K.S. Garbarnia Kraków is a Polish football and sports club from
Ludwinów, a historical district of the city of
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 ...
. The club's name comes from the nearby
tannery
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
() of the Dłużyński brothers, which was the original club sponsor. Garbarnia currently plays in
II liga
II liga (Druga Liga, ), currently named eWinner II liga due to sponsorship reasons by eWinner, is a Polish football league that sits at the third tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season ''II Liga'' referr ...
(third tier of Polish football).
History
Founded in 1921, Garbarnia's best years were the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1928, after winning both regional and national qualifiers, the team was promoted to the Polish Football League. Then, in 1929, after an excellent campaign, they finished second to champions
Warta Poznan, thus cementing their position as one of the top teams in Poland.
In 1931 Garbarnia went one better, becoming Polish Champions. Containing little home-grown talent, the Kraków starting lineup consisted of players brought in from other clubs. Among the top players were
Otto Riesner and
Karol Pazurek (both the natives of
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...
), and both of whom played for the Polish national team.
In 1937, after 9 years in the top division, Garbarnia were relegated. They returned in 1939, in a season cut short by the outbreak of World War II.
After the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Garbarnia never regained its status, playing mainly in the Polish Second Division, occasionally managing to win promotion to the First Division, only to be relegated after a year or two. 1957 was the team's final year in the First Division and since then, Garbarnia have never made it back. Worst was yet to come, as in 1971 the team was relegated to the Third division, the Regional Kraków district league.
In 2018, Garbarnia returned to
Polish First League
I liga ( pl, Pierwsza liga, ), currently named Fortuna I liga due to its sponsorship by Fortuna, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga vi ...
(2nd tier) after a 44-year absence. Garbarnia secured promotion after promotion/relegation play-off win over
Pogoń Siedlce
The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is als ...
. In 2019, the club was again relegated to
II liga
II liga (Druga Liga, ), currently named eWinner II liga due to sponsorship reasons by eWinner, is a Polish football league that sits at the third tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season ''II Liga'' referr ...
.
Honours
Ekstraklasa
Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams.
Contested by 18 cl ...
:
:*Winners (1):
1931
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
* January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
* January 22 – Sir I ...
Current squad
References
External links
Official websiteFans' Association website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garbarnia Krakow
Association football clubs established in 1921
1921 establishments in Poland
Football clubs in Kraków