In 2016, the administrative neighbourhood of Siekierki was founded within the area, being governed by a locally elected council.^[24]

Overview

The Space Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences in Siekierki.

Siekierki is a residential area with low-rise single-family houses in the east, and high-rise apartment housing estates in the west.^[2][25] The neighbourhood features the Space Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences at 18A Bartycka Street, an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to the study of terrestrial space and the Solar System using space technology.^[16] Siekierki also inlcudes the Sanctuary of Our Lady the Teacher of the Yough, managed by the Piarist order, located at 3 Gwintowa Street. It was built in place, where Władysława Papis have claimed to have expirienced a private revelation in form of repeated apparitions of Virgin Mary, Jesus, and other religious symbols, between 1943 and 1949.^[12][13]

The neighbourhood is placed on the coast of the Vistula river, which crosses the city. The land directly adjusted to it has a status of a conservation area.^[19] Additionally, Siekierki include the Wolica Moat, a mand-made lake, dug out in the 1880s as part of the city fortifications.^[6][7]

The neighbourhood is crossed by Siekieri Route, connecting the west and east banks of the Vistula river, via the Siekierki Bridge.^[18]