Events during the year 1997 in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Incumbents

Aleksander Kwasniewski - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2004

Events

January

1 January January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year. ...

: **

Skępe Skępe is a town in Lipno County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 7790 inhabitants (2012). It is the main sanctuary of Dobrzyń Land, with image of Our Lady crowned officially in 1755. History Skępe developed from a medieval Slav ...

regained its

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

. **

Pasym Pasym (; german: Passenheim) is a small town in Szczytno County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, with a total population (as of 30 June 2016) of 2,556. It is located in Masuria. History A small settlement named ''Heinrichswalde'' was firs ...

, Radlin,

Siechnice Siechnice (formerly german: Tschechnitz, renamed ''Kraftborn'' in the Nazi era) is a town in Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It gained town status in 1997, and as of 2019 has a population of 8,113. Siechnice ...

and

Świątniki Górne Świątniki Górne () is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship or Lesser Poland Province (in pl, województwo małopolskie ), also known as Małopolska, is a voivodeship (province), in ...

were granted town rights.

February

1 February Events Pre-1600 *1327 – The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer. *1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), Monas ...

– The

Poznań Fast Tram Poznań Fast Tram ( pl, Poznański Szybki Tramwaj, PST, informally: PeSTka, ''pestka'' – drupe, stone fruit) is a stretch of grade-separated tram/light rail line of the Trams in Poznań, tram system in Poznań, Poland. The tracks are set in ...

was opened.

March

1 March Events Pre-1600 *509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocletian and ...

–

Polsat 2 Polsat 2 is a Polish pay television channel. Telewizja Polsat 1 March 1997 roku. Telewizja Polsat Polsat 2 Oprawa Graficzna 2 1997-2002 2002-2007 2007-2012 2012-2020 2020-2021 30 August 2021 roku. Poniedzialek Polsat 2 Telewizja Polsat History ...

television channel launched.

April

2 April Events Pre-1600 *1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. J ...

– The

Constitution of Poland The current Constitution of Poland was founded on 2 April 1997. Formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), it replaced the Small Constitution of 1992, the last amended version of ...

was adopted by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

May

5 May Events Pre-1600 * 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins. *1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta. *1260 – Kub ...

– 12 were killed and 36 others injured in the . *

25 May Events Pre-1600 *567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. * 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo ...

– A

constitutional referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

was held. The new constitution was narrowly approved, with 53.5% voting in favor. The voter turnout was 43.9%.

June

8 June Events Pre-1600 * 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. * 452 – Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces ...

– Queen

Jadwiga of Poland Jadwiga (; 1373 or 137417 July 1399), also known as Hedwig ( hu, Hedvig), was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. She was the youngest daughter of Louis the Great, ...

was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. *

10 June Events Pre-1600 * 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock (water clock, clepsydra) called ''Rokoku''. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu, Shiga, Ōtsu. *1190 – Th ...

–

John of Dukla John of Dukla (also called "Jan of Dukla") is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He is one of the patron saints of Poland and Lithuania. Biography John was born in Dukla, Poland, in 1414. He joined the Friars Minor Conventual,Jones, p 273 and ...

was canonized by Pope John Paul II in

Krosno Krosno (in full ''The Royal Free City of Krosno'', pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Krosno) is a historical town and Krosno County, county in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. The estimated population of the town is 47,140 inha ...

. *

19 June Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea. *1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle chang ...

– The

University of Białystok The University of Bialystok is the largest university in the north-eastern region of Poland, educating in various fields of study, including humanities, social and natural sciences and mathematics. It has nine faculties, including a foreign one ...

was established.

July

6 July Events Pre-1600 *371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta's reputation of military invincibility. * 640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt). ...

–

1997 Central European flood The 1997 Central European flood or the 1997 Oder Flood of the Oder and Morava (river), Morava river basins in July 1997 affected Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, taking the lives of 114 people and causing material damages estimated at $4.5 ...

: Flooding began in Poland in the towns of

Głuchołazy Głuchołazy ( ; german: Ziegenhals, also known by Głuchołazy#Symbol and etymology, other names) is a historic town in southwestern Poland with approximately 13,534 inhabitants as of 2019. It is located within the Nysa County of Opole Voivodesh ...

and

Prudnik Prudnik (, szl, Prudnik, Prōmnik, german: Neustadt in Oberschlesien, Neustadt an der Prudnik, la, Prudnicium) is a town in southern Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the ...

. *

10 July Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Emperor Hadrian of Rome dies of heart failure at his residence on the bay of Naples, Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina. * 645 – Isshi Incident: Prince ...

–

: Left-bank

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

was flooded. *

12 July Events Pre-1600 * 70 – The armies of Titus attack the walls of Jerusalem after a six-month siege. Three days later they breach the walls, which enables the army to destroy the Second Temple. * 927 – King Constantine II o ...

–

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

was flooded. *

18 July Events Pre-1600 *477 BC – Battle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army. *387 BC – Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading ...

–

: A day of national mourning for the victims of the flood was declared by President

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule, he was active in the Socialist Union of Poli ...

September

21 September Events Pre-1600 * 455 – Emperor Avitus enters Rome with a Gallic army and consolidates his power. *1170 – The Kingdom of Dublin falls to Norman invaders. *1217 – Livonian Crusade: The Estonian leader Lembitu and Livonian lea ...

– The

1997 Polish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 21 September 1997.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 In the Sejm elections, 47.93% of citizens cast their votes, 96.12% of which were counted as val ...

was held, won by the

Solidarity Electoral Action Solidarity Electoral Action ( pl, Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność, AWS) was a political coalition in Poland from 1996 to 2001. From 1997 to 2001, its official name was ''Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy'' (AWSP) or Electoral Action Solidarity o ...

October

* 3 October –

TVN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...

television station launched. *

17 October Events Pre-1600 * 690 – Empress Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) ...

– The

came into effect. 19-20 October - The

Sejm cross The Sejm cross ( pl, Krzyż sejmowy) is a Catholic crucifix in the building of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm cross hangs above the door on the left-hand side of the rostrum in the Sejm P ...

was hung in the building of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, the lower house of the Polish parliament. by a Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) MP Tomasz Wójcik. it has hung in the sejm since 1997. *

31 October Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor. * 683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down. * 802 – Empress Irene is deposed and banished to Lesbos. Conspir ...

–

Jerzy Buzek Jerzy Karol Buzek (born 3 July 1940) is a Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament from Poland. He has served as Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001, since being elected to the European Parliament in 2004, he served as Pre ...

became the

Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...

November

11 November Events Pre-1600 * 308 – At Carnuntum, Emperor ''emeritus'' Diocletian confers with Galerius, ''Augustus'' of the East, and Maximianus, the recently returned former ''Augustus'' of the West, in an attempt to end the civil wars of the ...

– The

Cabinet of Jerzy Buzek Cabinet of Jerzy Buzek was appointed on 31 October 1997 and passed the vote of confidence on 11 November 1997. The Cabinet {{Polish Cabinets Buzek, Jerzy Cabinet of Jerzy Buzek Cabinet of Jerzy Buzek was appointed on 31 October 1997 and pa ...

passed the vote of confidence.

December

* 15 December – The

Monument to the Heroes of Warsaw The Monument to the Heroes of Warsaw, also known as the Warsaw Nike, is a statue located at the intersection of Nowy Przejazd (the New By-pass) and Aleja Solidarności (Solidarity Avenue) in Warsaw. The monument commemorates all those who died in ...

was placed on a new pedestal in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Births

Deaths

January

6 January Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eve ...

–

Edward Osóbka-Morawski Edward Bolesław Osóbka-Morawski (5 October 1909 – 9 January 1997) was a Polish activist and politician in the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) before World War II, and after the Soviet takeover of Poland, Chairman of the Communist-dominated inte ...

, activist and politician, Chairman of the

Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the lat ...

(b. 1909) *

26 January Events Pre-1600 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. *1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. *1564 – The Council of Trent ...

–

Mira Zimińska Mira Zimińska (1901–1997) was a Polish stage and film actress. She was the founder and long-time director of the Mazowsze folk group. In 1954 she married Tadeusz Sygietyński. After his death in 1955 she became a director of Mazowsze.Anna Mi ...

, film actress, director of the

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

folk group (b. 1901)

February

27 February Events Pre-1600 * 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity. * 425 – The University of Constantinop ...

–

Mieczysław Jagielski Mieczysław Zygmunt Jagielski (12 January 192427 February 1997) was a Polish politician and economist. During the times of the People's Republic of Poland he was the last leading politician from the former eastern regions of pre-Second World War ...

, economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Poland (b. 1924)

March

* 7 March –

Agnieszka Osiecka Agnieszka Osiecka (Polish pronunciation: ; 9 October 1936 – 7 March 1997) was a Polish poet, writer, author of theatre and television screenplays, film director and journalist. She was a prominent Polish songwriter, having authored the lyrics to ...

, poet, writer, scenarist, film director, journalist, and songwriter (b. 1936)

April

27 April Events Pre-1600 * 247 – Philip the Arab marks the millennium of Rome with a celebration of the ''ludi saeculares''. * 395 – Emperor Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. She becomes one o ...

–

Piotr Skrzynecki Piotr Cezary Skrzynecki (12 September 1930 in Warsaw – 27 April 1997 in Kraków) was a Polish choreographer, director and cabaret impresario, known for his involvement with the cabaret Piwnica pod Baranami (The Cellar under the Rams), of ...

, choreographer, director, and cabaret

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. Hist ...

, creator of the

Piwnica pod Baranami The Piwnica pod Baranami ( en, The Basement, or the Cellar under the Rams) is a Polish literary cabaret located in Kraków, Poland. For over thirty years, in the People's Republic of Poland, Piwnica pod Baranami served as the most renowned politica ...

literary cabaret (b. 1930)

August

* 9 August –

Robert Satanowski Robert Satanowski (January 20, 1918 – August 9, 1997) was a Polish general who later became a major European orchestra and opera conductor. Life Military career A teacher with a background in engineering, during World War II he joined the Sovi ...

, general, later an orchestra and opera director (b. 1918) *

30 August Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Titus ends the siege of Jerusalem after destroying Herod's Temple. *1282 – Peter III of Aragon lands at Trapani to intervene in the War of the Sicilian Vespers. *1363 – The five-week Battle of Lake Po ...

–

Ernst Wilimowski Ernest Otton Wilimowski (, born Ernst Otto Prandella; 23 June 1916 – 30 August 1997), nicknamed "Ezi", was a Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He ranks among the best goalscorers in the h ...

, German–Polish football player (b. 1916)

September

4 September Events Pre-1600 * 476 – Romulus Augustulus is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself "King of Italy", thus ending the Western Roman Empire. * 626 – Li Shimin, posthumously known as Emperor Taizong of Tang, assumes the throne over ...

– Alfred Kałuziński, handball player (b. 1952)

October

18 October Events Pre-1600 * 33 – Heartbroken by the deaths of her sons Nero and Drusus, and banished to the island of Pandateria by Tiberius, Agrippina the Elder dies of self-inflicted starvation. * 320 – Pappus of Alexandria, Greek philos ...

–

Leonard Andrzejewski Leonard Henryk Andrzejewski (1 March 1924 – 18 October 1997) was a Polish actor. He appeared in the television series '' Ballada o Januszku'' in 1988-89. He was a winner of the Medal of the 10th Anniversary of People's Poland in 1955 and the Mer ...

, actor (b. 1924) *

–

Tadeusz Janczar Tadeusz Janczar (; 25 April 1926 – 31 October 1997) was a Polish film actor. He appeared in 26 films between 1952 and 1983. Partial filmography * ''Zaloga'' (1952) - Brzozowski * ''Zolnierz zwyciestwa'' (1953) - Franek * ''Five Boys from ...

, film actor (b. 1926)

References

{{Year in Europe, 1997

pl:1997#Wydarzenia w Polsce