With its unique atmosphere and picturesque greenness Ciechanów, the capital of northern Mazovia, is definitely worth visiting. Situated in the centre of the country, on the crossroad of three major transport routes 100 km north of Warsaw – it has 47 thousand habitants. It is easily accessible by both car and rail – trains in the direction of Gdańsk and Olsztyn. Since the introduction of an administrative reform of the country in 1998, our town is no longer the capital of its voivodeship, though it remained the capital of the district.
The town’s emblem depicts St. Peter, whose monument can be found in the centre of the city, on a square named after him. Ciechanów is said to have been founded by Ciechan – a legendary pagan prince, knight and steward. The town itself has rich traditions and this can be attributed to the significant role it played in the history of northern Mazovia.
| Our town is probably about 1000 years old while some archaeological data point to the existence of settlements in the area as early as the 7th century. The first written account mentioning Ciechanów dates back to 1065. It is a document in which Bolesław Śmiały obliges Ciechanów to pay one ninth of its income in tribute to the Benedictine monastery in Mogilno. |
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By medieval times, Ciechanów was already the seat of the castellan, later the capital of one of the Mazovian duchies and in the 16th c. – the second biggest city in the Mazovian Region (Warsaw being the biggest). The location of the town – on the “amber route” which ran from the north to the south of Europe and crossed here with a trade route running from the west to the east – had significant influence on the development of the city as a centre of administration and trade. At the same time, its location accounted for numerous invasions during which the city was not spared. The habitants of the Polish Maritime Provinces, the Prussians, Jadzwings, Lithuanians, the Teutonic Knights and the Swedes all invaded the region at some point of its history. We propose beginning a tour of the town with visiting Farska Góra (Parish Mountain), which is the historical cradle of Ciechanów. For many centuries, the habitants of the medieval town situated on this hill believed in a pagan god of fire called Swarożec. Nowadays, a belfry dating from the 19th c. can be found here. A parish church is located on the neighbouring southern hill. It was built in the first quarter of the 17th c., on the remains of churches, which were destroyed during previous invasions. The temple is a typical example of the so-called Mazovian gothic style. Many historical objects may be found inside (like a Renaissance sepulchral bass-relief depicting a knight in full armour, two stone stoups from the 15th or 16th c., a wooden crucifix from the 17th c.), and the commemorating plates and epitaphs should not be missed. Even further south, at the foot of the parish hill, behind the neo-gothic belfry-gate, a 14th c. post-monastery church decorated in baroque style can be found. It was built for the Augustinians who came to settle in Ciechanów.
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The 14th century brought about many changes and the town itself was moved further north. A brick defence castle was built here and by the rectangular main square, which dates from that time one can admire the Town Hall – a neo-gothic building based on Henry Marconi’s project. The town hall now serves as a seat of municipal authorities. The monumental castle that is located on the banks of the Łydynia had its own moat and drawbridge and was meant to defend the town from its enemies, above all the Teutonic Knights. |
As property of queen Bona, it became one of the most beautiful Polish residences by the mid of the 16th c. and was later destroyed by the Swedes in the 17th and early 18th c. Its ruins became an inspiration to poets and writers. Zygmunt Krasiński, who used to come here from the nearby Opinogóra, and Maria Konopnicka, who visited her son Jan here – were both its frequent visitors. Henryk Sienkiewicz portrayed the castle in his great novel “Krzyżacy” (“The Teutonic Knights”) – for example the duel between Zbyszko of Bogdaniec and Rotgier, two of the novel’s protagonists, takes place inside its walls. Ciechanów is also present in the writings of Bolesław Prus (“Kartki z Podróży”) and in Stefan Żeromski’s “Wspomnienia”. During World War II, Ciechanów was adjoined to the Reich and renamed Zichenau, and – for the second time in its history – became the capital of its voivodeship. The castle walls were then witnesses of executions of Polish patriots: soldiers of the Home Army. Today, a department of Ciechanów’s Museum of the Mazovian Nobility can be found in the castle. One can also visit an exhibition of side arms in the castle’s towers and another, archaeological, exhibition in the cellars. In the castle’s yard and on the nearby common pasture grounds cultural events take place – the International Folklore Meetings “Kupalnocka”, the Polish Theatre Festival “Dionizje” and a historical reconstruction of a famous battle called “The Return of the Light-cavalrymen of the Guard”. Ciechanów has many sport and leisure facilities: a stadium, a number of modern sport halls, an outdoor and indoor swimming-pool. More and more hotels, restaurants, bars, pizzerias and pubs are being built. The dynamic development of agritourist farms around the town gives one an opportunity to spend holidays horse-riding or simply drop in for a memorable weekend. Ciechanów is a city of student’s as well. The Public Professional School, the College of Management SIG, the College of Business and Management, the Teachers’ College of Foreign Languages and the Humanist College – are all present in the city. We cooperate with many towns abroad: the French Meudon, the German Haldensleb, the Ukrainian Chmielnicki and the Slovak Breznem among others. Local and foreign investors who settled in the town on the banks of the river Łydynia are developing their plants (the German publishing house Bauer, the Italian syndicate Delitissue, Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.).
| Local companies are also developing rapidly: Metaltech, Fanar, Cedrob, Ciechanowska Spółdzielnia Mleczarska. New investors can be sure of low estate prices and work costs, a high-qualified workforce available in the area, reduced tax-rates, a well-developed network of banks and other institutions concerned with investments. The district is ecologically clean. The city’s green area, which has a surface of about 37 hectares, includes two big parks located on the banks of the Łydynia, many green squares and lawns. |
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The so-called “Valley of the Łydynia” is an area under special protection as it is a home to many species of birds. The city area of Ciechanów also includes 113 hectares of forests. Thanks to its location far from the heavy industry and owing to pro-ecological investments such as a modern sewage plant, a modernised heating system, a station of water-improvement and an ecological rubbish damp – visitors and habitants of Ciechanów can take advantage of a clean and health environment. We are a member of the Society of Healthy Polish Towns. Ciechanów has received awards both in Poland and abroad for its achievements in the field of ecology. The Council of Communes and Regions of Europe awarded us with the Certificate for Sustainable Development. We won the Stockholm Partnerships contest, thus gaining the so-called ecological Nobel Prize. We also have received a certificate for our achievements in the field of improving living conditions of the town’s habitants, signed by the Sultan of Dubai. As one of only a few communes in the country, we are entitled to use the logo of the “Green Lungs of Poland” to promote the city. We invite you to a town were the past and the present mix, where the future and good-fortune of the city and its habitants is our common goal.
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