Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in central

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 ...

with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the capital of

Piotrków County __NOTOC__ Piotrków County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. It ...

and the second-largest city in the

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced . Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...

. Founded in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Piotrków was once a

royal city Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

and holds an important place in Polish history; the first

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

sitting was held here in the 15th century. It then became the seat of a

Crown Tribunal The Crown Tribunal (, ) was the highest appellate court in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland for most cases. Exceptions were if a noble landowner was threatened with loss of life and/or property, when he could appeal to the Sejm court (Parliament ...

, the highest court of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. The city also hosted one of Poland's oldest Jewish communities, which was entirely destroyed by the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. The old town in Piotrków features many historical and architectural monuments, including

tenements A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

, churches, synagogues and the medieval Royal Castle.

Etymology and other names

According to tradition, but not confirmed by historical sources, Piotrków was founded by Piotr Włostowic, a powerful 12th century magnate from

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. The name of the city comes from the Polish version of the name

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

(''Piotr''), in a diminutive form (''Piotrek'', or "Pete"). ''Trybunalski'' indicates that

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

sessions (including the

) were held in the town. The town has been known in

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

as פּעטריקעװ or ''Petrikev'', in

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 ...

as ''Petrikau'', and in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

as Петроков or ''Petrokov''.

Location, demographics and statistics

Piotrków Trybunalski is situated in the middle-west part (Piotrków Plains) of the Łódź Uplands. The population of the city is approximately 80,000 and its area is nearly . The landscape of the Piotrków region and its geological structure was formed during the glaciation of 180,000–128,000 years ago. There are hardly any forests on the Piotrków Plains. Two rivers cross the region, the Wolbórka and the Luciąża, which with their tributaries flow into the Pilica River and belong to the catchment area of the

Vistula River The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra ...

. The watershed of Poland's two main rivers, the Vistula and the Oder (Odra), runs along the meridional line three km west of Piotrków. Two small rivers, the Strawa and the Strawka flow through the city, and it is between their valleys that the first settlement of Piotrków was founded in the

early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

. Recently two more rivers have been included within the boundary of the city area—the Wierzejka, which in the western part of the city forms a reservoir, and the Śrutowy Dołek to the south of Piotrków. The city is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The average temperature during the year is about , the coldest month is January (ranging from ), the warmest is July (with on average). Yearly rainfall is from . The sandy soil of the region is not fertile.

History

Middle Ages

In the early Middle Ages the Piotrków region was part of the province of

Łęczyca Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, ; ; ) is a town of inhabitants in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the Łęczyca County. Łęczyca is a capital of the historical Łęczyca Land. Or ...

of Poland ruled by the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

. In it became part of a separate principality. The foundation of the city and its development were connected with its geographical position and the advantageous arrangement of the roads linking the provinces of Poland in Piast times. At first, a market town and a place of the princes'

s (in the 13th and 15th centuries), Piotrków became an administrative center (the capital of the district since 1418), and in later centuries it also became an important political center in Poland. The first record of Piotrków is in a document issued in 1217 by Polish monarch

Leszek I the White Leszek the White (; c. 1184/85 – 24 November 1227) was Prince of Sandomierz and High Duke of Poland in the years 1194–1198, 1199, 1206–1210, and 1211–1227. During the early stages of his reign, his uncle Duke Mieszko III the Old and cou ...

, where there is a mention of the duke's tribunal held "in Petrecoue". Medieval Piotrków was a trading place on the trade routes from

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and later from

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

Poland Medal 400 Years Royal Tribunal 1978

During the 13th century, apart from the tribunals, Polish provincial princes made Piotrków the seat of some assemblies of the

Sieradz Sieradz (,) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Sieradz is a capital of the historical Sieradz Land. Sieradz is one of the olde ...

knights, which according to historical sources were held in 1233, in 1241, and in 1291. It might have been during the 1291 assembly that the Prince of Sieradz,

Władysław I the Elbow-high Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: People Mononym * Włodzis ...

, granted Piotrków civic rights, because in documents from the beginning of the 14th century he mentions "civitate nostra Petricouiensi". The first certificate of foundation and the other documents were burnt in a great fire which destroyed the city around 1400. The privileges and rights were re-granted by King

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...

in 1404. The city walls were built during the reign of King

Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...

, and after the great fire, they were rebuilt at the beginning of the 15th century. During the reign of Casimir III, many expelled German

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

from the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

migrated to the town, which grew to have one of the largest Jewish settlements in the kingdom. Castle in Piotrkow Trybunalski 03

Between 1354 and 1567 the city held general assemblies of Polish knights, and general or elective meetings of the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

(during the latter Polish kings of the Jagiellon dynasty were elected there). In Piotrków, two

Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order The grand master of the Teutonic Order (; ) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the Grand master (order), grand master of other Military order (religious society), military orders and the superior general in non-milit ...

pledged allegiance to Polish King

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

in 1469 and 1470. It was in the city of Piotrków that the Polish Parliament was given its final structure with the division into an Upper House and Lower Chamber in 1493. King

John I Albert John I Albert (; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Roy ...

published his "Piotrków privilege" on 26 May 1493, which expanded the privileges of the ''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

'' (nobility) at the expense of the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

and the peasantry.

Modern period

Piotrków became part of the

in 1569. When the seat of the Parliament was moved to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, the town became the seat of the highest court of Poland, the

, and trials were held there from 1578 to 1793; the highest Lithuanian court was held in

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

. Piotrków's Jewish population was expelled in 1578 and only allowed back a century later. The town became a post station in 1684. Around 1705, German settlers (often

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

ns) arrived in the town's vicinity and founded villages; they largely retained their customs and language until their expulsion in 1945. Piotrkow in 1657

While the importance of Piotrków in the political life of the country had contributed to its development in the 16th century, the city declined in the 17th and 18th centuries, due to fires, epidemics, wars against Sweden, and finally the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

. One of two main routes connecting

and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

ran through the city in the 18th century and Kings

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

and

Augustus III of Poland Augustus III (; – "the Saxon"; ; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as List of rulers of Saxony, Elector of Saxony i ...

often traveled that route. The first official inventory of important buildings in Poland, ''A General View of the Nature of Ancient Monuments in the Kingdom of Poland'', led by Kazimierz Stronczyński from 1844 to 1855, describes the Great Synagogue of Piotrków as one of Poland's architecturally notable buildings. In 1793, the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

annexed the town in the Second Partition of Poland and administered it as part of the Province of South Prussia. During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, Piotrków became part of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

(1807–15) and was a district seat in the Kalisz Department. After the defeat of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in 1815, Piotrków became part of

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

, a puppet state of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. When the Warsaw-Vienna railway was built in 1846, there was a slight increase in the economic and industrial development of Piotrków. In January 1863, the Polish

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

broke out. Among local Polish insurgents were many young people and Poles conscripted into the Russian army, who were stationed in the city. The Russians established a prison for captured insurgents in Piotrków. Thousands of

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

passed through the prison, were subjected to

flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, floggin ...

and tortures, and then either deported to the

Warsaw Citadel Warsaw Citadel (Polish language, Polish: Cytadela Warszawska) is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nikolay I of Russia, Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster im ...

or to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, or executed in Piotrków. Two insurgents, wanting to escape from torture, committed suicide by jumping out of the prison windows. As punishment for supporting the uprising, the Russians closed down the Bernardine monastery in 1864, and the last Bernardine monks were expelled in 1867. In 1867 the Russian authorities formed the Piotrków Governorate, which included

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

, and the coal fields of

Dąbrowa Górnicza Dąbrowa Górnicza () is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. It is located in eastern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Czarna Przemsza and Biała Przemsza rivers (tributaries of the Vistula Rive ...

and Sosnowiec. According to the Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 30,800, Jews constituted 9,500 (around 31% percent). The province had the best developed industry of all of Congress Poland until 1914. Many Poles demonstrated and went on strike during the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, th ...

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Piotrków was occupied by

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. From 1915 to 1916, it was a center for Polish patriotic activity. The city was a seat of the Military Department of the National Committee, and a headquarters for the Polish Legions, which were voluntary troops organized by

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

and others to fight against Russia. Piotrków became part of restored independent Poland in 1918, following the defeat of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

in the war. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, Piotrków was the capital of

in the

, and lost its previous importance. In 1922, the old monastery was restored to the Bernardines. In 1938 the town had 51,000 inhabitants, including 25,000 Jews and 1,500 Germans. The town had a large

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish settlement and until

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

a thriving

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

printing and publishing industry.

World War II

During the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

at the beginning of

World War II 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 ...

, Piotrków was the setting for fierce fighting between the Polish 19th Infantry Division and the 16th Panzer Corps of the German Wehrmacht on 5 September 1939. On the next day, German troops committed a massacre of Polish prisoners of war, including 19 officers, in the present-day neighbourhood of Moryca (see also '' German atrocities committed against Polish prisoners of war''). The '' Einsatzgruppe II'' then entered the city to commit various crimes against the population. The town was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

for the following six years. In autumn of 1939, the Germans carried out mass arrests of dozens of Poles, including teachers, local activists, judges, parliamentarians, editors and bank employees, however some were later released. 47 Poles arrested in

Tomaszów Mazowiecki Tomaszów Mazowiecki (, or ''Tomashuv'') is a city in central Poland with 60,529 inhabitants (2021). It is the fourth most populous city in the Łódź Voivodeship and the second with free public transport. It is the seat of Tomaszów County, Ł ...

, including Tomaszów's mayor, were also imprisoned in Piotrków. Further mass arrests of hundreds of Poles were carried out in January, March, June and August 1940. Among Poles arrested in March were 12 teachers and students of secret Polish schools. On 29 June 1940 the Germans carried out a massacre of 42 Poles from the prison in the Wolborski ForestWardzyńska, p. 267 in the northern part of the city. Among the victims were 14 students aged 17–18, eight reserve officers, and people of various professions, including pharmacists, an architect, railwayman, teacher, farmer and local secretary. 121 Poles from the local prison were deported to the

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

, Gross-Rosen and Dachau concentration camps in June 1940. Many Poles, who were born or lived in the city, were murdered by the Russians in the large Katyń massacre in April–May 1940. As early as October 1939 Piotrków became the site of the first Jewish ghetto of World War II set up in

occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...

. Approximately 25,000 people from Piotrków and the nearby towns and villages were imprisoned there. During

22,000 were sent to the

Treblinka extermination camp Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Mas ...

, while 3,000 were imprisoned in other

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

. A personal account of the Holocaust, '' In the Mouth of the Wolf'' details the escape of the author Rose Zar (née Rose Guterman) from the Piotrków Ghetto and hiding in plain sight, by working for the Wehrmacht and the SS. The secret Polish Council to Aid Jews "Żegota", established by the Polish resistance movement, operated in the city. From the first months of the war, Piotrków was a center for

underground resistance Underground Resistance (commonly abbreviated to UR) are an American musical collective from Detroit, Michigan. Producing primarily Detroit techno since 1990 with a grungy four-track musical aesthetic, they are also renowned for their militant ...

. From the spring of 1940, it was the seat of the district headquarters of the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

, or Home Army. In the summer of 1944, the 25th Infantry Regiment of the Home Army was formed in the district; it was the largest military unit of the Łódź Voivodeship, and fought against the Germans until November 1944. In the city and district, there were also other partisan groups: the Military Troops (connected with the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party (, PPS) is a democratic socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most significant parties in Poland from its founding in 1892 until its forced merger with the communist Polish Workers' Party to form ...

), People's Guard and People's Army (

Polish Workers' Party The Polish Workers' Party (, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1948 to form the Polish United W ...

), Peasants' Battalions (

Polish People's Party The Polish People's Party (, PSL) is a conservative political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although its name was changed to the pre ...

), the National Military Organization and the National Armed Forces ( National Party). In 1944, during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

, the Germans deported over 15,000 Varsovians from the Dulag 121 camp in

Pruszków Pruszków is a city in east-central Poland, capital of Pruszków County in the Masovian Voivodeship. Pruszków is located along the western edge of the Warsaw metropolitan area. Pruszków is the largest city in the Warsaw metropolitan area outs ...

, where they were initially imprisoned, to Piotrków. Those Poles were mainly old people, ill people and women with children. After the fall of the uprising, the headquarters of the Polish Red Cross was temporarily located in the local Royal Castle from October 1944 to January 1945. On 18 January 1945 the

Soviet 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 ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

entered the city, dislodging the German troops. The city was restored to Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the

Fall of Communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

in the 1980s. Anti-communist partisans continued to fight in the vicinity in the following years.

Recent times

From 1949 to 1970, Piotrków was transformed into an industrial center. Piotrków remained a district capital in the

, until 1975. Then, following the changes in the administrative division of the country, the city became the capital of the new Piotrków Voivodeship, thus regaining the status of an important administrative, educational and cultural center of Poland. In 1999, the Piotrków Voivodeship was dissolved and Piotrków became the capital of Piotrków County within the Łódź Voivodeship.

Economy

Piotrków, thanks to its location, is known as the second largest "logistic center" after

. There is a high concentration of warehouses and distribution centers around the city. The biggest distribution centers are: * Prologis Park Piotrkow I and Prologis Park Piotrkow II owned by ProLogis * IKEA Distribution Center owned by

IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...

* Logistic City – Piotrków Distribution Center owned by local concern Emerson * Poland Central Pt focus mall

In Piotrków are also located: * Emerson Polska – self-copying computer paper * Häring – facility producing fuel injection equipment (for

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

, Bosch,

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

) * Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems – car profiles * Kiper brewery * FMG Pioma S.A. – mining machinery,

conveyor belt A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to a belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to as drums), with a closed loop of carrying medium—the conveyor b ...

s
Sigmatex
Sp. z o.o. – knitted fabrics and many small and medium textile processing factories.

Transport

Piotrków lies almost in the center of

. It has a train station on the PKP rail line 1 from

. Direct trains go among others to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

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 ...

, Świnoujście,

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

and

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

Roads

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

, an expressway and three national roads cross Piotrków: *

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

– Gorzyczki, part of

European route E75 European route E 75 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe. The E 75 starts at the town of Vardø (town), Vardø in Norway by the Barents Sea, and it runs south through Finland, Poland, C ...

Kudowa-Zdrój Kudowa-Zdrój (, ), or simply Kudowa, is a town located below the Table Mountains in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the southwestern part of Poland. It has a population of around 10,000 and is located at the Polish-Czech border, j ...

– Budzisko, part of

European route E67 European route E 67 is an E-road running from Prague in the Czech Republic to Estonia and by ferry to Finland. It goes via Prague, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki. The route is known as the Via Baltica ...

* Łęknica – Dorohusk, eventually to be upgraded to the S12 expressway *

Wieluń Wieluń () is a town in south-central Poland with 21,624 inhabitants (2021). The town is the seat of the Gmina Wieluń and Wieluń County, and is located within the Łódź Voivodeship. Wieluń is a capital of the historical Wieluń Land. W ...

– Zosin *

– Podwarpie

Airports

There is a small airfield for light passenger aircraft in Piotrków. The nearest airport is

Łódź Władysław Reymont Airport Lodz Airport Central Poland , formerly known as ''Łódź-Lublinek Airport'', is a regional airport in central Poland, located approximately southwest of Łódź city center. Łódź ranked 8th among Polish airports in 2013 in passenger numbers ...

. Two large international airports are Warsaw Frédéric Chopin Airport about from Piotrków and

Katowice International Airport Katowice Wojciech Korfanty Airport () is an international airport, located in Pyrzowice, north of Katowice, Poland. The airport is named after Wojciech Korfanty, a politician of the early years of Polish independence. It is List of airports in ...

about from Piotrków.

Educational institutions

* Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa in Piotrków Trybunalski * Wyższa Szkoła Kupiecka in

, branch in Piotrków * Jan Kochanowski University in

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

, branch in Piotrków * Bolesław I the Brave High School in Piotrków Trybunalski

Politics

Piotrków Trybunalski/Skierniewice constituency

Members of Parliament (

) elected by the Piotrków/Skierniewice constituency *

Antoni Macierewicz Antoni Macierewicz (; born 3 August 1948) is a Polish politician and the former Minister of National Defence. He previously served as the Minister of Internal Affairs, Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service, and Minister of State in ...

Law and Justice Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...

* Dariusz Seliga,

* Marcin Witko,

* Robert Telus,

* Elżbieta Radziszewska,

Civic Platform The Civic Platform (, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a Centre-right politics, centre-right liberal conservative political party in Poland. Since ...

* Dorota Rutkowska,

* Marek Domaracki, TR * Krystyna Ozga, PSL * Artur Ostrowski, SLD

Sports

* Piotrcovia Piotrków Trybunalski – women's and men's

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

team playing in the Polish Ekstraklasa Women's Handball League and the Polish Ekstraklasa Men's Handball League * Concordia Piotrków Trybunalski – men's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team playing in the lower leagues.

Notable people

* Ernestine Rose (1810–1892), feminist writer and human rights activist * Chaim Elozor Wax (1822–1887), famous rabbi * Michael Heilprin (1823–1888), Polish-American Jewish biblical scholar, critic, and writer * Władysław Biegański (1857–1917), medical doctor, philosopher, and social activist * Michał Rawita-Witanowski (1858–1943), Polish historian and pharmacist, founder of the local museum * Thaddeus Wronski (1887–1965), Polish-American opera singer and conductor, founder and director of the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Civic Light Opera *

Grigory Levenfish Grigory Yakovlevich Levenfish (; – 9 February 1961) was a Soviet chess player who scored his peak competitive results in the 1920s and 1930s. He was twice Soviet champion, in 1934 (jointly with Ilya Rabinovich) and 1937. In 1937 he drew a m ...

(1889–1961), chess player * Stefan Rowecki (1895–1944), general and journalist * Irena Sendler (1910–2008), humanitarian and nurse of the

Polish resistance movement in World War II In Poland, the Resistance during World War II, resistance movement during World War II was led by the Home Army. The Polish resistance is notable among others for disrupting German supply lines to the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front ...

, head of the children's section of the Żegota, who rescued 2,500 Jewish children during

, lived in Piotrków in the 1920s * Adam Muszka (1914–2005), Polish-French painter and sculptor * Moshe Bromberg (1920–1982), Polish-Jewish painter * Alice Miller (1923–2010), Polish-Swiss psychologist * Sabina Zimering (1923–2021), Polish-American ophthalmologist and memoirist * John Michael Małek (1928–2022), Polish-American, born in Piotrków Trybunalski * Naphtali Lau-Lavie (1926–2014), Israeli journalist, author, and diplomat * Ben Helfgott (born 1929), Polish-born British Jewish Olympic weightlifter * Yisrael Meir Lau (born 1937), Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, chairman of Yad Vashem, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel * Mariusz Trynkiewicz (born 1962), serial killer * Adam Szymczyk (born 1970), art critic and curator * Maciej Ganczar (born 1976), literary scholar specializing in German literature, literary translator * Wojciech Szala (born 1976), footballer * Wioletta Frankiewicz (born 1977), runner * Michał Bąkiewicz (born 1981), volleyball player and coach * Michał Jonczyk (born 1992), footballer * Kamil Majchrzak (born 1996) professional tennis player

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Piotrków Trybunalski is twinned with: Piotrków Trybunalski is also partnered with: * –

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

, Italy * –

Schiedam Schiedam () is a large town and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of the city Rotterdam, east of the town Vlaardingen and south of the city Delft. In the south, Schi ...

, Netherlands

Image gallery

File:220913 Jesuit Church in Piotrków Trybunalski - 02.jpg,

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Jesuit Church File:8 Sieradzka Street in Piotrkow 01.jpg, Inside the Old Town File:St James church in Piotrków Trybunalski.jpg, St. James Parish Church File:Piotrkow_Trybunalski_Ulica_Grodzka.JPG, Grodzka street near the Market Square File:Piotrkow_trybunalski_ulica_szewska.JPG, Szewska street in the Old Town File:Evangelical-Augsburg church in Piotrkow 01.jpg, Rwańska Street in the Old Town with the Evangelical Church File:Synagogues in Piotrkow 01.jpg, Great Synagogue File:City walls of Piotrkow Trybunalski 05.jpg, Remaining old city walls File:12 3 Maja Street in Piotrków Trybunalski 01.jpg, Municipal Culture Center File:Pomnik Mikołaja Kopernika w Piotrkowie Trybunalskim.JPG,

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

Monument File:Piotrkow Trybunalski przedzalnia 1.jpg, ''Piotrkowska Manufaktura'', a former textile factory File:220913 Monastery of Bernardine in Piotrków Trybunalski - 01.jpg, Bernardine Monastery

References

External links

Official website

Local News Portal

Satellite image
*
"Here Their Stories Will Be Told..." The Valley of the Communities at Yad Vashem, Piotrków Trybunalski
at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

website * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Łódź Voivodeship City counties of Poland Holocaust locations in Poland