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Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern
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 a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of
Suwałki County __NOTOC__ Suwałki County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the Lithuanian border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gov ...
and one of the most important centers of
commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...
in the
Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...
. A relatively young city, Suwałki is one of the largest cities and one of the economic and cultural centers of north-eastern Poland, and the largest city and the capital of the historical Suwałki Region. The city owed its past growth to its administrative role and location on important trade routes, and escaped major destruction in each of the world wars preserving the historic city centre. It is a tourist destination thanks to favourable location near the Suwałki Landscape Park and Wigry National Park. Suwałki is located on the strategically important Via Baltica road connecting
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 ...
with
Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
,
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
,
Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
and
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
, about from the southwestern
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
n border. The Czarna Hańcza river flows through the city.


Etymology

The name derives from Lithuanian ''su-'' (near) and ''valka'' (creek, marsh), with the combined meaning "place near a small river or swampy area".


History

The area of Suwałki had been populated by local Yotvingian and Prussian tribes since the early
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 ...
. However, with the arrival of the
Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...
to Yotvingia, their lands were conquered and remained largely depopulated in the following centuries.


17th century

The village was founded by Camaldolese monks, who in 1667 were granted the area surrounding the future town by the
Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...
and the
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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
John II Casimir. Soon afterwards the monastic order built its headquarters in Wigry, where a
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
and a church were built. The new owners of the area started rapid economic exploitation and development of the
forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
s; they brought enough settlers (mainly from an overpopulated
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 ...
) to build several new villages in the area. Also, production of wood,
lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
, tar and
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...
was started. The village was first mentioned in 1688; two years later it was reported to have just two houses.


18th century

However, the growth of the village was fast and by 1700 it was split into Lesser and Greater Suwałki. The village was located almost exactly in the center of Camaldolese estates and lay on the main trade route linking
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 ...
and Merkinė with
Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
. In 1710 King
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 ...
granted the village a privilege to organize fairs and markets. Five years later, in 1715, the village was granted town rights by the grand master of the order, Ildefons. The town was divided into 300 lots for future houses and its inhabitants were granted civil rights and exempted from taxes for seven years. In addition, the town was granted of forest that was to be turned into
arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...
. On May 2, 1720, the town rights were approved by King August II, and the town was allowed to organize one fair a week and four markets a year. In addition, a
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
was approved, depicting Saint Roch and Saint Romuald. After 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 ...
in 1795, the area was annexed by
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. In 1796 the monastery in Wigry was dissolved and its property confiscated by the Prussian government. The following year a seat of local ''
powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...
'' authorities was moved to the town, as well as a military garrison. By the end of the 18th century, Suwałki had 1,184 inhabitants and 216 houses. A large part of the population was
Jewish 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 ...
.


19th century

In 1807 Suwałki became a salient of the newly formed
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 ...
and one of the centres of the Łomża Department. After the defeat of
Napoleon I 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 ...
and the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
, the area was incorporated into the
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 ...
("Russian Poland"), as a part 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 ...
(Russian partition). The status of a ''
powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...
'' capital was briefly withdrawn, but it was reintroduced on January 16, 1816, when the Augustów Voivodeship was created and its government was gradually moved to Suwałki. Soon afterwards the older town hall was demolished and replaced with a new one, and General Józef Zajączek financed the paving of most of the town's streets. The cemetery was moved to the outskirts from the town centre, and that area became a town park. Also, the Russian authorities built the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway, which added to the town's prosperity. In 1820 a new church was built. In 1821 the first
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
was opened. In 1829 a permanent
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
was opened in Suwałki. Between 1806 and 1827 the town's population almost tripled and reached 3,753 people living in 357 houses. During the
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
of 1831, the town's population took part in the struggles against Russia, but the town was pacified by the Russian army on February 11, 1830. In 1835 the government of
Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Nicholas I decided not to move the capital of the voivodeship to
Augustów Augustów is a town in north-eastern Poland. It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is the seat of Augustów County and of Gmina Augustów in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Augustów has an area of , and as of June 2022 it has a popul ...
. Two years later the
Voivodeships of Poland A voivodeship ( ; ; plural: ) is the highest-level Administrative divisions of Poland, administrative division of Poland, corresponding to a province in many other countries. The term has been in use since the 14th century and is commonly tran ...
were re-designated as gubernias, and the town became the capital of the Augustów Gubernia. In 1826 the Russians passed an investment plan and authorities initiated the construction of new public buildings. In 1835 a
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
station was built, in 1844 a new town hall and Orthodox and
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
churches were completed. Soon afterwards a new marketplace was opened, as well as St. Peter's and Paul's hospital and a gymnasium. In addition, between 1840 and 1849 the main
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
church was refurbished by many of Poland's most notable architects of the era, including Piotr Aigner,
Antonio Corazzi Antonio Corazzi (1792-1877) was an Italian architect working in Poland from 1819 to 1847, mainly in Neoclassical style. Biography Antonio Corazzi was the son of an impresario of the Avalorati Theatre in Livorno. In 1811, after graduating fro ...
and Enrico Marconi. To change the town's architecture and break with its rural past, in 1847 the town council passed a decree banning the construction of new wooden houses. The town's population continued to grow rapidly. In 1857 it had 11,273 inhabitants and in 1872 almost 20,000. Newly built factories needed workers and these were brought from workers recruited widely in Europe. The mixed Polish-Jewish-Lithuanian population was soon joined by people of almost all denominations that worshipped in 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 ...
. Soon Suwałki became the fourth-most populous town in Congress Poland. After the
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 ...
of 1863, administration reform was passed to unify the Polish lands with Russia completely. In 1866 the '' gubernia'' of Augustów was renamed to ''Suwałki Gubernia''. However, the route of the newly built Saint Petersburg-Warsaw railway bypassed Suwałki, adversely affecting its prosperity. It was not until the early 20th century that the establishment of a new Russian army
garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
revived the economy. Also, a railway line linking Suwałki with
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 ...
was finally completed.


20th century to present

After the spring of 1905, when the Russians were forced to accept a limited liberalization, the period of Polish cultural revival started. Although the
Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...
was still banned from official use, new Polish schools were opened, as well as a Polish-language ''Tygodnik Suwalski'' weekly and a library. After
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 ...
broke out, heavy fights for the area erupted. Finally in 1915, the Germans broke the Russian front and Suwałki was under German occupation. The town and surrounding areas were detached from the rest of the Polish lands and were directly administered by the German military commander of the Ober-Ost Army. Severe laws imposed by the German military command and the tragic economic situation of the civilians led to the creation of various secret social organisations. Finally, in 1917, local branches of the Polska Organizacja Wojskowa were created. After the collapse 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 November 1918, the local commander of the Ober-Ost signed an agreement with the Temporary Council of the Suwałki Region and ''de facto'' allowed for the region to be incorporated into Poland. However, the German army remained in the area and continued its economic exploitation. In February 1919 the local inhabitants took part in the first free elections to 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' ...
, but soon afterwards the German commanders changed their mind. They expelled the Polish military units from the area and in May passed the territory to Lithuanian authority.


Independent Poland

By the end of July 1919, the Paris Peace Conference granted the town to Poland. As the newly-established border was disapproved of by the Polish government, it organised the Sejny Uprising on August 23, 1919. The Polish-Lithuanian War erupted and for several days fighting for control over Suwałki, Sejny and other towns in the area took place. The war ended on the insistence of the Entente in mid-September. Negotiations took place in Suwałki in early October. During the Polish-Bolshevik War, the town was captured by the
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
s and, after the Battle of Warsaw, it was again passed to the Lithuanians. It was retaken by the
Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...
. In the inter-war period, Suwałki became an autonomous town within the Białystok Voivodeship (1919-1939). This resulted in another period of prosperity, with the town's population rising from 16,780 in 1921 to almost 25,000 in 1935. The main source of income shifted from agriculture to trade and commerce. Also, in 1931 the new water works and a
power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...
were built. Also, Suwałki continued to serve as one of the biggest garrisons in Poland, with two regiments of the Polish 29th Infantry Division and almost an entire Suwałki Cavalry Brigade stationed there. Beginning in 1928, Suwałki was established as the headquarters of one of the
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
s of the Border Defence Corps.


Second World War

During the later stages of the Polish Defensive War of 1939, the town was briefly captured by the
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 ...
. However, on October 12 of the same year, 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 ...
s withdrew and transferred the area to the Germans, in accordance with the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...
. The city was renamed ''Sudauen'' and annexed directly into
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 ...
's province of
East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
. Germans carried out mass arrests of Poles as part of ''
Intelligenzaktion The ''Intelligenzaktion'' (), or the Intelligentsia mass shootings, was a series of mass murders committed against the Polish people, Polish intelligentsia (teachers, priests, physicians, and other prominent members of Polish society) during the ...
'' in the fall of 1939 and spring of 1940. Arrested Poles were deported to a transit camp in Działdowo or murdered on the spot. Nazi German severe laws and terrorism led to the creation of several resistance organisations in response. Although most initially destroyed by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
, by 1942 the area had one of the strongest ZWZ and AK networks. In the Szwajcaria district there are mass graves of members of the Polish resistance movement murdered by the Germans on April 26, 1940 and April 1, 1944. Despite the resistance, almost all of the town's once 7,000-strong Jewish community was deported and murdered, beginning in December 1939, when German troops brought the elderly, sick, and disabled into a nearby forest and machine-gunned them en masse. The Germans, with help from local collaborators, deported the community's surviving Jews to ghettos in other towns. Nearly all either perished there or were murdered in
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 ...
. The occupying Germans also systematically destroyed all traces of Jewish history and culture in the town, demolishing synagogues and desecrating Suwałki's Jewish cemetery, where a memorial and wall of gravestone fragments stand today. Also, in Suwałki's suburb of Krzywólka, the Germans established the Stalag I-F POW camp for almost 120,000 Soviet prisoners of war. On October 23, 1944, the town was captured by the forces of the Soviet 3rd Belarusian Front. The fights for the town and its environs lasted for several days and took the lives of almost 5,000 Soviet soldiers before they defeated the Germans. The anti-Soviet resistance of former
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 ...
members lasted in the forests surrounding the town until the early 1950s. Suwałki did not suffer much damage during World War II, most of the historic buildings survived the war, and the damage to the city was estimated at only 5-10%, which was quickly rebuilt.


Polish People's Republic

The apparatus subordinate to the Polish Committee of National Liberation took power in Suwałki without major problems. Immediately after the city's liberation by units of the Red Army, on October 23, 1944, Stanisław Łapot, a member of the former Communist Party of Poland, one of the organizers of the Polish Workers' Party in
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 ...
, came from Sejny to Suwałki. He was accompanied by several officials previously organized in Sejny with the deputy head Edmund Przybylski, as well as Tadeusz Sobolewski - the president of the interim
Powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...
Council. On the same day, at Mickiewicz Square, supposedly spontaneously organized, so with the participation of new authorities and over five thousand inhabitants of the city, and then in the "Rusałka" cinema hall a meeting of representatives of the population with the envoys of the Polish Committee of National Rebirth. Actions aimed at organizing the Suwałki authorities were taken shortly after the liberation. The Starosta handed over the power in the city to the temporary mayor Tadeusz Sobolewski on October 24, 1944. The commissariat of Suwałki was established. In turn, on November 7, a conference of representatives of provincial authorities with local authorities was held. As agreed, the first meeting of the Suwałki City Council took place the next day. On November 20, 1944, the board decided to locate its office in a private, Jewish building, partly abandoned, at 62/64 Kościuszki street, as the town hall building was severely damaged. In December 1944, the City Board did not gather, and its functions were performed by Sobolewski. The transitional state in the organization and functioning of the Suwałki authorities was properly completed in January 1945. Most probably then or at the beginning of February, the staroste S. Łapot issued an oral but very important order to subordinate Suwałki to the administration of the poviat level. In this way, he deprived them of the status they had until September 1939, a city separated from the poviat municipal association. Over the next few years, this matter was dealt with by various authorities, from municipal to central. This controversial problem appeared on March 27, 1945, on the initiative of the mayor Sobolewski, at the third meeting of the City National Council. The governor Wacław Kraśko, who was present at it, was rather reluctant to propose separating the city from the poviat and pointed to the need to improve, first and foremost, the situation and condition of municipal enterprises. The Council decided to postpone the case. Another politician calling for restoring Suwałki to the legal status of before September 1, 1939 was mayor Wacław Rudzki. At the Municipal National Council meeting on March 25, 1946, he submitted the first motion to separate the city from the poviat, which was motivated by prestigious, historical and financial considerations. The Council shared the submitted arguments and decided, through the Poviat National Council, to apply to the Voivodeship National Council in Bialystok with a request to include the city separated from poviat self-government associations. Much more radical decisions, undoubtedly also under the influence of W. Rudzki, MRN made at its meeting on May 27, 1946. She decided that the rescript of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of December 1919 about the separation of Suwałki from the poviat remains in force, therefore she is the council of the separated city and reports to the Provincial National Council in Bialystok. The Council also elected, without discussion and by acclamation, the incumbent mayor of the city, Rudzki. After this revolt, the reaction of the superior authorities was swift. Already in mid-June 1946, the voivode demanded that the chairman of the Suwałki Poviat Department ( starosta) suspend the implementation of the Municipal National Council resolutions of 27 May, while informing that in the matter of restoring Suwałki's rights as a separate city, he turned to the Ministry of Public Administration. And indeed the voivode, writing favorably about Suwałki, their development and the achievements of the authorities, mainly Rudzki, asked the ministry for guidelines and a suggestion of a positive resolution of the case, although the relevant regulations did not allow it, mainly because the number of inhabitants of the city did not reach 25,000. After the lapse of the month, Rudzki not only did not become president, but also resigned from the position of mayor. Nevertheless, on July 25, 1946, the MRN decided to send a delegation of councilors composed of Leon Bracławski, Józef Wiszniewski and Antoni Zalewski to the Ministry of the Interior to support current activities and accelerate the restoration of Suwałki's rights of a separated city. Following the end of the war and the establishment of a communist regime, the new authorities of Poland began establishing territorial branches of the security services, most notably the
Ministry of Public Security Ministry of Public Security can refer to: * Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil) * Ministry of Public Security of Burundi * Ministry of Public Security (Chile) * Ministry of Public Security (China) * Ministry of Public Security of Co ...
, in the whole country and in Suwałki as well: The seat of the PUBP was located at 5 Kościuszki street in 1944, and at the same year it was transferred to building no. 78 in the same street where it was located up until 1956. After the war, Suwałki was retained as the capital of the ''
powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...
''. However, the heavily damaged town recovered very slowly, and the
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
economic system could not support the reinvestment needed. In 1975 new administrative reform was implemented: Suwałki was designated as the capital of a separate Suwałki Voivodeship. The number of inhabitants rose rapidly, and by the end of the 1970s, the population was over 36,000. Large factories were built in the town, and it became one of the important industrial and commercial centres of Eastern Poland.


Martial law

During the period of
martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...
and rise of
Solidarność Solidarity (, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" ( , abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”''), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard, Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Polish People's Rep ...
in the early 1980s, Solidarność demanded that the buildings of the Polish United Workers' Party and the Citizens' Militia be handed over to be used for social infrastructure, primarily schools, kindergartens and hospitals. This position was taken by the Inter-Enterprise Founding Committee of the Solidarity Independent Trade Union in Giżycko and Suwałki in regards to the party complex in 83 Noniewicza street. The first round of talks on this matter with representatives of authorities (including central authorities) took place on January 28, 1981. Solidarność emphasized that the new buildings could be turned into medical clinics, a community center for youth and a music school. It strengthened its position with over 18 thousand signatures from the inhabitants of the region. No agreement was reached, because the authorities did not want to hand over the building. Before the next round of talks on the night of February 14–15, under the cover of the Citizens' Militia and Security Service, the PZPR KW was moved to new buildings. This action caused widespread indignation in the whole province, not only among the members of Solidarity. Following the end of Communist rule in 1989, Suwałki had a difficult period in transitioning to a new economic system. Most of the town's major factories were inefficient and went bankrupt. Creation of the Suwałki
Special Economic Zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
and the proximity of the Russian and Lithuanian borders opened new possibilities for local trade and commerce. In addition, the region began to attract many tourists from all around the world. In the 21st century, residents of Suwałki frequently travel across the Russian and Lithuanian borders for shopping trips as well as to make use of the various attractions both countries offer. To the military planners of NATO, an area of the Lithuania–Poland border area is known as the Suwałki Gap because it represents a military difficulty. It is a flat narrow piece of land, a gap, that is between
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
and Russia's
Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...
exclave and that connects the three NATO-member
Baltic States The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
to Poland and the rest of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
.


Demographics


Climate

Suwałki has a climate that is characterised by changeable weather patterns. The city has a
warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Dfb'') and, relatively to the rest of Poland, the city's climate has markedly continental characteristics even though there is some moderation from the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
. Suwałki has among the greatest record temperature amplitudes in Poland: the lowest temperature was recorded on 12 January 1950 (), while the highest was , on 11 July 1946. It also holds the record for the highest atmospheric pressure ever registered in the country, at on 23 January 1907. The weather changes are common due to the fact that, like in the rest of Poland,
weather front A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For ins ...
s generated by
low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with incle ...
s come along frequently. Due to its northerly location and the relatively little moderation of the Baltic, the
growing season A season is a division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and the amount of daylight. The growing season is that portion of the year in which local conditions (i.e. rainfall, temperature, daylight) permit normal plant growth. Whi ...
around the city is the shortest in Poland; according to the data from 1995-2019, the period of sustained average daily temperatures exceeding was only 200 days long, about 20–30 days shorter than in central and southern Poland. Suwałki is often called the "Polish pole of cold" (''polski biegun zimna'') because it has the lowest average temperature of the major cities in Poland, excepting mountainous areas (the actual "pole of cold" is located about north of the city, in the village of Wiżajny). Winters are just cold enough, if the isotherm is accepted, not to be classified as oceanic (Köppen: ''Cfb''). The skies are often overcast and snow is frequent in the season, but there is much less precipitation in the winter months than in the sunnier summer months. Nights with temperatures below sometimes occur, and temperatures below are not unheard of. According to the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW), the snow stays there for the longest time in non-mountainous areas of Poland. The city is so cold that before 2015, Suwałki was only one of the four cities in Poland to have experienced winter conditions in every period from December to February (defined as the daily mean temperature of the month going below ); the extremely anomalous winter of 2019/2020 was the first in which Suwałki did not experience such conditions. Summers are pleasant, warm and often sunny, with the maximum daily temperatures sometimes exceeding , though the season is still somewhat cooler in the city, as compared to the rest of Poland.


Sights

*Aquapark Suwałki * Kościuszko street with
Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...
*Romantic 19th-century Park of the 3rd May Constitution *Saint Alexander Co-Cathedral *St. Peter's and Paul's Church *Chłodna Street
pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...
*District Museum at the former ''Resursa'' (trading point) *Museum of Polish poet Maria Konopnicka at her childhood home *Monument to Maria Konopnicka * Andrzej Strumiłło Gallery *Town Hall (''Ratusz'') *Former gymnasium building *Childhood home of Polish painter Alfred Kowalski *19th century brewery of Wacław Kunc *Cemetery complex on Bakałarzewska street (Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim) *Suwałki Plaza, a shopping mall and cinema complex that opened in 2010. The mall contains stores with various products such as groceries, books, clothing, shoes and accessories *Museum of the History and Tradition of Soldiers of the Suwałki Region () in historical barracks *Suwałki Culture Centre *Monument to the Heroes of September 1939 *Memorials at the site of German massacres of Poles from World War II * Soviet Soldiers Cemetery


Education

*Wyższa Szkoła Służby Społecznej im. Ks. Franciszka Blachnickiego *Wyższa Szkoła Suwalsko-Mazurska im. Papieża Jana Pawła II *Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Suwałkach


Sport

The volleyball team Ślepsk Suwałki is based in Suwałki. It plays in the
PlusLiga The PlusLiga is the highest level of men's volleyball in Poland, a professional league competition featuring volleyball clubs located in this country. It is overseen by Polska Liga Siatkówki SA (PLS SA). It is currently a 14 teams league from Oc ...
, Poland's top division. The
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 ...
club
Wigry Suwałki Wigry Suwałki is a Polish football club based in Suwałki, Podlaskie Voivodeship. In the 2025–26 season, they compete in group I of the III liga. They play their home games at the . Players Current squad Ou ...
is based in the town. They currently play in the
III liga III liga (Trzecia liga), currently named Betclic III liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is a Polish football league that sits in the fourth tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, III liga ref ...
, the fourth tier of the Polish football league system, although played in the I liga (second tier) in the past.


Notable people

Over the centuries Suwałki has produced a number of persons who have provided unique contributions to the fields of science, language, politics, religion, sports, visual arts and performing arts. A list of recent notable persons includes, but is not limited to: * Maria Andrejczyk (born 1996), Olympic javelin thrower * Zalman Gradowski (1910–1944), secret diarist at
Auschwitz-Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
* Maria Konopnicka (1842–1910), poet and novelist, author of the poem '' Rota'' * Alfred Kowalski (1849–1915), painter * Henryk Minkiewicz (1880–1940), general, killed in the
Katyn Massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...
* Avraham Stern (1907–1942), Zionist paramilitary leader, codename 'Yair' founder of Lehi * Edward Szczepanik (1915–2005), economist and the last Polish Prime Minister in Exile *
Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...
(1926–2016), film director and recipient of an Honorary Oscar * Pinchas Sapir (1906–1975), Israeli politician


International relations


Twin towns – sister cities

Suwałki is twinned with:


See also

* Augustów Canal * Lithuania–Poland border * Suwałki Region * Roman Catholic parish cemetery in Suwałki


Notes


References


Citations


Bibliography

*


External links

*
Suwalki Town Webpage

Kurier Suwalski

Local media Suwałki
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Podlaskie Voivodeship City counties of Poland 17th-century establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Populated places established in the 17th century Populated riverside places in Poland Holocaust locations in Poland