History

The city park was established in 1916, when Piotrków was under the Austrian occupation. At that time, the city was situated in an area of the Russian Empire conquered by the Central Powers, which was administered under the command of the Military Governors-General based in Lublin. The commencement of work on the park at such a moment caused a lot of controversy among the inhabitants of Piotrków. The City Board explained that the works had been undertaken under a public works regime, making it possible to employ many unemployed people, who had previously relied on benefits. The District Headquarters provided funds for wages for the workers hired to build the park. In addition, according to a report drawn up after the park had been completed, the city authorities did indeed manage to build the park at a low cost.

The plans for the park were drawn up by lieutenant of the 100th armoured regiment, engineer-planter Józef Skrobanek.

The designs for buildings were prepared by the city engineer Stefan Mazurowski. He also supervised all technical works in the park. He was assisted by the so-called technical committee consisting of the engineers: Nowicki F., Pętkowski and Januszewski.

Trees (11,200) and shrubs (6,900) and timber for the fence surrounding the park were provided free of charge by Prince Jan Lichtenstein, the city of Budapest, Wanieck - a company with its premises near Brno. Funds were also donated by landowners from Wola Krzysztoporska, Witów, Niechcice and Bujny and countless residents of Piotrków who responded to the appeal published in the daily newspaper Dziennik Narodowy (National Journal).

The report on the establishment of the park also mentions Mr. Ender, who donated a motor for the artesian well that was to supply the park with water, as well as Mr. Przedpełski and Natzel, who donated juvenile fish for the ponds. The “Hortensja” and “Kara” glassworks, the gasworks and the Management Board of the Iron Railway donated stone for laying gravel paths.

At the same time, it was agreed with the military administration that the park would be built in an area where the construction of a prison had been initially planned. It was decided that the other location was more convenient in terms of its distance from the city. Moreover, it was assumed that the area near the park would gain in value and that the city would expand southwards. The City Board expected the park to bring economic benefits. They counted on proceeds from leasing the tennis courts, ice skating rinks, the café and the restaurant, as well as from hay harvesting and the sale of fruit from the trees planted along the roads, on the outskirts of the park.

The park was to be tended by the city gardener. He was provided with board and lodging in a house with a backyard garden in the park.

In 1927, a botanical garden was established in the southern part of the park.

Description

The park is located in the southern part of the city, between the streets: Stefana Żeromskiego - from the north, Parkowa - from the east, Franciszka Żwirki - from the west. The southern part of the park borders with a narrow-gauge railway line.

The area of the park covers 7.2 ha, including ponds with an area of 0.4 ha and the botanical garden with an area of 0.9 ha. Originally, the park was established on a plan of a rectangle. Today, its boundaries form a shape similar to a parallelogram. Its features are typical for Italian and French geometric gardens. The area is surrounded by a fence.

There are five entrances to the park - the main one from Żeromskiego Street, two from Żwirki Street and another two from Parkowa Street. The park was originally planned to include three zones: a landscape park with the gardener’s house and large lawns in the northern part, a neatly arranged central part with a water reservoir and a botanical garden in the southern part.

The park has a geometric design. There are linden alleys on the axis of the complex, hornbeam hedges separating the parterres, a water intake and two oak trees of different ages dedicated to the memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko and Adam Mickiewicz. In the northern part of the park, there is the older of the two oak trees - dedicated to the memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko. At the tree, there is a boulder with an inscription “NATION, LIFT UP THE SPIRIT OF YOUR COURAGE AND YOUR CITIZENSHIP. THE POWERFUL GOD FAVOURS YOUR CAUSE. FROM THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF VICTORY AT RACŁAWICE, ADDRESSED TO THE POLISH NATION. 15 October 1917”. The other oak tree is dedicated to Adam Mickiewicz. In the centre of the park, there is also a stone with a plaque dedicated to Henryk Sienkiewicz which reads “TREE PLANTED ON 26 OCTOBER 1924 BY THE YOUTH FROM PIOTRKÓW SCHOOLS TO COMMEMORATE THE DAY ON WHICH THE REMAINS OF HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ - THE SPIRITUAL LEADER OF THE NATION - WERE BROUGHT TO THE HOMELAND”.

In the western part of the park, there are several chambers of greenery. Each is planted with different plants and has a different shape.

The trees in the park mostly include one hundred-year-old linden trees, horse chestnut trees, oak trees and maple trees. The two main alleys along the north-south axis are lined with linden trees. The alleys perpendicular to them are lined with horse chestnut trees, oaks and maples. In the western part, there is a chamber of greenery on a plan of a rectangle, planted with hawthorn, and another chamber of greenery on a plan of a circle, which contains yews, thujas and birch trees. On the main axis, there are oak trees and trimmed hornbeam trees.

The noteworthy species in the botanical garden include: phellodendron (cork trees), gleditsia (honey locust), yews and white pines, as well as an ivy arch. At the southern edge of the park, there are mostly one-hundred-year-old horse chestnut trees, oak trees, willow trees and maple trees.

In addition, one can find examples of the following species in the park: beeches, pedunculate oaks and red oaks, Siberian hawthorn, purple apple tree, common ash, magnolia, larch, ginkgo, black alder, black locust, black and dwarf pines, blue spruce, white and Italian poplars, European white elm, Scots elm, white willow, golden weeping willow, western thuja, Japanese barberry, white dogwood, mock-orange, forsythia, cotoneaster, juniper, lilac, silverberry and snowberry.

The park is open to the public 24 hours a day.

Compiled by Agnieszka Lorenc-Karczewska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź 15 June 2020

Bibliography

• Kotnowska Z., Smoczkiewicz L., Smoczkiewicz K., Records of the heritage park in Piotrków Trybunalski, Łódź 1985, in the collection of the Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Łódź,
• Głowacki K., Urbanistyka Piotrkowa Trybunalskiego, Piotrków Trybunalski – Kielce 1984.