The Grey Ranks Square (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''Plac Szarych Szeregów'') is an

urban square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

and a

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is located at the boundary of neighbourhoods of Centrum and

Śródmieście-Północ Śródmieście-Północ (''Downtown-North'') is a municipal neighbourhood of the city of Szczecin, Poland, within the Śródmieście, Szczecin, Downtown district. Its western half features low-rise housing with villas, while the eastern half, mid-r ...

, within the district of Śródmieście. It forms the intersection of Piastów Avenue, Piątego Lipca Street, Piłsudskiego Street, Wielkopolska Street, and Wojska Polskiego Avenue. The square was designed in 1879.

History

It was designed in 1879, as a circular square with roundabout. At the end of 19th and beginning of the 20th century, around it were constructed tenements, almost all of which, survive to the present day.Tadeusz Białecki (editor): ''Encyklopedia Szczecina. Tom 2. P-Ż''. Szczecin: University of Szczecin, 2000, p. 365. (in Polish)B. Kozińska: ''Rozwój przestrzenny Szczecina od początku XIX wieku do II wojny światowej''. Szczecin, 2002, p. 165, 422. (in Polish) It was originally named the ''Arndt Square'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Arndtplatz'') after

Ernst Moritz Arndt Ernst Moritz Arndt (26 December 1769 – 29 January 1860) was a German nationalist historian, writer and poet. Early in his life, he fought for the abolition of serfdom, later against Napoleonic dominance over Germany. Arndt had to flee to Swed ...

, a 19th-century historian, writer and poet. In 1945, it was renamed to the ''Allied Square'' (

: ''Plac Sprzymierzonych''), and in 1950, to the ''

Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky ( 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish general who served as a top commander in the Red Army during World War II and achieved the ranks of Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland. He a ...

Square'' (Polish: ''Plac Konstantego Rokossowskiego''), after a 20th-century military officer who was the

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (, ) was the second-highest military rank of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin wore the uniform and insignia of Marshal after World War II. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in ...

, the

Marshal of Poland Marshal of Poland () is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a field marshal or general of the army (OF-10) in other NATO armies. History Today there are no living ...

, and the Minister of National Defence. In 1956, it was renamed to the ''

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

Square'' (Polish: ''Plac Włodzimierza Lenina''), after a 20th-century

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

revolutionary and leader of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, with the name remaining until 1991, when it was reverted to the ''Allied Square''.''Protokół z pierwszego posiedzenia Zespołu ds. nazewnictwa ulic miasta Szczecina z 15 stycznia 1991''. Szczecin: Szczecin Town Hall, 15 January 1991. (in Polish) In 2009 it was renamed to its current name, after the

Grey Ranks Grey Ranks () was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association () during World War II. The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation in Warsaw until 18 ...

, an underground paramilitary organisation of the Polish resistance during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. On 19 March 2000, there was unveiled the Marshal Józef Piłsudski Monument, designed by Bohdan Ronin-Walknowski.

Characteristics

The square forms a roundabout on the axis of Wojska Polskiego Avenue. It forms an intersection of Piastów Avenue, Piątego Lipca Street, Piłsudskiego Street, Wielkopolska Street, and Wojska Polskiego Avenue. There is also a triangular intersection of the tram tracks from Piastów Avenue, Piłsudskiego Street, and Wojska Polskiego Avenue. The square is surrounded by historical tenements buildings, dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

References

{{Authority control Squares in Szczecin 1879 establishments in Prussia Transport infrastructure completed in 1879 Roundabouts and traffic circles in Poland Centrum, Szczecin Monuments and memorials to Vladimir Lenin